Fast, faster, 11th Hour Racing. Charlie Enright's US team has ignited the turbo on "Mālama". The American Imoca continues to sail ahead on day three of the fifth Ocean Race leg as if unleashed. The crew with Imoca ace Charlie Dalin, navigator Simon "Sifi" Fisher and the Swiss Justine Mettraux benefited from the fact that they were always the first to reach the increasing winds and were usually travelling one or two knots faster than the pursuers "Holcim - PRB" and "Malizia - Seaexplorer".
The boats buck, the sailors can't sleep
Abby Ehler from Team Holcim - PRB describes how tough the sailing was in the powerful winds a good two days after the start in Newport: "This is probably the most brutal angle for Imocas that we are currently sailing. 70 to 90 degree wind angles and a short, rough wave." Team Malizia's quartet is no different. Rosie Kuiper recently found it impossible to sleep on free watch - that's how much "Malizia - Seaexplorer" bucked at speeds of over 20, sometimes even over 25 knots.
The images from the on-board cameras show exhausted faces and the hard life and work below deck in the challenging conditions, which are set to continue until 24 May. But it has also been a fast-paced 24 hours in the Ocean Race, in which the teams have travelled around 500 nautical miles towards the finish line off Aarhus in northerly winds of sometimes even more than 30 knots. The exceptionally bumpy course caused the strong winds and the Gulf Stream to collide.
We just try to get through it" (Charly Enright)
"The weather system that caused the harbour race to be postponed last Saturday is lurking out here on the open sea. And we're right in the middle of it," Charlie Enright explains the scenario. "It's difficult to make a more accurate forecast. The weather is very changeable and it's very windy. We've even had winds in the mid to upper thirties at times. And we experienced a wind shift of 40 degrees. You can imagine what that does to the swell in a place that's already pretty treacherous. We just try to ride it out."
In fact, all teams are doing much more than just "surviving". With over 520 miles under the keel over 24 hours, the 11th Hour Racing Team had built up a lead of 26 nautical miles over Team Holcim - PRB on Tuesday evening. Another 22 nautical miles behind the Swiss boat, Team Malizia was fighting to stay ahead. Paul Meilhat's Team Biotherm is now almost 80 nautical miles behind 11th Hour Racing.
It will probably be a quick ride to Aarhus
"There's a strong current here," Holcim - PRB skipper Kevin Escoffier had already suspected on the morning of 23 May. He continued: "The wind is picking up, but I'm afraid we'll have wind against current in the Gulf Stream and the swell won't be very good." This has now materialised. Forecasts for the rest of the ten to twelve-day leg indicate that the wind will shift to the south over the course of this week. This should also mean that the race will continue quickly towards Aarhus.
Challenged! Fishing boats, whales and rough waves - what the crews have to contend with on stage five:
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Click here for the race report from 23 May:
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Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
