Portimao Global Ocean Race - Beluga Racer rounds Cape Horn

by Oliver Dewar on 20 Mar 2009
At 1000 GMT this morning (19/03), Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme clipped very close to Cape Horn on Beluga Racer, just under ten hours behind the Chilean race leaders, Felipe Cubillos and José Muñoz on Desafio Cabo de Hornos.

Timing their arrival to perfection, the German duo arrived at the world’s southernmost cape at sunrise. 'It was amazing,' reported Boris Herrmann via satellite phone shortly after passing the cape. 'The sun was just lighting up the land and we could see everything very clearly.'

After 26 days at sea in the Southern Ocean, Herrmann and Oehme have not seen land since the start of Leg 3 in Wellington, New Zealand, and a sudden, static reference point was a surprise. 'With all this time at sea, to suddenly see land is strange,' explains the German skipper. 'But you also realise that you are going quite fast! The cape went by very quickly.' However, the pair did have time to celebrate their first rounding of this barren headland at the bottom of the world. 'We poured a little whisky into the sea,' continues Herrmann. 'Then Felix and I drank some German beer. It was a very good moment.'

Immediately after rounding Cape Horn, Herrmann and Oehme put the helm down and turned hard left, scraping passed the Wollaston Islands north of the cape. 'We got a shift very soon and put the spinnaker up,' confirms Herrmann. In the latest 1800 GMT (19/03) position poll, Beluga Racer is 20 miles off the coast of Tierra del Fuego and gunning for the entrance of the Le Maire Strait, 30 miles ahead of the German Class 40 in around 16 knots of westerly breeze.

While the strategy for Herrmann and Oehme is to cut the corner and tackle the 16 mile wide gap between Tierra del Fuego and Isla de Los Estados, Cubillos and Muñoz are sailing Desafio Cabo de Hornos towards the eastern limit of the island and are currently 35 miles south-east of Fallows Point in stronger, 20 knot north-westerly breeze, averaging 11.6 knots: four knots faster than Herrmann and Oehme. Although the distance between the two boats is currently 72 miles, the next nine hours will be a crucial period in the remaining 2,000 miles of racing.

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