Please select your home edition
Edition
North Sails Loft 57 Podcast

The Ocean Race Cape Leg 3: An enthralling, treacherous sleigh ride

by The Ocean Race 26 Feb 2023 03:41 AEDT 25 February 2023
The Ocean Race 2022-23 - 24 February 2023, Start of the In-Port Race in Cape Town © Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

At over 12,750 nautical miles, Leg 3 of this 14th edition will be the longest ever in the 50 years since this race began. When the boats cast off from the dock at midday in Cape Town on Sunday, this will be the most emotional departure for friends and family.

As the fleet heads into the most remote ocean on the planet, there is a lot at stake. There will be plenty of goodbye tears as the sailors set off on an adventure expected to last more than a month.

Two-time veteran of the race Charlie Enright, skipper of 11th Hour Racing Team, commented: "When the course for this race was announced, everybody keyed in on this leg pretty quickly as the big one. You know, it's going to be somewhere between 30 to 40 days."

There are good reasons to love and hate the Southern Ocean. Even in a southern hemisphere spring, at such deep latitudes it can be unrelentingly cold. Cold enough for icebergs to be a threat and something to be monitored on radar. For long periods during the passage from the Cape of Good Hope to rounding Cape Horn, you're more than a thousand miles from any other human beings. Except for when the astronauts fly overhead, about 250 miles up in space on the International Space Station.

But the Southern Ocean is also a sailor's dream. The ultimate sleigh ride where you can have fun surfing huge waves for weeks on end. "The south can be unbelievable," enthuses Enright. "I mean, it's big westerly winds with no leeward mark, a sailor's dream and you get to go downwind forever. But it's also a pretty treacherous part of the world. In the two previous editions of the race we've been either side of that. In 2014-15 we were a group of young guys and to find ourselves leading the fleet around Cape Horn was a magical moment. But in the next edition of the race we dropped a rig about 50 miles after going around Cape Horn. So the Southern Ocean can give and it can also take away."

Paul Meilhat, skipper of Biotherm, was late signing up to The Ocean Race. The French skipper thought he didn't have much time to round up the kind of experience he wanted on board, but Leg 3 made it an easier sell for convincing his fellow IMOCA sailors to join the crew. "When I announced the project and said I was looking for crew, they all asked to do this leg. This is the leg that everybody - the public, the journalists - all speak about because it's almost half of the race in terms of miles, it's the longest in the history of this race. So, yes, it's a big one.

"But we mustn't forget that we are going to have 10 [scoring] coefficients. This is a big part of the race, but we must focus not just on this leg but about The Ocean Race as a whole. Which is why the most important objective is to be in Itajaí to be able to finish the race."

Two other French skippers are also very aware of the importance of this leg in determining the outcome of The Ocean Race four months from now. Neither Kevin Escoffier nor Benjamin Dutreux want to take the results of the first two legs for granted. Escoffier and Team Holcim - PRB have a perfect score with two leg victories down the Atlantic but are taking none of their early success for granted, while Dutreux and GUYOT environnement - Team Europe have finished last in both opening legs.

Dutreux is adamant that the scoreboard doesn't tell the story of a much closer level of performance throughout the fleet. After all, the GUYOT team did hold the lead for large chunks of Leg 2. "I am very happy with the the beginning of the race, even if the leaderboard doesn't show that," said Dutreux who sat out the second leg from Cabo Verde. "The scoreboard, it's only numbers, and what I feel is that the level is very high and very close in the fleet. We have a fight with the other boats, and our points are not good, but I'm very happy with the fight and effort we put into sailing the boat, and that is the most important factor. I feel we are making good progress, and I'm looking forward to getting back on board and fighting for 20 per cent of the race on this crazy leg."

Team Holcim - PRB skipper Kevin Escoffier is looking his usual energetic self, even if he's not quite feeling it. "We had some rest, but not enough, in Cape Town. I would have liked to spend more time here, and for the shore crew it has been difficult getting the boat ready in time for the next leg. There is still plenty of race to come. Like Paul [Meilhat] said, the most important thing is to finish in Itajaí.

"When we started in Alicante in January, we were already pushing the boat to 100 per cent of what we thought we could do, maybe more. I don't know if we are pushing too hard on the boat. I think it was pretty easy in the Atlantic, because we have references from other experiences in the Atlantic. For the next leg going into the Southern Ocean it will be completely different. We have to find a new of setting up the boat, to find a good average speed without pushing the boat too much. With Team Holcim - PRB we have never done 30 days in a row at sea. It's the unknown, but we're looking forward to it."

So is Team Malizia's Boris Herrmann, who makes no secret that his boat has been built with the Southern Ocean in mind. "You can't build a boat that's good for all kinds of wind and wave conditions," said the Team Malizia skipper. "But downwind in strong conditions is what we and (our designers) VPLP designed this boat for. I hope we can take advantage of this on Leg 3 and prove that the boat is good for such conditions in the Southern Ocean."

Herrmann also notes that there needs to be change of mindset when heading out of the Atlantic and into the south. "What we are about to do, I think it is really the pinnacle of The Ocean Race this time and very different from the other legs. It's almost a different type of yachting or racing. In the Atlantic we can be used to do really very close racing, to be very focused on performance all the time. But going into the Southern Ocean is also a big adventure.

"If we need rescuing, it can take 10 days for a warship to get to these regions to be able to help you. We are thousands of kilometres away from the nearest land. We're really on our own."

Leg 3 is scheduled to start at 1415 local time in Cape Town, 1215 UTC.

The forecast for Sunday's race start is 15-20 knot southerlies, with the wind in the start area quite shifty due to the local geography and the wind coming from the shore.

www.theoceanrace.com

Related Articles

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
Volvo Cars and The Ocean Race extend partnership
With a joint mission on ocean health Volvo Cars and The Ocean Race both share the strong commitment to a more sustainable future and to contribute and deliver actual change where it's needed, including in the restoration and preservation of natural ecosystems and biodiversity. Posted on 28 Aug 2024
Franck Cammas awarded 2024 Magnus Olsson Prize
French 'sailor of the decade' is recognised for his spirit and impact on the sport Franck Cammas, the incredible French sailing champion, has earned another important accolade as he is named the winner of the 2024 Magnus (Mange) Olsson Prize. Posted on 9 Aug 2024
Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy concludes
The festival of sailing was contested by 700 sailors battling across seven classes The annual Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy, which took place in Cascais, Portugal, came to a close on Sunday evening after two days of close and intense racing. Posted on 9 Jul 2024
Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy Preview
700 sailors ready to race in the 5th edition The annual Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy event is set to get under way this weekend from 5 to 7 July in Cascais, Portugal. Posted on 1 Jul 2024
Bernardo Freitas to skipper Racing for the Planet
In the Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy 2024 The Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team announces that former team watch captain Bernardo Freitas (POR) will lead the Team in the 2024 edition of The Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy, in July. Posted on 9 May 2024
The Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy preview
A sustainable regatta that will see sailing boats take to the Atlantic coast of Portugal Organised in partnership with the Clube Naval de Cascais, the sustainable regatta will see a large number of sailing boats take to the Atlantic coast of Portugal, to raise awareness and important funds for marine conservation programs. Posted on 24 Apr 2024
Selden 2020 - FOOTERRS Sailing 2021 - FOOTERVaikobi 2024 December