The Ocean Race Leg 3 Day 17: Speed bumps ahead
by The Ocean Race 16 Mar 2023 02:50 AEDT
15 March 2023
The Ocean Race 2022-23 Leg 3 onboard Team Malizia. Will Harris checking technical details on screen © Antoine Auriol / Team Malizia
Near midnight UTC overnight on Tuesday, Team Holcim-PRB made yet another gybe to the south, looking to stay close to the ice exclusion zone.
Its nearest competitor - Team Malizia - continued pushing to the east, and for the first time since the start and the Cape of Good Hope, over two weeks ago, there was a boat positioned further east than Holcim-PRB.
As shown on the tracker leaderboard, Kevin Escoffier's Team Holcim-PRB and Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia are now neck and neck.
But from a tactical standpoint, most observers would say Escoffier still has the stronger position. The further south one is, the shorter the distance to Cape Horn as in reality the route for this part of leg 3 is a long, gentle arc to the right around Antarctica. That means the southerly position is the inside lane on the track.
Nevertheless, it's been a strong couple of days for Malizia since the scoring gate, and the pressure is on.
The fleet is now racing in 25 knot northwesterlies, directly south of New Zealand, and another big speed bump lies ahead, with a ridge of high pressure and light winds that the boats will push against.
That will be an advantage for Biotherm and 11th Hour Racing Team as the fleet is forecast to compress and the lighter conditions towards the end of the week allow for much needed repairs.
But until then, it is full speed ahead to the east.
All of the media from the boats, including videos and photos, is here.
The latest position are on the Race Tracker
Follow the racing at www.theoceanrace.com and www.eurosport.com/sailing