9:47 PM Wed 5 Nov 2008 GMT
Portim?o Global Ocean Race and the racing continues to be unbelievably close as the Chilean entry Desafio Cabo de Hornos and the British boat, Team Mowgli race neck and neck through the South Atlantic.
At each three-hourly poll the lead changes with the Chileans on top at the 18:20 UTC poll. On top, but barely ahead. Both boats have been averaging over 12 knots and Desafio Cabo de Hornos is just a slim mile in front of Team Mowgli. It's about as good as it gets for a mid-Atlantic match race.
To the east sailing in slightly less wind, the leading solo sailor Michel Kleinjans aboard Roaring Forty continues to lose ground to the two double-handed entries. He is just on the edge of the low pressure system but will pick up speed as the system moves closer to him. Further to the east the Germans on Beluga Racer have tacked over and are making a bolt for the south. Directly ahead of them lies a small area of high pressure and this is bound to give co-skippers Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme some heartburn. If they are able to push through the light wind zone they will find strong westerly winds to slingshot them into Cape Town. Between their current position and the steady westerly winds are some tough sailing conditions. Felix Oehme sent a short missive to his fan base back in Germany.
'So, it is one week before the last week and the last 1000 miles of the race,' he wrote. 'Let's call this week a Gap-Week. No gates, no capes and no islands between us and the finish line. We have been getting lots of communication from the race office about 'when you arrive Cape Town', but we are still crossing the Atlantic ocean and will not be approaching the Cape of Good Hope for some time. We still have some eatable fruits on board, many books to read, two fresh shirts per person and lots of topics to talk about: We discuss about weather phenomena, sailing and managing abilities and future technologies. Is there a Coriolis force in east-west direction? Which skills have good sailors and successful managers in common? Will cars drive independently in future? We enjoy to make up our minds in this isolated atmosphere.'
Further north Nico Budel on Hayai has steady winds as does the South African team on Kazimir Partners. While the gap between the front runners and the back markers is nearly 1000 miles, in offshore ocean racing anything can happen.
www.portimaorace.com
by Brian Hancock
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Hogan Island, VIC
