Frantic and Antipodes have finished the Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race (S2A), as Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) declared Bryon Ehrhart’s Lucky the overall winner of the 1250 nautical mile race, adding to her line honours and race record victories – a triple crown for the US entry.
Michael Martin’s TP52 from Newcastle, north of Sydney, was second boat to cross the finish line off Royal Akarana Yacht Club (co-host of the race), last night at 11.26.50pm (AEDT) in the time of 5 days 10h 26m 50s). Frantic won the inaugural race in 2023 and this time has finished second overall.
Antipodes followed at 3.06.7 this morning, in 5d 14h 6m 7s – 11 hours behind their 2023 record time.
On board Frantic (NSW) this morning, Michael Martin recalled their race: “Every day was different, but we were pretty good with spinnaker work. The first day was good, but the night was trying. Then we had the westerlies. The second night the wind was swinging 40 to 60 degrees. Trying to steer was challenging, as the seaway was bad too.
The third night, Martin said, “We had hard downhill running. We lost a few spinnakers, some coming off the tack and one exploded.
“Night three was the highlight – completely adventurous downhill sailing. The fourth day we got caught with changing conditions at the top of New Zealand. We got there, I don’t know how, building a knot at a time… When you get through it you go, good, yeah.
“On the way to the finish it was all the flat water, so a nice slide into New Zealand. We caught up with the Antipodes boys when they finished and I’m now looking forward to getting back to normality with a few beers a kangaroo court,” Martin said with a laugh.
“New Zealand a beautiful place and yeah, I’d do the race again. This is our second and the conditions are so different. I would have liked a couple more experienced helmsmen on board with the conditions the way they were this time. All the crew were geared towards the race though – it was great. A real adventure.”
On Antipodes, which created the first record for the biannual race in 2023, owner Geoff Hill was in good form. “It was very cold at the finish but nice flat water. We sailed pretty well to the finish doing 7-8 knots in the same amount of breeze.
“We had nice sail down the coast – did 4 miles in six hours, on the other side of coming into the Cape when we averaged about 3 knots per hour, because we got caught in a lot of storm cells. Welcome to yacht racing is all I can say,” he said, laughing.
“Anyway, we recovered and the fact is, it’s a great race. We had challenging conditions, but we only blew out one sail.
“The thing about it is, in terms of the Southern hemisphere, apart from Cape Town to Rio, the Sydney to Auckland is the only real ocean race. And that’s what makes it more challenging,
“We have two Volvo Ocean Race, one America’s Cup and two other professional sailors on the boat – and they did this race for nothing, just because they wanted to do the race. They all said it’s a great race and they’ll all tell their mates to come and do the race, so I’m confident it will build into a great race,” Hill said.
“If you look at the weather routing and you look at the difference between October and February conditions, this is the time to do it. We arrived in in one piece and are ready to do the Hobart in December. This race to Auckland is the equivalent of two Hobarts.
“The next race is two years from now. We should be talking to the owners about it now so owners can build it into their programs. I was talking to a friend at Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and they are interested in putting a team together and I’m sure other clubs will too,” Hill said.
At 11am this morning Wings (NSW), owned by Ian Edwards, was sitting in third place overall and leading ORCi. She was averaging 6 knots, 161nm from their destination – the Auckland finish line – with an ETA of around 7am tomorrow morning. The crew were understandably in good spirits.
Jana Com reported, “After a very trying day yesterday, with big patches of low wind, the Wings crew was very happy to enjoy the last of our home cooked meals, a lasagne made by our skipper’s lovely wife Lindy (Lindy is not aboard for the race). Very yummy.
“We were even more excited to see Cape Reinga lighthouse late last night and finally some land at first light this morning as we are approaching the North Cape,” Com ended.
Alan Hill’s Cooloola (NSW) is also not too far away. The Swan 48 is off the tip of Cape Reinga, averaging 6 knots with 193nm to the finish and an ETA into Auckland tomorrow just before midday. It’s hoped she will arrive in time for the official presentation at midday.
“Lovely flyer on in the evening and yesterday,” Lisa Denvir reported from Cooloola.
“Alan had a glass of vino at happy hour as we glided along under the A2 and storm jib. Now going slowly around the top of New Zealand.
“The generator gave up last night – so no hot dinner for us. Spirits remain good as we make our way to Auckland,” Denvir ended.
The official presentation ceremony for the Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race will be held midday on Saturday at race co-host, Royal Akarana Yacht Club. “We invite all interested parties to attend,” Commodore McClelland said.
“We gratefully acknowledge our event sponsors, whose partnership makes this race possible: Harken and Palm Beach Motor Yachts,” the Commodore said.
The S2A started at 1pm at Watsons Bay on Sydney Harbour last Saturday and is co-hosted by RPAYC and New Zealand’s RAYC.
Enthusiasts can follow the fleet’s every move via the Yellow Brick tracker at: https://pro.yb.tl/S2AOR25 or download the Yellow Brick app.
There is also plenty to see on the race’s social media channels including videos and photos. For all information on the Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race, please visit: www.sydneytoauckland.com
Di Pearson/Sydney to Auckland media
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