Michael Martin's Frantic slipped across the Auckland finish line just after midnight New Zealand time, claiming second on line honours behind Lucky. The Newcastle-based TP52 covered the 1,333-nautical-mile course in 5 days 12 hours 26 minutes, a genuine achievement given the fading winds that plagued the Northland coast in the closing stages.
Martin spoke by phone shortly before the boat arrived, describing a final night that had tested both patience and teamwork from his crew.
“We had a discussion on how we were going to move the boat to the finish line sitting on 1.5 knots,” he said. “We had a heated discussion on how we were going to sail and after involvement with my crew, we got it going — but we had a testing time through the light airs. A tough time but very rewarding.”
By Thursday morning, Frantic was positioned just south of Kerikeri with roughly 120 miles remaining.
“We’re on the New Zealand coast now and it’s sensational — it’s a beautiful place,” Martin said. “It was going to be a cold Guinness, but now I think it’ll be a warm shower first, a quick massage, deal with customs and then thank the guys who come down to the dock for a great race.”
Close behind, Geoff Hill's Antipodes reached Auckland at around 5 am NZDT after an elapsed time of 5 days 16 hours 18 minutes. The Santa Cruz 72, representing Hong Kong, had maintained solid pace across the Tasman before winds collapsed on the overnight approach to the finish. The result adds another successful Tasman crossing to Antipodes' offshore résumé.
With those three boats home, focus shifted to the final pair still at sea. Wings and Cooloola were rounding Cape Reinga and heading south towards the Bay of Islands.
The Reichel Pugh 46 Wings held the advantage on the water, sitting approximately 178 nautical miles from the finish and making around 8 knots. At that rate, an early Sunday arrival in New Zealand time appeared within reach. The Swan 48 Cooloola trailed by about 60 miles, both yachts picking through the same patchy light airs that had defined much of the race. In ORC corrected time, Wings led that division, with Cooloola second.
At the head of the fleet, Bryan Ehrhart's Juan K-designed 88-footer Lucky retained every major classification. Her time of 2 days 22 hours 27 minutes stands as the course record and has redefined what is possible on this passage. Lucky held line honours alongside the IRC and PHS corrected divisions.
Provisional standings, all in New Zealand time:
Line honours: Lucky (USA) 14 Oct 11:27 am NZDT; Frantic (AUS) 17 Oct 12:26 am NZDT; Antipodes (AUS) 17 Oct 5:06 am NZDT.
IRC corrected: Lucky (USA), Frantic (AUS), Wings (AUS).
ORC corrected: Wings (AUS), Cooloola (AUS).
PHS corrected: Lucky (USA), Frantic (AUS), Wings (AUS).
Weather models indicated a soft ridge lingering over Northland, with variable conditions expected to persist through Friday before winds freshened from the north-east into Saturday. If that pattern played out as forecast, Wings and Cooloola were on course to reach Auckland by early Sunday morning, completing a light-air, tactically demanding Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race.
