The conditions came back overnight, and came back hard. Sharon Ferris-Choat checked in from her Verdier 40 Vixen Racing this morning with the kind of update that reminds you exactly what these skippers are doing out there. “That lightning storm — we can see it disappearing over the back. So that was really awesome that we outran that one.” She’s seen 37 knots. “We don’t need to see any more.” The tow line deployed itself somewhere in the night — a clean-up job for later. “This is on par with any [Rolex] Sydney to Hobart that I’ve done.”
Kevin Le Poideven has been busy on his Lutra BOC Open 40 Roaring Forty, diagnosing a pump issue in building seas while delivering a masterclass in solo sailor humour. Constant 37-knot gusts, 40 in the puffs, short-period 2-metre swell. He’s found his happy angle at 7 knots. “Any faster and launch velocity increases slamming on landing.”
Guy Chester was more measured from his Crowther trimaran Oceans Tribute last night: “To finish first, first you must finish. Just getting through the next 18 hours is the aim. No speed records — just keep the boat in one piece and moving.” He did a “grandpa gybe” to avoid Balls Pyramid, the world’s tallest volcanic sea stack, located in the Pacific Ocean about 20 kilometers southeast of Lord Howe Island, in the dark. Curry for dinner, a mandarin, some chocolate as a reefing reward. At 366 NM from the finish, Oceans Tribute is projected to arrive at Southport tomorrow morning.
Ben Ball’s Cavalier 32 Camellia is having a very different morning. “Awesome sailing today. Blasting along at 7 knots. Catnip and Nautilass are just behind me. Both much faster boats so that’s pretty cool after 4 days of racing. The ocean is staying outside the boat today.” Four days in, plenty of bruises, and good spirits. Meanwhile, Geoff Thorn sent a chartplotter snapshot from his Beneteau First 45 Catnip showing all three — Catnip, Terry Dunn’s Nautilass and Camellia — visible on screen, separated by remarkably little ocean after hundreds of miles of racing.
The fleet picture at 95 hours
The race is now split into five distinct groups. Oceans Tribute leads alone, 62 NM clear of Vixen Racing. Group two: Ferris-Choat’s Vixen at 428 NM DTF with James Foster’s Mumby 48 catamaran Electron 37 NM further back in third — close but not as tight as the previous update. Group three: Malcolm Dickson’s 55-foot Sarau, Peter Elkington’s Young 11 Pacman and Le Poideven’s Roaring Forty are covered by just 42 NM on DTF, all having now crossed the halfway mark overnight. Group four is the tightest cluster: Ball’s Camellia at 703 NM DTF, Thorn’s Catnip just 3 NM back at 706 NM, Dunn’s Nautilass at 713 NM, and a little further back Peter Nobbs’ B&G 36 Smoko at 772 NM and Peter Bourke’s S&S 8.7m Diablo at 775 NM. Finally, Doug Esterman’s Cavalier 39 Fair Seasons sails alone in last, 88 NM behind Diablo.
| Pos | Boat | Class | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Est Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oceans Tribute | Trimaran | 366 NM | 935 NM | 8.3 kts | 130 NM | 5 Jun 06:54 | 5d 18h 54m 22s |
| 2 | Vixen Racing | Monohull | 428 NM | 827 NM | 7.7 kts | 140 NM | 5 Jun 18:40 | 6d 6h 34m 37s |
| 3 | Electron | Catamaran | 465 NM | 805 NM | 7.3 kts | 117 NM | 6 Jun 02:54 | 6d 14h 54m 51s |
| 4 | Sarau | Monohull | 541 NM | 671 NM | 6.5 kts | 139 NM | 6 Jun 22:22 | 7d 10h 22m 28s |
| 5 | Pacman | Monohull | 551 NM | 664 NM | 6.4 kts | 142 NM | 7 Jun 01:06 | 7d 13h 0m 7s |
| 6 | Roaring Forty | Monohull | 583 NM | 613 NM | 6.1 kts | 137 NM | 7 Jun 11:11 | 7d 23h 5m 13s |
| 7 | Camellia | Monohull | 703 NM | 479 NM | 4.8 kts | 114 NM | 9 Jun 13:52 | 10d 1h 46m 57s |
| 8 | Catnip | Monohull | 706 NM | 506 NM | 4.8 kts | 109 NM | 9 Jun 15:19 | 10d 3h 13m 35s |
| 9 | Nautilass | Monohull | 713 NM | 504 NM | 4.7 kts | 109 NM | 9 Jun 19:27 | 10d 7h 21m 14s |
| 10 | Smoko | Monohull | 772 NM | 422 NM | 4.1 kts | 84 NM | 11 Jun 09:08 | 11d 21h 2m 15s |
| 11 | Diablo | Monohull | 775 NM | 424 NM | 4.0 kts | 104 NM | 11 Jun 11:06 | 11d 23h 0m 44s |
| 12 | Fair Seasons | Monohull | 863 NM | 373 NM | 3.1 kts | 89 NM | 15 Jun 01:05 | 15d 12h 59m 46s |
| — | Wave (retired — returning) | Monohull | — | |||||
| — | Pretty Boy Floyd (retired — returning to Opua) | Monohull | — | |||||
| — | Robbery (retired — safely in Mangōnui) | Monohull | — | |||||
Provisional results. Last position update: 3 Jun 11:00 NZST. All times NZST. Multihulls shaded blue.
Six boats have now crossed halfway — Oceans Tribute, Vixen Racing, Electron, Sarau, Pacman and Roaring Forty overnight. Six remain below the mark: Camellia may cross it today, with Catnip, Nautilass, Smoko, Diablo and Fair Seasons still to come.
Glen Jeffery’s Grand Soleil 50 Wave — the third retirement after Graeme Francis on Robbery and Bill Kidman on Pretty Boy Floyd — has passed all but Fair Seasons on the tracker as he makes his way back to New Zealand.
PHRF and General Handicap
Vixen Racing has taken the PHRF corrected lead clearly, now 5d 21h 41m against Sarau‘s 5d 22h 20m — a gap of 39 minutes, up from the 3 minutes it was at 22:00 last night. Ferris-Choat’s pace in the returning breeze is telling. Camellia holds fourth on corrected time, her 0.706 handicap keeping her competitive despite sitting 7th on the water.
| Pos | Boat | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vixen Racing | 0.941 | 428 NM | 827 NM | 7.7 kts | 140 NM | 5 Jun 18:40 | 5d 21h 41m 34s |
| 2 | Sarau | 0.798 | 541 NM | 671 NM | 6.5 kts | 139 NM | 6 Jun 22:22 | 5d 22h 20m 34s |
| 3 | Pacman | 0.840 | 551 NM | 664 NM | 6.4 kts | 142 NM | 7 Jun 01:06 | 6d 8h 2m 30s |
| 4 | Camellia | 0.706 | 703 NM | 479 NM | 4.8 kts | 114 NM | 9 Jun 13:52 | 7d 2h 41m 54s |
| 5 | Roaring Forty | 0.919 | 583 NM | 613 NM | 6.1 kts | 137 NM | 7 Jun 11:11 | 7d 7h 36m 32s |
| 6 | Diablo | 0.660 | 775 NM | 424 NM | 4.0 kts | 104 NM | 11 Jun 11:06 | 7d 21h 25m 41s |
| 7 | Smoko | 0.685 | 772 NM | 422 NM | 4.1 kts | 84 NM | 11 Jun 09:08 | 8d 3h 15m 2s |
| 8 | Nautilass | 0.824 | 713 NM | 504 NM | 4.7 kts | 109 NM | 9 Jun 19:27 | 8d 11h 49m 11s |
| 9 | Catnip | 0.851 | 706 NM | 506 NM | 4.8 kts | 109 NM | 9 Jun 15:19 | 8d 14h 59m 8s |
| 10 | Fair Seasons | 0.696 | 863 NM | 373 NM | 3.1 kts | 89 NM | 15 Jun 01:05 | 10d 19h 36m 19s |
Provisional results. Last position update: 3 Jun 11:00 NZST. All times NZST.
On General Handicap, James Foster’s Electron has extended its lead over Chester’s Oceans Tribute to 6 hours 47 minutes on corrected elapsed — 5d 6h 58m against 5d 13h 46m. That gap has grown since the previous update, reversing the trend of the last 24 hours when Chester was closing. The two multihulls are now racing against very different conditions and the corrected time is pulling apart again.
| Pos | Boat | Class | Handicap | DTF | Dist Sailed | VMG | 24h DMG | Est Finish | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electron | Catamaran | 0.799 | 465 NM | 805 NM | 7.3 kts | 117 NM | 6 Jun 02:54 | 5d 6h 58m 21s |
| 2 | Oceans Tribute | Trimaran | 0.963 | 366 NM | 935 NM | 8.3 kts | 130 NM | 5 Jun 06:54 | 5d 13h 46m 0s |
Provisional results. Last position update: 3 Jun 11:00 NZST. All times NZST.
