Reviving an endurance classic
The Doyle Sails Cavalli Islands Race (28–30 November 2025) is the modern evolution of the club’s Akarana 350, first sailed in 2018. Where that original 350 nautical-mile loop tested crews from Auckland to the Bay of Plenty and back, the new event trims the mileage but keeps the challenge.
Two courses are offered: a 275 nm long course, starting and finishing off Ōrākei via the Poor Knights and Cavalli Islands, and a 125 nm short course that rounds Sail Rock and Channel Island before returning to Auckland. The long route also serves as a qualifier for the 2026 Doyle Sails Round North Island Race, ensuring strong participation from shorthanded specialists honing their offshore credentials.
The fleet
The entry list shows a balanced mix of seasoned offshore performers and emerging short-handed crews.
Equilibrium, Graham Matthews’ Botin Carkeek 55, headlines the long-course fleet. After retiring from the 2025 PIC Coastal Classic, she has since regained top form, currently leading the Doyle Sails Gold Cup line-honours standings. A light-air flyer with a professional-level programme, Equilibrium will be the boat to beat if conditions favour the bigger yachts.
Joining her is Motorboat III, Damon Jolliffe’s Thompson 1150, another Coastal Classic retiree now looking for redemption over the longer passage. The multihull Oceans Tribute, skippered by Guy Chester, brings speed and endurance pedigree from Australia’s Tinaroo Sailing Club—her 21st overall in this year’s Coastal Classic confirms she can sustain pace in tough weather.
The shorthanded division reads like a who’s-who of SSANZ regulars: Motorboat II (Alan Quere’s Elliott 1050), Physical Favours (Ryan McCready’s Ross 914), Higher Ground (John Seely’s Ross 10.66), and Kick, an Elliott 1050 skippered by Brendan Sands. Each delivered solid Coastal Classic runs, and their experience in variable Hauraki Gulf and Northland conditions will be invaluable.
Also entered is Whichway, Bruce Gault’s Davidson 52—a classic racer with the waterline length to pressure Equilibrium on corrected time if breeze fills in offshore.
Building momentum
For Royal Akarana Yacht Club, the Cavalli Islands Race strengthens a proud lineage of endurance racing. It extends Doyle Sails’ long-running support of New Zealand offshore sailing and ensures Auckland remains the country’s hub for long-distance yacht racing.
As one Dash Ocean Racing veteran reflected after the 2018 Akarana 350, “It’s weird. The harder it is, the more I enjoy it.”
That sentiment captures the essence of what awaits competitors when the starting gun fires off Ōrākei at 10 am on 28 November.
