Portimão Global Ocean Race Leg 2 Racing Log - Weeks 5 and 6

by Oliver Dewar on 28 Jan 2009
In the final instalment of the Portimão Global Ocean Race Leg 2 Racing Log, we look at the final ten days at sea for the fleet and record the finish times, leg times and the overall race point values for Leg 1 and Leg 2.

The closing stages of the 6,900 mile Leg 2 from Cape Town, South Africa, to Wellington, New Zealand, were packed with drama until the winning yacht, Beluga Racer, crossed the finish line on 15th with the Chilean Class 40, Desafio Cabo de Hornos, in hot pursuit regaining an astonishing number of miles as the two boats closed in on the coast of South Island. As the leading two boats battled together towards the finish, the Southern Ocean delivered one final gale for Team Mowgli and Roaring Forty.

Week 5: 11-17 January. Full on fight to the finish.

On the first day of Week 5, the brutal conditions encountered during one month in the Southern Ocean continues to extract a high price from two of the boats: on Team Mowgli in third place, British duo, Jeremy Salvesen and David Thomson, sustain further damage to their Class 40 when the bowsprit is torn from the foredeck and to the north-west, Michel Kleinjans breaks a spinnaker halyard on Roaring Forty and is forced to climb the mast. Meanwhile, at the front of the fleet, the decision to stay north near Tasmania by Felipe Cubillos and José Muñoz has resulted in dropping to 114 miles behind Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme on leading Class 40, Beluga Racer. Vowing to catch their German rivals, Cubillos and Muñoz declare that the ‘The Battle of The Tasman Sea’ has officially started and in the following 24 hours, the Chileans take 48 miles from the lead held by Herrmann and Oehme.

On 13th January, Beluga Racer picks up speed and heads in shore, gybing back out to see at midday, heading straight towards the Chileans as the German boat’s lead plummets to 50 miles. Two days later, Herrmann and Oehme round Cape Farewell at the northern tip of South Island at midnight GMT, followed four hours later by Desafio Cabo de Hornos trailing by just 27 miles, although the Germans hook into stronger breeze for the final stretch to the finish line. While the race leaders battle it out in the approaches to Cook Strait, Team Mowgli and Roaring Forty stop their dive through the South Ocean at 47°S, south-east of Tasmania and begin their ascent to the finish separated by just 67 miles. Despite the loss and final destruction of their remaining spinnaker, Herrmann and Oehme cross the finish line on 15th January at 14:01 GMT on Beluga Racer, followed just three and one half hours later by Cubillos and Muñoz with Desafio Cabo de Hornos at 17:32 GMT. While the German and Chilean teams celebrate in Wellington, Team Mowgli and Roaring Forty have closed to within 15 miles of each other and have a final blast of between 30-40 knots winds from a Southern Ocean low pressure system, but both deliver impressive 24 hour runs of 240 miles.

Week 6: 18-20 January

On the 18th January, Team Mowgli and Roaring Forty continue to produce 11 knot speed averages in a Force 8-9 gale as the two boats head north-east, 300 miles from Cape Farewell. In a hunt to find continued breeze, Salvesen and Thomson head offshore while Michel Kleinjans clips Cape Farewell and heads for the home straight. Stalled by light winds and strong currents, both boats have a tough 24 hours in Cook Strait with Roaring Forty crossing the finish line at 21:28 GMT on 20th January and Team Mowgli following under five hours later.

Double-handed class

1st Beluga Race Boris Herrmann/Felix Oehme)
14:01:37GMT 15th January, taking 32 days 3 hours 31 minutes and 37 seconds to complete the course. 24 points
2nd Desafio Cabo de Hornos (Felipe Cubillos/José Muñoz)
17:32:20 GMT 15th January, taking 32 days 7 hours 2 minutes and 20 seconds to complete the course. 18.5 points
3rd Team Mowgli (Jeremy Salvesen/David Thomson)
01:30:35 GMT 21st January, taking 37 days, 15 hours, 00 minutes and 35 seconds to complete the course. 14.5 points
Single handed class

1st Roaring Forty (Michel Kleinjans)
21:28:55 GMT 20th January, taking 37 days, 10 hours, 58 minutes and 55 seconds to complete the course (for diverting to the location of Hayai following Nico Budel’s MAYDAY, Kleinjans requested 31 hours and 34 minutes redress: the Portimão Global Ocean Race committee readjusted the Leg 2 race time for Roaring Forty to 36d 03h 24m 55s). 24 points

Finish line ‘Quotes from the Boats’:

Boris Herrmann, Beluga Racer: 'We were definitely concerned about Felipe and José. We were quite upset as we broke a big spinnaker at the beginning of Leg 2 and three days ago, we broke the spare. So, with a light patch in front of us we had to repair the sail. It was a very big job, it took six hours. After 12 hours of sailing, it began to disintegrate and a big hole appeared. So we were just both looking up at the spinnaker, really concerned it would go completely. If that sail had fallen to pieces, the Chileans would have overtaken us easily.'

Felipe Cubillos, Desafio Cabo de Hornos: 'I like these German guys. I’d like them a lot more if they were three and a half hours slower. In fact, I would love them!'

Jeremy Salvesen, Team Mowgli: 'We were quite ecstatic to see the finish line. It has been a long, long journey. It has been a longer leg for us in many ways as we had a pretty rough time out there.'

Michel Kleinjans, Roaring Forty: 'In the beginning, I was frustrated. But then you think, ‘What‘s the difference of another day?’ You go back to your freeze dried food and just accept that tonight is not the night for steak au poivre!'

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