Globe40: Race record, but spi lost - Burke/Fink power in a three-way battle

The final spurt on leg one of the Globe40 could last just under three days. According to the latest forecasts, the leading boats are expected to arrive in the stage harbour of Mindelo on Cape Verde on Saturday morning. Precise predictions are difficult to make because the top crews initially pushed through the doldrums together on Wednesday afternoon after very fast passages.

Globe40: the next generation is fast

Previously, Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink had set another exclamation mark with 370 nautical miles in 24 hours. Never before has a Globe40 team travelled this far in 24 hours. At the premiere of the circumnavigation in 2023, Melodie Schaffer, who is currently participating again, achieved 347 nautical miles in 24 hours on "Whiskey Jack".

However, the Class40 class record for distances over 24 hours has stood at 440.20 nautical miles since 8 July 2024 and was set by a three-man crew led by French skipper Guillaume Pirouelle in the Transat Quebec Saint-Malo. The greatest distance for double-handed crews was achieved by Alberto Bona and Pablo Santurde del Arco on "Ibsa" in the Les Sables Horta 2023 with 430.47 nautical miles.

For the Next Generation Boating Around the World team, the Globe40 race record was a good step forward. But their immediate rivals were hardly any slower. By midday on Wednesday, the top favourites Ian Lipinski and Antoine Carpentier had regained the lead to the east of the German and Belgian teams of Jonas Gerckens, who were sailing almost bow to bow. However, with a six nautical mile lead, all three double-handed teams struggled through light winds before they were soon able to pick up the pace again.

On the Globe40 loss list: the middle spi

Melwin Fink reported from the sea: "The conditions were good, we were travelling fast. But everything was very manageable. Strenuous, but very easy to sail. Our record only applies to the Globe40. We ourselves, for example, have also achieved 408 miles in 24 hours." Alongside the good news of the fast speeds, there was also a bitter downer for the youngest team in the fleet.

"Unfortunately, our centre spinnaker went overboard last night," reported Melwin Fink. How did that happen? Fink explained the loss of the A4: "When we recovered it, a wave washed it off the boat. The conditions were violent." There were 36 knots in the "Tenerife jet" when it happened. The mood on board the German Class40 was sombre for the first time afterwards. An equivalent replacement is neither easy nor quick to procure. In the port of Mindelo, Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink will initially take a used spinnaker on board, which is already packed.

"The loss could cause a lot of trouble again, but we remain confident," said Melwin Fink. The hope of a new spi could only be realised after stage two at the stop on La Réunion. But that is not yet certain. What is clear, however, is that stage one will come to an end in the coming days with a thrilling final spurt in the three-way battle between the two experienced teams Ian Lipinski/Antoine Carpentier and Jonas Gerckens/Djemila Tassin and the German up-and-comers.

Who will win the downwind final sprint?

Melwin Fink agrees, saying on Wednesday afternoon: "The rest of the leg will be very exciting. Hopefully there will be the best downwind conditions all the way to the finish after the current lull." Click here for the Globe40 tracker.