Few offshore events balance genuine challenge with broad appeal, but the Doyle Sails Cavalli Islands Race, running 28 to 30 November 2025, makes a strong case. The race follows in the wake of Royal Akarana Yacht Club's Akarana 350, which debuted in 2018 as a demanding 350 nautical-mile circuit taking crews from Auckland through the Bay of Plenty and home again. The new event refines that concept, trimming the distance while keeping every bit of the original's grit.
Competitors can choose between two courses. The long course covers 275 nm, departing and finishing off Ōrākei with a route that sweeps past the Poor Knights and Cavalli Islands. The short course is a more compact 125 nm, rounding Sail Rock and Channel Island before returning to Auckland. The long course also qualifies crews for the 2026 Doyle Sails Round North Island Race, drawing in shorthanded specialists who need to build their offshore credentials before that larger challenge.
The entry list spans a wide spectrum of experience and vessel type, from polished offshore programmes to seasoned short-handed campaigners.
Equilibrium, Graham Matthews' Botin Carkeek 55, is the headline name on the long course. The yacht retired from the 2025 PIC Coastal Classic but has since found her stride, currently leading the Doyle Sails Gold Cup line-honours standings. A genuine light-air performer backed by a professional-level programme, Equilibrium will be the boat to beat if conditions favour the bigger yachts.
Motorboat III, Damon Jolliffe's Thompson 1150, also heads to the start line carrying some unfinished business after her own Coastal Classic retirement. The multihull Oceans Tribute, skippered by Guy Chester and representing Australia's Tinaroo Sailing Club, brings solid endurance pedigree to the fleet. Her 21st overall finish in this year's Coastal Classic confirms she can sustain competitive pace when conditions turn demanding.
The shorthanded division amounts to a concentrated gathering of SSANZ regulars. Motorboat II, the Elliott 1050 campaigned by Alan Quere, lines up alongside Ryan McCready's Ross 914 Physical Favours, John Seely's Ross 10.66 Higher Ground, and Kick, another Elliott 1050 in the hands of Brendan Sands. All four delivered creditable Coastal Classic results, and their collective familiarity with the changeable conditions across the Hauraki Gulf and Northland waters gives them an edge that raw boat speed alone cannot replicate.
Rounding out the entry, Whichway adds an interesting wildcard to the long-course mix. Bruce Gault's Davidson 52 is a thoroughbred racer whose waterline length could see her apply real pressure to Equilibrium on corrected time, particularly if offshore breeze materialises.
For Royal Akarana Yacht Club, the Cavalli Islands Race deepens an already proud tradition in endurance racing, while Doyle Sails' continued backing reinforces Auckland's standing as New Zealand's centre of long-distance offshore competition.
A Dash Ocean Racing veteran reflecting on the original 2018 Akarana 350 probably put it best: "It's weird. The harder it is, the more I enjoy it." That feeling will be familiar to everyone on the start line off Ōrākei when the gun fires at 10 am on 28 November.
