Golden Globe Race: Cape Town in the wake, Kirsten Neuschäfer in second place

Now it's all happening in quick succession. After weeks in which the boats in the Golden Globe Race were just small colourful dots in the race tracker, one after the other is now appearing in the bay off Cape Town. And in some cases one right behind the other, like Kirsten Neuschäfer and Tapio Lehtinen last night. The position lights of Neuschäfer's Cape George 36 had not yet disappeared into the darkness when the Finn and his Gaia 36 crossed the intermediate finish line in third place around an hour later.

Both are leaving the South Atlantic around a day and a half later than the leader Simon Curwen, who completed the obligatory stopover at the weekend.

For a long time it was unclear whether Neuschäfer or Lehtinen would turn up first in Granger Bay off Cape Town, where a GGR team receives each skipper for an interview. They all have to hoist the headsails, tie a reef to the main and answer questions for 20 minutes. However, they also receive information about their position in the regatta and about their competitors. After all, it was the 39-year-old who was the first to head for the waters off her home town without a GPS on board.

When asked how she was feeling, Neuschäfer simply said "I am happy" - and seemed far more euphoric than at the stop before Lanzarote, where she was disappointed with her sixth position in the field at the time. Now she has let go of the thought of finishing and can enjoy sailing much more, says the experienced skipper. Neuschäfer has already travelled many miles in high southern latitudes in her life and recently made up more and more miles on the leading Simon Curwen at the Golden Globe.

Apparently, the fouling on the hull of her "Minnehaha" doesn't play a major role. She also has smallpox on her hull and was actually planning to dive during the stopover, she says, but as the arrival has now fallen in the dark, she would rather postpone it until later when she is travelling again.

The 64-year-old Finn Tapio Lehtinen also seemed satisfied. This is his second Golden Globe Race. He finished fifth in 2019 and is now one of the favourites. Both Neuschäfer and Lehtinen set sail again immediately after the stop in light wind conditions and set course for the Indian Ocean.

Irishman Pat Lawless is expected to finish fourth on Wednesday evening. Damien Guillou and Abhilash Tomy still have a good 150 nautical miles to go to Cape Town. Both could reach Granger Bay on Thursday evening.

At the back of the fleet, Michael Guggenberger, Ertan Beskardes, Jeremy Bagshaw and Elliott Smith are currently travelling around 130 nautical miles a day. Bringing up the rear are Ian-Herbert Jones, Arnaud Gaist and Guy Waites in what are currently very light winds, which are only pushing their boats a good 60 miles a day.

The next stop for the leading Golden Globe skippers is Tasmania. One of the toughest sections of the race lies ahead of them: the long ride across the Indian Ocean.

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• Golden Globe Update 3: Sailors reach first media stop
• Golden Globe Update 2: Shipwreck at Guy de Boer in the Canary Islands
• Golden Globe Update 1: Break, comeback and the first task
• Start at the beginning of September, all race info here
• Last Golden Globe sailor to finish after almost four years
• Lutz Kohne, the German member of the Golden Globe team
• A portrait of Rustler 36