Fresh from completing the 2025 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the More 55 cruiser racer adds real offshore weight to the Kawau Race Week fleet. For owner driver Quintin Fowler and his crew, Kawau is the natural next chapter.

Rum Bucket’s Sydney-Hobart campaign was built from years of delays, border closures, compliance hurdles, and rebuilds. That resilience paid off in the Sydney-Hobart, in which Rum Bucket fought through heavy southerlies, interior damage, and a broken spinnaker pole to finish in the position of 30th on Line Honours.

Whether she takes the start remains to be seen. If she does, Rum Bucket will arrive with the same owner driver, club crew approach that carried her to Hobart, adding depth to a Kawau Race Week fleet already stacked with experienced boats and sailors.

RUM BUCKET

Sail Number: NZL 9674
Owner Driver: Quintin Fowler
Design: More 55
Launch Year: 2018
Length Overall: 16.80m
Hull Material: Fibreglass
Hull Colour: White
Rig: Fractional 7/8
IRC Rating: 1.222
Club: Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron

Built in Croatia in 2018, Rum Bucket is a cruiser-racer. She was sailed by her New Zealand crew through the Mediterranean to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, before competing in her first offshore race, the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, westbound to Saint Lucia in the Caribbean.

In early 2020, Rum Bucket sailed to the Panama Canal but was stranded by the global COVID lockdown. She was later shipped to New Zealand, arriving in Auckland in August 2021 after an extended and challenging transport process.

Since returning home, Rum Bucket has been actively racing on the Hauraki Gulf under the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron banner. Her offshore programme includes the PIC Coastal Classic and the Three Kings 500 nautical mile Race.

Learn more: Rum Bucket vs the World, Battered but not unbowed – Rum Bucket fights through brutal race to finish