The Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race 2025 is co-hosted by the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) and Royal Akarana Yacht Club (RAYC) and sponsored by Harken and Palm Beach Motor Yachts. The fleet is well underway across the Tasman, with competitors experiencing a wide range of fortunes since the start.
RPAYC Commodore Rob McClelland entered his Jeanneau 57 First Picasso in the event's newly introduced Rally for Cruisers Division, which gave those competitors a full week's head start over the main racing fleet. The crossing had been going well until this week, when an engine failure just 111 nautical miles short of the Auckland finish line forced McClelland to divert into the Bay of Islands.
Speaking this morning, McClelland was matter-of-fact about the situation. "Tuesday, the engine ceased on us, so we pulled into the Bay of Islands," he said. "It's going to take, I don't know how long, to repair, so we'll drive to Auckland tomorrow and leave the boat at the marina. These things happen."
The engine trouble aside, McClelland had plenty of good to say about the passage itself. "We've had a fantastic trip. We motored for the first 16 hours — that's allowed under the Rally rules — then Monday we ran into 45 knots and went down to a triple-reefed main only. We were in that for 24 hours. The next day we were in shorts and T-shirts having champagne and hors d'oeuvres. It was a first crossing for everyone except Virginia (my wife) and me, and everyone said how different each day was."
The main racing fleet departed Sydney Harbour at 1 pm yesterday and is pressing eastward in fresh but manageable conditions. Crews aboard Cooloola and Frantic reported lively sailing through the opening stages of the 1,250-nautical-mile course.
