Racing Group B produced one of the closest contests of Bay of Islands Sailing Week on Friday, with Race 6 underlining just how narrow the margins have become across line honours, EHC, and PHRF.
After starting at 10:35am, the fleet settled quickly into race mode as improving conditions rewarded boats that sailed cleanly and stayed disciplined. While the course allowed the fleet to stretch, it never truly broke apart, setting the scene for one of the closest handicap results of the regatta.
<h3>Daisy Duke back on the water after yesterday’s DNS</h3>
On the water, Daisy Duke again set the pace. Matt Gottard’s Shaw 7 stopped the clock in 1 hour 16 minutes 50 seconds, finishing more than 12 minutes clear of Mustang Sally and the remainder of the fleet. It was another commanding display from the small boat, quick off the line and untouchable once settled into her groove.
Behind her, the real fight unfolded. Mustang Sally crossed second in 1 hour 29 minutes 6 seconds, just 41 seconds ahead of Blackout, with The Farm a further 37 seconds back. From second through to eighth, seven boats were covered by less than five minutes of elapsed time, highlighting just how closely matched the middle of the fleet has become.
| Result | Boat name | Skipper | Elapsed time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DAISY DUKE | Matt Gottard | 01:16:50 | 1 |
| 2 | MUSTANG SALLY | Bob Still | 01:29:06 | 2 |
| 3 | BLACKOUT | Kevin Peet | 01:29:47 | 3 |
| 4 | THE FARM | Mike Bennett | 01:30:24 | 4 |
| 5 | APPARITION | Marcel Vroege | 01:31:53 | 5 |
| 6 | MEN AT WORK 3 | Hans Wehmeyer | 01:32:29 | 6 |
| 7 | RADIX | Paul Rudling | 01:33:15 | 7 |
| 8 | CHAIN REACTION | Graeme Lucas | 01:33:40 | 8 |
| 9 | MARGARITAVILLE | Finn Topzand | 01:35:08 | 9 |
| 10 | PHYSICAL FAVOURS | Ryan McCready | 01:37:57 | 10 |
| DNS | SNATCH | Hana Hielkema | — | 17 |
| DNC | AKATEA | Mark Malpass | — | 17 |
<h3>Late in the series, The Farm, steps up to win on handicap!</h3>
That compression came fully into play once handicaps were applied. Under EHC, The Farm claimed the race win on corrected time, finishing less than three minutes ahead of Apparition. Radix followed a closer nine seconds later, with Chain Reaction, Mustang Sally, Daisy Duke, and Blackout all finishing within a further two and a half minutes. From first to sixth on EHC, the spread was barely six minutes.
| Result | Boat name | Skipper | Corrected time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | THE FARM | Mike Bennett | 01:10:04 | 1 |
| 2 | APPARITION | Marcel Vroege | 01:13:03 | 2 |
| 3 | RADIX | Paul Rudling | 01:13:12 | 3 |
| 4 | CHAIN REACTION | Graeme Lucas | 01:14:45 | 4 |
| 5 | MUSTANG SALLY | Bob Still | 01:15:12 | 5 |
| 6 | DAISY DUKE | Matt Gottard | 01:16:18 | 6 |
| 7 | BLACKOUT | Kevin Peet | 01:16:30 | 7 |
| 8 | PHYSICAL FAVOURS | Ryan McCready | 01:16:42 | 8 |
| 9 | MARGARITAVILLE | Finn Topzand | 01:16:58 | 9 |
| 10 | MEN AT WORK 3 | Hans Wehmeyer | 01:17:47 | 10 |
| DNS | SNATCH | Hana Hielkema | — | 17 |
| DNC | AKATEA | Mark Malpass | — | 17 |
<h3>Apparition steps up on PHRF</h3>
PHRF tightened the picture even further. Apparition took the honours, but the top four were separated by just over two minutes on corrected time. Men At Work 3 and Chain Reaction were split by only two seconds, a margin that underlines how unforgiving the series has now become.
| Result | Boat name | Skipper | Corrected time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | APPARITION | Marcel Vroege | 01:13:30 | 1 |
| 2 | MUSTANG SALLY | Bob Still | 01:14:40 | 2 |
| 3 | BLACKOUT | Kevin Peet | 01:15:04 | 3 |
| 4 | MEN AT WORK 3 | Hans Wehmeyer | 01:15:39 | 4 |
| 5 | CHAIN REACTION | Graeme Lucas | 01:15:41 | 5 |
| 6 | RADIX | Paul Rudling | 01:16:45 | 6 |
| 7 | PHYSICAL FAVOURS | Ryan McCready | 01:19:09 | 7 |
| 8 | MARGARITAVILLE | Finn Topzand | 01:22:00 | 8 |
Race 6 sharpened Racing group B’s leaderboard. Daisy Duke continues to control the race tempo on the water, yet the handicap battle remains wide open. With non starts already influencing the standings for several contenders, the final race will decide the series.
