The Doyle Sails Gold Cup Series reaches its climax this Friday, 20 February 2026, with the Balokovic Cup, an 89 nautical mile overnighter that will decide the overall Gold Cup winner.
Delivered in collaboration between Royal Akarana Yacht Club, Bucklands Beach Yacht Club, Richmond Yacht Club, and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, the five race Doyle Sails Gold Cup Series has stretched Auckland’s offshore fleet over demanding coastal courses ranging from 35 to 48 nautical miles.
The Spring Regatta set the early benchmark and revealed who had come prepared. Roy McDell reshuffled the order and tightened the margins. Bean Rock tested patience and positioning across the Gulf. Percy Jones most recently added further twists, leaving both Line Honours and handicap standings far from settled.
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Waiheke Marina Berths 18-20m
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Now the series comes down to one final lap of the Gulf.
Route and conditions
Balokovic Cup route
The Balokovic Cup starts in the Orakei Wharf area, with the warning signal at 1825 for the solo multihull, Ocean’s Tribute, and 1830 for the remainder of the fleet.
Ocean’s Tribute // Photo credit: Ocean’s Tribute
The primary route forms a large Gulf triangle. Boats leave Browns Island to starboard, Waiheke Island to port, Cow and Calf to port, Flat Rock to port, Rangitoto Beacon to port, before finishing back at Orakei.
Weather outlook
PredictWind tells us that a southwesterly of 10 to 16 knots is forecast Friday morning, building to 14 to 19 knots by late afternoon with a moderate chop around Waiheke. Overnight winds ease, dropping to 8 knots by early Saturday afternoon, then fading toward calm by the 2200 time limit.
Tactically, an early push may prove decisive. Boats still offshore late Saturday risk drifting in light patches.
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2016 Chris White 12m Powercat
Introducing the Balokovic Cup fleet
The Balokovic Cup fleet has a number of design groupings that might well shape this 89 mile contest. A strong 36 to 40 foot core forms the heart of the race, including the Titan 36, Farr 36 O.D, Bakewell-White 38, Melges 40 and Soto 40. These performance cruiser racers are well matched on handicap and may well drive the overall battle.
Boat
Class or type
Sail
Helm
Club
PHRF
Zen
Titan 36
1003
Rob Derrick
BBYC
0.814
T-Rex
SR26
5159
Lanny Walker*
Panmure
0.740
Explore Racing
Elliott 50
8899
William Goodfellow*
RAYC
1.064
Kaizen
Farr 36 O.D
NZL 11102
Simon Manning*
RAYC/RNZYS/GBC
0.928
Nirvana
Dufour 45e
9270
Nigel Hendy*
RNZYS
0.848
Visage
BW 38
R2004
Jonathan J Gravit*
RNZYS
0.842
Flying Boat
Young 11
6095
Chris Beaumont*
RNZYS
0.829
Sassinate
Melges 40
NZL 040
Mikayla Plaw*
RNZYS
1.078
Magic Bus
Whiting 1/4 Tonner
KZ2499
Ross Bannan
RNZYS
0.659
Apparition
Ross 35
5283
Marcel Vroege*
RNZYS/RYC
0.797
Alegre
Soto 40
10033
Vaughn Clark*
RNZYS/RYC
0.970
Carpe Diem
Monohull
8380
Rowan Smith*
RNZYS/RYC/SSANZ
0.778
Indis
Sun Fast 3300
9877
Andrew Benton
RYC
0.81
Another Duchess
Davidson 58
10153
Bryce Morrin
SSANZ
1.035
Motorboat
SR26
5820
Gavin Woodward
SSANZ
0.745
Liquid Luck
E 30 S
9974
David Wade*
Sandspit Yacht Club
0.866
Oceans Tribute
Multihull
7669
Guy Chester
Tinaroo Sailing Club
Â
There is also a distinct Kiwi sportboat flavour, with two Windy SR26 entries, T-Rex and Motorboat, joined by the Ross 35 and the classic Whiting 1/4 Tonner. These lighter boats will relish pressure reaching legs but may suffer if the breeze fades late.
At the larger end, Explore Racing’s Elliott 50 and Another Duchess, a Davidson 58, bring genuine offshore horsepower and Line Honours potential. Production offshore designs such as the Dufour 45e Nirvana and Sun Fast 3300 Indis add modern European influence.
Explore Racing, Racing A, Race 4, 2026 BOISW // Insight Media / BOISW
Finally, Oceans Tribute stands alone as the sole multihull, a trimaran capable of stretching clear if conditions favour outright speed.
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13m Lidgard Bridge Deck Motor Launch
Series standings going in
On PHRF handicap, Nigel Hendy’s Dufour 45e Nirvana holds a slender one point advantage over Liquid Luck. Alegre remains in contention eight points back.
On Line Honours, Graham Matthews’ Botin Carkeek 55, Equilibrium, leads the series on 9 points but is not racing the Balokovic Cup. That opens the door for Alegre, sitting just one point behind on 10. Liquid Luck is third on 18.
2025 PIC Coastal Classic. Photo: Suellen Hurling / Live Sail Die
Several entries, Carpe Diem, Explore Racing, and Indis, are sharpening up for the 2026 Round North Island Race starting eight days later.
Visiting trimaran Oceans Tribute adds offshore flavour, while Another Duchess arrives fresh from success at Kawau Race Week.
With both Line Honours and handicap titles still mathematically alive, the Balokovic Cup will not just crown a race winner, it will settle the Doyle Sails Gold Cup for 2026.
Learn more: https://rayc.co.nz/event/25-26-doyle-sails-gold-cup-race-5-balokovic-cup/