The crews are still enjoying fast sailing conditions on leg two. On the ascent from 40 degrees latitude, the bows of all five boats are now pointing towards Cape Town. Boris Herrmann's Malizia team continues to set the pace, heading towards the South African harbour metropolis at a good 16 knots shortly before reaching the 41st parallel on Thursday morning. The Malizia crew led by skipper Will Harris was already sailing at the front of the fleet in a field with lighter winds, while the pursuers were still able to accelerate at 18 knots on Thursday morning. At the back of the fleet, the tail-enders on "Guyot" enjoyed the best conditions.
Malizia navigator Nico Lunven: "Anything can happen"
Berlin skipper Robert Stanjek, navigator Seb Simon, Phillip Kasüske and Anne-Claire le Berre were still travelling at more than 21 knots. Their large gap of 450 nautical miles to Team Malizia should at least visibly melt over the course of the day. Nobody dares to predict exactly what will happen next. The fleet has to cross a flat wind band off Cape Town. "That's a very, very light wind zone before we cross the finish line. Anything can happen there," says Team Malizia's navigator Nico Lunven.
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Due to the unpredictable passage through the shallow "wall" off Cape Town, the battle for the stage win and the podium places remains open, even though Team Malizia has impressed strongly over the last few days. "Holcim - PRB" skipper Kevin Escoffier said in the deep South Atlantic: "Malizia is a good boat for these conditions with the short waves. There was too much 'nosediving' for us recently." In Kevin Escoffier's team, Olympic silver medallist Susann Beucke is fighting for a good start in her Ocean Race premiere.
"We were shooting into the sun every ten minutes"
Unlike other sailors, the 31-year-old Ocean Race novice has had no problems sleeping over the past few days, despite the strong ship movements and brutally loud background noise. "It's not cosy now when the boat is jerking, but it's bearable. I had more trouble sleeping when it was so hot. You lay there in your own liquid. I took pictures of it because I couldn't believe it," says the former 49er FX foresailor about her first South Atlantic experience.
The past few days on board the "Holcim - PRB" have been characterised by struggle. "The three nights before tonight were intense. Everything piled up. At one point, all the electronics failed. We had to steer by hand and didn't have a properly functioning autopilot at night. The night after that, the night before last, we couldn't get the boat to run at all. We were shooting into the sun every ten minutes. That was also very intense," says Beucke about the brutal operation at sea.
"The moments you need to persevere"
What does she particularly enjoy about battling the elements and her opponents? "That's not an easy question," says the sailor from Strande thoughtfully, "I think it's this stark dichotomy between joy and sorrow - all the time. It's kind of fun in a fantastic way. Getting to know the thoughts. That's kind of fun for me: consciously utilising these little moments that you need to persevere."
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
