After dramatic scenes - gale-force winds cost the life of one regatta participant - "Maserati", the first of 25 participating yachts in the ocean race from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro, sailed into the harbour at Sugar Loaf Mountain at 00:29 German time today. Skipper Giovanni Soldini and his crew with Boris Herrmann from Oldenburg took 10 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes and 57 seconds to complete the 3300 nautical mile classic. In doing so, they broke a 14-year-old record. It was the declared aim of the offshore professionals to set a new speed record. However, the fact that they crossed the finish line so far ahead of the field and more than two days faster than the last record-breaking journey must have surprised even the professionals.
Giovanni Soldini wrote from on board: "This year, Maserati has sailed through almost all the seas of the world. We started with the Atlantic, then the Pacific, Hawaii and the Philippines, the South China Sea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sumatra, Java, the Indian Ocean and finally Cape Town, where we set sail to take part in this great race." Shortly before the finish harbour, the future Olympic city of Rio de Janeiro, Soldini said: "Now we just have to manage these last few miles that separate us from Rio, from victory and the record. It seems to me a nice way to celebrate this lap around the world that ends today."
Record of historic dimensions
The Cape Town-Rio Race started for the first time in 1971 and enjoyed a high level of international attention right from the start. The crew list of the 69 participating yachts from back then reads like a who's who of international sailing. From Robin Knox-Johnston to Eric Tabarly, everyone who was anyone was there. The fastest yacht took 26 days and 14 hours to cross the South Atlantic.
The second edition took place in 1973 and went down in history after it became known that 72-year-old Kees Bruynzeel had taken off in his "Stormy" against medical advice after suffering a heart attack. At least he had his nurse on board.
The next race in 1976 saw a record participation of 126 yachts. The reason for this success was its inclusion in the "Gauloises Triangle", a series of regattas that began with a race from St. Malo in France to Cape Town and concluded after Cape Town-Rio with another race to Portsmouth in England.
In 1993, SAP boss Hasso Plattner enters the scene with his "Morning Glory" sailing under the German flag. His campaign with a paid crew contributed to the professionalisation of the race. Despite the spinnaker breaking shortly after the start, Plattner and his crew managed to complete the course in just 18 days, 7 hours and 41 minutes.
Three years later, Plattner broke his own record with a new "Morning Glory" - the 21-metre maxi crossed the finish line after 14 days, 14 hours and 52 minutes. Participation in the Cape Town-Rio race had now mutated into an unofficial record hunt for the fastest maxis in the world.
In 2000, Robert McNeill with his 23-metre maxi "Zephyrus IV", Jim Dolan with the 24-metre "Sagamore" and Ludde Ingvall with his 24-metre "Flyer" took part in the record hunt. In the end, "Zephyrus IV" won with the record of 12 days, 16 hours and 49 minutes. This was the previous record for monohull boats.
The only German yacht in the 2014 "Cape2Rio" still had around 1440 nautical miles to go to the finish early Wednesday morning: The Hamburg-based "Iskareen" is expected to arrive in Rio de Janeiro in about a week.
