For the Globe40 tracker the gaps between the top three boats are still too smallto be able to show them individually on the first call. Only when enlarged can you see Ian Lipinski and Amélie Grassi on Crédit Mutuel leading the battle of the three scow-bug boats. Three and a half days after the start of the leg from La Réunion to Sydney on the afternoon of 25 November, the intermediate results also showed the French at the front of the ongoing three-way battle.
A good three miles behind them were Jonas Gerckens and Benoît Hantzperg from Team Belgium Ocean Racing - Curium. A further five miles behind them, Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink battled their way across the course in the Indian Ocean, which they were currently finding very bumpy. "Melwin is currently cooking delicious pasta. And I'm trying to keep the boat on course," reported Lennart Burke on Tuesday afternoon. And that's what's needed right now...
Globe40: confusing slow motion sailing in one knot of wind
"The wind is between 0.5 and 1.5 knots. I think we're making more progress with the current. Right now we have one knot of wind and are making 1.3 knots through the water. So now we just have to keep the bow pointing in the right direction. That doesn't always work," says Burke. Like the competition, his crew hassince the start We tried a lot in these slow opening days.
"Sometimes we headed east, sometimes south-east, sometimes south, because we tried to sail as high as possible with our Code Zero, our biggest upwind sail. The wind shifts resulted in a course from south-east to south, sometimes even east. But now we're more or less all going round in circles. None of us are moving at the moment. We're hoping that we'll all get the wind again at the same time, but we're a bit confused ourselves by the whole situation here."
The youngest crew in the Globe40 fleet from Germany is hoping that fortune will also be on their side in the doldrums roulette. "So far, luck hasn't been on our side too often in light winds," says Lennart Burke. The clear plan from the start of the leg, to push south as quickly as possible, remains constant, but is not so easy to realise in the prevailing conditions. "Of course we want to head south as quickly as possible, but at the same time we're trying to find the quickest way through the doldrums," says Burke, describing the agonisingly slow balancing act.
Still 300 nautical miles to the fresh wind?
Every now and then they take a swing to the south-east or east. "Just never to the west and never to the north," says Burke with a smile. The reason for the best possible southern orientation - under the circumstances - is clear and can also be seen in the tracking and routings: Beyond the 30th parallel south, the Class40 two-handed crews can expect a fresh wind, which they currently miss so painfully at around the 27th parallel south.
"This wind should catapult us to Sydney," says Lennart Burke. The forecast of his team Next Generation Boating Around the World: "It will probably take at least another 250, 300 nautical miles before we get more stable wind. You can only say that in nautical miles. It's very difficult to predict how long it will take." The waiting game could last another one and a half to two days. "That's pretty tough. We said today that it's grittier than in the Doldrums right now," says Burke.
In the Doldrums, there was at least a breeze from time to time. Or a cloud that brought a boat back into play. "Here, you're just standing in the oil," says Burke, describing the "stand-up sailing" in the Indian Ocean. The dilly-dallying also goes hand in hand with the "huge worry" of suddenly being left behind when one of the competitors is able to pick up speed again with a new wind.
The slowest Globe40 scow bug in calm conditions
Lennart Burke explains: "Our boat is also the worst of the scow bow boats in light winds. We have an extremely large wetted area. Our stern hangs extremely heavily in the water. We don't have enough weight on board to get the stern out of the water properly. So we stick to the surface of the water more than the others. Which is also the reason why they've got a bit of a head start on us. Now we're all going round in circles, but as soon as there's a breeze, they're a bit faster than us."
There is currently no communication between the three leading Globe40 boats, despite the creeping speed and proximity to each other. Lennart Burke says: "We don't actually have any communication with the others at the moment. Nor do the others with each other. Or on a channel that we're not aware of. Although of course we can communicate with each other via mobile phones with today's network possibilities. But we're not in contact with them, which isn't so bad." How does the duo from Hamburg experience the Indian Ocean on their first circumnavigation in this scenario?
The Indian Ocean is crazy, beautiful, totally impressive, but also very, very challenging. Much more challenging than the Atlantic." Lennart Burke
According to Burke, the Indian Ocean is not inferior to the Atlantic in terms of variety. "In the Atlantic, you also have the different wind zones and great, great sailing areas. It's the same here, only everything seems a little wilder, a little more exotic. The water is a deep blue at 24, 25 degrees. It's wonderfully warm. We have really great weather with an air temperature of almost 30 degrees, which makes the whole thing very pleasant."
Globe40: 16 to 18 days until Sydney
Sleeping on board is clearly on the plus side for Burke and Fink so far. They manage six to eight hours a day - almost a bit of luxury on a race around the world and also thanks to the flat conditions and the possibilities of double-handed crews. While Burke reports on what is happening on board, it is easy to hear how the sails are flapping back and forth without wind. "The swell is too strong for the sails to stay put. That means they are constantly being tossed around."
The interim assessment of the German Class40 after the first days of the third leg of the Globe40 is positive. Burke states: "The boat is doing very well. But it hasn't really been stressed yet. We only had one brief spell of 24 to 28 knots of wind after the start, when we blew past the island. That was crazy, really wild, but great for us. Great conditions to briefly move up into first place. But then we had to give it back in the doldrums..."
That could soon change again, as Lennart Burke explains: "We're looking forward to the south, because the conditions will be good for us. Lots of don wind, hopefully. And also fast sailing so that we arrive in Sydney quickly. We estimate that it will take another 16 to 18 days from today until we reach Sydney."
The frontrunners change, the south-west swell remains
At around the same time as Lennart Burke's observations Ian Lipinski also commented on the current race. He noted: "Since the start of the race, a small group of boats have been fighting for the lead in a tight pack. We have been within sight of our group since the start. We have already changed pole position several times. At the moment we have a slight lead, but that can change at any time."
According to Lipinski, the south-westerly swell has been clearly noticeable for two days now. The "Crédit Mutuel" skipper says: "This is a sign of the low-pressure areas that prevail further south. The swell breaks through the high pressure barrier much more easily than we do! The ocean currents are still noticeable... After all, we're not sailing on a lake. Have a nice day!"
