Racing Group B delivered one of the most compelling battles of Bay of Islands Sailing Week on Friday, with Race 6 laying bare just how tight the margins have grown across line honours, EHC, and PHRF.
The fleet got away at 10:35am and settled into its rhythm quickly, improving conditions favouring the boats that kept their sailing clean and their discipline intact. The course allowed the fleet some room to breathe, yet it never truly fragmented, producing one of the tightest handicap outcomes the regatta has seen.
Daisy Duke had been absent from Thursday's racing through a DNS, but she returned to the water on Friday ready to make her mark. Matt Gottard's Shaw 7 proved untouchable, stopping the clock at 1 hour 16 minutes 50 seconds and finishing more than 12 minutes clear of Mustang Sally and the rest of the fleet. Quick off the line and utterly composed once into her stride, Daisy Duke put on another commanding performance.
The real drama played out behind her. Mustang Sally crossed in second place at 1 hour 29 minutes 6 seconds, just 41 seconds ahead of Blackout, with The Farm a further 37 seconds in arrears. Seven boats from second through to eighth were covered by fewer than five minutes of elapsed time, a figure that speaks volumes about how evenly matched the middle of this fleet has become.
| Result | Boat name | Skipper | Elapsed time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DAISY DUKE | Matt Gottard | 01:16:50 | 1 |
| 2 | MUSTANG SALLY | Bob Still | 01:29:06 | 2 |
| 3 | BLACKOUT | Kevin Peet | 01:29:47 | 3 |
| 4 | THE FARM | Mike Bennett | 01:30:24 | 4 |
| 5 | APPARITION | Marcel Vroege | 01:31:53 | 5 |
| 6 | MEN AT WORK 3 | Hans Wehmeyer | 01:32:29 | 6 |
| 7 | RADIX | Paul Rudling | 01:33:15 | 7 |
| 8 | CHAIN REACTION | Graeme Lucas | 01:33:40 | 8 |
| 9 | MARGARITAVILLE | Finn Topzand | 01:35:08 | 9 |
| 10 | PHYSICAL FAVOURS | Ryan McCready | 01:37:57 | 10 |
| DNS | SNATCH | Hana Hielkema | — | 17 |
| DNC | AKATEA | Mark Malpass | — | 17 |
That compression became decisive once handicaps were applied. Under EHC, The Farm stepped up late in the series to claim the race win on corrected time, finishing less than three minutes ahead of Apparition. Radix came through nine seconds later, and Chain Reaction, Mustang Sally, Daisy Duke, and Blackout all finished within a further two and a half minutes of each other. From first to sixth on EHC, fewer than six minutes separated the entire group.
| Result | Boat name | Skipper | Corrected time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | THE FARM | Mike Bennett | 01:10:04 | 1 |
| 2 | APPARITION | Marcel Vroege | 01:13:03 | 2 |
| 3 | RADIX | Paul Rudling | 01:13:12 | 3 |
| 4 | CHAIN REACTION | Graeme Lucas | 01:14:45 | 4 |
| 5 | MUSTANG SALLY | Bob Still | 01:15:12 | 5 |
| 6 | DAISY DUKE | Matt Gottard | 01:16:18 | 6 |
| 7 | BLACKOUT | Kevin Peet | 01:16:30 | 7 |
| 8 | PHYSICAL FAVOURS | Ryan McCready | 01:16:42 | 8 |
| 9 | MARGARITAVILLE | Finn Topzand | 01:16:58 | 9 |
| 10 | MEN AT WORK 3 | Hans Wehmeyer | 01:17:47 | 10 |
| DNS | SNATCH | Hana Hielkema | — | 17 |
| DNC | AKATEA | Mark Malpass | — | 17 |
PHRF compressed the result even further. Apparition took top honours, but the leading four boats were split by just over two minutes on corrected time. Men At Work 3 and Chain Reaction were separated by a mere two seconds, a gap that captures precisely how unforgiving this series has become at its business end.
| Result | Boat name | Skipper | Corrected time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | APPARITION | Marcel Vroege | 01:13:30 | 1 |
| 2 | MUSTANG SALLY | Bob Still | 01:14:40 | 2 |
| 3 | BLACKOUT | Kevin Peet | 01:15:04 | 3 |
| 4 | MEN AT WORK 3 | Hans Wehmeyer | 01:15:39 | 4 |
| 5 | CHAIN REACTION | Graeme Lucas | 01:15:41 | 5 |
| 6 | RADIX | Paul Rudling | 01:16:45 | 6 |
| 7 | PHYSICAL FAVOURS | Ryan McCready | 01:19:09 | 7 |
| 8 | MARGARITAVILLE | Finn Topzand | 01:22:00 | 8 |
Race 6 sharpened the Racing Group B leaderboard considerably. Daisy Duke continues to set the tempo on the water, yet the handicap competition remains genuinely open. With non-starts already having shaped the standings for several contenders, the final race will settle the series.
