Doyle Sails Round North Island: Explore Racing first to finish Leg 3
by Richard Gladwell Sail-World.com 10 Mar 10:59 GMT
Most of the fleet in Napier - 2026 Doyle Sails Round North Island Two Handed Yacht Race - March 11, 2026 © SSANZ
Most of the 25 competitors have finished Leg 3 of the Doyle Sails Two Handed Round North Island Race.
Leg 3 from Queen Charlotte Sound to Napier proved to be a sprint leg, with the Elliott 50fter Explore Racing (William Goodfellow and Jesse Turner) taking line honours just before 1100hrs on Tuesday morning taking just 21hours 57 minutes hours for the 220-nautical-mile leg.
The exit from the Marlborough Sounds offered a lively re-introduction to Cook Strait. The crews were met with a brisk southerly flow of 14 to 18 knots, gusting into the low 20s, with a confused sea state.
Once clear of the Strait and aiming north up the Wairarapa coast, it became a drag race. The south-westerly push allowed the faster boats to settle into a rhythm, racking up the miles and taking advantage of the relatively manageable 1.3-metre seas as they aimed for the turn at Cape Kidnappers.
At the front of the fleet, Explore Racing made the most of their waterline length and the favourable breeze to finish the leg, off Pania Reef, in under 24 hours.
Behind them, the race for second on line honours has been fiercely contested. Damon Joliffe and Josh Tucker on the Thompson 1150 Motorboat III managed to hold off the high-performance Verdier 40 Vixen Racing (Sharon Ferris-Choat and Taylor Edwards) and the much larger Davidson 52 Whichway for much of the trip up the coast. After a match race over the final stages of the leg, Motorboat III finished at 1320hrs with Vixen Racing a few metres astern in third.
Fourth home was General Lee the Bakewell-White 37 sailed by Cameron Thorpe and Tim Holgate finishing at 1600hrs, followed and hour later by the 52fter Whichway (Bruce Gault and Craig McMillan).
About the Doyle Sails Round North Island Two Handed Yacht Race
Presented by naming rights sponsor Doyle Sails and organised by the Short Handed Sailing Association of New Zealand, the 2026 Round North Island Two Handed Race runs from 28 February to 15 March. Supporters of the event include the NZL Sailing Foundation, Henri Lloyd Australia & New Zealand, The Chandlery, and Sea Lovers Gin.
For live tracking, and race results for the event, visit the race website www.ssanz.co.nz/round-north-island-2026 or follow Short Handed Sailing Association of New Zealand social channels.
For live tracking, and race results for the event, visit the race website www.ssanz.co.nz/round-north-island-2026 or follow Short Handed Sailing Association of New Zealand social channels.