Guy Chester docked at Southport on Friday evening at 19:34 NZST, crossing the finish line of the 2026 Solo Trans-Tasman Yacht Challenge in 6 days 7 hours 34 minutes and 36 seconds. Overall Line Honours. The Crowther Design 93 trimaran Oceans Tribute — the same hull that set the race record in 2014 as Shark Angels — has her name in the results again. Chester arrived in fading light, on an outgoing tide, after six days of conditions he will be talking about for years. He was wet, cold, and exhausted. He made it.
Guy Chester takes line honours in the Solo Trans-Tasman Yacht Challenge 2026
The morning after brings a retirement and a finish imminent. Kevin Le Poideven’s Lutra BOC Open 40 Roaring Forty has retired — the fourth retirement from the race. He had clawed his way back through the fleet after the furler dramas and the 50-knot squalls with their Crazy Ivan wind shifts. In the end, metal fatigue claimed him. “A high-load rigging shackle — probably 8-10 tonnes — sheared, and my structural forestay tumbled neatly onto the deck.” He is sheltering in the lee of Lord Howe Island, motoring back and forth waiting for the trough to pass — gusting to 46 knots even there, drifting at 6 knots under bare poles. He’ll anchor at Neds Bay when conditions allow, sleep, then prepare for the return passage to Port Stephens. “Gutted to retire from my third Solo Trans-Tasman Challenge,” he said. “Brutal race full of extremes.”
Sharon Ferris-Choat is 40 NM from the finish and closing fast. Her Verdier 40 Vixen Racing posted 215 NM in 24 hours — the best in the fleet — and is projected to dock this afternoon around 13:54 NZST. She will be the first monohull to finish, and she will finish in full daylight. After hail the size of golf balls, 40-knot squalls and at least one alien sighting on the back of the boat, Ferris-Choat has earned every metre of those final 40 miles.
| Pos | Boat | Class | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Est Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oceans Tribute ✓ FINISHED | Trimaran | — | 1462 NM | — | 118 NM | 5 Jun 19:34 | 6d 7h 34m 36s |
| 2 | Vixen Racing | Monohull | 40 NM | 1370 NM | 6.8 kts | 215 NM | 6 Jun 13:54 | 7d 1h 48m 0s |
| 3 | Electron | Catamaran | 151 NM | 1258 NM | 6.1 kts | 183 NM | 7 Jun 08:41 | 7d 20h 41m 59s |
| 4 | Pacman | Monohull | 208 NM | 1109 NM | 5.8 kts | 161 NM | 7 Jun 20:00 | 8d 7h 54m 22s |
| 5 | Sarau | Monohull | 219 NM | 1105 NM | 5.7 kts | 146 NM | 7 Jun 22:22 | 8d 10h 22m 35s |
| — | Roaring Forty (retired — Lord Howe Island) | Monohull | Skipper safe, repairs underway | |||||
| 6 | Camellia | Monohull | 382 NM | 892 NM | 4.7 kts | 102 NM | 9 Jun 16:37 | 10d 4h 31m 3s |
| 7 | Catnip | Monohull | 442 NM | 854 NM | 4.4 kts | 74 NM | 10 Jun 13:09 | 11d 1h 3m 48s |
| 8 | Nautilass | Monohull | 479 NM | 860 NM | 4.1 kts | 51 NM | 11 Jun 03:46 | 11d 15h 40m 40s |
| 9 | Diablo | Monohull | 530 NM | 751 NM | 3.8 kts | 59 NM | 12 Jun 02:15 | 12d 14h 9m 55s |
| 10 | Smoko | Monohull | 571 NM | 674 NM | 3.6 kts | 24 NM | 12 Jun 23:38 | 13d 11h 32m 29s |
| 11 | Fair Seasons | Monohull | 638 NM | 684 NM | 3.2 kts | 19 NM | 14 Jun 17:31 | 15d 5h 25m 15s |
| — | 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: 6 Jun 08:00 NZST. All times NZST. Multihulls shaded blue.
James Foster’s Mumby 48 catamaran Electron sits at 151 NM, projected for tomorrow morning at 08:41. The NZ Multihull Handicap result is almost settled — Oceans Tribute holds a 4-hour 48-minute lead on corrected elapsed, 6d 1h 58m against Electron‘s 6d 6h 46m. Foster would need to find extraordinary pace to reverse that. Chester’s multihull handicap is looking secure.
On line honours, Peter Elkington’s Young 11 Pacman has moved ahead of Malcolm Dickson’s 55-foot Sarau — 208 NM to 219 NM DTF. Both are tracking for 8 June, 2-3 hours apart on elapsed time. On PHRF corrected time the positions are reversed: Sarau leads on 6d 17h 29m to Pacman‘s 6d 23h 55m. Vixen Racing, once she finishes today, will have the definitive PHRF top position locked in. Her corrected elapsed of 6d 15h 46m puts her comfortably ahead of both. Yet there is a lot of racing still to go.
| Pos | Boat | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vixen Racing | 0.941 | 40 NM | 1370 NM | 6.8 kts | 215 NM | 6 Jun 13:54 | 6d 15h 46m 54s |
| 2 | Sarau | 0.798 | 219 NM | 1105 NM | 5.7 kts | 146 NM | 7 Jun 22:22 | 6d 17h 29m 47s |
| 3 | Pacman | 0.840 | 208 NM | 1109 NM | 5.8 kts | 161 NM | 7 Jun 20:00 | 6d 23h 55m 16s |
| 4 | Camellia | 0.706 | 382 NM | 892 NM | 4.7 kts | 102 NM | 9 Jun 16:37 | 7d 4h 37m 46s |
| 5 | Diablo | 0.660 | 530 NM | 751 NM | 3.8 kts | 59 NM | 12 Jun 02:15 | 8d 7h 25m 45s |
| 6 | Roaring Forty (retired) | 0.919 | Retired — Lord Howe Island | |||||
| 7 | Smoko | 0.685 | 571 NM | 674 NM | 3.6 kts | 24 NM | 12 Jun 23:38 | 9d 5h 37m 33s |
| 8 | Catnip | 0.851 | 442 NM | 854 NM | 4.4 kts | 74 NM | 10 Jun 13:09 | 9d 9h 34m 8s |
| 9 | Nautilass | 0.824 | 479 NM | 860 NM | 4.1 kts | 51 NM | 11 Jun 03:46 | 9d 14h 27m 16s |
| 10 | Fair Seasons | 0.696 | 638 NM | 684 NM | 3.2 kts | 19 NM | 14 Jun 17:31 | 10d 14h 19m 58s |
Provisional results. Last position update: 6 Jun 08:00 NZST. All times NZST.
Ben Ball’s Cavalier 32 Camellia has slipped to fourth on PHRF — Pacman‘s stronger pace has edged past. Ball checked in two days ago: “Shit fight last night. Camellia is going well. Everything is soaked. Skipper is a bit beaten up. 450 miles to Southport but still can’t point in the right direction.” Fourth on handicap from 7th on the water. Still doing the work.
The boats heading into Southport are sailing into winds of 19-24 knots from the south-south-west, with a front pushing stronger conditions behind it. PredictWind is warning of thunderstorms and high seas for the second and third groups — Electron, Sarau, Pacman and the cluster of Camellia, Geoff Thorn’s Beneteau First 45 Catnip, Terry Dunn’s Nautilass, Peter Bourke’s S&S 8.7m Diablo and Peter Nobbs’ B&G 36 Smoko. The boats further back, including Doug Esterman’s Cavalier 39 Fair Seasons, have calmer conditions for now — which is some consolation. Fair Seasons crossed the halfway mark overnight.
On the PHRF sub-battles worth watching: Catnip and Nautilass remain close — 9d 9h 34m against 9d 14h 27m, a gap of under 5 hours after more than 850 NM at sea.
