William Goodfellow and Jesse Turner complete a four-from-four clean sweep in a Kiwi-designed Elliott 50
Explore Racing, raced by William Goodfellow and Jesse Turner, has conclusively secured overall line honours in the 2026 Doyle Sails Round North Island Two Handed Yacht Race after completing a rare and emphatic clean sweep across the full circumnavigation.
The Elliott 50 not only finished the fourth and final leg first, but won line honours in every leg of the race. That achievement says plenty about the boat. It says just as much about the crew.
Designed by Greg Elliott and built by Salthouse, Explore Racing proved quick across a wide range of conditions. She was fast in the short opening leg north, resilient through the long Tasman haul south, efficient across Cook Strait and the Wairarapa coast, and clinical in the tactical final miles back into Auckland. Goodfellow and Turner matched that platform with disciplined offshore sailing, sharp positioning, and a clear understanding of when to press and when to protect.
Leg 1, Devonport to Mangōnui
The race began in Waitematā Harbour off Devonport Wharf, with 26 double handed crews heading north 154 nautical miles toward Mangōnui Harbour in Doubtless Bay.
From the outset Explore Racing looked quick. After clearing the Hauraki Gulf, the Elliott 50 settled into a fast working reach up the Northland coast, making the most of strengthening easterlies through the afternoon. By halfway, Goodfellow and Turner had already pushed to the front of the fleet on the water.
Behind them, the Thompson 11 sailed by Damon Jolliffe and Josh Tucker Motorboat III and the Verdier 40 sailed by Sharon Ferris-Choat and Taylor Edwards Vixen Racing were engaged in their own fight, while the rest of the fleet stretched north past Whangārei Heads. Overnight the breeze eased slightly approaching the Bay of Islands and Doubtless Bay, but Explore Racing never surrendered control.
At 12.47am on Sunday 1 March, Explore Racing crossed the Mangōnui finish line first with a provisional elapsed time of 14 hours 47 minutes 38 seconds, taking line honours for Leg 1.
It was a statement opening. The time was faster than the winning elapsed times recorded in several previous editions, immediately underlining the pace of the boat and the efficiency of the crew. The handicap story was different, with Motorboat III taking the provisional PHRF win, but on elapsed time the first message of the race was simple. Explore Racing was the boat to catch.
Leg 2, Mangōnui to Queen Charlotte Sound
Leg 2 was the long one—480 nautical miles—and in many ways the hardest. From Mangōnui the fleet headed around North Cape, down the Tasman coast and into Queen Charlotte Sound, a passage demanding stamina, patience and sound tactical judgement over several days.
Once again Explore Racing showed strong early pace. Goodfellow and Turner led out of Mangōnui, rounded North Cape first, and turned west along the top of the North Island with Motorboat III close behind. The crucial question soon emerged. How far west should crews go into the Tasman, and how much direct mileage were they willing to give away for better pressure and cleaner angles?
Explore Racing committed to the wider offshore option. At times they were the westernmost of the leading group. Early on that did not always look like the winning move. Motorboat III, holding a more coastal line, repeatedly closed in and at times appeared to have taken the lead on the water.
The first night was bruising. Strong southerlies built down the west coast, gusting well into the thirties, with seas beyond three metres. It was a hard test for every crew in the fleet. Through that rough phase Explore Racing stayed in touch, then worked back into the race. By Tuesday evening the Elliott 50 had retaken the elapsed lead, though only just, with five nautical miles separating the two front runners.
As conditions eased, the race became more tactical. Explore Racing adjusted back toward the coast after spending time wide offshore, and by Wednesday morning that repositioning had paid off. The Elliott 50 had opened a clear lead on the water and remained in control as the fleet approached New Plymouth, Cape Egmont and eventually Cook Strait.
The final approach became a genuine sprint. At midday on Thursday, Explore Racing still led, but Motorboat III was only a mile further back from the finish. After more than three days at sea, the line honours margin would be measured in minutes.
At 2.31pm on Thursday 5 March, Explore Racing crossed the Leg 2 finish line first at Motuara Island in 3 days 5 hours 31 minutes 42 seconds, securing its second straight line honours win.
The margin over Motorboat III was just 9 minutes 51 seconds. On corrected time, however, the offshore miles hurt. Explore Racing ended the leg 20th overall on PHRF, a reminder that the Elliott 50’s mission was line honours, not handicap preservation.
Leg 3, Tory Channel to Napier
After the long slog south, Leg 3 was shorter but more compressed, a 220 nautical mile run from Tory Channel, across Cook Strait, and up the lower east coast of the North Island to Napier.
Explore Racing was immediately back where it had become most comfortable, right at the front. Within the first hour the Elliott 50 had moved into the lead ahead of Whichway and Motorboat III. Through the short, steep seas leaving the Sounds and into Cook Strait, Goodfellow and Turner handled the transition cleanly.
Once around the south western corner of the North Island, Explore Racing began to extend. By late afternoon the boat had turned north east up the Wellington coast and was leading on the water, with Motorboat III, Vixen Racing, and the Davidson 52 raced by Bruce Gault and Craig McMillan Whichway organising the chase.
By Monday evening the margin was already becoming meaningful. Explore Racing had rounded the bottom of the North Island and was tracking north up the Wairarapa coast with 157 nautical miles still to sail. The black sail could later be seen approaching Napier under grey Hawke Bay skies, drawing attention from locals and visitors watching from shore.
At 10.57am on Tuesday 10 March, Explore Racing crossed the finish line off Napier in an elapsed time of 21 hours 57 minutes 36 seconds, taking line honours for the third leg in a row.
The fight behind was far more dramatic than the one at the front. Motorboat III and Vixen Racing arrived hours later and only minutes apart. On corrected time Explore Racing was again penalised by outright speed, finishing third overall on PHRF for the leg. Even so, the pattern was now unmistakable. Three starts, three line honours wins.
Leg 4, Napier to Auckland
The final 367 nautical mile leg back to Auckland was the most tactical and perhaps the most revealing. The fleet left Napier knowing the route north toward East Cape and back through the Hauraki Gulf would reward smart positioning as much as raw speed.
From early in the leg Explore Racing held one of the more easterly positions in the fleet, pressing offshore while others experimented with northerly and coastal lanes. As the fleet rounded Mahia Peninsula, the Elliott 50 was first into the turn and maintained the line honours lead into more exposed water.
Through the run north of Gisborne and toward East Cape, Explore Racing continued to favour the easterly track. By Saturday afternoon the boat was the most northerly and easterly in the fleet, sitting well offshore south east of East Cape Lighthouse. It was an assertive position, though by then boats such as the Cookson 47, High 5 sailed by Bernie Hyde and Thomas Hyde, General Lee, a Bakewell-White 37 sailed by Cameron Thorpe and Tim Holgate, and later Motorboat III were applying pressure on other lines.
Coming around East Cape and into the Bay of Plenty, Motorboat III appeared to have the upper hand on elapsed time. But Explore Racing stayed close enough to strike. By Sunday afternoon Goodfellow and Turner had found Colville Channel first and led the fleet into the final stretch. Soon after, both Explore Racing and Motorboat III had rounded the top of the Coromandel and were through the Channel with less than twenty minutes between them.
The final decision came in the Hauraki Gulf. Both boats chose the high route, sailing toward Tiritiri Matangi Island before turning south through the gap between Rangitoto and the North Shore. It was Explore Racing that converted the move into a winning run home.
At 6.45pm on Sunday 15 March, Explore Racing crossed the finish line near the Auckland Harbour Bridge in an elapsed time of 2 days 5 hours 45 minutes 21 seconds, sealing line honours for Leg 4.
That was the fourth win from four starts.
Four from four
The final leg may have been the most tactical, but the overall story was already written. Explore Racing had come into the race with a clear goal, a well prepared boat, and a disciplined crew. Add sharp strategy and confident execution, and the result speaks for itself.
A Kiwi designed Greg Elliott 50. A Salthouse build. William Goodfellow and Jesse Turner sailing with consistency, patience and pace.
Four legs. Four line honours wins. Overall line honours for the 2026 Doyle Sails Round North Island Two Handed Yacht Race.
A remarkable campaign, and a deserved result.
