While the others are dressing warmly, tying up and otherwise arming themselves in every conceivable way against the wild conditions in the Southern Ocean, Sanya has had to take the consequences of the rudder damage and has set course for Auckland, where the boat is expected to arrive at the weekend. Particularly bitter: at the time of the defect, the boat sailing under the Chinese flag was surprisingly in the lead on this fifth leg. Regardless of this, the field continues to race towards Cape Horn in very inhospitable conditions. The two lazy days are long forgotten, now it's back to the nitty gritty: Wind south-west, peaks up to force 8, waves about five metres high, and all this at an easy 22 knots average. Camper is the first boat to reach the first ice gate and leads by a narrow margin ahead of Groupama and Telefonica. "Double reef in the main and storm jib," predicts Groupama skipper Franck Cammas for the next few days, which will once again be somewhere between full speed and survival.
But Mike Sanderson, one of New Zealand's iconic sailors, is facing a homecoming that nobody would wish on him. He, who won the first race on this extreme Volvo Open 70 with ABN Amro One in 2006 and thus helped designer Juan Kouyoumdjian to his international breakthrough, now has to head for a harbour for repairs for the third time with his woundsed boat. After the delamination damage at the start of the first leg, this withdrawal is the second complete abandonment of a leg for the Chinese team, which is the only one competing with a boat from the previous generation. It is the former "Telefonica Blue", a Farr design built by King Marine. It seems clear that these boats are not suitable for two races around the world under extreme conditions.
"Unbelievable, I'm lost for words," said a dejected Sanderson, who must be glad that the leak left by the broken rudder stock, through which several tonnes of water entered the stern, could be repaired to such an extent that it was possible to sail to Auckland under emergency rudder. "The rudder broke between the deck and the hull, and that's the worst-case scenario because it levered itself out and left unsightly marks," explained Sanderson. The heroic deed is no longer a good finish in sunny Brazil, but a safe return to New Zealand.
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