Globe40 Leg 2 Update - Final suspense for the finish at Reunion Island?

by Sirius Events 28 Oct 08:18 GMT

At 10:00 local time on Reunion Island (06:00 UTC), the two formidable duellists of this 2nd edition of the GLOBE40 are separated by only a few 0.3 miles, even though they are 820 miles from the finish line this morning in St. Paul Bay on the west coast of the island. Are we heading for a suspenseful finish between BELGIUM OCEAN RACING - CURIUM - in the lead on the morning of the 27th day of racing - and CREDIT MUTUEL for this second record-breaking leg? It certainly seems so!

We replay the film from the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope and the entry into the Indian Ocean; On October 22nd at 00:17 UTC, the Belgian crew rounded the Cape Agulhas with a lead of 1 hour and 9 minutes over the French team. Two different strategies emerged: the French crew heading due east on the southern limit of the course, and the Belgian crew heading northeast, a route largely imposed due to their energy problems on board, as the sun was more present in the north. CREDIT MUTUEL quickly regained the lead on October 23rd at 08:00 UTC. Ian Lipinski and Amélie then sailed their Class 40 with great dexterity in areas of light winds, making the most of the Agulhas currents. Conversely, Benoit Hantzperg and Renaud Dehareng were caught further north in unfavorable wind and current conditions; the French team then had a lead of up to 70 miles on October 25th at 18:00 UTC.

But since nothing is ever certain in this second leg of the GLOBE40, and in this zone between South Africa and southern Madagascar, luck, good tactics, the skippers' talent, or all three at once, caused a new and brutal turn of events; and within 24 hours, CREDIT MUTUEL lost its lead, which was beginning to grow a little and helped ease the pressure on board. And on October 26 at 9:00 PM UTC, the Belgian team reclaimed the lead, having left the French in the lead for only 3 days and 13 hours; this was the 21st change of lead since leaving Cape Verde.

Since then, the two competitors are in contact again, alternately taking the lead with a 22nd, a 23rd, and perhaps soon a 24th change of leader in the minutes that follow since at the time of writing these lines CREDIT MUTUEL is only 0.3 miles behind the Belgians in a vein of favorable wind. 800 miles of this exhausting pursuit of 7440 miles still await them and nothing suggests to date that one of the two protagonists can take a significant lead before the finish which also promises to be very complex; With the wind off Reunion Island extending up to 20 miles offshore and the finish line to be found deep in St. Paul's Bay... a heated atmosphere is still expected until the finish, which the routings predict will take place today, with the usual reserves, on Saturday afternoon, November 1st. NEXT GENERATION BOATING AROUND THE WORLD, the German crew took advantage of the opportunity to close to within 127 miles of the leading group, benefiting from conditions as good behind the leaders as they had experienced during the Doldrums.

While the leading Class40s struggled with the lack of wind, the situation was quite different for the other competitors, in this case the fleet of "sharp" Class40s. Faced with a strong low pressure system off South Africa this weekend, the competitors experienced particularly difficult wind and sea conditions; This was particularly true for BARCO BRASIL, which had a more southerly position and faced extreme conditions, but continued on its way and passed the Cape of Good Hope at the head of the sharps on October 26th at 09:38 UTC. FREE DOM, WILSON, JANGADA RACING, and WHISKEY JACK remained in a more northerly position approaching the African coast, with FREE DOM being the second pointu to pass the Cape of Good Hope today at 02:57 UTC. All sailed in rough sea conditions, taking the time to send us some superb sea images along the way. It's worth noting that WILSON took the opportunity to beat his speed record at 28.28 knots... not bad for a Class40! The beautiful Austrian lakes also seem to be a great formation!

Everyone is eagerly awaiting this arrival in Reunion, bodies and minds accumulating a fatigue that continues to grow on this 27th day of racing in a record-breaking stage.

www.globe40.com