Five boats are home. Four have retired. Six are still racing across the Tasman, and the PHRF standings are shifting.
The headline is Ben Ball. His Cavalier 36 Camellia, the boat that earlier in this race leaked half a ton of water into his cabin, that spent day after day unable to point in the right direction, whose skipper has been bruised, soaked and beaten up for the better part of two weeks, has climbed to third on PHRF corrected time. Third. Just 32 minutes behind Peter Elkington’s Pacman in second and just 34 minutes ahead of Sharon Ferris-Choat’s Vixen Racing in fourth. As I write, Ball is 121 NM from the finish, still sailing hard. “They will have to try hard to get me now,” he said an hour ago. “Wind has dropped heaps so still possible. I’ve got three sails up. Making banana bread and cleaning up the boat. Probably averaging seven and a half, squirts up to nine.” He has sailed 1,155 NM in a boat that turned the same age as its skipper and might reasonably be described as a modern classic. His 0.706 handicap keeps doing its work.
Fifty years in the making: Ben Ball’s Solo Trans-Tasman dream
Could Camellia climb higher? Second place on PHRF is 32 minutes away. It is possible. Could she threaten Sarau for first? Malcolm Dickson’s corrected time of 6d 4h 56m is 8 hours 43 minutes ahead. I’m erring on the side of probably not, but this race has given all sorts of surprises. But that second is worth watching the tracker for as Camellia gets closer and closer to the finish line.
| Pos | Boat | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | 24h DMG | Est / Actual Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarau ✓ | 0.798 | — | 1329 NM | 101 NM | 7 Jun 06:38 | 6d 4h 56m 35s |
| 2 | Pacman ✓ | 0.840 | — | 1330 NM | 100 NM | 7 Jun 07:09 | 6d 13h 7m 24s |
| 3 | Camellia ↑ | 0.706 | 121 NM | 1155 NM | 171 NM | 8 Jun 19:24 | 6d 13h 39m 17s |
| 4 | Vixen Racing ✓ ↓ | 0.941 | — | 1415 NM | 0 NM | 6 Jun 12:15 | 6d 14h 13m 49s |
| 5 | Diablo | 0.660 | 327 NM | 959 NM | 140 NM | 11 Jun 02:44 | 7d 15h 54m 8s |
| 6 | Smoko | 0.685 | 369 NM | 881 NM | 139 NM | 11 Jun 17:22 | 8d 8h 53m 56s |
| 7 | Catnip | 0.851 | 186 NM | 1115 NM | 178 NM | 9 Jun 10:14 | 8d 10h 39m 11s |
| 8 | Nautilass | 0.824 | 230 NM | 1126 NM | 178 NM | 9 Jun 21:40 | 8d 13h 38m 54s |
| 9 | Fair Seasons | 0.696 | 483 NM | 854 NM | 122 NM | 13 Jun 19:21 | 9d 22h 54m 23s |
Provisional results. Last position update: 7 Jun 20:00 NZST. All times NZST. ↑ moved up, ↓ moved down. Full fleet results pending.
Terry Dunn called in from Nautilass, a long, generous, characteristically warm conversation about the whole experience. He has been battling the same autopilot gremlins that have plagued several boats in this fleet, trying to put the heat on Geoff Thorn’s Beneteau First 45 Catnip, and managing a boat that is light enough to get pinned on its side in the bigger squalls. “This thing is so light, it just gets pinned on its side and I can’t get the sails off.” He is exhausted, gun-shy of the night squalls, and full of admiration for everyone around him. Dunn on the race overall: “There’s been no peace at all. It’s not until now, where you can actually relax and let the boat run. Today is the only day I’ve really had that.”
Catnip and Nautilass remain in close company — 186 and 230 NM DTF respectively, a gap of 44 NM. Both posted 178 NM in 24 hours, matching each other almost exactly. Catnip projects a finish on 9 June, Nautilass on 10 June.
| Pos | Boat | Class | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est / Actual Finish | Est / Actual Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oceans Tribute ✓ | Trimaran | — | 1462 NM | — | — | 5 Jun 19:34 | 6d 7h 34m 36s |
| 2 | Vixen Racing ✓ | Monohull | — | 1415 NM | — | — | 6 Jun 12:15 | 7d 0h 9m 4s |
| 3 | Electron ✓ | Catamaran | — | 1415 NM | — | — | 6 Jun 22:43 | 7d 10h 43m 58s |
| 4 | Sarau ✓ | Monohull | — | 1329 NM | — | 101 NM | 7 Jun 06:38 | 7d 18h 38m 44s |
| 5 | Pacman ✓ | Monohull | — | 1330 NM | — | 100 NM | 7 Jun 07:09 | 7d 19h 3m 6s |
| 6 | Camellia | Monohull | 121 NM | 1155 NM | 5.2 kts | 171 NM | 8 Jun 19:24 | 9d 7h 18m 25s |
| 7 | Catnip | Monohull | 186 NM | 1115 NM | 4.9 kts | 178 NM | 9 Jun 10:14 | 9d 22h 8m 7s |
| 8 | Nautilass | Monohull | 230 NM | 1126 NM | 4.6 kts | 178 NM | 9 Jun 21:40 | 10d 9h 34m 24s |
| 9 | Diablo | Monohull | 327 NM | 959 NM | 4.2 kts | 140 NM | 11 Jun 02:44 | 11d 14h 38m 23s |
| 10 | Smoko | Monohull | 369 NM | 881 NM | 3.9 kts | 139 NM | 11 Jun 17:22 | 12d 5h 16m 59s |
| 11 | Fair Seasons | Monohull | 483 NM | 854 NM | 3.4 kts | 122 NM | 13 Jun 19:21 | 14d 7h 15m 23s |
| — | Roaring Forty (retired — Lord Howe Island) | Monohull | — | |||||
| — | Wave (retired — returned to Opua) | Monohull | — | |||||
| — | Pretty Boy Floyd (retired — safely back in Opua) | Monohull | — | |||||
| — | Robbery (retired — safely in Mangōnui) | Monohull | — | |||||
Provisional results. Last position update: 7 Jun 20:00 NZST. All times NZST. Multihulls shaded blue.
Peter Bourke’s S&S 8.7m Diablo deserves a moment. He wrote: “After five years restoring this dear classic kauri keelboat, a circumnavigation of Aotearoa New Zealand, then getting her to Category 1 standards, the Solo Trans-Tasman Yacht Challenge marks the grande finale in a restoration project and a love affair between boat and man. Diablo is the smallest yacht in the race by a huge margin. She’s the only wooden boat that will finish this race. The combined age of man and boat is 130 years.” At 327 NM with a projected finish of 11 June, Bourke and Diablo are going to make it. Diablo sits fifth on PHRF corrected time, her 0.660 handicap having done considerable work throughout.
The little boat with a big past: Peter Bourke and Diablo take on the Solo Trans-Tasman
Kevin Le Poidevan who has retired, is still sheltering near Lord Howe Island. By this morning his anchor chain snapped, putting him back out on the water in conditions he described as impossible. “I’m still sailing in circles at Lord Howe Island. Wind and swell changed too much. Surge snapped the anchor rode, so I’m back out here doing Lord Howe Island drift and motor. Hopefully, the deep water moorings are back online.” He is hoping for fuel so he can motor-sail to Newcastle. Home is still in the distance; there is no rest for Le Poidevan yet.
Doug Esterman on Fair Seasons is at 483 NM, projecting a finish on 13 June. The north-westerly winds now pushing the fleet toward Southport are a welcome change after the headwinds that defined much of his crossing. He has sailed 854 NM and is firmly set on covering the remaining distance in time to make the prizegiving and end of race party.
Doug Esterman and Fair Seasons, still out there, still loving it
The weather picture for the remaining fleet has improved considerably. Winds of 11-18 knots from the north-west, the direction the boats need, with gusts to 25 knots, 2-3 metre swells at 7-8 second intervals, and temperatures around 20 degrees. After what this fleet has endured, that is practically a summer cruise.
