Three boats have either crossed the finish line at Southport or are within moments of doing so. Guy Chester got there first, arriving on Friday evening, followed by Sharon Ferris-Choat at noon on Saturday. James Foster is closing hard on the finish with a projected docking time of around 23:04 NZST, or 10pm Queensland time, making him third across the line.
Foster called in from his Mumby 48 catamaran Electron roughly half an hour before this update was written. He sounded exhausted but satisfied. During the final run to Southport, Electron hit 24.8 knots surfing down a wave, a new boat speed record, with the autopilot engaged and an alarm set to trigger at 20 knots. "The alarm goes off and it doesn't actually feel any different," he said. The wind came around onto a reach somewhere around midnight, and Electron took off, sitting on nines and tens, surfing through to twelves and thirteens, and reeling off 220 NM in 24 hours.
| Pos | Boat | Class | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electron | Catamaran | 0.799 | 17 NM | 1394 NM | 6.5 kts | 225 NM | 6 Jun 23:04 | 5d 23h 4m 51s |
| 2 | Oceans Tribute ✓ FINISHED | Trimaran | 0.963 | Finished | 1462 NM | — | 0 NM | 5 Jun 19:34 | 6d 1h 58m 6s |
Provisional results. NZ Multihull Yacht Club handicap system. Last position update: 6 Jun 20:30 NZST. All times NZST. Electron projected to finish tonight, approximately 23:04 NZST.
That run has shifted the standings. On the NZ Multihull Handicap, Electron now leads Guy Chester's Crowther Oceans Tribute on corrected elapsed time, 5d 23h 4m against Chester's 6d 1h 58m. When Foster crosses tonight, that result will be confirmed. The multihull handicap looks set to go to Electron.
| Pos | Boat | Class | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est / Actual Finish | Est / Actual Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oceans Tribute ✓ FINISHED | Trimaran | — | 1462 NM | — | 0 NM | 5 Jun 19:34 | 6d 7h 34m 36s |
| 2 | Vixen Racing ✓ FINISHED | Monohull | — | 1415 NM | — | 153 NM | 6 Jun 12:15 | 7d 0h 9m 4s |
| 3 | Electron | Catamaran | 17 NM | 1394 NM | 6.5 kts | 225 NM | 6 Jun 23:04 | 7d 11h 4m 30s |
| 4 | Pacman | Monohull | 100 NM | 1220 NM | 6.0 kts | 209 NM | 7 Jun 12:35 | 8d 0h 29m 20s |
| 5 | Sarau | Monohull | 101 NM | 1224 NM | 6.0 kts | 203 NM | 7 Jun 12:51 | 8d 0h 51m 30s |
| 6 | Camellia | Monohull | 292 NM | 982 NM | 4.9 kts | 139 NM | 9 Jun 07:25 | 9d 19h 19m 56s |
| 7 | Catnip | Monohull | 364 NM | 935 NM | 4.5 kts | 115 NM | 10 Jun 04:44 | 10d 16h 38m 15s |
| 8 | Nautilass | Monohull | 408 NM | 943 NM | 4.3 kts | 91 NM | 10 Jun 19:56 | 11d 7h 50m 34s |
| 9 | Diablo | Monohull | 467 NM | 816 NM | 3.9 kts | 87 NM | 11 Jun 18:59 | 12d 6h 53m 32s |
| 10 | Smoko | Monohull | 507 NM | 741 NM | 3.7 kts | 66 NM | 12 Jun 13:19 | 13d 1h 13m 57s |
| 11 | Fair Seasons | Monohull | 605 NM | 726 NM | 3.1 kts | 40 NM | 14 Jun 20:46 | 15d 8h 40m 55s |
| — | Roaring Forty (retired — Lord Howe Island) | Monohull | — | |||||
| — | Wave (retired — returned to Opua) | Monohull | — | |||||
| — | Pretty Boy Floyd (retired — safely back in Opua) | Monohull | — | |||||
| — | Robbery (retired — safely in Mangōnui) | Monohull | — | |||||
Provisional results. Last position update: 6 Jun 20:30 NZST. All times NZST. Multihulls shaded blue.
Away from Foster's impending finish, the most gripping contest on the tracker is the battle for fourth place between Peter Elkington's Young 11 Pacman and Malcolm Dickson's 55-foot Sarau. At the 9pm position update, just one nautical mile separated the pair, with 100 NM and 101 NM remaining to the finish respectively. The Race Committee put it plainly: "1 nautical mile separating these two — who will finish first? Sarau or Pacman!" That gap had already stretched to three nautical miles by the time the update was compiled, and both boats are projected to arrive tomorrow afternoon within minutes of each other. On line honours Pacman edges ahead, but on PHRF corrected time Sarau leads by more than three hours, posting 6d 9h 54m against Pacman's 6d 17h 41m. Sarau also leads Ferris-Choat's Vixen Racing on PHRF corrected time by approximately 4 hours 19 minutes, with her race now done. With 101 NM still to go and the wind up, Dickson is sailing hard.
| Pos | Boat | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarau | 0.798 | 101 NM | 1224 NM | 6.0 kts | 203 NM | 7 Jun 12:51 | 6d 9h 54m 3s |
| 2 | Vixen Racing ✓ FINISHED | 0.941 | — | 1415 NM | — | 153 NM | 6 Jun 12:15 | 6d 14h 13m 49s |
| 3 | Pacman | 0.840 | 100 NM | 1220 NM | 6.0 kts | 209 NM | 7 Jun 12:35 | 6d 17h 41m 26s |
| 4 | Camellia | 0.706 | 292 NM | 982 NM | 4.9 kts | 139 NM | 9 Jun 07:25 | 6d 22h 8m 40s |
| 5 | Diablo | 0.660 | 467 NM | 816 NM | 3.9 kts | 87 NM | 11 Jun 18:59 | 8d 2h 37m 44s |
| 6 | Smoko | 0.685 | 507 NM | 741 NM | 3.7 kts | 66 NM | 12 Jun 13:19 | 8d 22h 33m 51s |
| 7 | Catnip | 0.851 | 364 NM | 935 NM | 4.5 kts | 115 NM | 10 Jun 04:44 | 9d 2h 23m 55s |
| 8 | Nautilass | 0.824 | 408 NM | 943 NM | 4.3 kts | 91 NM | 10 Jun 19:56 | 9d 7h 59m 54s |
| 9 | Fair Seasons | 0.696 | 605 NM | 726 NM | 3.1 kts | 40 NM | 14 Jun 20:46 | 10d 16h 36m 9s |
Provisional results. Last position update: 6 Jun 20:30 NZST. All times NZST.
Ben Ball's day aboard Camellia unfolded across three position reports. The wind had finally backed this morning, putting Camellia on the right heading, though the going remained rough. "Still on the nose so seriously bumpy but we are going pretty fast, try to stay in front of the pesky Beneteaus," Ball reported. Two hours before this update the picture had improved: "on a reach now, still blowing 30 but it will start dying out, making great time." Then, an hour later, with waves above five metres, came a milestone. "Just about to click over to 300 miles — so I get a Drambuie. Second time today. That's fast for Camellia." Ball sits fourth on PHRF corrected time at 6d 22h 8m, with 292 NM still to run.
Kevin Le Poidevin has checked in from Lord Howe Island, where Roaring Forty is anchored following the structural forestay failure that ended his race. Reaching that anchorage proved nearly as punishing as the passage itself. He was unable to find an anchorage or a deep mooring for more than 24 hours, spending that time motoring up and drifting back down the island's lee side through squalls reaching 48 knots, picking his way around reefs in the dark. "Brutal," was his word for it. He finally managed to set a stern anchor at Neds Beach on Saturday afternoon, having gone without sleep for 36 hours. At the moment it all came apart, he had been surfing at 21 knots under four reefs and a heavy weather jib. He is now waiting on fuel to motor sail to Newcastle, watching the easterlies build again.
Further back in the fleet, Geoff Thorn's Beneteau First 45 Catnip and Terry Dunn's Nautilass are running together at 364 and 408 NM from the finish respectively, both projected to arrive on June 10. Peter Bourke's S&S 8.7m Diablo and Peter Nobbs' B&G 36 Smoko sit at 467 and 507 NM out, projecting for June 11 to 12. Doug Esterman's Cavalier 39 Fair Seasons brings up the rear at 605 NM, with a projected finish on 14 June.
Two boats are home, one is on the doorstep, and eight are still sailing. Tomorrow's update turns to Glen Jeffery and his Grand Soleil 50, Wave.
