Racing returned after the Day 4 lay day with some of the best conditions of the regatta so far, and competition in several divisions is now almost too close to call.
In Multihull Division 0, the two Extreme 40s continue to trade blows at the top of the standings. Joel Berg's Hooligan (Qld) edged Paul Mitchell's Ullman Sails by just 14 seconds to take a one-point overall lead, with Mike Peberdy's Irens trimaran Rare Groove settling for third once again.
Berg was pleased with the day's racing. "It was a fantastic race. We got them (Ullman) – and they got us. We got them on the first leg; they got us back. There were lots of tacks from Pioneer Point up to White Rock, Paul (Ullman) led us all the way from Pioneer. There was around 10 boat lengths between us most the race and it got down to one boat length at times. Great conditions this year. We love coming up here, we love the other Extreme guys. It was a perfect day out and in the end the breeze was magic."
A New Zealand entry made its presence felt in Division 1. Graham Catley's Roger Hill 18.5m Cat-Ion won the day's race outright, finishing ahead of Troy Forrest's Mint and Steven Humphris' Stealth Mode. The top three overall remain unchanged, with Stuart Cox's Cut Snake still leading, but it was a strong showing from the Kiwi boat.
Catley was clearly delighted. "We have a really savage handicap, so we had to win by quite a lot to win and we did that, won by just over 11 minutes. For us coming from New Zealand, it was champagne sailing today, an unbelievably beautiful flat sea, blue sky, very scenic. Everyone told me I had to come and do this regatta and now I understand why. I might leave the boat here for 12 months and come back."
He also described how they got there. "We got a really good start, then we sailed up the channel to White Rock. The tacticians were sensational and we held onto our lead all the way back to the finish. We had a great day. The boys had the boat going really well."
In Division 2 multihulls, G'Nome (Terry Archer) flipped the overall standings by taking the race win nine minutes clear and now leads Intrigue by one point. Darren Simmonds' Trojan slipped into third, displacing Ray Martin's Beatrix from WA.
Don't Panic just keeps winning. Dave Davenport and Ken Stevenson's Bethwaite 89er has now posted four straight victories in Trailable and Sports Boats Division 1, and nobody has found an answer. Vivace sits six points back in second, with Mister Magoo taking third on the day.
Davenport put the boat's consistency plainly. "The boat gets up and goes easily. Julian Bethwaite has to be congratulated on for his attention to detail." He also noted: "I think we ended up going into the Passage behind Vivace – we don't seem to get that part right. But then we set up the kite and it was one gybe to the mark – the wind was in our favour."
Stevenson added: "It was only a short gybe into Bluff, Vivace had to do a longer one."
Davenport rounded things off: "We got around the course with no mishaps, so we were happy with that. It was a perfect beat to the end – a great day for the boat."
Stevenson closed with a note of gratitude. "Beautiful conditions. A big thank you to all volunteers. It takes a lot of work to run a regatta like this."
In Division 2, Dave McKay's Shaw 650 Black Betty (NSW) claimed the day's win from Jack Buchan's Melges 24 Two Fifteen (NSW) and Terry Riley's Viper 640 Fly (Qld). Overall, Burke Melia's Melges 24 No Mercy (NSW) holds a two-point lead over Two Fifteen.
McKay was pleased with the result. "We had about 12 knots, but the little boat we have gets up, she loves this breeze. We were doing 14s and 15s on the Little Black Betty. The breeze stayed better than it was supposed to. It was a very nice day out there. We had a good run with Mister Magoo. A nice sail and only three hours around the track – we're happy."
Ray Roberts' Team Hollywood has put four wins on the board from four starts in Rating Passage Division 1. The defending champion from the past two years shows no sign of slowing. In Rating Division 2, Paul Heyes' Road Runner won the day but Bruce McCraken's Ikon holds a two-point overall lead.
Conditions were better than the forecasters expected. Conflicting weather models suggested the breeze might not arrive in time for the scheduled 10am start, but it filled in on cue. Principal Race Officer Kevin Wilson sent the fleet through the Molles passage, turning at South Molle Island and returning to Pioneer Bay.
Competitors were asked to wear black armbands or black shirts on the water as a mark of respect for prominent Australian yachtsman Gordon Ketelbey, who passed away on 31 July. Ketelbey had competed at ABRW a handful of times, most recently in 2024 with his TP52 Zen, narrowly missing top spot when Team Hollywood took the division in the final race. The crew of David Aylward's My Way carried flowers to sea and scattered them in his honour.
Tomorrow is the penultimate day of racing.
