The Cape Town harbour race began with a faux pas by the French team Biotherm. Skipper Paul Meilhat and his crew caught their foil in the anchorage of the starting buoy shortly before the start and got stuck. According to initial reports, the mishap did not cause any major damage, but the white and blue yacht had to return to the harbour without having achieved anything, with zero points and a bit of a headache.
The Escoffier freestyle: two stage wins and an in-port victory in a row
In the Cape Town harbour race, Kevin Escoffier and the two-time stage winners on "Holcim - PRB" made short work of their opponents. Their commanding victory in winds of 15 to 18 knots was wrapped up after three laps and 43 minutes. Escoffier said after crossing the finish line: "We are very satisfied. We had a very good start and sailed fast - with safe manoeuvres, on straight courses and with good speed. With Table Mountain behind us, the winds were very shifty today, but now we can enjoy the view."
They were followed to the finish by 11th Hour Racing, Team Malizia and Guyot Environnement - Team Europe, which had the lead at the start for a short time thanks to the good timing of skipper and helmsman Ben Dutreux and his team. But then the black and green "Guyot" was not fast enough on the foils. "We know that our boat is inferior in such gusty conditions. But we had a good race and are therefore not unhappy," said "Guyot" co-skipper Robert Stanjek.
Boris Herrmann: "That was a good day"
Team "Holcim - PRB" quickly pulled away with convincing speed and good manoeuvres by the crew. With third place, Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia defended their narrow lead in the in-port standings with eight points from two harbour races, ahead of the US team 11th Hour Racing with skipper Charlie Enright (eight points each). Team Holcim - PRB moved up to third place in the in-port standings after scoring zero points in the opening harbour race in Alicante with their victory off Cape Town.
Two days before the start of the "monster stage" in the bright Cape Town sun, Boris Herrmann was satisfied with the outcome: "It was gusty like on the Alster. Wind on and off. If you sometimes got a gust like that, you could pass another boat. Holcim took off with a gust like that. We were then very close together with 11th Hour and Guyot. At the leeward buoy, the overlap was tight. We didn't want to take any risks and went round the outside. Then we were last, but were able to overtake Guyot again. Then we were third and are happy with the day. We are pleased that we were able to maintain the lead in the in-port classification. That was a good day."
Live with Team Malizia
Team Malizia entertained the fans with a hand-held live broadcast from the accompanying rib. It was shaky at times, but very welcome and informative, while the live broadcast via Eurosport was only available for a fee at the same time:
The royal stage is approaching: from Sunday, the Southern Ocean ...
The teams now have less than 48 hours to ensure that they and their boats are optimally prepared for the start of the third leg and the 12,750 nautical mile adventure through the Southern Ocean to Itajaí in Brazil. The third and most important leg of the 14th Ocean Race starts on Sunday at 13.15 German time.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
