MRV stifles Ambition to take Line Honours and Overall Win in the 2025 Apollo Bay Race

By Jane Austin/ORCV media

Celebrating their win! All smiles for skipper Damien King (far left/front) and Crew on MRV / Photo by Damien King

Margaret Rintoul V (MRV), skippered by Damien King from the Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC), has sailed a fast and furious race to win the 72nd Melbourne to Apollo Bay Race (M2AB).

While the lyrics of a well-known song suggest ‘history never repeats’, King has well and truly proved that good things can happen twice, carrying his exceptional performance from the 70th anniversary race into this year’s event winning on line honours and on overall AMS and PHS handicaps.

The 52 nautical mile race, run by the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV), started in brisk conditions at 4 am on Saturday morning with 185 sailors making quick progress off the Queenscliff start line in a 15 knot westerly breeze.

The Frers 61 MRV was the first boat through Port Phillip Heads followed by ORCV Coastal Championship leaders Ginan, skippered by Cameron McKenzie and Nigel Jones from the Mornington Yacht Club, and Steve Twentyman’s Hanse 505, Shimmer.

The forecast was for cracked sheets all the way to Apollo Bay and while the majority of the fleet navigated the race well, others encountered some quiet patches and were ‘parked’ for a short time.

The battle for line honours was on from the start with MRV, Chris Dare’s Ambition from the Derwent Sailing Squadron in Tasmania, and Shimmer all in with a chance to claim first-home bragging rights.

King didn’t have it all his own way though with new fleet entrant Ambition, a Botin/Carkeek GP42, swapping the lead with him several times in only their second race in the boat.

MRV's Youth Superstars (Left to right), Felix Duell, Mats Maertens and Max O'Connell on MRV / Photo by Damien King

Max O’Connell, with Felix Duell and Mats Maertens were sailing their first race to Apollo Bay on MRV.

Adding yet another competitive dimension to the race, Max’s brother Jeremy O’Connell was onboard Ambition, with Max keen to pocket family bragging rights in his first M2AB race.

Max O’Connell reflected upon his first race and the tight tussle with Ambition.

“It was great fun, there were lots of challenging parts, especially the cold, it was very cold up on the rail, but when the sun came up, our spirits came up, and we could see boats around us and beneath us, it was just beautiful,” said O’Connell.

Max was in awe of the spectacular scenery and the competitive nature of the final race of the 2024-25 ORCV Offshore Sailing Program which saw only 55 seconds separating MRV and Ambition across the line, with MRV’s elapsed time 6 hours, 39 minutes and 40 second.

“About ten nautical miles out from the finish we knew we had a race on.

“We had Ambition on our hip, we were following them, and my brother was on the other boat.

“We talked about our options, to sit and hold second position or try for the win.

“We ended up in a tacking duel for about ten tacks over the last few miles.

“We knew Ambition would throw everything at us, and they did, but we just hit them straight back and managed to pull ahead to win,” said O’Connell.

MRV skipper Damien King was over the moon with his success in this year’s race and described his three new race recruits as “absolute legends”.

“Our strategy was to try and hold the rhumbline, we went out to sea a bit, but our plan was just to sail as fast as we could.

“We just love this race.

“It’s a perfect time of the year for this race, we’ve done it a bunch of times…we had great fun and are very happy to come away with line honours and the overall win.

“The race is a great length, we enjoyed starting in the middle of the night, there are different challenges with that, and to sail with three first timers onboard who are absolute legends, it’s just great,” said King.

Joining King and his newcomers on board MRV were Leeton Hulley, Grant Allen, Jonathan Orr, Dean Joel, David Suda and Mark Byrne.

While Ginan, the speedy J111 racing boat, missed out on the overall win, which is decided on AMS handicap, the seasoned sailors were very happy to take away the ORC overall win and the 2024-2025 ORCV Coastal Championship for the third year running.

Skipper McKenzie paid tribute to his entire team’s preparation and made specific mention of the time and effort of his “fabulous navigator” Greg Patten.

“Greg put a lot of time into understanding the race weather, looking at historical routes, understanding how wind shadows caused by the hills could affect us, and we looked at tracks of previous races.

“Because of Greg’s preparation, we were able to make some good tactical decisions today.

“And even though we were pushing the boat hard, we were still taking the time to admire the fabulous scenery along the coast, we are really luck to do what we do,” said McKenzie.

Onboard Ginan were Mark Jukes, Tim Bilham, William McKenzie, Jack Vermeer, Stephen Daniel and James Bacon.

Rounding out the overall results on AMS, Shimmer finished in second place behind MRV by just 32 seconds, with Ginan in third, while MRV and Shimmer finished behind Ginan on ORC overall.

Shimmer underway, living up to its name / Photo by Neil Bourne

Shimmer took out second place on PHS overall with Xenia, the X4.3 boat skippered by Koos Theron from SYC finishing in third.

Peccadillo, skippered by Charles Meredith from the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron, won line honours in the multihull division.

ORCV Race Director Ryan Blackstock was very happy with the race with all 28 competitors finishing in a reasonably good time.

“I think it was all fairly straightforward, nothing too out of the ordinary, although I did hear from some people after the race that the wind was fairly patchy around Lorne, but we had a consistent breeze on the finish line.

“And the race was probably a bit easier for some of the tailenders who had a better run to the finish line than the front markers who went a bit further south of the finish line and had to tack back towards us,” said Blackstock.

Joan Lorraine underway to the start line / Photo by Matthew Lee

In other provisional results, Alex Team-Macadie, skippered by Jock Macadie, won the Double-Handed PHS handicap from Sarah Allard’s Saltair and Foggy Dew, skippered by Robert Darcy, finished in third place. Joan Lorraine, skippered by Peter Garner took out the Division 2 Cruising PHS handicap.

The 2025 Melbourne to Apollo Bay Race was sailed with great spirit and camaraderie.

 The Jackal on the way to Queenscliffe / Photo by Peter Grant

This year’s race welcomed several newcomers and a growing contingent of youth sailors and was a fitting end to the summer sailing season.

The fleet was joined by spirited pods of dolphins setting a cracking pace through the water along the Victorian coastline.

King and McKenzie joined many competitors who extended their thanks to the ORCV team for hosting this popular race and the broader offshore sailing program, and for generating coverage across media platforms that is inspiring new sailors.

“Thanks to the ORCV for putting these events on and for always being a fun and inclusive environment for all of us, we greatly appreciate it,” said King.

For full and provisional results across all divisions, click here.

Plenty of newcomers enter 2025 Melbourne to Apollo Bay Yacht Race

Competitors in the 2025 Melbourne to Apollo Bay Yacht Race (M2AB) will start this final offshore event of the season under the eerie cover of darkness at 0400 hours on Saturday the 24th of May. 

The 52 nautical mile sprint is the final race of the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s (ORCV) summer sailing program and is also the deciding race in the ORCV Coastal Championship Series and the ORCV Double-Handed Championship.

Race Director, Ryan Blackstock, is expecting an exciting early morning start, relatively calm conditions on Port Phillip and a challenging sea state once the fleet is out of Port Phillip Heads.

“We have a good-looking fleet with a mix of boats, some new ones, and lots of experience.

“I expect we will have a bit of breeze during the race with the lead boats likely to reach Apollo Bay by lunchtime,” said Blackstock.

All smiles for the Ginan crew after the Devonport Race 2024 / Photo by ORCV

The fleet will be looking for more wind than last year, none more so than the current Coastal Championship leader Ginan, skippered by Cameron McKenzie and Nigel Jones, from the Mornington Yacht Club.

The highly experienced and disciplined team will be pushing the sleek 36-foot racing boat hard along the coast in their quest for a third Coastal Championship win in a row.

The battle for line honours will be an interesting affair, with several boats in contention.

Local legend Damien King is sailing his Frers 61, MRV, in this year’s race, with the elegant 18.5 metre sloop the biggest boat in the fleet and widely tipped to take line honours.

The versatile Chris Dare, who sails everything from 20-foot sportsboats to TP52s, is campaigning his new Botin Carkeek GP42, Ambition, in only her second race under Dare’s ownership, and is certain to have an eye on the line honours prize.

Dare, representing the Derwent Sailing Squadron, has brought together a Tasmanian / Victorian team of talented sailors, including his son Lockie, to give the highly modified boat purchased from Fremantle only a few months ago, an airing.

“We are just keen to put our nose outside the [Port Phillip] Heads to see what she’s like offshore,” said Dare, who is also looking forward to competing in the ORCV DYSC Marine Supplies Winter Series as he prepares for some longer races over summer.

Following a successful first offshore race to King Island earlier this year, Danielle Fraser has the Jac Hoi band back together and will be sailing the Solaris 47 short-handed in her first M2AB race, with the boat also tipped to be up there on line honours.

Talking from the boat as she finalised preparations for the race along one of Victoria’s most stunning coastlines, Fraser said she put it out to the crew who jumped at the chance to participate in another ORCV offshore race.

“We did so well in King Island and thought, well this is the last opportunity this season to do an offshore race, so we added Apollo Bay to our program,” said Fraser.

Fraser believes in shaking things up a bit onboard, and for this race will relinquish the helm role to Etchells team mate, Chris Manton, while Fraser will take on bow duties, and Jamie Bennett will be on tactics.

Multihull Peccadillo / Photo by Al Dillon

Charles Meredith will also be keen to pick up a line honours win on Peccadillo, as the only multihull entered in the race.

Meredith sails his Chris White 46 catamaran consistently well and for this race welcomes onboard a new crew member, Chris Edwards, a sight-impaired sailor who has been sailing since he was a kid.

The M2AB sprint is a race that introduces newcomers to offshore racing, with the relatively short event offering a taste of the fun and the challenges of ocean sailing.

Other new boats entered in this year’s race include Peter McFarlane’s Loch Sloidh 3, Allan Guntar’s ORA, The Jackal, skippered by Matt Setton, and The Kraken Groove, skippered by Ryan Walker.

Rod Smallman, skipper of the double-handed entry Maverick, will have a new partner in crime for the race; David Blake.

Blake has sailed with international hotshot Gary Jobson in overseas regattas from Antigua to Cowes, and was a crew member on the USA entry, Jubilation, in a Sydney to Hobart Race under American sailing legend, Paul Cayard.

“While I’ve done a lot of sailing and had three Melbourne to Hobart races under my belt by the age of 23, I have been looking forward to another challenge with double-handed racing really appealing to me.

“In preparation, I’ve completed a few ORCV courses including the Long Range [Radio] Operator Course, First Aid and the Safety and Sea Survival Course, which I think was one of the best courses that I have ever completed.

“It will also be the first time I’ve started a race in the middle of the night, that is quite unique for me,” said Blake.

Tacticians will need to be mindful of the challenges the stunning Victorian coastline can present, with the area known for stranding boats in holes with no breeze if they venture too close to the dramatic cliffs and headlands.

Apollo Bay record holder 'Kaos’ rounding the bottom mark during the 1999 Melbourne Winter Series / Photo by John Curnow

The race record for the Apollo Bay race was set in 1999 by Peter Blake sailing his Jones 37, KAOS, and stands at 5 hours, 24 minutes and 4 seconds.

Get Your Clan Together and Give The 2025 Apollo Bay Ocean Race a Go!

by Jane Austin/ORCV Media

Loch Sloidh 2 by Down Under Sail competing in the 2025 Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race & Regatta, Photo by Peter McFarlane

Early bird entries for the 2025 Apollo Bay Race close on Sunday the 4th of May, yes that’s the day after election day!

The 52 nautical mile race from Queenscliff to Apollo Bay is the last of the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s (ORCV) summer ocean racing program and serves as a great exposure race for teams new to offshore racing.

Another strong fleet is expected on the start line for the race which takes place on Saturday the 24th of May.

The race is relatively short, starting in the wee hours of the morning, with boats emerging from the darkness to witness the stunning coastline of the Surf Coast, east of Cape Otway.

And while the race may be a scenic one, competition will be fierce as always, especially as this race can prove pivotal in deciding the ORCV 2024-25 Double Handed Offshore Championship and the ORCV 2024-25 Coastal Championship

While the war cries of his McFarlane ancestors were more frequently heard across the lochs of Scotland, Peter McFarlane, from the Royal Yacht Club of (RYCV), has his clan ready to put Loch Sloidh (Sloy) 3 to the test in this year’s race.

McFarlane purchased the current Loch Sloidh, a Northshore 38, on Australia Day and has been doing some basic upgrades to the boat including installing an autohelm and fitting her out with new sails, ready for a series of ocean races.

McFarlane’s ‘clan’ for this year’s race includes his partner Teresa Dowding, an experienced campaigner in the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta, and several regular crew mostly from the RYCV and around Port Phillip.

As a young lad of just 14 years, McFarlane bought his first boat, a Fireball one-design, two-person sailing dinghy, with money earned from his paper round back in the day and has campaigned Loch Sloidh 1 and 2 in other regattas across Australia.

Loch Sloidh 2 enjoyed success most recently in the 2025 Adelaide to Port Lincoln Race taking out second on AMS overall and in Division 2.

McFarlane has the respect of local sailors, with 2024 Melbourne to Hobart Alan Collins “rookie skipper” prize winner, Kioni’s Dennis Ward, attributing much of his success to the skills of the experienced sailor.

“Peter McFarlane was our rockstar super-experienced sailing master who slotted into our crew dynamic easily and was fantastic,” said Ward.

History buffs might be interested to know that Loch Sloidh was the war cry of the McFarlane clan, a battle cry designed to strike fear into enemies from neighbouring clans on the shores of Loch Sloidh, a small loch to the west of Loch Lomond in Scotland, during battles over land and livestock.

In 2025, the war cry will serve as an inspiration to the crew of Loch Sloidh 3, and as a reminder that whether you are sailing for the first time or are in it to win it, each sailor’s journey takes courage, tactics, focus and determination.

But be warned, just like the days of old, Loch Sloidh 3 and the McFarlane ‘clan’ may prove elusive or make their best moves under the cover of darkness!

McFarlane is encouraging those new to offshore racing to join the fleet on the 24th of May, and has his fingers crossed for a bit more wind than last year.

“We are looking for a moderate breeze for the race and if it’s hard on the nose, that will suit us well on our first shake down on the new boat.

“I’d encourage anyone thinking about the race to give it a go, it’s a short Category 3 which means less gear to take, less outlay overall, it’s convenient, and can be a lot of fun,” said McFarlane.

Jason Furnell skippered the Adams 10.9 Valiant to victory in the 2024 race alongside a small crew of mostly family members.

"Starting the race in the dark was interesting, as was avoiding the over-optimistic port tackers on the start line, but we did really well in the first half of the race to Lorne... it was truly glamour sailing,” said Furnell.

"We had a very good run - we studied the course and the weather a lot beforehand but what made it a bit trickier was the breeze coming through in bands throughout the race, which meant the breeze didn't fully favour boats close to the shore or the boats further offshore," said Farnell.

Be sure to take advantage of the early bird entry fee to the 2025 Apollo Bay Race and get your entries in for one of the most popular races of the ORCV program.

Race documents and entry are available here.

2025 Apollo Bay Race Entries Open!