Heading home — the Three Kings fleet turns south

Clockwork says they will see us later today. Mr Kite II says they are coming in hot. Motorboat III is doing 18.5 knots with Red Bull for breakfast and the captain on the helm.

Nearly 48 hours into the Three Kings Offshore Yacht Race, the first four boats are on the home stretch, the racing is as tight as it has been at any point, and the handicap result is genuinely too close to call.

The front four are flying

Clockwork leads on line honours, sitting 61 nautical miles from the finish and tracking at 9 knots. Steve Mair’s Shaw 12 is currently about 25 nautical miles offshore of Ruakaka, running hard for home. Their morning message was brief and to the point: absolutely sending it home, not long to go now.

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But the handicap story is far more interesting. Despite leading on the water by 14 nautical miles over Mr Kite II, Clockwork sits third on PHRF corrected time. Motorboat III leads on handicap by a significant margin, their corrected elapsed of 2d 4h 55m giving them nearly two and a half hours over the next boat. The question is whether Damon Jolliffe’s crew can convert that paper lead into an actual finish advantage. With 84 nautical miles still to sail, that is not a foregone conclusion.

Motorboat III‘s morning reports have been characteristically energetic. An earlier sked had them nearly at Cape Brett with a beautiful kite ride underway from the Three Kings in a slowly building breeze. A later audio update captured the mood perfectly: 18.5 knots on the dial, Red Bull for breakfast, and the captain on the helm. “That’s why we’re flying,” came the explanation.

Race Tracker

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PHRF Results

Pos	Boat	Handicap	DTF	Dist Sailed	VMG	24h DMG	Est Finish	Est Elapsed	Corrected Elapsed
1	Motorboat III	0.931	84 NM	428 NM	8.5 kts	211 NM	18 Apr 19:50	2d 8h 50m 22s	2d 4h 55m 3s
2	Mr Kite II	0.995	75 NM	442 NM	8.7 kts	204 NM	18 Apr 18:38	2d 7h 38m 5s	2d 7h 21m 24s
3	Clockwork	1.030	61 NM	472 NM	9.0 kts	202 NM	18 Apr 16:45	2d 5h 45m 1s	2d 7h 21m 46s
4	Equilibrium	1.059	77 NM	438 NM	8.7 kts	209 NM	18 Apr 18:55	2d 7h 55m 4s	2d 11h 13m 1s
5	Higher Ground	0.888	169 NM	340 NM	6.7 kts	151 NM	19 Apr 11:10	3d 0h 10m 22s	2d 16h 5m 22s
6	Carpe Diem	0.778	222 NM	282 NM	5.6 kts	114 NM	20 Apr 01:47	3d 14h 47m 24s	2d 19h 31m 21s
7	Akonga	0.833	209 NM	299 NM	5.9 kts	120 NM	19 Apr 21:36	3d 10h 36m 0s	2d 20h 48m 21s

Positions as at 18 Apr 10:00 • All boats started 16 Apr 11:00 • DTF = Distance to Finish • Corrected Elapsed = Est Elapsed × Handicap

Mr Kite II and Clockwork are virtually tied on corrected elapsed time, separated by just 22 seconds after nearly two days of racing. Nathan Williams’ Cape 40 Mr Kite II sits 75 nautical miles from the finish, tucked in close to the coastline just off Tutukaka. Their morning report was brief: coming in hot. Equilibrium is 77 nautical miles out, also close to the Tutukaka coastline, just 2.2 nautical miles behind Mr Kite II on the water and currently in a close battle with them. Equilibrium‘s Botin/Carkeek 55 crew reported a great night’s sail, briefly touching 19 knots under A2 and full main, and noted a building tussle with Mr Kite II as the morning progressed. They plan to reduce sail for the final run home.

The tracker anomaly

One significant caveat hangs over the PHRF standings. Carpe Diem‘s YB tracker has been unreliable throughout the race, and the team is currently being tracked by AIS only. Rowan Smith’s Elliott 1060 Carpe Diem sits third on corrected time on current data, ahead of Equilibrium, but their actual position is uncertain. When the fleet finishes and times are confirmed, Carpe Diem‘s final handicap position could shift. It is the anomaly that may yet define the result.

The back three are heading home

The last three boats Higher Ground, Ākonga and Carpe Diem have all rounded the Three Kings Islands and turned for home, though they face a considerably longer journey back.

Higher Ground had a rough and tumble ride to the Kings but is now on a beautiful run south. John Seely’s crew are 169 nautical miles from the finish and, most importantly, are excited about stew for breakfast. On PHRF they sit fifth.

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Ākonga‘s night was the most eventful of the fleet. Around five miles from the Three Kings, the shackle on the head swivel of their roller furler broke, bringing the J1 to the deck. Nick Roberts’ crew rounded the Islands under full mainsail and storm jib, fixed what they could, and have since hoisted the A2 for the run home. Repairing the shackle is on the list for today. It is a setback but the crew sound entirely composed. Ākonga sits seventh on PHRF corrected time.

Carpe Diem summed up their night in nine words: rough night bashing upwind, but we’ve turned right. On AIS tracking they sit sixth on handicap, though that position remains subject to confirmation when the tracker situation resolves.

Where things stand

The first four boats are expected to finish today. On line honours the order heading into the final stretch is Clockwork, Mr Kite II, Equilibrium and Motorboat III. On handicap the order is Motorboat III, Mr Kite II, Clockwork, Equilibrium. With 22 seconds separating Mr Kite II and Clockwork on corrected time and Motorboat III‘s lead still to be defended over 84 nautical miles, this race is not over yet.