Nine hours of racing have transformed the fleet spread in the 2026 Doyle Sails Round North Island Two Handed Yacht Race, with the front-runners pushing well beyond New Plymouth and Cape Egmont as Leg 2 builds toward its conclusion.
This passage, running from Mangonui to Motuara Island in the Marlborough Sounds, is the longest leg of the race, and by tonight at least two boats are expected to complete it.
Out in front on line honours, Explore Racing continues to set the pace. William Goodfellow and Jesse Turner's Elliott 50 has held the overnight lead and now sits slightly south of Marton, the Manawatū town, with roughly 226 nautical miles still to cover. At their current pace, the pair are on track to reach Motuara Island at around 4.30pm this afternoon.
Motorboat III, the Thompson 1150 crewed by Damon Jolliffe and Josh Tucker, is pressing hard in second place, with Bernie Hyde and Thomas Hyde close behind aboard the Cookson 47 High 5. Motorboat III looks likely to finish later today, while High 5 is shaping up for something closer to a midnight arrival.
The corrected-time contest is equally compelling. Kick, the Elliott 1050 sailed by Brendan Sands and Ben Roff, currently holds first place on PHRF, but Motorboat III sits just an hour and a half adrift on corrected time. With margins that tight, the final miles of this leg could easily reshuffle the standings.
Spread across the Tasman Sea, the wider fleet covers a lot of ground. The small Ross 8 C U Later, sailed by Ben Stinton and Shaun Grigg, remains the fleet's northernmost boat and now sits second in Division 4 on PHRF. The Dufour 455 Grand Large Highline, sailed by Andrew Mackmurdie and Jennifer Haliday, sits furthest to the west, while John Power and Richard Power's Farr 1020 L'Avanti occupies the eastern extreme of the fleet, about 15 nautical miles off the Raglan coast.
Division 1 sees Motorboat III leading the way, ahead of the Stomp 38 Perfect Storm, crewed by Ken and Lori Ormandy, with High 5 rounding out the top three. One of the closer sub-battles is playing out between Explore Racing and the Verdier 40 Vixen Racing, sailed by Sharon Ferris-Choat and Taylor Edwards. Just over half an hour separates the two on corrected time, making that contest very difficult to call.
Division 2 has tightened considerably overnight. Focus has moved to the head of the division, with Pipi in second and Äkonga up to third. Only six minutes cover all three boats on estimated corrected time, so that division could go any number of ways before the finish.
Division 3 is holding its shape, with Kick still leading Ragnar and Niksen, the latter two separated by only minutes. Division 4 remains topped by Carpe Diem, trailed by C U Later and L'Avanti.
Shifting winds are forecast through the day, meaning the leaderboard is far from settled. The key question now is how many crews can reach Motuara Island before midnight.
