GLOBE40
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: TWO LEADERS ARE NECK AND NECK AT 300 MILLES FROM THE FINISH LINE
With less than 300 miles to go to the finish in Valparaiso, the GLOBE40 seems poised to deliver a final twist in this fourth leg, a scenario only it seems to have in store. We all remember the mere 9 minutes separating the top three in the second leg between Cape Verde and Reunion Island. Just five days ago, they were 77 miles behind the Franco-British crew of CREDIT MUTUEL, but they’ve put in a remarkable performance, closing to within one mile of the Belgian team at 02:00 UTC today, after 11 days of BELGIUM OCEAN RACING’s dominance. It’s difficult to know whether this new situation is due to tactical choices—a more westerly and northerly positioning on the southern approach, now holding a leeward position—or the condition of each boat’s sails, or both. We’ll have to wait for the finish to know for sure.
With approximately 24 hours to go, is the race over? It seems there are still a few more times to play out before the final result and which of the two heroes will be crowned. In any case, these last few miles – after 6,674 miles covered to date at the remarkable average speed of 13.44 knots – will surely be experienced with great tension by both crews, given the stakes of this leg, which has a coefficient of 3. Especially since, in the few dozen miles before the finish, there could be a wind shadow, and a cape further south of Valparaiso could limit the effects of the southerly winds.
The final words from aboard CREDIT MUTUEL.
“Hello Earth, We’re arriving!!!! We’re getting ready to spend our last night at sea. Our day was pretty good, the gaps are finally closing in terms of distance to the finish line, our more northerly positioning suits us very well, it gives us a bit of leeway, as long as we’re behind them we’re happy. If we manage to regain the lead, we’ll do everything to eliminate this crosswind. We have 340 miles left to go before the finish line, a mere trifle when you think of the 6000 miles already covered. We’re sailing with the spinnaker up in full warrior mode, the sheets are starting to get damaged from all the work we’re doing.”
The fleet of classic Class40s, known as “pointus” boats, is 1,300 miles away and preparing to begin its course north heading to Valparaiso. It remains very close together, with only 200 miles separating BARCO BRASIL, WILSON, JANGADA RACING, and WHISKEY JACK in order of the ranking. FREE DOM, meanwhile, is south of New Zealand and beginning its long journey south.
