Even with four boats, the Ocean Race remains exciting. In sporting terms, this is due to the fact that Team Malizia with stage skipper Will Harris and Charlie Enright's US team 11th Hour Racing have been engaged in a breathless top duel for days. "That spurs us on. It's so close that we could almost throw them a tennis ball," reported Will Harris shortly after crossing the equator, which Team Malizia reached just ahead of the Americans in this 14th edition of the Ocean Race.
Team Biotherm closes the gap, Team Guyot fights back
At 8am German time on the morning of 2 May, after more than 2,500 nautical miles, the German and American boats were separated by just one and a half miles. Paul Meilhat's Team Biotherm was also able to make up ground in the calmer winds of the Kalmen Belt and reduce the gap to just eight nautical miles. Guyot Environnement - Team Europe, which had fallen 200 nautical miles behind with a broken trim line for a foil and the laborious repair, still had 170 nautical miles to make up on the leaders on day nine of the fourth Ocean Race leg.
Shortly after his team's return to the northern hemisphere, Will Harris gave YACHT online a positive interim assessment: "I think we've done really well so far, we've sailed a consistent race. We weren't particularly slow at any time, we were always among the fastest boats. We also didn't make any big strategy mistakes. Once we got stuck under a cloud at the start. But we managed to make a comeback. We've had a very clean race so far. That's probably what got us here." Team Malizia crossed the equator on 1 May at 21:39 German time after 8 days, 3 hours, 24 minutes and 57 seconds.
We know that 11th Hour Racing is strong in these conditions." (Will Harris)
According to Harris, who was recently named Sailor of the Month by the British regatta magazine "Seahorse", the current calm Doldrums phase in winds of around eight knots is lasting a little longer than hoped. "It is demanding. We thought yesterday that we were almost through, but the models have shown that they are coming back. It's correspondingly challenging at the moment. All we can do is pray to the wind gods and hope that we've chosen the right route."
At the same time, the anticipation of the approaching trade winds grew on board "Malizia - Seaexplorer". "It will be nice with more constant and stronger winds," said Harris. We haven't had that very often on this leg. So reaching in medium to strong winds. We know that 11th Hour Racing is pretty strong in these conditions. We are happy to have this close duel with them because it pushes us forward. I'm sure it will continue in the trade winds."
"The upcoming decision will probably determine the outcome of the stage"
Looking to the near future of the stage, Will Harris said: "There's a pretty big weather decision coming up in the next few days. We are currently thinking about that. Of course, the other teams will also make their decisions. We will keep an eye on them. This upcoming decision will probably determine the outcome of the stage. So the next 40 hours are pretty important."
The fact that Team Malizia could take the overall lead in the Ocean Race in the event of a stage win plays no role in his team's decisions, said Will Harris. "The possibility doesn't change our motivation. It's always important for us to win. We sail as well as we can to achieve that. Of course it would be very nice to be number one in the overall standings. But we're not too concerned about that. And it's also not the way we Holcim - PRB wanted to snatch the lead - by losing their rig. Striving for the best result is always part of the race."
We have to trim the sails with every cloud." (Will Harris)
Will Harris describes the current work on board as challenging: "We have to trim the sails with every cloud. Our watches are currently very active. We are trying to get every ounce of speed out of the boat. The wind changes quickly, every few minutes. It's a tough job to stay fast."
First flat, then brisk and then flat again today - Team Malizia sent this clip on 1 May in a rollercoaster of doldrums:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
