Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink toiled for two months for their comeback at Globe40. This Sunday, they were able to reap the rewards and celebrate their comeback with the start of the sixth and final stage. Mast damage the German duo after the first week of the third stage for demolition, return to La Réunion and repair moved. This was followed by the transfer via Cape Town to Recife, which reached the remaining fleet on the predetermined course around Cape Horn.
Bow to bow in the Globe40 final spurt
The Globe40 final is now underway. To the detailed preview and The exciting scenario in the battle for overall victory and third place on the podium can be found here. The Crédit Mutuel and Belgium Ocean Racing - Curium teams went head to head in the expected light winds in the final Atlantic sprint. Whichever of these two teams reaches the finish line off Lorient first will take the crown in this second edition of the double-handed round-the-world race on Class40ies.
The teams that have completed the prologue and all six legs will have sailed well over 30,000 nautical miles by the end. The final leg accounts for a good 14 per cent of this. Their results will be multiplied by a factor of two, as on legs 3 and 5. Leg 2 with 7050 nautical miles from Mindelo on the Cape Verde Islands to La Réunion and leg 4 from Sydney over 6390 nautical miles to Valparaiso were scored three times.
In terms of the number of stage wins, "Crédit Mutuel" is in the lead with five of the six possible victories so far. But because the Belgians, who have held the 24-hour record (459.78 nautical miles; average speed: 19.156 knots) in the Class40 since JanuaryThe French, who won the highly rated third leg and shared victory with the French on the second highly rated leg 5, were tied ahead of the final. For the sailors and fans, the starting position could hardly be more exciting.
Will the favourites win or can the Belgians hold out?
In Lorient, Globe40 began on 4 September 2025 after a storm delay. It will end in Lorient in mid-April. It is the French home port for Team Crédit Mutuel. "Apart from the party organised by our Brazilian competitors, we used every moment in Recife to relax," said Ian Lipinski about his team's preparations for Sunday's start.
In football, they say you don't play a final. You win it. But of course we have to play this final. And of course we want to win it!" Ian Lipinski
The top favourite and his alternating rivals - Antoine Carpentier (also in the current stage), Amélie Grassi and Alan Roberts - had to fight after third place on the "monster stage" from Mindelo to La Réunion to catch up with the Belgians before the final stage. They succeeded. Now the final step should follow on the course to La Base.
However, the Belgians want to stand up to this, even if they themselves see the French as favourites. A team statement said: "Ben and Jonas will steer the BEL187, which has been brought back into top form by the team after an incredible day and night of work after the Cape Horn stage, to make life difficult for the race favourites right to the end and try to bring the trophy to the "Belgium" house."
Two scores, many fights in the Globe40 final
The battle for the third place on the podium, which will be decided between the best pointed bow boats, remains just as exciting. Click here for the intermediate classification after the fifth stage. Austrian Lisa Berger and her Welsh co-skipper Jade Edwards-Leaney also still have a chance of claiming this podium place. Highly focussed, the duo remained in second place after the start on Sunday, just behind the Belgians Jonas Gerckens and Benoît Hantzperg, while "Crédit Mutuel" surprisingly sailed behind in penultimate place at the start.
However, the early jockeying for position in the balmy winds did not have much significance at this point. Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink held fourth place for the time being on 29 March, one and a half hours after the start at 20:30 German time. It will be important in this first stage not to fall into any annoying doldrums.
Lisa Berger's forecast for the Atlantic ascent to Lorient: "Another equator crossing lies ahead of us, including the treacherous squid belt. A long starboard course to the north and then, after passing the Azores, the final leg to the east into the Bay of Biscay, where another decent area of low pressure may cause us to fly to the finish line in Lorient."
The last Globe40 stage: shorter than expected?
The Austrian is certain that "this last stage still has a lot to offer". She said: "We will be fighting for the podium - even victory in the Classic Class 40 category is possible!" This refers to the classification of the pointed bow boats, which has been adjusted to exclude the three fast scow bow boats of the French, Belgians and Germans. Lisa Berger explained before the last leg start with reference to the pointed bow classification: "We are currently in second place in the overall standings, just 4.5 points behind first place and 4 points ahead of third place. How exciting is that!"
The estimates of some crews regarding the duration of the leg were unusual: originally, the final Globe40 leg was estimated at 4290 nautical miles and a duration of around 20 days. However, before the start, Burke and Fink, for example, were expecting a direct course length of only around 3500 nautical miles. Melwin Fink recently assumed a leg duration of "only" 15 to 16 days.
Up to the Azores, light winds and warm temperatures are likely to prevail, according to the assumption of the active participants. However, increasingly severe conditions are expected further on. Storms are expected coming from the west off the Bay of Biscay. The crews will then have to decide how to deal with them.
Sailing home: Burke, Fink and lots of coffee ready
This final Globe40 leg began with a lot of sailing fun and plenty of coffee on board for Team Next Generation Boating Around the World. "It keeps us awake," announced Melwin Fink cheerfully. Lennart Burke's announcement shortly before the start: "I'm really keen to sail and bring the boat home."
The "Crédit Mutuel" favourites had won the fifth stage. Will they be able to do it again in the final sprint? They would certainly like to repeat these scenes:
Here's what the Belgians had to say after finishing second in the fifth stage:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
