The Swiss team Holcim - PRB continues to be the benchmark for quality in the Ocean Race on the queen's stage. Skipper Kevin Escoffier's crew dominates the race in the southern Indian Ocean after the first leg on 5 March with a lead of over 500 nautical miles over the teams Biotherm (France) and 11th Hour Racing (USA), who are battling it out just five nautical miles apart.
11th Hour Racing on record course
Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia is back in the game after a brutal but successful repair marathon. The Malizia sailing quartet is chasing the three competitors ahead along the ice edge at the 45th parallel south. A good 50 nautical miles separated the German "Malizia - Seaexplorer" from the American "Mālama" on Sunday afternoon.
The teams have long since reached the "motorway" of the Southern Ocean, thundering eastwards at average speeds of 20.5 knots (Team Malizia) and top speeds of more than 30 knots. It's record-breaking business. The official Imoca record was previously held by Brit Alex Thomson in 2018 with 539.71 nautical miles. The French "Charal"'s best etmal is 588 nautical miles, but has not yet been ratified by the World Speed Sailing Record Council (WSSRC). On Sunday night, 11th Hour Racing achieved 544.63 nautical miles. Should the WSSRC ratify the etmal, it would be the new Imoca 24-hour record.
Racing down Mother Nature's red carpet
"Normally these records are set in the South Atlantic," explained experienced American on-board reporter Amory Ross. "But we're happy that we were able to take advantage of a little luck and Mother Nature's red carpet to experience such fast sailing." The average speed was 22.7 knots.
It will be interesting to see whether the "Holcim - PRB" crew, which has sailed so confidently so far, might lose some of its lead as it makes the necessary "descent" to the south. The forecasts indicate that "Holcim - PRB" will have to cross a light-winded field. This could create opportunities for the three chasing teams, including Team Malizia, to catch up.
Team Guyot is back in Cape Town, testing processes underway
While the racing quartet is heading east around Antarctica, Guyot Environnement - Team Europe is back in Cape Town. The "Guyot" crew arrived in the South African harbour in the middle of the night on Sunday. The shore crew received the team and boat at the pontoon in excellent condition. After mooring, no time was lost and everything was prepared for the crane on Sunday morning at 8 o'clock.
In the meantime, the mast has long since been removed, the boat has been put ashore and the damaged area in the hull has been opened up as if for an upcoming operation in hospital. The rest of the hull is subjected to a thorough inspection (NDT). Once the check and test process is complete, the team says detailed planning for the comeback in the Ocean Race can begin. The sailing team is already working on a plan for this.
"Guyot" re-entry in stage three "unrealistic", comeback for stage four in sight
A return to the third leg of the Ocean Race is very unlikely, even with a very quick repair. Co-skipper Robert Stanjek, whose seven-year dream was shattered with the cancellation of the stage, also called a return to the third stage "unrealistic". With the late arrival in Itajaí/Brazil, there would be no time to lift the boat out of the water after the gruelling Southern Ocean chase.
"We want to join the fleet in Itajaí as quickly as possible," said skipper Benjamin Dutreux, setting the pace. "We're glad that the team was expecting us here. Everyone wants to get the boat back in the water as quickly as possible. We now have to wait for the investigations and see how long the repairs will take." The return to Cape Town was lengthy, as the situation made it impossible to travel faster than ten knots.
Luck in misfortune for "Guyot"
Looking back on the moment when the hull damage was discovered, co-skipper Robert Stanjek recalled the drama of the situation: "We must also consider ourselves lucky that it happened to us at that time. A few days later, in the middle of the Southern Ocean, we would hardly have had a chance to turn back. Now we would even have been within helicopter range in case of an emergency. It was spooky to see the ground moving over an area of two square metres. When that opens up, it's difficult to get the ship dry."
The setback has now been more or less digested. Instead, the "Guyot" sailors prefer to plan their future. Robert Stanjek says: "We briefly thought about getting back into the leg. But that's unrealistic. We are now planning the next legs from Itajaí. The entire team pool wants to put itself at the service of the best possible performance. First of all, we have to put together a transfer crew for Brazil. The transfer will take twelve to 16 days. After that, it's all about getting the best out of the race that is still possible. We still want to show that we are capable."
Comeback hopes in Team Guyot, high spirits on board "Holcim - PRB" - the Ocean Race can be so difficult and so beautiful:
What speed looks like and why Team Malizia is missing the sun:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
