Two more finish Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race, final two rounding Cape Reinga

Frantic’s hard-earned finish

Michael Martin’s Frantic crossed the finish line in Auckland just after midnight NZ time, taking second on line honours after Lucky. The Newcastle-based TP52 completed the 1,333-nautical-mile course in 5 days 12 hours 26 minutes — a superb effort in the fading breezes of Northland’s coast.

Speaking by phone shortly before arrival, Martin said the final night tested both patience and teamwork.

“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 the team were just south of Kerikeri, counting down the final 120 miles.

“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.”

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Antipodes follows in close company

Not far astern, Geoff Hill’s Antipodes — the Santa Cruz 72 representing Hong Kong — reached Auckland at about 5 am NZDT after an elapsed time of 5 days 16 hours 18 minutes. The crew maintained solid pace through the Tasman but were slowed in the final approach as winds collapsed overnight.

It’s been a strong return for Hill’s long-serving campaign, adding another successful Tasman crossing to Antipodes’ offshore résumé.

Wings and Cooloola rounding Cape Reinga

The final two yachts, Wings and Cooloola, are now rounding Cape Reinga and heading down towards the Bay of Islands.

Wings, a Reichel Pugh 46, leads the pair on the water with about 178 nautical miles to go this morning, making around 8 knots and estimated to finish early Sunday NZ time. The Swan 48 Cooloola trails by about 60 miles and continues to fight through the same patchy light airs.

Under corrected time, Wings currently leads the ORC division, with Cooloola second.

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Record and corrected standings

Lucky, Bryan Ehrhart’s Juan K-designed 88-footer, still holds the course record and every major corrected division. Her astonishing time of 2 days 22 hours 27 minutes has redefined what’s possible across the Tasman.

Provisional standings (NZ time):

Light finish ahead

Forecasts show a soft ridge lingering along Northland, with winds expected to remain variable through Friday before freshening from the north-east into Saturday. If the breeze arrives as models predict, Wings and Cooloola should reach Auckland by early Sunday morning, completing what has been a light-air, tactical edition of the Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race.