The opening day of Leg 2 of the 2026 Doyle Sails Round North Island Two Handed Yacht Race has quickly turned into a tactical battle as the fleet works its way down the west coast of the North Island after rounding Cape Reinga earlier today.
Starting from Mangōnui at 9.00am on Monday, the 26-boat fleet wasted little time spreading across the top of the island before committing to different strategies for the long 480 nautical mile leg to Queen Charlotte Sound.
Early on, the Elliott 50 Explore Racing, skippered by William Goodfellow and Jesse Turner, set the pace. One hour into the leg they led the fleet at 8.8 knots, with the Thompson 1150 Motorboat III, sailed by Damon Jolliffe and Josh Tucker, just behind. The Stomp 38 Perfect Storm, co-skippered by Ken and Lori Ormandy, held third position as the fleet pushed west along the Northland coast in 15 to 18 knot southerlies.
By midday the leading pair had pulled clear of the rest of the fleet as they approached North Cape. Behind them, the fight for third became tight between Perfect Storm, the Verdier 40 Vixen Racing, and the Bakewell White 37 General Lee.
Once around the top of Cape Reinga, the race began to take shape strategically. Some crews committed to heading further west into the Tasman Sea, searching for stronger pressure, while only Motorboat III chose a more coastal route.
Motorboat III initially held the inside line closer to the coast while Explore Racing sailed a wider offshore route. By the evening tracker updates the fleet had visibly split into groups across the Tasman Sea: Motorboat III and the rest of the fleet.
At 8pm, Motorboat III remained ahead on elapsed time and roughly seven nautical miles clear of Explore Racing. Conditions across the fleet remained similar but marginal differences in wind strength were influencing speeds and positioning.
Further west, the breeze was slightly lighter for the leading offshore boats, while those closer to the coast experienced marginally stronger pressure.
By 9pm the tactical spread was clear. The entire fleet had angled west into the Tasman Sea, with Motorboat III still the closest boat to the coastline. Despite the different routing choices, the Thompson 1150 continued to lead on elapsed time, with Explore Racing holding second and Whichway moving into third ahead of Vixen Racing.
On corrected time the smaller boats were making the most of the conditions. The Farr 1020 L’Avanti led the overall PHRF standings ahead of the Ross 930s Hotdogger and Start Me Up, all Division 4 entries benefitting from the early leg conditions.
Within Division 1 on PHRF, Motorboat III maintained the lead with Perfect Storm in second.
As the fleet settles into the long night offshore, the key question remains how far west crews will push before turning south down the coast. With more than 400 nautical miles still ahead, the tactical choices made in these early hours could shape the outcome of Leg 2.
