The 2025 Doyle Sails Cavalli Islands Race produced one of the tightest finishes in the event's short history. Just after 9.30am on Sunday, Motorboat III crossed the line off Orakei to claim line honours after almost two days of light-air pressure, tactical decisions, and relentless boat-on-boat competition. For a 2005 Thompson 1150 going up against boats with significantly greater waterline length, the result was hard earned.
Equilibrium arrived only minutes behind, with the trimaran Ocean's Tribute following very shortly after. For the vast majority of the course those three boats were rarely out of sight of one another. They traded metres through glassy calms, clawed for narrow pressure lanes, and shadowed each other from the Hauraki Gulf all the way north to the Cavalli Islands and back.
First introduced as an offshore warm-up ahead of next year's Round North Island, the Cavalli Islands Race has built a reputation quickly. It demands weather sense, boat-handling discipline, and genuine tactical thinking across a full coastal loop. The 2025 edition reinforced every bit of that.
The fleet got away to a gentle northerly at the 10am start on Friday. The early passage through the Rangitoto channels immediately sorted those who could hold a pressure line from those who couldn't. Equilibrium and Motorboat III moved to the front almost from the outset, while Ocean's Tribute carved her own course closer to the coast. In those conditions, reading the breeze mattered far more than raw boat speed.
By mid-afternoon the first real test arrived. Off Kawau and Whangarei Heads the wind dropped to one or two knots, sails going slack between fleeting puffs. Clean exits from each patch were everything. A boat that threaded through without stopping jumped ahead; one that stalled drifted straight back into the traffic. Through all of it Motorboat III kept pace with the larger hulls around her, an early sign of the fight she would carry through to the finish.
Night brought its own complications. Lightning flickered over the Bay of Islands while the breeze continued to disappoint. Kick reported slow going in the dark, and Ocean's Tribute found brief spurts of pace offshore before running into another windless patch. The pattern repeated throughout the night: a surge to six or seven knots, then an abrupt halt. By dawn the leading boats reached Cape Brett with far less separation than a full day of offshore sailing would normally produce.
Ocean's Tribute rounded the Cavalli mark first and opened a small gap, with Motorboat III and Equilibrium tucked in close behind. The decisive phase of the race was about to begin.
After the Cavallis the course freed up the homeward routing and the fleet's choices diverged. Ocean's Tribute committed to a bold easterly track, seeking height and cleaner air. Equilibrium and Motorboat III held a more central course, trading some distance for what they hoped would be more consistent pressure.
Skipper Guy Chester of Ocean's Tribute shared a telling update after finishing:
“Third with line honours… VMG running in under 10 knots, Equilibrium and Motorboat III slid past. Too many times we could have made a different decision with a different result.”
It captured the character of the back half of the race well. In those light conditions the angles were unforgiving. A slight sag in pressure or a late shift cost hundreds of metres immediately. A timely lift paid back just as quickly. The front three continued to converge and separate, again and again, without any of them pulling decisively clear.
By the early hours of Sunday the leading boats funnelled back into the Hauraki Gulf with only minutes between them. Equilibrium rounded Channel Island first, with Motorboat III and Ocean's Tribute following close behind, setting up a final sprint home in building morning breeze.
Through the Rangi Channel the wind climbed to nine or ten knots, and boats that had been drifting at walking pace up the Northland coast were suddenly moving at over 11 knots. Tracking the fleet from shore had rarely been more gripping. Motorboat III edged ahead on the approach to Orakei and crossed the line at 09:40:38 to win the 2025 Doyle Sails Cavalli Islands Race.
Equilibrium arrived minutes later, with Ocean's Tribute completing the three-way finish shortly after.
Further back, the chasing fleet had its own stories to tell. Brendan Sands' Elliott 1050 Kick came home fourth after one of the grittiest performances across the whole fleet. Bruce Gault's Davidson 52 Whichway crossed next, having blasted through the Rangi Channel at pace. Physical Favours, Higher Ground, and Carpe Diem all powered down the Gulf in the freshening breeze, rounding off a long but rewarding weekend offshore.
Two days of light air, patient boat handling, and close tactical racing. As a preview of what the Round North Island might deliver next year, the 2025 Doyle Sails Cavalli Islands Race has set a high bar.
