Doyle Sails Round North Island Two Handed Yacht Race attracts 26 entries
by Chris Woodhams 25 Feb 02:32 PST
Vixen - Coastal Classic - October 24, 2025 © Richard Gladwell - Sail-World.com/nz
The 2026 Doyle Sails Round North Island Two Handed Race will be held from 28 February to 15 March 2026.
The event is organised by the Short Handed Sailing Association of New Zealand and presented by naming rights sponsor Doyle Sails, with additional support from NZL Sailing Foundation, Henri Lloyd Australia & New Zealand, The Chandlery, and Sea Lovers Gin.
The race will be sailed anticlockwise around the North Island of New Zealand, starting and finishing in Auckland's Waitemata Harbour. The course covers approximately 1210 nautical miles and is divided into four legs.
Leg One will start at 1000 hours on Saturday 28 February 2026, from Auckland Harbour to the entrance of Mangonui Harbour, a distance of approximately 154 nautical miles. Leg Two runs from Mangonui to Queen Charlotte Sound, approximately 475 nautical miles. Leg Three continues from the top of Queen Charlotte Sound to Napier Harbour, approximately 215 nautical miles. Leg Four returns the fleet from Napier Harbour to Auckland Harbour, approximately 366 nautical miles. Start times for Legs Two, Three and Four will be set by the Race Officer.
Mandatory stopovers will apply at Mangonui, Waikawa and Napier, with minimum lay periods confirmed once the majority of the fleet has completed each leg.
Twenty six yachts are currently entered for the 2026 edition, reflecting the range of designs active in New Zealand double handed offshore sailing.
Among the larger yachts entered is Whichway, a Davidson 52 sailed by Bruce Gault and Craig McMillan. In the most recent edition, raced in 2023, Whichway placed second overall on PHRF corrected time and fifth overall on elapsed time. The 2023 overall and line honours winner, Wired, is not entered for 2026.
Whichway is joined by Explore Racing, an Elliott 50 sailed by William Goodfellow and Jesse Turner, and High 5, a Cookson 47 sailed by Bernie and Thomas Hyde. Together these yachts represent the upper size range of the current fleet.
Modern offshore performance designs are well represented. Vixen Racing, a Verdier design sailed by Sharon Ferris-Choat and Taylor Edwards, will compete alongside Indis and Ragnar, both Sun Fast 3300s, and Pipi, a Pogo 36. Niksen, a Dehler 30OD, adds a compact two handed race platform to the fleet.
The entry list also features a number of established New Zealand designs. Ross yachts include Ross 8, Ross 930, Ross 9.1 and Ross 1066 variants. Elliott designs are present in several configurations, including Elliott 10.66, Elliott 10.50, and Elliott 1350 Tourer. Farr, Bakewell-White and Davidson designs are also represented.
Cruiser racers such as the Beneteau First 45 and First 40.7, Azuree 46 and Dehler 41 are entered, along with a Dufour 455 Grand Large. These yachts combine offshore capability with cruising practicality within the race format.
Yachts will be divided into four divisions based on PHRF ratings, from Division 1 at 0.9500 and above to Division 4 at 0.7899 and below.
Major prizes will be awarded for first PHRF Overall and first Line Overall across all four legs, with additional divisional prizes presented based on fleet numbers.
Further information, including the full Notice of Race and entry details, is available from SSANZ.