Four days and ten hours in, the fleet is girding itself for a fifth Tasman night. One skipper has made it home, another was brought to a standstill by a cloud, and the mid-fleet has served up its share of drama.
Race Management confirmed this afternoon that Bill Kidman is safely ashore, his Ross 12m Pretty Boy Floyd having returned to Opua. The news drew warm responses from those still at sea. Kevin Le Poideven, still out on the Tasman, was ready with a message: "Great job Bill. See you at SYC for storytelling." From Vixen Racing, Sharon Ferris-Choat kept it short: "Glad Bill is home safe."
The YellowBrick tracker places Glen Jeffery's Grand Soleil 50 Wave near the Three Kings Islands, roughly where Kidman was tracking yesterday evening. If that comparison holds, Wave should reach Opua sometime in the mid-to-late afternoon tomorrow.
Guy Chester gave the most vivid account of overnight conditions aboard his Crowther trimaran Oceans Tribute, calling it "a doozy of a night." A cockpit image he shared made the point plainly, and he spent a good part of this morning working through the clean-up task it revealed. He has now covered 1,019 NM, with 334 NM remaining to the finish and a projected arrival of 5 June at 17:01, tomorrow evening if conditions allow.
Ferris-Choat had one of the more dramatic days in the fleet. A cloud struck Vixen Racing this afternoon and stripped away all boat speed, dropping her from 35 knots to a complete standstill. Her subsequent course adjustment raised eyebrows on the tracker. "My course is a little bit south, it looks a bit stupid on the tracker, but it's what I need to do to try and get into the southerly that's coming up," she explained. By early evening the outlook had shifted considerably. "What a contrast to 12 hours ago," she said. The hours in between were spent working the boat hard against two knots of current before she could get moving again. She rounded out the day with a baby wipe bath and a change of clothes.
The mid-fleet story of the day centred on Ben Ball and his Cavalier 36 Camellia. His update from the previous evening was grim: "Spent two hours bailing. Feeling quite broken after that." The anchor locker had not been draining, overflowed into the hold, and put half a ton of water into the cabin. Ball was blunt about where the fault lay: "My own f----p." This morning told a different story. "Awesome sailing today. Blasting along at 7 knots. Catnip and Nautilass are just behind me. Both much faster boats, so that's pretty cool after four days of racing. The ocean is staying outside the boat today."
Ball's account of a tight mid-fleet cluster was confirmed by Geoff Thorn aboard the Beneteau First 45 Catnip, who sent through a chartplotter snapshot showing all three boats, Catnip, Terry Dunn's Nautilass and Camellia, on screen together after four days at sea. Dunn, Commodore of the Opua Cruising Club, checked in with a warm and reflective update. He recounted pulling his sails off in 50 knots while rounding the top on day one and sitting down for a cup of tea, then going through the same routine again when the wind disappeared shortly afterwards. His note to future competitors was straightforward: "Running out of tea bags is our biggest fault." He spoke warmly of the retired skippers, including Kidman, and singled out James Foster aboard Electron for particular admiration: "He's just smoking along. He's doing so good."
The fleet picture at 106 hours
Oceans Tribute continues to lead alone, 69 NM clear of Vixen Racing, a gap that has grown from 62 NM at the 11am update. Vixen sits 403 NM from the finish, with Foster's Mumby 48 catamaran Electron a further 34 NM back at 437 NM, a slightly wider margin than this morning. Malcolm Dickson's 55-foot Sarau and Peter Elkington's Young 11 Pacman hold fourth and fifth at 480 and 497 NM respectively, with Le Poideven's Open 40 Roaring Forty 23 NM further back at 520 NM but still clearly part of that leading group.
The mid-fleet trio of Camellia, Catnip and Nautilass are covered by just 17 NM, sitting at 639, 650 and 656 NM from the finish. Peter Bourke's S&S 8.7m Diablo and Peter Nobbs' B&G 36 Smoko trail more than 60 NM further back at 716 and 718 NM. Doug Esterman's Cavalier 39 Fair Seasons continues alone at 805 NM, with a projected finish date of 14 June.
| Pos | Boat | Class | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Est Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oceans Tribute | Trimaran | 334 NM | 1019 NM | 7.8 kts | 85 NM | 5 Jun 17:01 | 6d 5h 1m 5s |
| 2 | Vixen Racing | Monohull | 403 NM | 887 NM | 7.1 kts | 116 NM | 6 Jun 06:34 | 6d 18h 28m 51s |
| 3 | Electron | Catamaran | 437 NM | 860 NM | 6.8 kts | 108 NM | 6 Jun 14:22 | 7d 2h 22m 31s |
| 4 | Sarau | Monohull | 480 NM | 744 NM | 6.4 kts | 135 NM | 7 Jun 01:06 | 7d 13h 6m 44s |
| 5 | Pacman | Monohull | 497 NM | 725 NM | 6.2 kts | 129 NM | 7 Jun 05:38 | 7d 17h 32m 56s |
| 6 | Roaring Forty | Monohull | 520 NM | 683 NM | 6.0 kts | 134 NM | 7 Jun 12:28 | 8d 0h 22m 31s |
| 7 | Camellia | Monohull | 639 NM | 546 NM | 4.9 kts | 123 NM | 9 Jun 08:43 | 9d 20h 37m 15s |
| 8 | Catnip | Monohull | 650 NM | 564 NM | 4.8 kts | 113 NM | 9 Jun 13:27 | 10d 1h 21m 31s |
| 9 | Nautilass | Monohull | 656 NM | 568 NM | 4.7 kts | 105 NM | 9 Jun 16:22 | 10d 4h 16m 33s |
| 10 | Diablo | Monohull | 716 NM | 484 NM | 4.2 kts | 106 NM | 11 Jun 01:50 | 11d 13h 44m 4s |
| 11 | Smoko | Monohull | 718 NM | 478 NM | 4.1 kts | 99 NM | 11 Jun 03:17 | 11d 15h 11m 6s |
| 12 | Fair Seasons | Monohull | 805 NM | 432 NM | 3.3 kts | 100 NM | 14 Jun 00:03 | 14d 11h 57m 41s |
| — | Wave (retired — returning to NZ) | Monohull | — | |||||
| — | Pretty Boy Floyd (retired — safely back in Opua) | Monohull | — | |||||
| — | Robbery (retired — safely in Mangōnui) | Monohull | — | |||||
Provisional results. Last position update: 3 Jun 22:00 NZST. All times NZST. Multihulls shaded blue.
PHRF
The PHRF corrected standings look very different from this morning. Sarau has reclaimed the lead, recording a corrected elapsed time of 6d 0h 31m against Vixen Racing's 6d 8h 53m. That margin of 8 hours 22 minutes reverses the position at the 11am update, when Ferris-Choat had led on corrected time by 39 minutes. The turbulent afternoon aboard Vixen, which included a complete loss of wind, a battle against two knots of current, and an erratic track on the YellowBrick, has cost her corrected time that Dickson has been able to capitalise on. Camellia holds fourth on corrected time despite sitting seventh on the water.
| Pos | Boat | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarau | 0.798 | 480 NM | 744 NM | 6.4 kts | 135 NM | 7 Jun 01:06 | 6d 0h 31m 39s |
| 2 | Vixen Racing | 0.941 | 403 NM | 887 NM | 7.1 kts | 116 NM | 6 Jun 06:34 | 6d 8h 53m 40s |
| 3 | Pacman | 0.840 | 497 NM | 725 NM | 6.2 kts | 129 NM | 7 Jun 05:38 | 6d 11h 51m 40s |
| 4 | Camellia | 0.706 | 639 NM | 546 NM | 4.9 kts | 123 NM | 9 Jun 08:43 | 6d 23h 3m 16s |
| 5 | Roaring Forty | 0.919 | 520 NM | 683 NM | 6.0 kts | 134 NM | 7 Jun 12:28 | 7d 8h 47m 34s |
| 6 | Diablo | 0.660 | 716 NM | 484 NM | 4.2 kts | 106 NM | 11 Jun 01:50 | 7d 15h 18m 17s |
| 7 | Smoko | 0.685 | 718 NM | 478 NM | 4.1 kts | 99 NM | 11 Jun 03:17 | 7d 23h 14m 30s |
| 8 | Nautilass | 0.824 | 656 NM | 568 NM | 4.7 kts | 105 NM | 9 Jun 16:22 | 8d 9h 17m 0s |
| 9 | Catnip | 0.851 | 650 NM | 564 NM | 4.8 kts | 113 NM | 9 Jun 13:27 | 8d 13h 23m 46s |
| 10 | Fair Seasons | 0.696 | 805 NM | 432 NM | 3.3 kts | 100 NM | 14 Jun 00:03 | 10d 2h 10m 52s |
Provisional results. Last position update: 3 Jun 22:00 NZST. All times NZST.
NZ Multihull Handicap
Electron holds a clear corrected-time lead over Oceans Tribute. Foster's corrected elapsed time of 5d 16h 7m gives him a 7 hours 22 minute advantage over Chester's 5d 23h 30m. Chester's 24-hour distance made good has dropped to just 85 NM, reflecting the tough overnight conditions he described. Foster has extended his lead since the 6h 47m gap recorded this morning, and barring something dramatic on the run into Southport, the multihull handicap result looks settled.
| Pos | Boat | Class | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electron | Catamaran | 0.799 | 437 NM | 860 NM | 6.8 kts | 108 NM | 6 Jun 14:22 | 5d 16h 7m 47s |
| 2 | Oceans Tribute | Trimaran | 0.963 | 334 NM | 1019 NM | 7.8 kts | 85 NM | 5 Jun 17:01 | 5d 23h 30m 16s |
Provisional results. Last position update: 3 Jun 22:00 NZST. All times NZST.
