Repair at sea failed - Smith wants to give up
The 27-year-old American had already tried to repair the damage with on-board equipment before South Africa and sailed into the Indian Ocean with the emergency repair. However, it could not withstand the conditions there, so Elliott tried again to repair it at sea. In vain. The skipper of the "Second Wind" is now heading for Australia and will probably finish the race there.
Guy Waites, on the other hand, wants to carry on. The skipper from Yorkshire used the media stop off Cape Town to clean his underwater hull of heavy fouling. Instead of just heading for the specified waypoint, he headed for the harbour, craned his Tradewind 35 "Sargamantha" and freed it from countless barnacles. Waites is the last skipper in the Golden Globe Race to reach Cape Town. All the others are far ahead of him or - like Arnaud Gaist most recently - have already given up.
After a break in Cape Town: Waites wants to continue sailing
But Waites doesn't want that. A non-stop circumnavigation may have become unattainable for him, but according to the rules he can continue the Golden Globe Race in the Chichester class. Skippers who make a stop can continue the round-the-world trip, even if they are no longer ranked.
The catch: Waites has to reach the next stopover in Hobart by 31 January 2023. That's around 5,400 nautical miles and over 130 per day that he would have to cover. But with a freshly cleaned hull, that would be entirely possible. The 54-year-old has also applied two new coats of antifouling in the crane of the Royal Cape Yacht Club.
Now he is waiting for the right weather window to continue sailing. "Probably on Thursday, when the next low pressure system should bring north-westerly winds and push me and 'Sargamantha' in the right direction," says Waites. "It's a race against myself now, but I know I can make good progress."
Lead of the fastest is melting - arrival before Christmas?
Meanwhile, the picture at the front of the field has changed: Simon Curwen's lead over Kirsten Neuschäfer has shrunk from almost 800 to just 200 nautical miles. The South African has managed to sail around the light wind zone of a high pressure area, while Curwen has parked up. Abhilash Tomy, sailing in third position, and Michael Guggenberger in fourth position were also able to make up miles on Simon Curwen. The latter still has around 500 nautical miles to go to Hobart.
According to the race organisers of the Golden Globe Race, Simon Curwen can still reach Hobart as the first of the remaining six sailors in the classification. If nothing comes up, even before Christmas on 23 December.
Golden Globe Race: What has happened so far
- Golden Globe Update 9: Why it sank " Asteria " ?
- Golden Globe Update 8: Neuschäfer rescues Lehtinen from distress at sea
- Golden Globe Update 7: Emotional moments off Cape Town
- Golden Globe Update 6: Cape Town in the wake, Neuschäfer in second place
- Golden Globe Update 5: New breach on board the "PRB"
- Golden Globe Update 4: Three new videos from the high seas
- 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
