Chicago-based owner Bryon Ehrhart has confirmed the entry of Lucky, the 88-foot Juan Kouyoumdjian-designed maxi, in the Harken-sponsored Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race (S2A). Co-hosted by Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and Royal Akarana Yacht Club, the S2A has attracted one of offshore racing's most decorated vessels. Formerly known as Rambler 88, Lucky has accumulated line honours, overall victories, and offshore records across the world's most prestigious circuits, placing her among the most respected maxis competing today.
Ehrhart, sailing under the burgee of New York Yacht Club, said the race had been on his agenda since it first ran in 2023. "Lucky is very much looking forward to joining the race to Auckland from Sydney and thanks to the yacht club for organising such an interesting race. We've wanted to do it for years," he said.
The entry sets up what promises to be a compelling line honours contest. Queensland's Grant Wharington will campaign the 100-footer Wild Thing, a yacht with serious big-race credentials, though a recently installed rig means the 1250-nautical-mile S2A course will present a genuine examination of the package. Wharington has claimed multiple Sydney Hobart line honours, and with both boats capable of pushing hard across the Tasman, the duel is finely balanced. Fast reaching conditions would suit Lucky particularly well, and on the right passage she could threaten the S2A race record of 5d 3h 37m 57s, set by Antipodes in 2023.
Lucky's record in the water speaks for itself. Launched in 2014 and built entirely from carbon fibre, she was conceived to go wheel to wheel with the 100-footers for line honours and course records. Her design combines a canting keel with long daggerboards and a deep chine, earning her a reputation as a reaching monster. In 2025 alone, her results list has grown rapidly: Monohull line honours and a new record of 7d 20h 34m 41s in the RORC Transatlantic Race, victory in the Caribbean 600, and the Barn Door Trophy in the Transpac, where she posted the fastest elapsed time in that trophy's history at 5d 21h 23m 49s.
Australasian waters are not unfamiliar territory. Racing as Rambler 88, she crossed the Sydney Hobart finish line third in 2015 after a fierce battle with Comanche and Ragamuffin 100. That campaign drew an experienced international crew, including Kiwi tactician Brad Butterworth, Brazilian helmsman Joca Signorini, Kiwi crew boss Dean Phipps, and Spanish navigator Juan Vila.
One of the more distinctive aspects of Ehrhart's programme is a structured youth development pathway running alongside the racing campaign. Shore manager Daniel Hedges oversees a rotating group of up to six American sailors aged under 30, who train shoreside before coming aboard. "The success of this programme is that the youths move into other ocean racing ventures after their time with Lucky," Hedges said. "It's a stepping stone." Several of those young sailors will join Lucky in New Zealand, where the yacht will also contest the PIC Coastal Classic before crossing back to Australia for the 80th Sydney Hobart.
For Ehrhart personally, the S2A represents his first major ocean race starting from Sydney, though his connection to the city stretches back around 30 years to a week-long training course he completed there early in his offshore career. For Lucky, the 1250-nautical-mile passage to Auckland is simply the next chance to show why she ranks among the most capable maxis racing anywhere in the world.
The Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race gets underway at 1pm on 11 October 2025, from Sydney Harbour. With Lucky and Wild Thing both on the start line, the line honours battle alone makes this year's edition a trans-Tasman contest worth watching.
