Damon Jolliffe and the Motorboat III crew crossed the finish line just west of the Auckland Harbour Bridge at 16:58 on Saturday 18 April, completing 531 nautical miles in 2 days, 5 hours, 58 minutes and 20 seconds.
They finished fourth on line honours, the last of the front four to cross. PHRF handicap told a very different story. A rating of 0.931 produced a corrected elapsed time of 2 days, 2 hours, 14 minutes and 53 seconds, lifting Jolliffe's Thompson 1150 to first on handicap at the time of finishing. The margin was substantial: more than 2 hours clear of Mr Kite II, nearly 3 hours ahead of Clockwork, and over 6 hours in front of Equilibrium on corrected time.
The passage was anything but straightforward. The crew launched proceedings with a start that would not have looked out of place at a SailGP event, pushed north through a night of reefed canvas, and had someone up the mast at dawn. Through all of it, the Red Bull breakfast clearly did its job.
From the first report off Cape Rodney to the final charge home past Cape Brett, Motorboat III sailed their own race on their own terms. Fourth across the line. First on handicap. Happy days indeed.
