Two teams can still win the second Globe40 edition. Three teams behind them still have the chance to fight for the third podium place in the final. That is the starting position for the Globe40 final on 29 March. The starting signal will be given next Sunday at 2 p.m. local time in the Brazilian harbour of Recife. The eight crews of the now complete fleet of eight Class40ies are preparing for the showdown of the double-handed circumnavigation.
Globe40: duel for victory, three-way battle for third place
Each team has its own challenges to overcome. This was also the case for the Belgians, who were tied for second place with the French leaders on the Raison-Max 2 "Crédit Mutuel". Their Lombard design showed signs of delamination in Recife. The technicians of the Belgium Ocean Racing - Curium team had to work night shifts due to the extreme heat, because the resin hardens too quickly during the day at temperatures of around 35 degrees. The two top boats will go head-to-head in the Globe40 final with 19 points each so far.
Whichever of these two scow-bug teams reaches the finish line before the other will take the overall victory in this second edition of the Class40 race around the world. Behind them, the three best scow-bug teams will battle it out for the remaining third podium place. The "Barco Brasil" crew, in third place after the prologue and five stages with 49.50 points, as well as the Austrian "Wilson" (54 points) with Lisa Berger and Jade Edwards-Leaney and the French "Free Dom" (58 points) all have a chance of doing so.
All three can still achieve third place in this second Globe40 edition with a successful final leg - and partly depending on the positions of the others. No further improvement is possible for Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink during her comeback in prospect. The race organisers have only now decided in favour of the young German crew, who had shown impressive performances in the prologue and on the first two legs until their retirement on leg four, despite having a better points balance than "Jangada Racing" and "Whiskey Jack". placed in the last seat during the stopover in Recife.
The starting point for the comeback at Globe40
Reference is made to "Appendix 4 AC Globe40": "A boat that has been scored DNC or DNS on one or more legs will finish behind the boats that have completed all legs." According to their own rules, the organisers should have demoted the Next Generation Boating Around the World team to eighth place after the unfinished third leg, but did not do so for a long time. Results were not always one of the strengths of the dedicated Globe40 organisers in this Globe40.
That doesn't change Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink's motto for their return: "We have nothing to lose. Our technical director has said that we have the freshest boat and are more rested. On the other hand, the others have the experience of racing around the world. We also know our boat very well, but they know their boats even better now after all this time. We, on the other hand, have newer sails, but perhaps have a disadvantage when there is a lot of reaching. Everything is open. It's going to be a tough fight for the stage win," said Melwin Fink in Recife.
Our big goal is to knock another one out of the park!" Melwin Fink
The German Class40 is fit for the final Globe40 battle over a theoretical 4290 nautical miles from Recife to Lorient. The final leg is officially described as taking around 20 days. Melwin Fink said: "We are reckoning with around 16 to 18 days and will give it our all." There are mainly sporting reasons for this, but also a personal one: his partner Elena Schultheis will be 24 years old on 18 April. They would like to celebrate their birthday together in Lorient. "So we can't be away any longer than 18 April," says Melwin Fink with a grin.
Tired sails at the end of the circumnavigation
Even though Burke and Fink have only followed the competition from the outside on the last few legs, they have kept a close eye on things and also heard and seen a lot in Recife. "I think my money is on the French in the battle for victory because their boat is in very good condition," said Melwin Fink. And this too: "Everyone is now having huge problems with the sails towards the end of the race, which are slowly falling apart. Even though they will now also be competing in the last stroke." The crews were allowed to swap three sails over the entire race," explains Fink, "which everyone has now done."
I think the French simply deserve it the most." Melwin Fink
Fink's opinion also refers to the fact that Ian Lipinski, Antoine Carpentier, Amélie Grassi, who has just joined the French America's Cup team and Alan Roberts have won five times in alternating combinations of two riders on the six Globe40 stages so far. They shared one stage win with the Belgians. The Belgians, in turn, had won the stage two to La Réunion, which was awarded a factor of three, in a final thriller before Fink and Burke and then Lipinski/Grassi crossed the finish line in third place within nine minutes.
Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink have now come to terms with their shattered dream of sailing around the world. A scar will remain. "I thought you could swallow it completely with a bit of time, but when the others arrived, it was a bit of a daft feeling. You can't think away the fact that you would have liked to have sailed to the end of the race," admits Melwin Fink candidly.
When the others arrived in Recife and had all sailed around Cape HornThat hurt too." Melwin Fink
However, Burke and Fink would not have come this far in their young lives if the Globe40 setback had slowed them down. The opposite is the case: beyond the final stage, which is now fast approaching, they are both looking forward to returning home and getting back into their busy businesses Next Generation Boating in Hamburg and Next Generation Yachting Kiel.
Burke and Fink: step on the gas, arrive, aim for new goals
A start on the Route du Rhum in autumn is not planned. The Class40 is going ashore for the time being. The contracts with the current partners and sponsors run until early summer. "Then we want to consciously make a cut and focus on a new campaign," explains Fink.
If life were a concert of wishes, Burke and Fink would tackle their own Class40 construction next year and set their sights on the next Globe40 in the Olympic year 2028. Before that, however, there is the arrival of the Globe40 and stepping on the gas in their own company. However, new plans and actions in regatta sport will probably not be long in coming.
And because it was so nice - the review of the Recife arrival of Lisa Berger and Jade Edwards-Leaney:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
