A fierce overnight weather system pushed back across the Tasman, and the fleet has been dealing with the fallout ever since. Sharon Ferris-Choat reported in from her Verdier 40 Vixen Racing with an update that captures exactly what these skippers are facing out there. "That lightning storm — we can see it disappearing over the back. So that was really awesome that we outran that one." The boat has seen 37 knots, and Ferris-Choat was unequivocal about wanting no more of it: "We don't need to see any more." A tow line deployed itself during the night and will need sorting, while her broader take on the conditions left little to the imagination: "This is on par with any [Rolex] Sydney to Hobart that I've done."
Kevin Le Poideven has had his hands full aboard his Lutra BOC Open 40 Roaring Forty, working through a pump issue as building seas added to the workload, though he appears to have held onto his sense of humour throughout. Constant 37-knot gusts touching 40 in the puffs, paired with a short-period 2-metre swell, have made for punishing conditions. He has found 7 knots to be the boat's preferred pace. "Any faster and launch velocity increases slamming on landing."
Guy Chester's overnight check-in from his Crowther trimaran Oceans Tribute was careful and considered. "To finish first, first you must finish. Just getting through the next 18 hours is the aim. No speed records — just keep the boat in one piece and moving." Passing Balls Pyramid, the world's tallest volcanic sea stack, located in the Pacific Ocean about 20 kilometres southeast of Lord Howe Island, in darkness required what he called a "grandpa gybe." Dinner was curry, a mandarin, and some chocolate earned as a reefing reward. With 366 NM still to cover, Oceans Tribute is projected to arrive at Southport tomorrow morning.
The atmosphere aboard Ben Ball's Cavalier 36 Camellia is a world away from some of the harder reports elsewhere in the fleet. "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 4 days of racing. The ocean is staying outside the boat today." Four days down, plenty of bruises collected, and morale holding strong. Geoff Thorn, sailing his Beneteau First 45 Catnip, shared a chartplotter snapshot showing all three, Catnip, Terry Dunn's Nautilass, and Camellia, visible on screen together, separated by very little water after hundreds of miles of racing.
The fleet picture at 95 hours
Oceans Tribute leads the fleet outright, 62 NM clear of Vixen Racing, in a race that has settled into five distinct groups. Ferris-Choat's Vixen sits 428 NM from the finish, with James Foster's Mumby 48 catamaran Electron in third, 37 NM further back, a gap that has opened slightly since the last update. Group three brings Malcolm Dickson's 55-foot Sarau, Peter Elkington's Young 11 Pacman, and Le Poideven's Roaring Forty within 42 NM of each other on distance to finish, all three having crossed the halfway mark overnight. The fourth group is the tightest cluster in the fleet: Ball's Camellia at 703 NM from the finish, Thorn's Catnip 3 NM back at 706 NM, and Dunn's Nautilass at 713 NM, followed by Peter Nobbs' B&G 36 Smoko at 772 NM and Peter Bourke's S&S 8.7m Diablo at 775 NM. At the back, Doug Esterman's Cavalier 39 Fair Seasons sails alone, 88 NM behind Diablo.
| Pos | Boat | Class | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Est Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oceans Tribute | Trimaran | 366 NM | 935 NM | 8.3 kts | 130 NM | 5 Jun 06:54 | 5d 18h 54m 22s |
| 2 | Vixen Racing | Monohull | 428 NM | 827 NM | 7.7 kts | 140 NM | 5 Jun 18:40 | 6d 6h 34m 37s |
| 3 | Electron | Catamaran | 465 NM | 805 NM | 7.3 kts | 117 NM | 6 Jun 02:54 | 6d 14h 54m 51s |
| 4 | Sarau | Monohull | 541 NM | 671 NM | 6.5 kts | 139 NM | 6 Jun 22:22 | 7d 10h 22m 28s |
| 5 | Pacman | Monohull | 551 NM | 664 NM | 6.4 kts | 142 NM | 7 Jun 01:06 | 7d 13h 0m 7s |
| 6 | Roaring Forty | Monohull | 583 NM | 613 NM | 6.1 kts | 137 NM | 7 Jun 11:11 | 7d 23h 5m 13s |
| 7 | Camellia | Monohull | 703 NM | 479 NM | 4.8 kts | 114 NM | 9 Jun 13:52 | 10d 1h 46m 57s |
| 8 | Catnip | Monohull | 706 NM | 506 NM | 4.8 kts | 109 NM | 9 Jun 15:19 | 10d 3h 13m 35s |
| 9 | Nautilass | Monohull | 713 NM | 504 NM | 4.7 kts | 109 NM | 9 Jun 19:27 | 10d 7h 21m 14s |
| 10 | Smoko | Monohull | 772 NM | 422 NM | 4.1 kts | 84 NM | 11 Jun 09:08 | 11d 21h 2m 15s |
| 11 | Diablo | Monohull | 775 NM | 424 NM | 4.0 kts | 104 NM | 11 Jun 11:06 | 11d 23h 0m 44s |
| 12 | Fair Seasons | Monohull | 863 NM | 373 NM | 3.1 kts | 89 NM | 15 Jun 01:05 | 15d 12h 59m 46s |
| — | Wave (retired — returning) | Monohull | — | |||||
| — | Pretty Boy Floyd (retired — returning to Opua) | Monohull | — | |||||
| — | Robbery (retired — safely in Mangōnui) | Monohull | — | |||||
Provisional results. Last position update: 3 Jun 11:00 NZST. All times NZST. Multihulls shaded blue.
Six boats have now crossed the halfway mark: Oceans Tribute, Vixen Racing, Electron, Sarau, Pacman, and Roaring Forty all did so overnight. Of the six still to come, Camellia may reach the mark today, while Catnip, Nautilass, Smoko, Diablo, and Fair Seasons all have it still ahead of them.
Glen Jeffery's Grand Soleil 50 Wave, the third retirement after Graeme Francis on Robbery and Bill Kidman on Pretty Boy Floyd, has moved past nearly the entire fleet on the tracker as she heads back to New Zealand, with only Fair Seasons still behind her.
PHRF and NZ Multihull Handicap (NZ Multihull Yacht Club)
Vixen Racing has taken a clear PHRF corrected time lead, her time now showing 5d 21h 41m against Sarau's 5d 22h 20m. That margin of 39 minutes has grown sharply from just 3 minutes at 22:00 the previous night, with Ferris-Choat's pace in the returning breeze the deciding factor. Camellia continues to hold fourth on corrected time, her 0.706 handicap keeping her competitive despite sitting seventh on the water.
| Pos | Boat | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vixen Racing | 0.941 | 428 NM | 827 NM | 7.7 kts | 140 NM | 5 Jun 18:40 | 5d 21h 41m 34s |
| 2 | Sarau | 0.798 | 541 NM | 671 NM | 6.5 kts | 139 NM | 6 Jun 22:22 | 5d 22h 20m 34s |
| 3 | Pacman | 0.840 | 551 NM | 664 NM | 6.4 kts | 142 NM | 7 Jun 01:06 | 6d 8h 2m 30s |
| 4 | Camellia | 0.706 | 703 NM | 479 NM | 4.8 kts | 114 NM | 9 Jun 13:52 | 7d 2h 41m 54s |
| 5 | Roaring Forty | 0.919 | 583 NM | 613 NM | 6.1 kts | 137 NM | 7 Jun 11:11 | 7d 7h 36m 32s |
| 6 | Diablo | 0.660 | 775 NM | 424 NM | 4.0 kts | 104 NM | 11 Jun 11:06 | 7d 21h 25m 41s |
| 7 | Smoko | 0.685 | 772 NM | 422 NM | 4.1 kts | 84 NM | 11 Jun 09:08 | 8d 3h 15m 2s |
| 8 | Nautilass | 0.824 | 713 NM | 504 NM | 4.7 kts | 109 NM | 9 Jun 19:27 | 8d 11h 49m 11s |
| 9 | Catnip | 0.851 | 706 NM | 506 NM | 4.8 kts | 109 NM | 9 Jun 15:19 | 8d 14h 59m 8s |
| 10 | Fair Seasons | 0.696 | 863 NM | 373 NM | 3.1 kts | 89 NM | 15 Jun 01:05 | 10d 19h 36m 19s |
Provisional results. Last position update: 3 Jun 11:00 NZST. All times NZST.
Under NZ Multihull Handicap (NZ Multihull Yacht Club), James Foster's Electron has stretched its corrected time lead over Chester's Oceans Tribute to 6 hours 47 minutes, the respective times standing at 5d 6h 58m and 5d 13h 46m. Chester had been closing that gap over the previous 24 hours, but the two multihulls are now sailing through markedly different conditions and the corrected time is pulling apart once more.
| Pos | Boat | Class | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electron | Catamaran | 0.799 | 465 NM | 805 NM | 7.3 kts | 117 NM | 6 Jun 02:54 | 5d 6h 58m 21s |
| 2 | Oceans Tribute | Trimaran | 0.963 | 366 NM | 935 NM | 8.3 kts | 130 NM | 5 Jun 06:54 | 5d 13h 46m 0s |
Provisional results. Last position update: 3 Jun 11:00 NZST. All times NZST.
