At 20:00 NZST tonight, if the projection holds, Guy Chester will dock his Crowther Design 93 trimaran Oceans Tribute at Southport. The finish marker is in place. It will be dark by then on the Gold Coast — Queensland’s winter nights arrive early — and the tide will have turned outbound, putting current against him on the final approach. The wind will be in the teens, gusting low twenties. Not ideal for a tired sailor on a big trimaran after six days at sea.
Chester won’t mind. Five hours ago he was at Cape Byron with 70 NM to go, counting them down. This is a man who has sailed more than 120,000 nautical miles and soloed one and a half times around the globe. He’s gone through conditions in this race he described as among the worst he has ever experienced — hail, lightning, 45-knot squalls, seas that had him on two reefs and a staysail just to keep the boat in one piece. Tonight, in fading light with a modest outgoing tide, he will cross the finish line of the 2026 Solo Trans-Tasman Yacht Challenge. First boat home. Overall Line Honours.
| Pos | Boat | Class | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Est Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oceans Tribute | Trimaran | 17 NM | 1442 NM | 7.6 kts | 231 NM | 5 Jun 20:11 | 6d 8h 11m 0s |
| 2 | Vixen Racing | Monohull | 170 NM | 1237 NM | 6.6 kts | 166 NM | 6 Jun 19:44 | 7d 7h 38m 35s |
| 3 | Electron | Catamaran | 262 NM | 1145 NM | 6.0 kts | 116 NM | 7 Jun 13:53 | 8d 1h 53m 5s |
| 4 | Sarau | Monohull | 313 NM | 1000 NM | 5.6 kts | 96 NM | 8 Jun 01:40 | 8d 13h 40m 59s |
| 5 | Pacman | Monohull | 318 NM | 992 NM | 5.6 kts | 113 NM | 8 Jun 02:46 | 8d 14h 40m 29s |
| 6 | Roaring Forty | Monohull | 381 NM | 906 NM | 5.2 kts | 50 NM | 8 Jun 19:35 | 9d 7h 29m 5s |
| 7 | Camellia | Monohull | 440 NM | 808 NM | 4.8 kts | 103 NM | 9 Jun 13:51 | 10d 1h 45m 45s |
| 8 | Catnip | Monohull | 486 NM | 789 NM | 4.5 kts | 64 NM | 10 Jun 06:23 | 10d 18h 17m 37s |
| 9 | Nautilass | Monohull | 506 NM | 803 NM | 4.3 kts | 79 NM | 10 Jun 14:21 | 11d 2h 15m 45s |
| 10 | Diablo | Monohull | 561 NM | 701 NM | 4.0 kts | 81 NM | 11 Jun 15:02 | 12d 2h 56m 12s |
| 11 | Smoko | Monohull | 576 NM | 656 NM | 3.9 kts | 57 NM | 11 Jun 22:31 | 12d 10h 25m 26s |
| 12 | Fair Seasons | Monohull | 647 NM | 630 NM | 3.4 kts | 56 NM | 13 Jun 15:57 | 14d 3h 51m 59s |
| — | 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: 5 Jun 18:00 NZST. All times NZST. Multihulls shaded blue.
Sharon Ferris-Choat is on the other side of the rough weather. Her Verdier 40 Vixen Racing posted 166 NM in 24 hours — the best of anyone in the fleet today — and is now 170 NM from the finish, projected for tomorrow evening at 19:44 NZST. She will be the first monohull to finish, and the first to do so with some daylight. “Last night on the briny,” she said. She’s earned whatever comes next.
James Foster’s Mumby 48 catamaran Electron sits third on line honours at 262 NM, projected 7 June. The NZ Multihull Handicap result won’t be known until Foster finishes or is close enough to calculate with confidence. Right now Oceans Tribute leads on corrected elapsed by 8 hours 21 minutes — 6d 2h 33m against Electron’s 6d 10h 54m. That’s a significant gap for Foster to close. It looks like Chester’s race on the multihull handicap too, but the ocean has shown enough surprises in this event that we won’t call it until it’s called.
| Pos | Boat | Class | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oceans Tribute | Trimaran | 0.963 | 17 NM | 1442 NM | 7.6 kts | 231 NM | 5 Jun 20:11 | 6d 2h 33m 9s |
| 2 | Electron | Catamaran | 0.799 | 262 NM | 1145 NM | 6.0 kts | 116 NM | 7 Jun 13:53 | 6d 10h 54m 50s |
Provisional results. NZ Multihull Yacht Club handicap system. Last position update: 5 Jun 18:00 NZST. All times NZST.
Malcolm Dickson’s 55-foot Sarau and Peter Elkington’s Young 11 Pacman sit 4th and 5th on line honours, just 5 NM apart at 313 and 318 NM DTF. On PHRF corrected time, Sarau leads Vixen Racing by just over an hour — 6d 20h 8m against 6d 21h 16m. With Vixen Racing‘s pace and 143 fewer miles to sail, this one is worth watching closely. Ben Ball’s Cavalier 32 Camellia holds third on PHRF corrected time at 7d 2h 41m, still doing the quiet work of a well-rated boat.
| Pos | Boat | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarau | 0.798 | 313 NM | 1000 NM | 5.6 kts | 96 NM | 8 Jun 01:40 | 6d 20h 8m 6s |
| 2 | Vixen Racing | 0.941 | 170 NM | 1237 NM | 6.6 kts | 166 NM | 6 Jun 19:44 | 6d 21h 16m 48s |
| 3 | Camellia | 0.706 | 440 NM | 808 NM | 4.8 kts | 103 NM | 9 Jun 13:51 | 7d 2h 41m 4s |
| 4 | Pacman | 0.840 | 318 NM | 992 NM | 5.6 kts | 113 NM | 8 Jun 02:46 | 7d 5h 36m 24s |
| 5 | Diablo | 0.660 | 561 NM | 701 NM | 4.0 kts | 81 NM | 11 Jun 15:02 | 8d 0h 1m 6s |
| 6 | Smoko | 0.685 | 576 NM | 656 NM | 3.9 kts | 57 NM | 11 Jun 22:31 | 8d 12h 25m 13s |
| 7 | Roaring Forty | 0.919 | 381 NM | 906 NM | 5.2 kts | 50 NM | 8 Jun 19:35 | 8d 13h 22m 57s |
| 8 | Nautilass | 0.824 | 506 NM | 803 NM | 4.3 kts | 79 NM | 10 Jun 14:21 | 9d 3h 24m 1s |
| 9 | Catnip | 0.851 | 486 NM | 789 NM | 4.5 kts | 64 NM | 10 Jun 06:23 | 9d 3h 48m 28s |
| 10 | Fair Seasons | 0.696 | 647 NM | 630 NM | 3.4 kts | 56 NM | 13 Jun 15:57 | 9d 20h 32m 49s |
Provisional results. Last position update: 5 Jun 18:00 NZST. All times NZST.
Further down the PHRF standings there are three separate sub-battles shaping up. Peter Nobbs’ B&G 36 Smoko and Kevin Le Poideven’s Open 40 Roaring Forty are separated by just an hour over 12 hours on corrected elapsed — 8d 12h 25m versus 8d 13h 22m. Tighter still: Terry Dunn’s Nautilass and Geoff Thorn’s Beneteau First 45 Catnip are separated by just 24 minutes on corrected elapsed — 9d 3h 24m against 9d 3h 48m. After more than 800 NM of ocean, 24 minutes.
Doug Esterman’s Cavalier 39 Fair Seasons remains the last boat at 647 NM, still yet to cross the halfway mark. But she is sailing and making progress.
Beyond the racing: Bill Kidman has made his way to Queensland to welcome home the finishers. Graeme Francis is finding his feet again after the ordeal aboard his Wilson 36 Robbery. Glen Jeffery is reportedly heading back out to sea — solo, again, on his Grand Soleil 50 Wave — towards Australia.
