The Kraken wins and new ocean sailors are hooked! 

Victoria turned on the weather and the sailors turned on the competition for what was a thrilling 2026 Melbourne to Apollo Bay Yacht Race.

32 boats and 207 sailors were on the start line for the 52 nautical mile race, which is sailed along the picturesque southern Victorian coastline, which boasts sheer cliff edges, the iconic Great Ocean Road coastal drive and beautiful beachside retreats. 

Contributing to its popularity is that the 52 nm race is the perfect length for sailors, both new and experienced, to extend their offshore experience in a Category 3 race in what is the last race of the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s (ORCV) 2025-26 sailing season.

A pre dawn start for 32 yachts in the 2026 Apollo Bay Race.  Photo Glen Cowan

Phoenix 49, the Martens 49 skippered by Brenton Carnell from the Royal Geelong Yacht Club (RGYC), was the first boat out of Port Phillip Heads, with the fleet sailing in a light northerly breeze against a stunning saffron sunrise.

Phoenix 49 led the fleet for most of the race and was the first monohull across the line.

It was mission accomplished for Carnell and his crew, who were chasing a line honours win, but knew that winning would require a top tactical race, especially against the likes of line honours contenders, MRV and Cadibarra.

Old sea dogs will tell you that success in this race is usually dictated by a yacht’s choice whether to hug the coastline or to sail a more seaward course and hope for stronger breezes and better sailing angles, which was important advice for Carnell.

“We were chasing line honours glory, but it turned out to be quite a challenging race.

“We knew that the grib files would say to go out to sea eight miles, but we also knew that we had to cover MRV, so we ended up going into the coast, but then it got lighter and we had to gybe back out, which had us zig-zagging down the coastline.

“We went out with a lighter crew and an A2 and staysail, and had them up pretty much the entire way,” said Carnell.

A saffron sunrise behind The Kraken, overall winner Photo Maddie Scambary Speller

But the spoils of the 2026 Melbourne to Apollo Bay Yacht Race belong to the Sydney 32, The Kraken, skippered by RGYC member, Ryan Walker, who was thrilled and somewhat surprised to receive the Apollo Bay Perpetual Cup for the overall win which was decided on AMS handicap.

“This is awesome, absolutely fantastic, we had a really good race, really good crew, and it all went pretty smoothly.

“We’ve sailed with each other for about ten years, we’ve had the boat about 18 months, we’ve put a new set of sails on it, which has really helped the boat,” said Walker.

Walker described his crew as very competitive and admitted that the team was definitely out for the win, with lots of thought going into their tactics from right off the start line.

“We made a conscious effort to start on the Queenscliff side of the course.

“We were probably the last boat to gybe, we were at a point where we could see breaking waves, which was probably the point where the chart was saying we could go further in, but the breaking waves were starting to tell us we had hit the limit.

“From there we had always planned to go on the south side of the pilot boarding ground, and from there it was just a matter of picking the gybe angle to head back into shore.

“We got a few shifts that were starting to lift us and at one point we were almost laying the line to Apollo Bay when we did gybe.

“We were keeping an eye on Jason Farnell’s Voodoo Child, they were keeping us honest throughout the race and are a really well-sailed boat also from Geelong,” said Walker.

The Kraken crew overall winners of the 2026 Apollo Bay race Photo Cas Bukor

The Kraken also took out Division Two on ORC handicap and was third on ORC overall.

How Bizarre, the Seaquest RP 36, skippered by Scott Robinson from the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron (RMYS), had an excellent race, winning Division One on ORC and AMS handicaps, third on PHS, and finishing second on handicap overall.

Vertigo, the Summit 35 skippered by Clare Olding from the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, placed third on AMS overall without her father, Tim, onboard.

“It was a great race and 100 percent our conditions – the VMG running is what Vertigo really loves.

“It was a pretty simple race plan for us, we didn’t have a single sail change all race, we put the kite up at the start and then we did a few gybes to the finish.

“We were all working really well as a team, I was just the skipper on paper – we were treating the race as a training race for the Christmas racing period.

“Our navigator Stu [Addison] was incredible, he was just telling us where to put the boat and then we made the boat go fast, and we had a mixed gender crew, three men and three women, which was great,” said Clare.

And what attracts Olding to the race?

“It is just so scenic, you are always guaranteed to see dolphins, sometimes whales, and it is a really nice length, the early start and getting ready in the dark makes it feel like an ocean race and adds a bit of spice to it, but then you get to sleep in a non-moving boat that night and also go to the pub,” said Clare.

Vertigo finished in second place in Division Two on AMS and second on PHS.

Tim Olding, who is recovering from ankle surgery, was not far from his daughter’s side, driving down the coast to meet the team as they arrived in Apollo Bay, and spoke fondly of his daughter’s sailing skills and experience.

“It was Clare’s first sail out of the Heads by herself which was an important milestone for her, but I actually felt very relaxed about it, she has a lot of experience under her belt.

“Clare is also very consultative with her crew and opportunities like this are about building leadership skills – I expect she will be skippering a Hobart Yacht Race on her own one day, but that’s not one I will be paying for,” laughed Tim.

This year’s race drew several new and returning entries including newcomer Hitchhiker, the Beneteau Oceanis 41.1 skippered by Dr David Goodman from Sandringham Yacht Club, who was nothing short of elated when he spoke with ORCV media while prepping for the presentation dinner.

“We had a wonderful day, we are delighted that we finished in daylight, it was a big day, it was exciting.

“The team went very well, they are all elated and coming to party tonight, it was a really good experience; we are really very happy with ORCV and the support we have had over the last few years getting up to the level that we could do this sort of racing ourselves in our own boat.

“One of the highlights was cruising with our spinnaker up; my wife gave me a new spinnaker for Christmas last year, and in the race, when the wind got up to 20 knots, and we were powering along, we haven’t felt the boat move like that, it was terrific.

What every skipper wants is a new spinnaker at Christmas, Hitchhiker Photo Cyrus Allen

“There was also a lot of preparation for a Cat 3 race, we made it just by the deadline,” said Goodman.

Peccadillo, skippered by Charles Meredith from the RMYS, the only multihull home competing in this year’s race, finished fifteen minutes ahead of Phoenix 49.

The Melbourne to Apollo Bay Yacht Race is always a popular way to wrap up a busy summer sailing season with the short dash down the coast, the test of tactics, the competition and camaraderie, and the introduction to Category 3 sailing a hook for experienced crews and newcomers alike.

We can’t wait to see who else will be on the start line next year!

Top 3 Results for the race being: 

AMS Division 1

• 1st How Bizarre (Overall 2nd)
• 2nd Ginan
• 3rd Arcadia

AMS Division 2

• 1st The Kraken (Overall 1st)
• 2nd Vertigo (Overall 3rd)
• 3rd Aileron

ORC Division 1

• 1st How Bizarre (1st Overall)
• 2nd Ginan (2nd Overall)
• 3rd Wicked

ORC Division 2

• 1st The Kraken (3rd Overall)
• 2nd Alien
• 3rd Aileron

PHS Division 1

• 1st Phoenix49 (3rd Overall)
• 2nd Arcadia
• 3rd How Bizarre

PHS Division 2

• 1st Vertigo (1st Overall)
• 2nd Voodoo Child (2nd Overall)
• 3rd Ora

Double Handed 1st. Spirit of Downunder

Multihull Line Honours. Peccadillo

Monohull Line Honours. Phoenix49

Full race results here https://www.orcv.org.au/results/2025-26/2026-M2AB/series.htm?ty=33775

Story ORCV Media