Guy Chester is 248 nautical miles from Southport and talking like a man who can smell the finish. “Touch wood — quickly touching the wood in the cockpit — I’ve got about another 26 hours left in the race.” If it holds, that puts his Crowther Design 93 trimaran Oceans Tribute alongside the dock on Friday afternoon, Australian time. The race record — 6 days 7 hours 13 minutes, set in this very hull when she was Reini Gelder’s Shark Angels in 2014 — is gone. Chester’s projected elapsed of a little over 6d 17h won’t touch it. But he’s been battling 26-30 knots to windward, nursing a boat he’s sailed across the world’s oceans three times, and he’s nearly there. “It’s very wet. Cheers.”
The Southport finish line map went up on the Solo Trans-Tasman’s social media this afternoon. Organisers are calling for spectators to come and watch the exhausted, sore sailors come in. The first predicted to arrive is Ocean’s Tribute, who looks to cross the finish line early morning on Saturday.
Behind Chester, Vixen Racing has found some pace since this morning. She’s at 335 NM to finish, projected for the dark night hours of 6 June, with James Foster’s Mumby 48 catamaran Electron 42 NM further back at 377 NM. If he times it right, he’ll arrive in Southport with the light.
| Pos | Boat | Class | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Est Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oceans Tribute | Trimaran | 248 NM | 1201 NM | 7.2 kts | 90 NM | 6 Jun 05:39 | 6d 17h 39m 40s |
| 2 | Vixen Racing | Monohull | 335 NM | 1043 NM | 6.5 kts | 76 NM | 6 Jun 22:41 | 7d 10h 35m 11s |
| 3 | Electron | Catamaran | 377 NM | 990 NM | 6.1 kts | 70 NM | 7 Jun 08:17 | 7d 20h 17m 39s |
| 4 | Sarau | Monohull | 407 NM | 866 NM | 5.9 kts | 91 NM | 7 Jun 15:50 | 8d 3h 50m 4s |
| 5 | Pacman | Monohull | 427 NM | 851 NM | 5.8 kts | 85 NM | 7 Jun 21:06 | 8d 9h 0m 58s |
| 6 | Roaring Forty | Monohull | 427 NM | 805 NM | 5.8 kts | 110 NM | 7 Jun 21:14 | 8d 9h 8m 31s |
| 7 | Camellia | Monohull | 541 NM | 665 NM | 4.9 kts | 114 NM | 9 Jun 10:27 | 9d 22h 21m 21s |
| 8 | Catnip | Monohull | 549 NM | 676 NM | 4.8 kts | 114 NM | 9 Jun 13:25 | 10d 1h 19m 42s |
| 9 | Nautilass | Monohull | 580 NM | 673 NM | 4.6 kts | 88 NM | 10 Jun 02:24 | 10d 14h 18m 7s |
| 10 | Smoko | Monohull | 629 NM | 568 NM | 4.2 kts | 102 NM | 11 Jun 02:19 | 11d 14h 13m 45s |
| 11 | Diablo | Monohull | 637 NM | 588 NM | 4.1 kts | 95 NM | 11 Jun 06:06 | 11d 18h 0m 29s |
| 12 | Fair Seasons | Monohull | 698 NM | 543 NM | 3.6 kts | 123 NM | 12 Jun 19:59 | 13d 7h 53m 57s |
| — | Wave (retired — returning to NZ) | Monohull | Rounding North Cape | |||||
| — | Pretty Boy Floyd (retired — safely back in Opua) | Monohull | — | |||||
| — | Robbery (retired — safely in Mangōnui) | Monohull | — | |||||
Provisional results. Last position update: 4 Jun 19:00 NZST. All times NZST. Multihulls shaded blue.
Malcolm Dickson’s 55-foot Sarau and Peter Elkington’s Young 11 Pacman sit 4th and 5th on line honours at 407 and 427 NM respectively. Kevin Le Poideven’s Open 40 Roaring Forty has drawn level with Pacman on DTF — both at 427 NM — having posted one of the best 24-hour DMG in the group at 110 NM. He’s been having quite a day. After a ‘spa’ morning — coffee, Jetboil, an hour of calm — he rigged the Jib Top for extra sail area, drove beautifully at 9-10 knots, then the breeze hit 30 knots, the furler lock pin apparently broke, the sail unfurled before the clutches could close, and chaos followed. “Finally furled and stowed and ready for the next deployment.” Thirty minutes later, rinse and repeat. “This time I lunch — Nasi Goreng.”
| Pos | Boat | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarau | 0.798 | 407 NM | 866 NM | 5.9 kts | 91 NM | 7 Jun 15:50 | 6d 12h 16m 33s |
| 2 | Vixen Racing | 0.941 | 335 NM | 1043 NM | 6.5 kts | 76 NM | 6 Jun 22:41 | 7d 0h 2m 59s |
| 3 | Camellia | 0.706 | 541 NM | 665 NM | 4.9 kts | 114 NM | 9 Jun 10:27 | 7d 0h 16m 45s |
| 4 | Pacman | 0.840 | 427 NM | 851 NM | 5.8 kts | 85 NM | 7 Jun 21:06 | 7d 0h 51m 13s |
| 5 | Roaring Forty | 0.919 | 427 NM | 805 NM | 5.8 kts | 110 NM | 7 Jun 21:14 | 7d 16h 50m 58s |
| 6 | Diablo | 0.660 | 637 NM | 588 NM | 4.1 kts | 95 NM | 11 Jun 06:06 | 7d 18h 7m 31s |
| 7 | Smoko | 0.685 | 629 NM | 568 NM | 4.2 kts | 102 NM | 11 Jun 02:19 | 7d 22h 35m 13s |
| 8 | Catnip | 0.851 | 549 NM | 676 NM | 4.8 kts | 114 NM | 9 Jun 13:25 | 8d 13h 22m 13s |
| 9 | Nautilass | 0.824 | 580 NM | 673 NM | 4.6 kts | 88 NM | 10 Jun 02:24 | 8d 17h 32m 41s |
| 10 | Fair Seasons | 0.696 | 698 NM | 543 NM | 3.6 kts | 123 NM | 12 Jun 19:59 | 9d 6h 38m 59s |
Provisional results. Last position update: 4 Jun 19:00 NZST. All times NZST.
The four groupings on the tracker are clear. Oceans Tribute alone out front. Then Vixen Racing a little further back, some space before Electron, then Sarau, Pacman and Roaring Forty in a loose second group, all heading into the strengthening south-easterlies off the Australian coast. The third cluster — Ben Ball’s Cavalier 32 Camellia, Geoff Thorn’s Beneteau First 45 Catnip and Terry Dunn’s Nautilass — are within 39 NM of each other at 541, 549 and 580 NM DTF. Further back still, Peter Nobbs’ B&G 36 Smoko and Peter Bourke’s S&S Diablo trail the group, with Doug Esterman’s Cavalier 39 Fair Seasons alone at the back at 698 NM — all three yet to pass the halfway mark.
The notable PHRF development is Camellia climbing to third on corrected time — 7d 0h 16m, just 14 minutes behind Vixen Racing’s 7d 0h 2m. Ben Ball has had a strong run, and to be fair in kinder conditions at the moment, and his 0.706 handicap is doing the work. Pacman sits fourth at 7d 0h 51m — all three boats covered by under an hour on corrected elapsed. Sarau leads on 6d 12h 16m, a comfortable 11-hour buffer.
On the NZ Multihull Handicap, Electron leads Oceans Tribute by a little over 5 hours — 6d 6h 26m against 6d 11h 40m. Chester is projected to finish well before Foster on elapsed time, but the rating math still favours Foster’s catamaran.
| Pos | Boat | Class | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electron | Catamaran | 0.799 | 377 NM | 990 NM | 6.1 kts | 70 NM | 7 Jun 08:17 | 6d 6h 26m 49s |
| 2 | Oceans Tribute | Trimaran | 0.963 | 248 NM | 1201 NM | 7.2 kts | 90 NM | 6 Jun 05:39 | 6d 11h 40m 47s |
Provisional results. NZ Multihull Yacht Club handicap system. Last position update: 4 Jun 19:00 NZST. All times NZST.
Away from the racing, Yachting New Zealand published an account of Graeme Francis’ ordeal aboard his Wilson 36 Robbery, now safely in Mangōnui. Francis spent a night keeping Robbery afloat after the boat began taking on water about 100 kilometres north of North Cape. The first commercial tanker reached the stricken yacht about 11pm on Sunday, but the seas were so rough that it was simply too dangerous for Francis to board either ship. His one-liner to Yachting NZ: “At one stage I thought, ‘this is getting a little bit real now.'” Unfortunately, the 2026 edition of the Challenge might be his last Solo Trans-Tasman start.
And Glen Jeffery is making steady progress home aboard his Grand Soleil 50 Wave, now rounding North Cape. He checked in from the water earlier in the day: “Just now we are back up to 8-9 knots [heading] back towards New Zealand.” He’s experienced a broken furler, a failed autopilot, an alternator belt swap, and more besides. But, he reports it’s all going well.
