Please select your home edition
Edition
V-DRY-X

The Ocean Race Leg 2 Day 11: Around the outside

by The Ocean Race 5 Feb 2023 09:44 AEDT 4 February 2023

"Around the outside" is a trope that gets pulled out at one point or another on every edition of The Ocean Race. It refers to a tactical option on the race course where a boat, or boats, sail a longer route in more favourable conditions to make a pass on the leaderboard.

Today it's appropriate as Team Holcim-PRB, 11th Hour Racing Team, Biotherm, and even Team Malizia have used the longer, westerly option to slide south of GUYOT environnement - Team Europe who has been leading for much of leg 2.

Up until now, what would traditionally be considered a risky easterly option had paid off for Robert Stanjek and his team on GUYOT environnement.

But between 2100 UTC Friday night and 0900 UTC Saturday morning, their luck appears to have run out and the tactical scenario has turned on its head.

While all boats in the fleet slowed and suffered some tricky shifts to navigate, it was much worse for the European flagged team, who are no longer the most southerly boat and look to be in a very vulnerable position.

The tracker still shows GUYOT environnement - Team Europe with a nominal lead, but this is based solely on the math of being to the east and therefore the closest boat to Cape Town. The tactical reality is very different.

Read 11th Hour Racing Team strategist and veteran navigator on The Ocean Race, Marcel van Triest, on how to interpret the tracker

The tracker also shows compression in the entire fleet with the most westerly boat, Team Malizia, making strong gains behind the tight trio of Holcim-PRB, 11th Hour Racing Team and Biotherm, who are within sight of each other - the spread being down to about 10 miles on the water and closing.

"The wind is a bit shifty with some squalls to play with. Lots of wind variations so we need to change sails, adjust trimming, gybe, etc," was the report on Saturday morning from Nico Lunven on Team Malizia.

"We are quite happy as we have been able to catch up a bit our competitors. Now we are only 30-40 nautical miles behind Holcim - Biotherm - 11th Hour. And GUYOT is in a different option, much closer to the rhumb line (direct route to Cape Town) but in light wind for now.

"Ahead of us, there is still a lot to play for. The next goal is to catch some strong NW wind in order to be able to gain to the East, towards Cape Town.

"Life is good on board. We had some showers under the rain squalls yesterday. We will need to monitor our remaining food as the leg is longer than expected..."

The ETA for Cape Town is now 11-12 February.

Follow the latest positions on the Race Tracker

Check out the coverage on Eurosport

Leg Two Rankings at 1200 UTC - 4 February 2023

1. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, distance to finish, 2595.0 miles
2. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to lead, 47.3 miles
3. Biotherm, distance to lead, 50.8 miles
4. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 60.1 miles
5. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 82.0 miles

Related Articles

The Ocean Race Europe Video Preview
We speak to Phil Lawrence, Peter Rusch & Pip Hare to find out more The Ocean Race Europe will take place between 10 August & 21 September, following a debut event in the summer of 2021. The racing is in IMOCA yachts, the same as the Vendée Globe, but this time with 4 crew and an OBR who will document the action on board. Posted on 8 Jul
Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy 2025 overall
A weekend marked by strong winds, demanding seas, and top-level racing in Cascais The 6th edition of the Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy came to a close this Sunday after a weekend marked by strong winds, demanding seas, and top-level racing in Cascais. Posted on 7 Jul
Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy 2025 Preview
International sailing & ocean conservation unite in Cascais From July 4 to 6, Cascais hosts the biggest sailing regatta of the year with a strong focus on sustainability. The Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy celebrates six years of diversity, competition, and environmental commitment. Posted on 30 Jun
Tschüss 2 - Transatlantic Titans
Line Honours for Christian Zugel's Volvo 70 in the Transatlantic Race 2025 Volvo 70 Tschüss 2 (USA), owned by Christian Zugel and co-skippered by Johnny Mordaunt, has taken Line Honours in the West to East Transatlantic Race 2025 in an elapsed time of 07 Day 15 Hrs 29 Mins and 10 Secs. Posted on 26 Jun
Tschüss 2 powers ahead in Transatlantic Race
Her nearest rival, some 300 miles astern, is Oliver Kobale's VO65 Sisi Six days into the West-East Transatlantic Race, Christian Zugel's Volvo 70 Tschüss 2, co-skippered by Johnny Mordaunt, has raced over 2,000 miles and is the clear leader for both Monohull Line Honours and the overall IRC win. Posted on 23 Jun
The Ocean Race will return to Itajaí, Brazil
During the 2027 and 2031 around the world races The Ocean Race confirms Itajaí, in Santa Catarina state, in Brazil will once again host the world's most iconic around-the-world yacht race in April, 2027 and again in 2031, in a two-edition hosting partnership. Posted on 16 Jun
Pip Hare joins Canada Ocean Racing
Sailing alongside Canadian skipper Scott Shawyer for The Ocean Race Europe Canada Ocean Racing is excited to announce that British offshore sailor Pip Hare will join their Be Water Positive campaign for the 2025 edition of The Ocean Race Europe. Posted on 30 Apr
Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy returns
With the introduction of the high-performance TP52 class The prestigious Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy is set to return for its sixth edition from July 4-6, 2025, promising a thrilling weekend of top-tier sailing in one of Europe's most scenic and challenging maritime locations, Cascais. Posted on 24 Mar
The Ocean Race Europe to make stop in Nice, France
Visiting the Mediterranean coast of France for the first time this summer The Ocean Race Europe, the premiere fully-crewed, offshore sailing race for the foiling IMOCA Class, will visit the Mediterranean coast of France for the first time this summer. Posted on 13 Mar
The Ocean Race Europe will race into Portsmouth
Back in the game for the IMOCA race in the summer of 2025 The Ocean Race Europe, an offshore sailing race for the foiling IMOCA class, will include Portsmouth on the south coast of England, among its six stopovers. Posted on 16 Sep 2024
X-Yachts X4.0Zhik 2024 DecemberSwitch One Design