Return of the king
The first Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's Three Kings Race in almost nine years has been confirmed for later this year.
16 June 2021
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The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS) has announced this week that the 500nm offshore competition, the RNZYS Three Kings Race, will be held in November this year.
This edition will be the first Three Kings Race since 2013, then hosted by the Royal Akarana Yacht Club.
“We are really looking forward to this race, it’s less than six months away and is a good chance for our fleet to stretch their legs over 500nm in an exciting race that will pose many challenges for the fleet, especially with the unpredictable November conditions,” said RNZYS Three Kings Offshore Race Director Scott Wilson on the official announcement.
Organisers have also confirmed that the Short Handed Sailing Association of New Zealand (SSANZ) will support the 2021 Three Kings Race, the offshore competition acting as a precursor to the lead in the SSANZ 2022 Northern Triangle and the 2023 Round North Island.
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“Two-handed racing is quickly growing in popularity in New Zealand due to the challenging nature of the racing, managing not only the boat but the endurance element for each skipper and ensuring you’re getting the best speeds possible in any conditions,” reads a press release supplied by the RNZYS.
Entry to the 2021 Three Kings Race will be limited to only 40 boats, 20 of which being shorthanded with only two skippers.
“Seeing how the two-handed entrants go against the fully crewed fleet will be fascinating.”
The race itself will begin 18 November at Westhaven with the competition sailing north past Cape Reinga and on to the Three Kings – a challenging strip of water where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea converge.
The fleet will then battle it out around Manawatāwhi, also known as the Three Kings Islands, before heading towards the finish line.
The race will use the YellowBrick tracking system, giving followers live position tracking reports. It’s also expected that the yachts intending to enter will also provide onboard updates to be shared by RNZYS via social media.
Entries will be open 4 July at 7:00pm NZT (5:00pm AEST) and will be limited to keelers 8.4 metres and longer, and multihulls 10 metres and longer. For more information about the event, click here.
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