Gen 2, Cougar and Hidromek each won both of their class races at Gulf Harbour on Saturday, October 17, 2026, as the New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Association opened its 2026/27 championship in lumpy conditions. Subway Mangawhai did the same in Family Class.
Boating New Zealand, which put its own boat on the water as dive support for the event, reported swells approaching a metre and around 100 people at the crew briefing. The conditions took their toll: 16 of the 23 starters finished Race 1 and only 13 reached the flag in Race 2. Kirsten Thomas’s full report from the support fleet is on the Boating New Zealand website.
The course started and finished off Kotanui Island (Frenchmans Cap) and ran along the southern shore towards Manly and Arkles Bay. It is the second season running that the championship has opened at Gulf Harbour, after last October’s round brought the series back to Auckland.
Supercat Lite
Rainbow Haulage, the boat that dominated the top class on its way to last season’s title, picked up where it left off, with Darren Butterworth winning Race 1 ahead of Mike Gerbic’s Espresso Engineers and Paul Greenfield’s Langslow Engineering. Less than five separated the three finishers’ average speeds.
Race 2 went the other way. Rainbow Haulage and Langslow Engineering both failed to finish, leaving Espresso Engineers to win on its own, so Gerbic leaves Gulf Harbour with a win and a second place.
Sports 80mph and Sports 70mph
Shan Martin won both Sports 80mph races in Hidromek, with Craig Archer second each time in Rayglass and closing the gap in Race 2. It was a poor day for the boats that finished first and second in the class last season. Owen Mackay’s Fury II, the 2025/26 champion, failed to finish either race, as did Brett Archer’s Secret Agent. Roger Puttick’s Captain Caveman, last season’s runner-up, did not finish Race 1 and did not start Race 2.
Sports 70mph was a two-boat class and finished in the same order twice, Grant Smith’s Cougar ahead of Peter Wingate’s Chindit, which is also how last season’s championship ended.
200HP and 140HP
Mike Smith won both 200HP races in Gen 2, with Ryan Archer’s Supersonic second and Shane Rumens third in SKR each time. Smith and Rumens shared GEN2 when it won last season’s Sports 200 title; they are now racing separate boats. Mike Knight’s Mark Helms Marine did not finish Race 1 and did not start Race 2.
The closest finish of the day came in 140HP, where Tom Haycock’s Goldship, last season’s class champion, won Race 1 by 0.32 in average speed from Hamish Haycock’s Gipsy Danger. Goldship failed to finish Race 2, and Gipsy Danger won it. Michael Wingate took Coranto to third and then second. Grant Henry’s Nakita, which won the nominated speed race at this venue a year ago, did not finish Race 1 and did not start Race 2.
Family Class and Nominated Speed
Kerry Smyth’s Subway Mangawhai was quickest in both Family Class races, ahead of Brad Tinker’s ASAP Couriers and Scott Lewis’s Hijinx. Family Class is judged on how close a boat runs to its declared speed, not outright pace, under NZOPA’s rules, and the association also published a separate nominated speed classification open to cross-entries. Cougar topped it, with Coranto and Gen 2 equal second and Supersonic fourth. The published sheet gives places only, not the declared speeds.
Results
Places are within each class. Average speeds are as published; the results sheet does not state the unit.
| Class | Boat | No. | Skipper | Race 1 | Race 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supercat Lite | Rainbow Haulage | 3 | Darren Butterworth | 1 (139.28) | DNF |
| Supercat Lite | Espresso Engineers | 19 | Mike Gerbic | 2 (137.41) | 1 (136.93) |
| Supercat Lite | Langslow Engineering | 46 | Paul Greenfield | 3 (134.73) | DNF |
| Sports 80mph | Hidromek | 104 | Shan Martin | 1 (117.68) | 1 (115.42) |
| Sports 80mph | Rayglass | 8 | Craig Archer | 2 (108.95) | 2 (110.52) |
| Sports 80mph | Secret Agent | 99 | Brett Archer | DNF | DNF |
| Sports 80mph | Fury II | 188 | Owen Mackay | DNF | DNF |
| Sports 80mph | Captain Caveman | 171 | Roger Puttick | DNF | DNS |
| Sports 70mph | Cougar | 58 | Grant Smith | 1 (92.38) | 1 (92.77) |
| Sports 70mph | Chindit | 29 | Peter Wingate | 2 (75.78) | 2 (76.41) |
| 200HP | Gen 2 | 14 | Mike Smith | 1 (93.98) | 1 (93.88) |
| 200HP | Supersonic | 2 | Ryan Archer | 2 (88.07) | 2 (88.79) |
| 200HP | SKR | 20 | Shane Rumens | 3 (82.64) | 3 (79.01) |
| 200HP | Mark Helms Marine | 18 | Mike Knight | DNF | DNS |
| 140HP | Goldship | 140 | Tom Haycock | 1 (73.63) | DNF |
| 140HP | Gipsy Danger | 34 | Hamish Haycock | 2 (73.31) | 1 (74.46) |
| 140HP | Coranto | 129 | Michael Wingate | 3 (52.57) | 2 (58.36) |
| 140HP | Nakita | 77 | Grant Henry | DNF | DNS |
| Family | Subway Mangawhai | 24 | Kerry Smyth | 1 (68.79) | 1 (70.33) |
| Family | ASAP Couriers | 27 | Brad Tinker | 2 (60.38) | 2 (65.69) |
| Family | Hijinx | 82 | Scott Lewis | 3 (60.28) | 3 (63.79) |
| Family | Nipple | 53 | Sam Mitchell | DNF | DNS |
| Family | Lickity Split | 73 | Joel McMullen | DNF | DNS |
Nominated Speed
| Place | Boat | Skipper |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cougar | Grant Smith |
| =2 | Coranto | Michael Wingate |
| =2 | Gen 2 | Mike Smith |
| 4 | Supersonic | Ryan Archer |
| 5 | Hijinx | Scott Lewis |
| 6 | Rayglass | Craig Archer |
| 7 | Hidromek | Shan Martin |
| 8 | Espresso Engineers | Mike Gerbic |
| 9 | ASAP Couriers | Brad Tinker |
| 10 | Chindit | Peter Wingate |
| 11 | Subway Mangawhai | Kerry Smyth |
Results: NZOPA, as published by Boating New Zealand.
Next Round
The championship moves to Marsden Cove on Saturday, November 14, 2026.
2026/27 NZOPA Championship Calendar
| Round | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gulf Harbour | October 17, 2026 |
| 2 | Marsden Cove | November 14, 2026 |
| 3 | Napier | January 30-31, 2027 |
| 4 | Wellington | February 27, 2027 |
| 5 | Whitianga | March 13, 2027 |
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
