2024 Harbour Classic dates confirmed
by Harbour Classic Yacht Race 10 May 2023 23:30 BST
8-9 March 2024
Harbour Classic Yacht Race © Harbour Classic Yacht Race
Following the success of the inaugural Harbour Classic in March/April of this year, the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club are ecstatic to announce the Harbour Classic will be returning in 2024 bigger and better than before.
"We were so thrilled with the line-up of boats in our first year and knew that once people experienced the overall event, it would take off" says Greer Houston, Commodore of the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club - organisers of the race. "All boats start on the same start line at the same time! That's right you can start your Piedy alongside a 52 foot canting keel racing yacht. An experience in itself!" says Houston. "It might sound daunting, but they have been managing it in Trieste for 50 years, and this is what this event is all about - participation, fun, a spectacle and an experience."
The Harbour Classic will take place two weeks before SailGP and will be part of a soon to be launched festival.
Based on the famous Barcolana Regatta in Trieste, Italy - holder of the Guinness World Record as the largest regatta in the world - the 14 nautical mile race will start at North Head, run along the north shore beaches to Torbay, returning to North Head through the Rangitoto Channel.
Background
The Harbour Classic is based on the famous Barcolana Regatta in Trieste, Italy, developed more than 50 years ago. In 1959, 51 boats entered the inaugural Barcolana Regattta. It now holds the Guinness World Record as the largest regatta in the world with 2689 boats competing and is the biggest event for the city of Trieste. On the same starting line expert sailors and sailing lovers race side by side on boats of different sizes divided into several divisions according to their overall length.
The Harbour Classic is owned by the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club. The club has been running New Zealand's premier fleet yacht race - the famous Coastal Classic - since its inception in 1982. One of the largest races in the Southern Hemisphere and draws one of the largest group of participants.
All participants are able to berth their boat at Jellicoe/North Wharf.