Portimao Global Ocean Race Leg 2 - One week down

6:24 PM Sun 21 Dec 2008 GMT

'Intense low pressure systems bear down on the fleet - Portimao Global Ocean Race' Portimao Global Ocean Race

The raucous send-off from Cape Town must seem like a distant memory for the 10 sailors racing Leg 2 of the Portim?o Global Ocean Race.

Just a week ago the weather was warm, the wind light and the spectacular coastline of South Africa dipping silently into the sea behind them. Now, seven days later, all but two of them are riding the edge of their first Southern Ocean gale. Only the South African team of Lenjohn and Peter van der Wel are not at sea. The brothers turned back for Cape Town four days into the race with mast problems. They remain at the dock at the Royal Cape Yacht Club assessing their options for continuing the race.

This weekend the first of two low pressure systems will sweep south of the fleet bringing them their first taste of real Southern Ocean weather. These systems, which march in lock-step around Antarctica, bring gale force winds and drive massive seas ahead of them as they push uninterrupted to the east. The only spit of land which trips their progress is Cape Horn, but that problem will be for Leg 3. For now the sailors have their hands full with a steady 30 to 40 knots of wind to contend with.

The on-the-water leader since Cape Town has been Belgium sailor Michel Kleinjans who has sailed his own race and done a superb job of it. Kleinjans has opted for a more northerly course and has made good VMG (velocity made good) toward the first gate at Kerguelen Island. Unfortunately for Michel his run of luck came to an end Saturday evening when Team Mowgli took the top spot, but this change of leaderboard did not come as a surprise to Kleinjans. 'Last night my plan fell apart when I realised that I wasn't going to hold onto the northerly flow I wanted to stay in,' he wrote. 'During the day yesterday I had a northeasterly breeze where I expected a northerly one and this slowed me down and ruined my plan. The result is that the boats to the south have made big gains as our courses converge.'

Roaring Forty. Photo: Brian Hancock - Portimao Global Ocean Race - Portimao Global Ocean Race

The three double-handed entries all gybed to the north overnight to get away from the brunt of the low pressure system passing to the south of them. Less than a hundred miles astern the other solo sailor, Nico Budel on Hayai, was not so lucky as he got slammed by a 60 knot gust that knocked him on his side. With typical determination, and humour, Nico prevailed. 'This morning at 4-o-clock I wanted to take a second reef in the mainsail but the batten started to come out and it got stuck behind one of my shrouds,' he said in a satellite phone call. 'That meant that I could not get the sail up or down. Then suddenly the wind increased from 40 to 60 knots. The boat was shaking hard and vibrated for 30 seconds. I can tell you they were some of the longest seconds of my life! I was seriously thinking that the boat must be falling apart!' He then added. 'What I have noticed is that the weather forecast was 20 knots more than they had predicted. So the Roaring Forties is just like a female. It does exactly as it wants to do!'

At the front of the fleet the new overnight leaders, Jeremy Salvesen and David Thomson on Team Mowgli, are sailing a steady course. They have gybed back onto starboard and opened up a respectable 47 mile lead on their closest rival Beluga Racer. The German team continues to head north and is on a converging course with the Chileans on Desafio Cabo do Hornos. If both boats remain on their respective courses they should pass within sight of each other in the next few hours.

While this current gale is not yet over, another much larger storm is approaching from the west. This intense cell of low pressure is packing winds well in excess of 60 knots and may prove very dangerous for all the sailors. They will have a day between storms to collect their thoughts, batten the hatches and prepare for the onslaught of another tough Southern Ocean gale. Indeed, what a difference a week makes.