Crews racing south on Leg 2 of the 2026 Doyle Sails Round North Island Two Handed Yacht Race are now deep into their second day offshore, and by Tuesday evening the fleet continues to battle through testing Tasman Sea conditions.
With just five hours remaining in the second full day of racing, many crews are likely running on little sleep. The leg has proven demanding, with sailors describing the conditions as “lumpy” and “bumpy” as strong winds and confused seas have persisted along the west coast of the North Island.
A heart-breaking 1am update from Lori Ormandy on Perfect Storm, the Stomp 38.
Tactically, the fleet remains widely spread across the Tasman Sea. The First 40.7 Higher Ground crewed by John Seely and Matthew Wilson is currently the closest boat to the coastline, sailing around 35 nautical miles offshore. At the other extreme, Catnip, the Beneteau First 45 with Geoff Thorn and Katie Mathison is the furthest west at 131 nautical miles out to sea. Most of the fleet has settled somewhere between those two extremes, roughly 119 nautical miles off the coast.
Up front, the lead continues to change hands. The Elliott 50 Explore Racing, co-skippered by William Goodfellow and Jesse Turner, has edged back into first place on elapsed time ahead of the Thompson 1150 Motorboat III, sailed by Damon Jolliffe and Josh Tucker. The gap between them is just five nautical miles. Vixen Racing the Verdier 40 with Sharon Ferris-Choat and Taylor Edwards remains in third, another eight nautical miles back.
Further down the fleet, the Beneteau First 40.7 Kokomea, co-skippered by Geoff Faulkner and Stu Morgan, has retired from the race with 305 nautical miles still to sail. The crew is heading toward New Plymouth and reported that all is well onboard.
On handicap, the smaller boats continue to shine. Division 3 entries dominate the overall PHRF standings with Niksen, the Dehler 30OD with Logan Fraser and Marc Michel, currently leading, followed closely by the two Sunfast 3300s, Ragnar — skippered by Brett Elliott and James Glidden — and Indis — skippered by Andrew Benton and Andrew Hall. The gap between the top two is estimated at just four minutes on corrected time.
Within Division 1 PHRF, Motorboat III continues to hold the lead ahead of Vixen Racing and Perfect Storm, the Stomp 38 sailed by Ken and Lori Ormandy. In Division 2, Motorboat 2, the Elliott 10.50 with Alan Quere and Vincent Trinquet has retaken the handicap lead from Äkonga, while in Division 4 the Ross 930 Start Me Up, skippered by Harri Wren and Peron Pearse, has edged ahead of the other Ross 930, Hotdogger crewed by Nigel Bish and Sinisa ‘Sin’ Grujicic, by an estimated four minutes.
PredictWind forecasts suggest winds of 8 to 25 knots through the evening with gusts still touching 30 knots. Conditions are expected to ease slightly later tonight as the fleet continues south toward Cook Strait and the finish in Queen Charlotte Sound.
