Frantic leads the pursuit as the fleet fans out across the final stretch to Auckland, with the race behind the leader shaping into a compelling contest of its own.
Mick Martin's TP52 Frantic has rounded Cape Reinga and is tracking south along the Northland coast toward the Bay of Islands, Auckland now the only destination that matters. At 06:00 AEDT she was approximately 147 nautical miles from the finish, averaging just over ten knots VMG and on course to cross the line around 20:30 AEDT on 16 October. Sitting second on line honours and second in both IRC and PHS, Frantic has been consistent throughout, holding her own as a mid-sized design against a competitive fleet.
Hard on her heels, Geoff Hill's Antipodes has also cleared Cape Reinga and is pressing on at close to ten knots. The gap between the two boats sits at roughly 45 miles, close enough to keep the contest very much alive should conditions shift. Antipodes remains a serious contender for second on corrected time in the IRC division.
The battle at the front of the fleet has already been settled. The 88-foot Juan K-designed maxi Lucky finished early Tuesday morning with an elapsed time of 2 days 20 hours 27 minutes 7 seconds, a result that has rewritten the race record book. Few will threaten that benchmark for years to come.
The divisional standings tell the story of a race unfolding in distinct phases:
IRC Division
1 – Lucky (USA) – Finished – Corrected 5 d 9 h 30 m 2 – Frantic (AUS) – Est. 16 Oct 20:27 – 7 d 3 h 10 m 3 – Antipodes (AUS) – Est. 17 Oct 01:31 – 7 d 15 h 5 m 4 – Wings (AUS) – Est. 18 Oct 05:19 – 7 d 14 h 7 m
ORC Division
1 – Wings (AUS) – Corrected 8 d 7 h 54 m 25 s 2 – Cooloola (AUS) – Corrected 9 d 1 h 25 m 10 s
PHS Division
1 – Lucky (USA) – Corrected 5 d 5 h 36 m 34 s 2 – Frantic (AUS) – Corrected 7 d 0 h 53 m 9 s 3 – Antipodes (AUS) – Corrected 7 d 19 h 5 m 12 s
Further up the course, Wings and Cooloola are locked in their own private duel. Wings has stretched her lead across both ORC and PHS, averaging around eight knots over the past 24 hours, while Cooloola sits roughly sixty miles back. Closing that margin will require a shift in pressure, but the two have given the smaller-boat end of the fleet its own absorbing contest.
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North-westerlies of 15 to 20 knots are continuing to drive the fleet toward Auckland, and the sea state has eased from the rougher conditions encountered crossing the Tasman. With the wind holding, most of the remaining fleet should reach Auckland between Friday and Saturday, 17 and 18 October, drawing the curtain on one of the fastest Sydney to Auckland races ever run.
From Lucky's record-setting elapsed time through to Frantic and Antipodes trading blows mid-fleet, and Wings and Cooloola fighting out their own divisional honours, every crew has added a chapter to a trans-Tasman story built on endurance, teamwork and the particular reward that blue-water sailing delivers.
