Another Duchess wins Anniversary Regatta as attrition and close margins define the day

The 2026 Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta put crews and boats through a genuine examination across its sailing divisions, with attrition running high and corrected-time margins paper-thin in places. Fifteen boats competed across two races and three failed to finish. From a midfield split by a single second after handicap correction to a Davidson 55 scraping home just 44 seconds clear of the fleet despite leading from start to finish, the day rewarded those who paired pace with clean execution.

Seven boats lined up in the division for vessels up to 9.5 metres, though conditions made short work of much of that fleet. Five entries either did not start or could not finish, leaving just a handful to contest the result.

Carrera 3 produced the standout performance of the division, claiming both line honours and the handicap win. When the fastest boat on the water also corrects out ahead of the field, it says plenty about how Carrera 3 handled whatever the day threw at her.

The real contest played out in the group immediately behind. Perfect Alibi, Panama Jack, Scarlet Fever, and Hot Property were covered by just over nine minutes on corrected time, making for a hard-fought battle across all four boats. The tightest moment came between Scarlet Fever and Hot Property, separated by a single second after correction, two well-matched designs split by the narrowest of margins at the end of a demanding race.

Further back, Motorboat, measuring 7.9 metres, lost more than eleven minutes on corrected time to Hot Property, the gap to the front group widening as conditions tested the smaller hull. Chico Too, raced single-handed since 2001, finished last on corrected time. Given what the fleet faced, completing the course was a result in itself.

Across the division as a whole, the handicap system did its job through the midfield, though the faster, longer boats at the front were clearly favoured by the conditions.

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In the over 9.5-metre division, Another Duchess left no doubt from the outset. The Davidson 55, skippered by Evan Davies, crossed the finish line first on elapsed time in 1 hour 31 minutes 15 seconds, then corrected out to take the race by just 44 seconds. That slim margin represented a strong return given her handicap figure of 1.008, which placed a considerable burden on the result.

Nigel Hendy's Nirvana, a Dufour 45e, crossed the line nearly twenty minutes behind Another Duchess on elapsed time but remained firmly in contention once the numbers were applied, finishing less than a minute back on corrected time. Second place was well earned. Peter Cunningham's Ticketty Boo, a J Boat J112 E, followed just over a minute and a half after Nirvana on elapsed time and sailed a composed, consistent race to secure third on handicap.

Flojo, the 1940 Elliott 44 skippered by Gary Vogels, rounded out the division in fourth on corrected time. She stayed competitive throughout and finished just over three minutes behind Another Duchess after handicap was applied. In conditions as demanding as these, that gap was a narrow one.

Another Duchess converted her pace advantage into a deserved victory in the over 9.5-metre division, while the boats behind her were tightly grouped, the final order shaped less by outright speed than by how cleanly each crew managed the day.

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