From Three Boats to Twenty-Nine: A Weekend That Reminded Everyone Why We Sail

There’s something pretty special about watching a fleet set sail off the start line. Especially when, only days earlier, there was genuine doubt the race would even get off the ground.

From our spot high above the bay at the Waitangi Golf Course, we watched 29 boats set sail for the 2026 Whangaroa Race & Rally. For a small yacht club, that’s seriously impressive, especially considering only three boats had entered earlier in the week while the forecast was looking questionable.

But as the weather improved, entries rolled in fast. By race day, the fleet had transformed into something far bigger than anyone expected. It was one of those classic boating moments that proves sailors are eternal optimists. Give them a weather window and a destination worth sailing to, and they’ll show up.

From the water, where two of our 36° Brokers team, Chris and Robbs, were on the start line, the word was simple: the conditions were ON.

The breeze started light before steadily building throughout the race, with spinnakers and gennakers flying from the start. Some of the smaller boats played it smart and tucked inside the Cavalli Islands for flatter water, while a few bigger boats , thinking they were smart, headed wide offshore only to catch a stronger breeze and bigger waves.

That offshore gamble didn’t entirely pay off though, with several boats getting caught under a heavy rain cloud and unfavourable wind shift, allowing many of the inshore boats to sneak ahead rounding Flat Island.

From there, it became a tight reaching battle towards the entrance of Whangaroa Harbour, where the real challenge began. Tide against wind, painful tacking angles, and some very close encounters with the cliffs had crews working hard right until the finish line between the gun emplacement and isolated danger mark.

One of the coolest additions this year was seeing the Wing Foil racers join the Sport Boat division, adding a completely different energy to the fleet and making for an incredible spectacle both on and off the water.

And of course, no Whangaroa weekend would be complete without the raft-up and celebrations beneath Duke’s Nose afterwards.
An amazing weekend, incredible turnout, and proof once again that New Zealand boating is alive and well.

If this sounds like your kind of adventure and you’d like to be on the start line next year, get in touch with the team at 36° Brokers.