Globe40: With Sunday greetings from the Southern Ocean from the ocean striker

On this first Sunday of the new year, the quick tracker view of the Globe40 fleet in the early stages of the long fourth leg showed the usual picture at the top: Team Belgium Ocean Racing - Curium and Crédit Mutuel were battling it out for the lead within sight of each other. The "Crédit Mutuel" crew sent an up-to-date commentary from on board.

Globe40: Déjà vu in the top duel

"Hello Earth, we are sailing in close contact with the Belgians, we are under spinnaker, in rather light winds, 10 knots from the north. It's always nice when our courses cross in the middle of the ocean. We were able to chat on the radio and even speak to each other live. After a two-hour battle, they sailed past us within two boat lengths. Eventually they overtook us... We lost that battle, but the fight is far from over.

The commentary by "Crédit Mutuel" sailors Antoine Carpentier and Alan Roberts on "Crédit Mutuel", where team skipper Ian Lipinski is taking a break this leg, continues: "New Zealand should be in sight by tomorrow evening and then it's no man's land, almost 5,500 nautical miles or almost 10,000 kilometres without land. For now, it's still hot, the sun is shining down on us and the solar panels are working at full capacity. The temperature should now gradually drop as we approach the southern limit (editor's note: the ice limit is at 50 degrees south latitude for much of the fourth leg)."

Click here for the Globe40 tracker, which is updated every four hours.

Around three and a half days after the starting signal off Sydney, the entire field is already sailing in the Roaring Fourties, the "roaring latitudes" in the Southern Ocean. The entire field? Not quite, because Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink are back home and, after their unfortunate cancellation of the third stage, will also miss the current fourth stage to Valparaiso and will also have to miss the fifth stage to Recife in Brazil. In the Globe40 final stage from Recife back to Lorient, however, they want to attack once again and bring their race to a worthy conclusion.

After collision and rudder damage: "Free Dom" on course for Sydney

In the meantime, the Globe40 fleet sailing in the Southern Ocean has shrunk even further, as the French "Free Dom", which was still in fifth place in the overall classification after four legs on 2 January, had to turn back and headed for Sydney again on 4 January. Thibaut Léfèvre and Nicolas Guibal still had a good 100 nautical miles to go to the Australian Olympic metropolis of 2000 on Sunday afternoon.

The "Free Dom" crew was forced to turn back on the evening of 2 January due to a collision, rudder damage and a leak. The French were able to bring the latter under control. However, according to the crew, the rudder damage could only be repaired in a harbour. Léfèvre and Guibal chose Sydney as their best option for this, which they should reach shortly.

Lisa Berger and Jade Edwards-Leaney have now slipped back from first to sixth place. Their initially successful positioning on the east wing of the southbound fleet has recently had more of a braking effect. "Wilson" skipper Lisa Berger reported from on board on Sunday and also explained the "lightning start" that had initially catapulted her team to the front of the field.

Start of the fourth Globe40 stage: first rough, then soft

Lisa Berger said: "The start was pretty tough. There was a pretty rough wave out of Sydney Harbour. We had up to 25 knots on the wind. We lost the connection a bit, the boat just didn't sail as fast as the others. That was a bit frustrating. When the others turned south after a few hours, we decided to follow the routing and not sail after them."

Lisa Berger and Jade Edwards-Leaney continued their easterly course and led the Globe40 field until the early morning of 3 January. "After the high passed over us from west to east, we were always travelling in lighter winds in the border area than the others. That's how we're currently heading south: light winds again and again, then more wind again," said Lisa Berger.

We haven't gained much from our course, but we haven't lost too much either. So everything is fine. We're still in good shape." Lisa Berger

In light spinnaker conditions, the Austrian-Welsh mixed duo sailed downwind in the Pacific on Sunday afternoon at nine to twelve knots and waited for a left-hander. In "fairly flat seas", said Lisa Berger, it was "wonderful sailing, perfect for getting back into it. The first day was very rough and quite wet". Lots of eating and sleeping are currently on the agenda at sea. "Stopovers are always very strenuous, almost more strenuous than sailing," says Lisa Berger, explaining the benefits of being at sea.

Lots of anticipation for the Pacific Highway

On Sunday afternoon, the Wilson crew expected to be sailing south of New Zealand within two to two and a half days. "That's where the low-pressure areas will finally start, so we can jump on the so-called highway," Lisa Berger explained the scenario ahead. "Then we'll start sailing a bit faster again, and we're already looking forward to that," said the Austrian.

There are good reasons for this, as downwind sailing in more pressure is one of the strengths of their oldest Class40 in the field: "Wilson" is an Akilaria RC2 from 2010. "She is a mega solid boat that we have prepared well. Downwind she just runs really well. We can sail very deep, deeper than other boats, and are still travelling fast."

Another "Wilson" strength is "generally light wind sailing". According to Berger, one of the weaknesses of the Class40, which is almost 16 years old and has been prepared for the Globe40 with a lot of in-house work, is reaching. "For structural reasons, it's simply not possible for us to sail as fast as the others. Which is really frustrating because I had a scow bug in my mini project and reaching was simply the funniest and fastest course. Now it's exactly the opposite, but that's okay. We can get a lot out of it downwind. That's why we were looking forward to the Pacific stage."

The "Wilson" mixed team: highly motivated and ambitious

The "Wilson", which is in sixth place overall after the Globe40 prologue and three stages and in third place in the Spitzbug classification, should prove itself once again. "Our clear goal is to finish on the podium again in the classic Class40 category," says Lisa Berger. And this too: "Unfortunately, one team had to sail back to Sydney yesterday because they hit a UFO and one rudder was quite badly damaged. They now need a replacement rudder and are looking at how they can get it to Sydney as quickly as possible."

The strongest opponent is "Barco Brasil", explained Lisa Berger. "It will be difficult to beat them if there is a lot of reaching along the one line at 50 degrees south. But everything is still open. The routings change all the time. We are very motivated. It might even be possible to finish first in our category. We've always been on the podium in our category so far and we want to keep it that way."

The Southern Ocean fascinates the crew. Lisa Berger says: "We love the Southern Ocean! It's super cool, super interesting to watch the weather and play with it, i.e. to position yourself correctly, make the most of it and sail as fast as possible. I'm currently learning a lot about the weather, navigation and strategy. We are looking forward to it! The most fascinating thing is the albatrosses. You can watch them accompany the boat for hours."

We are looking forward to the high waves and the changing weather with the low-pressure areas in the south." Lisa Berger

It took Lisa Berger and Jade Edwards-Leaney a year and nine months from the first thought about Globe40 to the finalisation of the project. Starting signal for the Globe40 prologue on 4 September lasted. They prepared the boat for the double-handed circumnavigation largely on their own and have now been sailing their dream for four months.

High hurdles on the way to the Globe40 launch

"The first thought and also the decision came when I crossed the finish line of the Mini-Transat off Guadeloupe in November 2023. I knew immediately that I had to keep going and that I wanted to sail around the world." The hardest part was turning the plan into reality and buying a boat on a very limited budget. According to Lisa Berger, she was lucky to "meet the right people" who lent her the money to buy the boat.

She bought "Wilson" in July 2024. After that, the crew worked on the boat almost continuously until the launch. "It was on dry land. We completely rebuilt it, took everything out and reinstalled it, redid all the electronics. It was a huge amount of work on a small budget. We had the boat outside on the grounds in North Wales. It wasn't the perfect conditions for the whole rebuild all winter. It was just mega cold, bad weather, as it is in the UK. But we managed it."

We had to overcome quite a few hurdles, but we pulled through. There was simply no giving up, even if at times it felt like we couldn't go on." Lisa Berger

Lack of money and time have long stressed the two Globe40 challengers, but Lisa Berger and her co-skipper Jade Edwards-Leaney have now sailed more than halfway around the world. "We still haven't quite realised that we've done it. It's still unbelievable!" said Lisa Berger in an interview with YACHT on 4 January.

After the Globe40: Berger's long-term goal is a solo trip around the world

Despite all the challenges, Lisa Berger and Jade Edwards-Leaney complement each other "very well", says the skipper. "He brings so much technical know-how, I bring the regatta experience. I think we learn a lot from each other. He always has a solution for every technical problem. And for me, it's the perfect preparation for any solo project in the future."

Globe40 with Jade is the perfect step for everything to come." Lisa Berger

Lisa Berger was attracted and motivated by "the adventure, the challenge and something that many people might think is impossible to achieve. Taking risks is also the biggest risk for me so far. And I love starting a project and trying to get it done. The feeling when you make it is just so incredibly good that it's a bit addictive."

The self-made sailor from Attersee is pursuing a big goal: she would like to sail solo and non-stop around the world in the future. "It's great fun to take one step at a time on this journey, to tick things off and enjoy it to the full. It's really good to surpass yourself and leave your comfort zone."

This is the Class40 "Wilson" with the number 93 - skipper Lisa Berger introduces her boat: