Auckland’s premier offshore passage racing series is back, with dates confirmed for the 2026/27 Doyle Sails Gold Cup Series and two significant new reasons to put it in the calendar.
The Gold Cup is a collaboration between four Auckland yacht clubs: Royal Akarana Yacht Club leads the series, alongside the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Richmond Yacht Club, and Bucklands Beach Yacht Club. Together they deliver five races across the Hauraki Gulf and beyond, covering more than 300 nautical miles of competitive sailing. The four opening races, the Spring Regatta, Roy McDell Trophy, Bean Rock Trophy, and Percy Jones Memorial, range from 35 to 48 nautical miles each. They build through the season and, more often than not, leave the series unresolved heading into the finale.
That finale is the Balokovic Cup: an 89-nautical-mile overnight race that has decided the Gold Cup at the death more times than anyone cares to count. Last season was no exception. Nigel Hendy and the crew of Nirvana came into the Balokovic holding a slender one-point lead on PHRF handicap, and left with the overall series title. On Line Honours, Equilibrium held firm ahead of Alegre, who was not racing, to take the series win. Both titles settled on the same February night.
This year, the Balokovic marks its 90th running. First contested in 1931, the race has a break for the war years in its history, but the tradition is unbroken in living memory. That milestone alone is reason enough for anyone who has raced it before to get back on the start line.
| Race | Host Club | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Spring Regatta | Richmond YC | Saturday 19 September |
| Roy McDell Trophy | RNZYS | Saturday 3 October |
| Bean Rock Trophy | Royal Akarana YC | Saturday 7 November |
| Percy Jones Trophy | BBYC | Saturday 5 December |
| Balokovic Cup | Royal Akarana YC | Friday 5 February |
New for this season is a dedicated shorthanded division, with its own scoring and prizes across the full series. Two-handed offshore racing has grown strongly in New Zealand, and the Gold Cup has always drawn crews willing to race proper passage distances short-handed. Those efforts will now be formally recognised at prizegiving. For those new to short-handed passage racing, the Gold Cup’s structure, four coastal legs followed by one overnight race, offers enough miles to test a two-person crew without the commitment of a longer distance event.
The full trophy list reflects the breadth of the series: the Rothmans Gold Cup for overall PHRF monohull, the Rothmans Silver Cup for overall Line monohull, the Nesbitt Trophy for the shorthanded series, and the Ivan Whale Trophy for multihull handicap. Individual race trophies are awarded for each of the five races.
Whether you are a keelboat regular chasing series points, a two-handed crew looking for a competitive home, or a multihull wanting to race against a mixed offshore fleet, the Doyle Sails Gold Cup Series has a place for you. Contact Royal Akarana Yacht Club for entry details.
