By Friday evening, the race had reached a major turning point, the fleet converging on, and in some cases already rounding, the Three Kings Islands.
It was a frustrating day for a lot of them, with patches and holes on the course, which means the course record is safe for this year and will remain with Wired set in 2022 (2d, 3h, 42m, 39s).
Here’s a breakdown of how each of them are going so far.
Friday PM Update – 1900 hrs
Clockwork was the first yacht to round the Three Kings Islands. They passed the last cluster of islands, Oromaki/North East Island, the official turn south point at 1602 hrs. They captured the feel of the middle part of the day perfectly with “lots of potholes,” hunting for breeze, and passing time with wildlife spotting and a well-earned sausage lunch. They are well and truly homeward bound with 216nm to go, marking the transition from patience to pace with a VMG of 8.3 knots.
Meanwhile, Mr Kite II kept their update brief and to the point of just saying “Heading home. See you tomorrow”. They started heading south at 1757hrs and are boosting along at 8.8 knots.
Equilibrium had rounded the western end of the Three Kings around 1740 and were already setting up for the return leg, hoisting their A2 gennaker for the run south. The day itself had been difficult, marked by fickle, frustrating conditions, but the reward was finally getting around the top and turning for home. Speeds had been modest, topping out around 9 knots, but the mood on board remained steady, all well, just relieved to be through the light-air grind. They turned south at 1857 hrs.
Motorboat III also made it around the far end of the Three Kings in daylight, a key milestone. Their day had started in classic offshore fashion, strong coffee and bacon butties, apparently the best they’ve had so far, before a mix of light, fluky conditions gave way to a welcome breeze that filled in earlier than expected. That shift allowed them to make gains on the boats ahead, flipping the script on what they thought might be a procession. By evening, they were already partway home across the top, lining up for what looked like a building gennaker run through the night and a fast push back toward Auckland. Motorboat III started heading south at approximately 1918 hours, and are leading overall on PHRF.
At this point in the race, the top four are headed back to Auckland, with three yachts still working their way north.
On Higher Ground, the lighter conditions hadn’t gone unnoticed, with the crew joking about “going uphill all day” without yet reaching Higher Ground. True to form, morale stayed high with a mix of humour, philosophical questions, and onboard banter keeping things lively as they continued the push north. “Is the earth flat? How good is the offshore first air kit?”
Akonga reported a stunning day under blue skies and calm seas, making the most of the conditions with good food and proper rest cycles finally kicking in. As they approached North Cape at sunset, the mood was relaxed but focused, with expectations of a building breeze overnight. They were already looking ahead tactically, anticipating reaching conditions out toward the Kings, followed by a code zero phase and then running sails for the trip home. They currently predict that they will see the Three Kings Islands at around 0300, Saturday 18 April.
Carpe Diem described a quiet, uneventful day, capped off with a nice sunset and the promise of reaching the Three Kings in daylight on Saturday. A small but appreciated bonus after the earlier slow progress.
Note: their YB Tracker battery has failed due to water ingress, so their position is currently being updated manually by the YB team in the UK using AIS data, meaning their track is not in real time.
Race Feels
Daytime Friday: Light, patchy, and mentally testing
Friday evening: A split fleet , leaders already turning south, others heading north. A them and us situation.
Outlook for Saturday: Building breeze and a fast, downwind run home setting up
Overall leader on Line: Clockwork (Steve Mair)
PHFR Leaderboard as at 1800 hours, Friday 17th April
1. Motorboat III (Damon & Jacqui Jolliffe)
2. Mr. Kite II (Nathan Williams)
3. Clockwork (Steve Mair)
4. Equilibrium (Graham Matthews)
5. Higher Ground (John Seeley)
6. Carpe Diem (Rowan Smith)
7. Akonga (Nick Roberts)
