Kawil moves to the top of the leaderboard on day two of the NZ Millennium Cup

On a day of light airs and a swift course around Rakino Island, Kawil made her move from second to first place overall on the second day of the NZ Millennium Cup.

After Sea Eagle’s show of dominance on the first day of the regatta, Kawil didn’t waste the opportunity to show her strength in Auckland’s changeable conditions; pushing the big 81 metre down into third place.

Sea Eagle’s fellow Royal Huisman-built yacht Sassafras, showed her skill on her local waters, with the Auckland-based yacht making light work of moving into second place overall.

The race’s corrected time showed just how close the two big yachts of the competition were, with Janice of Wyoming and Sea Eagle clocking a time difference of five seconds between them.

“Sassafras’ owners and crew are rapt with our performance after two days of enjoyable sailing,” says Sassafras captain, Matt Lovett.

“We’re excited to be in the mix at the top of the leader board, and will be racing to win on day three.”

In the Pacific Cup Class, there was plenty of rumbling between the young guns on Lion New Zealand and the masters onboard Steinlager 2; both yachts presented by the NZ Sailing Trust.

The effervescent energy of Lion New Zealand’s young sailors proved too strong, with the keen crew crossing the start line right on the horn and taking the award for best start of the day. They were quick, but not fast enough to take top spot; nipping in closely behind Hikurere which took the class win, but it was the battle between Steinlager 2 and Kinetic which was a real head-turner.

Over a short race, the two Pacific Cup Class yachts finished within 15 seconds of each other, with Steinlager 2 just beating Kinetic to fourth place.

At the evening's prize giving and happy hour, presented by Port Denarau Marina and Tahiti Tourisme, prizes were presented for stand out performances on the track. 

"We love to work together as a Pacific destination and we look forward to welcoming you all to Tahiti and to Fiji." 

Janice of Wyoming picked up the prize for most-consistent and well-oiled crew, while Kawil's owner was on hand to accept the prize for winner of the day. 

"It's always a good day racing on this course." 

At the end of two days of competition, there are three yachts in the running to win the top spot in the NZ Millennium Cup. Racing continues on Tuesday, to decide the ultimate winners for 2025.