The duel between Charlie Enright's US team 11th Hour Racing and Team Malizia remains hot. For a week now, the two teams have been engaged in a spectacular battle for victory in the fourth stage of the Ocean Race. Two weeks after the start in Itajaí, Brazil, nothing has changed. On the afternoon of 7 May, the two rivals still had around 850 nautical miles to go before reaching the Ocean Race port of Newport. But who will win the race?
The fight is not over yet." (Will Harris)
"The 11th Hour Racing Team is only a few miles away and we're doing everything we can to overtake them," announced Malizia skipper Will Harris. "The fight is not over yet. We're very motivated to keep going until the end. And that's what this race is all about sometimes: just pushing that little bit harder. We're going to give it everything we've got to beat them in Newport."
The weather and wind forecasts for the remaining three days until the decision can at least be described as interesting: A narrow area of low pressure is expected to move from south to north across the final course section of the fourth leg on Monday. A threatening low pressure zone could develop in its wake around Newport. In addition, several restricted areas around the American leg harbour will limit the Ocean Race fleet's options for an ideal approach to the finish line.
It serves up a real mess of things we have to deal with." (Charlie Enright)
If you want to win this fourth leg, you have to have strong nerves and a good hand for the upcoming hurdles. "Mālama" skipper Charlie Enright has also signalled that his team is fully prepared for these challenges: "As we've seen over the last few days, the lead here goes back and forth very quickly." The approach to Newport looks "quite complicated" from the 11th Hour Racicing team's perspective, as Enright explains: "We're going upwind, there's a lot of pressure and some circulation in the Gulf Stream. There's a real mess being served up with a number of things we have to deal with. But we will deal with it and find a solution."
The top duel is keeping the two top teams so busy that time seems to be flying by. Charlie Enright describes the feeling: "It's hard to believe that we have less than a thousand miles to go and three days to sail, but that's the way it goes. That's life." Meanwhile, the calculations for the arrival time of the two leading boats are becoming more and more concrete. The leaders are currently expected to arrive on 10 May (Wednesday) at 4 a.m. local time (10 a.m. German time). However, due to the uncertainties described above, it may not stay that way.
Team Biotherm without Fortune
The latest moves by the two rivals in the battle for the stage win on Ocean Race leg four: early Sunday afternoon, the 11th Hour Racing Team tacked to the west. This obviously tactical option is expected to better position the boat for the coming weather, as it will result in "Mālama" sailing slightly south from the west - on paper this will cost miles towards Newport. Will Harris decided to follow the same line. With only four nautical miles between the two teams, the pressure in the sailing arm wrestle in the North Atlantic remains enormous.
Around eight hours behind the leading duo, Paul Meilhat's Team Biotherm continued to struggle with light conditions on Sunday. "We just don't have much wind," said Alan Roberts, whose team once again found themselves surrounded by glassy seas. "We've just sailed past a small front and now have pretty light winds. We need to get the north-westerly breeze to make progress, but it's quite difficult," explained Ocean Race novice Roberts.
Happy Birthday, Robert Stanjek!
On board "Guyot" on the third Sunday of the fourth Ocean Race leg, Robert Stanjek saw the light. The co-skipper is celebrating his 42nd birthday on 7 May. The day before, navigator Seb Simon had celebrated his 33rd birthday. However, the wishes of both "Guyot" players for a successful comeback after the bitter end to the royal stage have not yet been fulfilled.
Guyot Environnement - Team Europe had opened the fourth leg strongly and had even made progress to the front at one point. But then the trim line of a foil broke and set skipper Ben Dutreux and his team back a long way. While the team continued to fight for the best possible result and refused to give up, Robert Stanjek indulged in a brief daydream on his special day.
Team Guyot remains on the lookout for the final
When asked about a birthday wish, the 2012 Olympic sixth-placed sailor from Berlin told YACHT online: "My family on the jetty in Newport, third place and a cold beer." There was already a small sporting present for Robert Stanjek: his crew was able to make up ground recently and, above all, reduce the gap to Team Biotherm. 90 nautical miles separate the teams with just over 1,000 nautical miles to the finish. This means that this duel for third place is anything but decided.
You can be sure that the "Guyot" crew, plagued by technical problems in the 14th edition of the Ocean Race, will be more than ready to take every opportunity to catch and overtake Paul Meilhat's men and women.
