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8:15 PM Sat 20 Dec 2008 GMT
 | | 'Desafio Cabo de Hornos, the newest Class 40 in the Portimao Global Ocean Race'
Brian Hancock © |
A tightly packed low pressure system is bearing down on the Portim?o Global Ocean Race fleet as they dive deeper south into the Roaring Forties. Once again the leaderboard may change as the close racing unfolds along the 45th parallel adding new drama to an already actioned packed second leg of this global around-the-world race.
At the most recent poll (11:20 UTC) the British entry Team Mowgli held onto a slim 9.9 mile lead over second place Beluga Racer, the German entry that dominated Leg 1 of the race. Both boats were sailing at the same speed, but the real story of this weekend will be just how well the Chilean entry Desafio Cabo de Hornos performs once the big wind is up.
Desafio Cabo de Hornos is the newest Class 40 in the fleet, indeed one of the newest in the world and it was custom designed and built precisely for the kinds of conditions that the sailors will encounter over the next 24 - 36 hours. Designed by the brilliant yacht designer Guillaume Verdier, Desafio Cabo de Hornos looks every bit a downwind rocketship. Its beamy, flat, aft sections are cut abruptly with chines that run as far forward as the mast, provide a perfect surfing platform. The abrupt angle of the chines allow the water to break cleanly away from the hull to reduce drag while the cockpit is all business. As this low pressure approaches Desafio Cabo de Hornos is the fastest boat in the fleet sailing a full knot and a half faster then the two boats ahead of it. Time will tell if they are able to increase their speed over Beluga Racer and Team Mowgli, or not.
The low pressure system is packing a steady 35 to 40 knots, from the west. It's a fast moving system that is tracking slightly south of east. By early evening Saturday the wind will start to increase and overnight will reach sustained speeds of more than 30 knots. In the early dawn, when all sailors are at their most vulnerable, the wind will rise further with gusts in the 40+knot range. It's the first big Southern Ocean blow and the sailors are bracing for it.
The first boat to feel the system will be Hayai, ably skippered by the venerable Dutchman Nico Budel. Hayai is 100 miles astern of the pack of three and in line to get the same thumping as the rest. As Nico feels the wind before the others he will close the gap between himself and the front runners, but that advantage will swiftly be passed onto Felipe Cubillos and Jos? Mu?oz aboard Desafio Cabo de Hornos. The question is what the Chileans will do with their short-lived advantage. If they are able to knuckle down and ride the leading edge of the system they may well move into the lead. My guess is that Cubillos and Mu?oz will take a conservative approach to this system, feeling their boat out and taking a mental accounting of it's strengths and weaknesses, all to use later in the leg.
Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme on Beluga Racer are young and ambitious. They will likely see this as their opportunity to take control of the leg as the Brits, David Thomson and Jeremy Salvesen aboard Team Mowgli, push just hard enough to protect their lead, but not so hard that they break anything. Once again time will tell. It's going to be an interesting weekend.
Let us not forget Michel Kleinjans aboard Roaring Forty. Kleinjans remains the on-the-water leader but is sailing in very different conditions 300 miles to the north. He too will experience westerly winds, but not as strong. Kleinjans knows that sometimes less is more. He will be able to sail with full sail in 20 knots of wind while his fellow competitors will be well reefed in more breeze. It may be that all boats sail the same average speed with Kleinjans able to manage things better and certainly with less risk of breakage. He's smart, wily, and is probably quite happy with his lot in life right now.
Leaderboard at 11:20 UTC
DTF in nautical miles
Double-handed
Team Mowgli - 6078
Beluga Racer - 6088
Cabo de Hornos - 6107
Kazimir Partners - 6875
Single-handed
Roaring Forty - 6026
Hayai - 6181
www.portimaorace.com/
by Brian Hancock
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Hamilton Island, QLD
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