Motorboat III wins the Doyle Sails Cavalli Islands Race 2025 after a tight 46-hour duel with Equilibrium and Ocean’s Tribute. A tactical coastal contest and a perfect RNI warm-up.
A finish worthy of a qualifier
The Doyle Sails Cavalli Islands Race 2025 delivered a finale as tight as any coastal classic. Just after 9.30am on Sunday, Motorboat III — the smallest of the three front-running boats — crossed the line off Orakei to claim line honours after almost two days of light-air pressure, tactical calls, and relentless boat-on-boat racing.
Behind them, Equilibrium arrived within minutes, followed by the trimaran Ocean’s Tribute very soon after. For most of the course the three boats seldom broke apart. They traded metres through glassy patches, slid past each other on narrow lanes of breeze, and spent long stretches sailing in sight from Whangarei to the Cavallis and back again.
It was the kind of finish this race was built for. First introduced as an offshore warm-up for next year’s Round North Island, the Cavalli race has quickly earned a reputation as a contest that tests boat speed, weather sense and discipline across a full coastal lap.
Doyle Sails Cavalli Islands Race brings Round North Island contenders north
From Orakei to the north
A gentle northerly greeted the fleet at Friday’s 10am start. The early exit through the Rangitoto channels set the tone: staying in a breeze line mattered more than raw horsepower. Equilibrium and Motorboat III established themselves at the front almost immediately, while Ocean’s Tribute sailed her own lane closer inland.
By mid-afternoon the first transition arrived. Boats sat in one to two knots of breeze off Kawau and Whangarei Heads, sails hanging limp between small puffs. The boat that made a clean exit from each patch jumped ahead; the one that stalled slid straight back into the pack. Through all of it Motorboat III held pace with the far larger boats around her, an early sign of the fight she would carry into the finish.
A long night to Cape Brett
As night fell, lightning flashed over the Bay of Islands and the wind faded again. Kick reported slow progress in the dark, while Ocean’s Tribute found brief pace offshore before falling into another calm patch. This became the pattern all night. Boats surged to six or seven knots, then stopped dead with no warning.
By dawn the front pack reached Cape Brett with less separation than you would expect after a full day at sea. Ocean’s Tribute rounded the Cavalli mark first and held a small lead, with Motorboat III and Equilibrium close behind. The race would turn on what happened next.
The call that shaped the race
After the Cavallis the course allowed boats to choose their lane home. Ocean’s Tribute took a bold easterly route, looking for height and clean breeze. Equilibrium and Motorboat III held a more central track with shorter distance and more pressure.
From multi-hull Ocean’s Tribute, skipper Guy Chester shared a telling update after finishing:
“Third with line honours… VMG running in under 10 knots, Equilibrium and Motorboat III slid past. Too many times we could have made a different decision with a different result.”
It summed up the back half of the race perfectly. In the light stuff the angles were unforgiving. A tiny sag in pressure or a late shift cost hundreds of metres. At the same time, catching a narrow lift paid immediately. Over and over the front three swapped places before locking together again.
The homeward drag race
By the early hours of Sunday the leading boats converged in the Hauraki Gulf, still within minutes of each other. Equilibrium rounded Channel Island first. Motorboat III and Ocean’s Tribute rounded soon after, setting up a final run home in building morning breeze.
Through the Rangi Channel the wind freshened to nine or ten knots. Boats that had crawled at walking speed up the Northland coast were suddenly skipping along at more than 11 knots. Tracking the fleet became genuinely exciting as the gap at the front opened to only slightly more than a sliver.
Finally, Motorboat III surged ahead enough to claim the lead into Orakei. At 09:40:38 they crossed the line to win the Doyle Sails Cavalli Islands Race 2025. It was a remarkable result for a 2005 Thompson 1150 racing against significantly larger waterline length.
Josh ‘booboo’ Tucker, Damon Jolliffe, Jacqui Jolliffe (Damon’s wife and co owner) Garry Jolliffe (Damon brother), Chris ‘Chopper’ Beaumont. // Photo credit: Josh Tucker / Motorboat III
Minutes later Equilibrium arrived, followed by Ocean’s Tribute, completing a close three-way offshore fight.
The chasing pack
The next wave of finishers were equally determined. Kick, Brendan Sands’ Elliott 1050, came home in fourth after one of the grittiest performances of the race. Whichway, Bruce Gault’s Davidson 52, crossed next after blasting through the Rangi Channel at speed.
Behind them Physical Favours, Higher Ground and Carpe Diem powered down the Gulf with fresh breeze, completing a long but rewarding weekend on the water.
The 2025 Doyle Sails Cavalli Island race delivered a two-day lesson in patience, boat handling and weather reading. More than that, it offered a brilliant story for every sailor watching the tracker from home.
If the Cavalli race is a preview, then next year’s Round North Island will be one to remember.
