New Zealand (KZ 7) “Kiwi Magic” was the America’s Cup challenge boat sailed by Chris Dickson in the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger series held in Gage Roads off Fremantle, Australia during the summer months of 1986 through 1987. She was New Zealand’s first America’s Cup entry and was the premier boat in the New Zealand Challenge syndicate. She was designed by Bruce Farr.
Going into the Louis Vuitton Finals, Kiwi Magic was the clear favorite, having won thirty-seven of her previous thirty-eight races. The boats were very closely matched, but by this point in the regatta Stars and Stripes 87 was showing a slight edge in speed going to windward, especially in heavy airs and seas. In the most tightly contested series of the regatta, Stars and Stripes 87 took the series, four wins to one.
Stars and Stripes 87 went on to defeat Kookaburra III, 4–0 to reclaim the America’s Cup.[5]
The New Zealanders meanwhile regrouped and returned to race in the 1987 World Championships in Sardinia, Italy. For the regatta Chris Dickson and Brad Butterworth were taken off boat, replaced with David Barnes as skipper while future NZL 20 skipper Rod Davis acted as tactician.
The New Zealanders sailed competitively, and ended up winning the event in the protest room, achieving victory over the Japanese entry Bengal (previously the Bond syndicate’s Australia III). Kiwi Magic won the last two fleet races in the series, the three semifinal races and two out of the three final races against Bengal.
2024 – Puig Vela Clasica, Barcelona.
