Clockwork leads the charge north as Three Kings Offshore Yacht Race fleet splits in two

Steve Mair’s Shaw 12 roared into the lead after a blistering start, with the seven-boat fleet dividing sharply within minutes of the 11am gun off the Waitemata.

Boating New Zealand headed out on their spectator boat an hour before the race began to find Clockwork already stationed near the start line. Graham Matthews’ Marten / Botin Carkeek 55 Equilibrium joined soon after, both crews spending time getting acclimatised to conditions that were lively from the outset. Within ten minutes Rowan Smith’s Elliott 1060 Carpe Diem appeared from the west, emerging from under the Auckland Harbour Bridge having clearly launched earlier than the rest of the fleet.

The race committee’s reporting deadline was set for 10:30am. Nick Roberts’ Dehler 41 Ākonga was last to arrive, gliding through the fleet and generating a brief but pointed exchange with the committee over the cutoff—the crew’s retort that it was not yet 10:30am delivered with some relish.

- Advertisement, article continues below -

Conditions were windy as expected, with the northeasterly wind pushing with intent. Temperatures were cool, but not cold. At the start line, swells were nudging a metre, perhaps five seconds apart. Our Haines Hunter spectator boat gleefully riding the troughs. The boat crews used the remaining time to get their spinnakers rigged and ready for an immediate hoist the moment the gun fired.

Ten minutes before the 11:00am start, an orca fin broke the surface less than 100 metres from the start line, directly in the path of the oncoming fleet. But it did not prove an obstacle as the race started on time.

Motorboat III set the early pace

Off the line first was Damon Jolliffe’s Thompson 1150 Motorboat III, and the execution was flawless—a start that would draw admiring looks from a SailGP crew. Clockwork flew behind them and moved through quickly, the two boats sailing with clear intent from the gun. Nathan Williams Cape 40 Mr Kite II followed in third, then Equilibrium. The fleet split almost immediately into two distinct groups.

The Boating New Zealand spectator boat dropped back to observe the trailing three before pressing north to rejoin the leaders. The trailing trio of Carpe Diem, Akonga, and John Seely’s  Ross 1066 Higher Ground were left to fight their own race. Ahead of them a gap of roughly several hundred metres had opened before the leading group were reached by the Boating New Zealand boat, even before the fleet had even cleared the Waitematā Harbour. When we caught up to them, the leading four were well ahead.

At this point in the race, the order of the leading four from back to front was Motorboat III running the middle of the channel in fourth, Mr Kite II in third a touch east but the wind was fluttering their kite, Clockwork in second working back toward the middle, and Equilibrium out in front. We clocked Equilibrium doing 15 knots.

- Advertisement, article continues below -

North of North Head — the lead changes

As the leading boats rounded North Head and turned north the conditions eased. The water settled and the wind dropped back. Equilibrium‘s speed fell to around 13 knots. The lull was brief. Further north, conditions rebuilt with larger swells and Clockwork seized the moment, wound up, and drove hard to gain the lead. A short drag race with Equilibrium, and then Clockwork was gone, pulling clear.

Past the Rangitoto lighthouse, Equilibrium re-hoisted their spinnaker. The Boating New Zealand spectator boat left the leaders with Clockwork in front, Equilibrium close behind, then Mr Kite II, then Motorboat III in fourth.

Motorboat III race update

On-board report — Damon Jolliffe’s Thompson 1150 Motorboat III 14:00, Day 1 (3 hours into race):

“Here we are, Motorboat III, on the Three Kings Race, just coming up to Cape Rodney on our bike — we’ve got a furl and one reef in. Equilibrium, Mr Kite and Clockwork have gone off into the distance, but these guys here seem to be having a good time. They don’t really look like it, but they’re having a good time. Anyway, we are on our bike—happy days.”

The Motorboat III report, filed around the three-hour mark and placing the boat off Cape Rodney, confirms the windy conditions have persisted well up the coast. Sailing with a reefed main and furled headsail, Damon Jolliffe’s Thompson 1150 was clearly in defensive sail trim, nursing the boat north rather than pushing hard. The commentary is cheerful but the gap to the front three had already opened.

- Advertisement, article continues below -

Fleet positions at 14:15

Approximate positions, 3h 15m into race
1 Clockwork, just south of Ruakaka—leading the fleet
2 Mr Kite II, south of Waipu, running well offshore
3 Equilibrium, between Pakiri and Waipu, north of Motorboat III
4 Motorboat III, north of Pakiri
5 Higher Ground, between Pakiri and north of Kawau Island
6 Akonga, in a similar location
7 Carpe Diem, around or south of Kawau Island — last in fleet

The spread tells its own story. Clockwork is approaching Ruakaka while Carpe Diem is still rounding Kawau Island—nearly 60 nautical miles of coastline separates first from last after just over three hours of racing.

Leaderboards

The estimated time suggests this race will be very fast. On corrected time the current Three Kings Offshore Yacht Race record stands with Rob Bassett’s TP52/Bakewell-White Wired with a time of 1 day 22 hours 20 minutes and 9 seconds.

So far into this race, this year’s PHRF handicap and line honours leaderboards look almost identical. Only Higher Ground and Carpe Diem trading places between the two boards.

PHRF handicap

Line Honours