By the time the participants arrived, even Table Mountain had put on its fine white "tablecloth" - that thin layer of cloud whose leading edge blows so picturesquely down the slope. As tepid as the day had begun, it ended on a sporty note. When "Holcim - PRB" crossed the finish line first in the early afternoon, the wind was blowing at 12 to 15 knots. A few hours later, at the finish of Boris Herrmann's "Malizia - Seaexplorer", the notorious "Sou'Easter", which was slowly gaining ground, sent 20-knot gusts across Table Bay.
For skipper Will Harris, Yann Eliès, Rosalin Kuiper and Nico Lunven, it was an exhibition race on foils. Before the last gybe, between the mainland and Robben Island, they furled the spinnaker because it had freshened up so much and flew towards the accompanying crew on the water at around 25 knots. What a contrast to the light winds in the morning, which - with Table Mountain already in sight - had cost them a possible victory in the end.
"Guyot Environnement - Team Europe", skippered by Robert Stanjek, reduced the three-digit deficit from the day before to barely more than 20 nautical miles. It moored in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront Marina as soon as Team Malizia had finished the official welcome interviews on stage.
Still on the dock, Robert Stanjek summarised the leg positively, which the French-German Team Guyot had led for long stretches of the first half before falling behind after the calms: "We came back and fought to the end. In the end, we were only a few hours behind the others - after 18 days at sea." In his honest, unaffected manner, the Berliner stated: "We are fifth. There's nothing to discuss. But our performance was great. We will take many lessons with us into the next stage."
Will Harris, who had taken over the skipper role on "Malizia - Seaexplorer" for the injured Boris Herrmann, came to a similar conclusion. "We had certainly hoped for more than fourth place today," he told YACHT online, "and we were in the lead for a long time. But we've learnt so much and found so many new settings that make the boat faster." The Ocean Race has only just begun.
Nico Lunven and Yann Eliès went one step further in their categorisation of the leg. The boat had shown its true potential in the South Atlantic and sailed at the highest speeds in rough conditions. "We should win the next leg," said Eliès."
While the crew were getting ready for shore, the technical team was already working on the boat. Sails were struck in no time at all, equipment was removed from the boat and the first foil was removed with the help of halyards and many hands. Tests in the water will follow today before "Malizia - Seaexplorer" goes ashore for a five-day refit. That's not a lot of time for such a complex boat. But the presence of the technicians and engineers at the nightly arrival party in a nearby beach café shows that the tasks will be manageable.
On-board reporter Antoine Auriol came to celebrate as he had disembarked: in sailing shorts and a T-shirt - quite the adventurer that he is. He said he felt almost more rested than before the start. "Arriving like this, full of new impressions, with lots of new energy - that was my goal." His favourite moment at sea was watching an albatross fly just above the water in the swell. "Until now, I always thought I wanted to be reborn as a dolphin; now I'd rather be an albatross."
Next door, Paul Meilhat and his team Biotherm, who had finished the leg from Cape Verde to Cape Town in second place, celebrated in a much smaller group. The French will not be putting their boat ashore, probably for budget reasons.
Susann Beucke must have spent the happiest evening. She won her first leg on an Imoca with Kevin Escoffier's "Holcim - PRB" team. In the YACHT interview, she also spoke openly about the tougher moments on board ( click here! ).
When she crossed the finish line, however, she had no sign of her exertions. She jumped off the boat as if electrified and only later reported back to YACHT online via WhatsApp about the emotions she experienced during the victory that made her team the clear number one after winning two legs:
It was a super emotional moment to run in today. The leg was much tougher than I expected. It really is something special, this Ocean Race: it brings out all kinds of emotions. I'm particularly pleased that we were able to finish with victory today."
We'll keep you updated on site and report on the progress of the refit work on the boats, the damage, the crew selection for the upcoming 12,750 nautical miles to Itajaí and more in the coming days!
