New look Wild Thing eyeing Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race record

by Di Pearson/Sydney to Auckland media 4 Jun 07:23 BST 11 October 2025

Grant Wharington is getting Wild Thing 100 revved up - the new mast to suit the 100 footer was stepped and new sails by Kiwi, Rodney Keenan, added in May - so the timing is right to have a crack at the record in the Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race (S2A) sponsored by Harken and the perfect vehicle to return eminent sailor, Keenan to his homeland.

"We want to support the race," Wharington said of the 1250 nautical mile Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race, starting on 11 October and described by world renowned meteorologist, Roger 'Clouds' Badham OAM, as a "tough little piece of ocean".

"Rod (Keenan) is one of our watch captains. He's very experienced and has a fantastic sail loft, Evolution Sails, in Auckland. While we're fit and able, we want to keep racing and he'll be with us.

Up to now, Wharington, or Wharo, as he's known in yachting circles, has been sailing Wild Thing 100 with its original mast after extending it from an 80 to a 100 footer in 2023. He still managed some impressive results but is looking forward to racing the yacht with a full rig.

"The mast was Wild Oats XI's second rig. It's 6 metres taller than the mast it replaced. The mainsail area has gone from 350 to 400 square metres and the bowsprit has been extended by a metre," Wharington shared.

"We've reduced the head of the mainsail because we have a taller mast now. We have to hope it all holds together. We've had good people working on it and engineering looks good.

"The new mast looks the part and we can't wait to sail and race it," says Wharington, whose boat manager Patrick Lambourne will also be aboard. Lambourne did the inaugural S2A race on Mayfair and is a strong advocate.

Comanche is the only racing 100 with larger gear, "because of the makeup of her size," explained Wharington. "But we've got a little more righting moment than Wild Oats and Black Jack."

Musing on the current state of the offshore yachting scene, Wharington said, "I used to be the young bloke in the fleet. I wonder now where all the new younger people have gone? We have to keep turning up to sailing events, to support our sport and encourage more young people into it."

In the lead up to the start of Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club's (RPAYC) biannual race to Auckland, co-hosted by New Zealand's Royal Akarana Yacht Club (RAYC), Wharo tested the rig and sails on the delivery to Sydney last week; the yacht's first big test in her new configuration.

The Queensland yachtsman has strung together a chain of racing events, similar to the Kiwi entry, V5, owned by Brian Petersen. He is taking aim at records in all races and contests in the next year, including the S2A.

Wharington and crew will stay on in New Zealand for the 119nm pic Coastal Classic before returning to Sydney for the Rolex Sydney Hobart: "We're all organised," he said.

Mulling over the schedule and the S2A, Wharington said, "I think it will be similar to the Noumea race. We want to spend as many hours as possible on the boat, improving systems and making sure we have the best people on the boat."

So far, 10 boats have entered the Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race, among them the race record holder, Geoff Hill's Antipodes from Hong Kong (5 days 3hrs 37mins 57secs) and 2023 overall winner and holder of the historic Lipton Cup, Mick Martin's Frantic. Joining them is the likes of Ian Edwards' Wings, which is a major player at events on the east coast of Australia and beyond.

There are also two multihulls entered. Wind Cheetah (NSW), an Arber 38 Cat Southeaster, entered by Darren Drew and outstanding navigator, Alice Parker. More recently, Charles Meredith added his Chris White 46 MKII, Peccadillo from Melbourne to the mix.

More entries are expected, so watch this space.

For all information, including entry and Notice of Race, please visit: www.sydneytoauckland.com

For enquiries regarding the race, please contact Race Director, Nick Elliott on +61 2 9998-3700 or email: