After taking home the Katiward Broken Oar hard luck trophy for 2025, Kookaburra commenced her title defence last Sunday, when with a full crew assembled and about to depart her mooring, it was noticed that the exhaust was waterless. A preliminary inspection found the issue not immediately repairable, and that yacht withdrew from Sunday’s Long Ocean event without leaving the mooring. 

Fortunately, crewing places were found on Cool Change for about half the crew.

In any event it was a reduced fleet of four yachts eventually faced the offshore start line off Bird Rock, in a lightish 10 knot NNE breeze for the first event in the 2026 ocean series. With a windward leeward course,  at the start line, the pin end appeard favoured, and after two cancelled attempts at a start the race finally got away only a few minutes late.    

At the start of the initial windward leg, Razamatazz 2 was clearly in front at the start, followed by, Enticer, Cool Change and Third Man. On the northern journey several tacks were required to avoid the stronger current out wide, with Enticer leading into the mark, followed by Razamatazz 2, Cool Change with Third Man Trailing. 

With the return leg being a downwind leg, spinnakers were flown making a colourful spectacle. Enticer returning after service work in Newcastle left the remainder of the fleet in her wake, building up a lead of around a kilometre over Razamatazz 2, which established a similar lead over Cool Change, while the last ocean series winner, Third Man, surprisingly was a further kilometre adrift at the rear of the fleet, notwithstanding “Big Sunshine”, her yellow masthead spinnaker was flying for the entire length of the return leg.

With finishing times spanning one hour, yachts crossed the finish line in a leisurely progression, barely in sight of each other, however, once handicaps were applied the margins were closer, with around one minute separating each of the first three yachts with the final yacht, Third Man finishing 6 minutes only behind the first placed Enticer. Cool Change took second place, while Razamatazz 2 after her good start took third place.

The closeness of the handicap result is a pointer to a very competitive 2026 offshore series.