Globe40 Leg 2 Finish - Belgium Ocean Racing - Curium wins the record-breaking stage

Belgium Ocean Racing - Curium wins Globe40 Leg 2 © Globe40

9 minutes between the top 3 after 29 days and 22 hours of racing: who could have imagined this breathtaking finish on October 2nd at the start in Cape Verde? Yet that's precisely what happened today in St. Paul Bay, Reunion Island, to the detriment of CREDIT MUTUEL, who had initially been ahead until 15 miles from the finish, but the wind shadow around the island proved to be their undoing.

On November 1st at 1:05 PM UTC, Benoit Hantzperg and Renaud Dehareng on BELGIUM OCEAN RACING - CURIUM crossed the finish line victorious in the second leg of the GLOBE40; they covered 8,420 nautical miles at an average speed of 11.73 knots. Lennart Burke and Melvin Fink, who had made an extraordinary comeback over the past few days, followed at 1:12 PM. And in 3rd place at 1:14 PM, Ian Lipinski and Amélie Grassi on CREDIT MUTUEL, who had been the main protagonists with the Belgian team for most of the leg. It's obviously an incredible scenario to see the three crews reunited in just a few minutes. Beyond the statistics, it's a fantastic sporting and human adventure experienced by the crews, as well as by all the competitors still at sea.

A leg of all records

Having set off on October 2nd from Mindelo Bay on the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde, the trio who arrived today at the end of the 2nd leg of the 2nd edition of the GLOBE40 experienced, over 8,420 nautical miles (6,903 nautical miles over the ground), every weather condition one can encounter on an offshore racing course. First, a descent south in light conditions, then the mythical Doldrums, which the leaders crossed relatively quickly, the long downwind leg off the Brazilian coast to round the St. Helena High, the approach to the Roaring Forties, a long leg towards South Africa along the southern limit of the course at 42 degrees S, the arrival at the Cape of Good Hope and entry into the Indian Ocean at Cape Agulhas, and finally a particularly complex ascent in the Indian Ocean towards Reunion Island due to multiple areas of light winds and currents. This stage is record-breaking for many reasons: the longest leg of this edition of the race, the longest leg ever sailed by the new generation Class40s, and the 24-hour speed record broken by the Belgian team on October 14th with a distance of 457.72 miles. and a speed record on a Class40 race on many sections of the course, such as the average speed of 14.7 knots between the equator and the Cape of Good Hope.

A hard-won victory for a project in rebuilding

BELGIUM OCEAN RACING - CURIUM is the offshore racing team formed around Renaud Dehareng, a successful Belgian businessman, and Jonas Gerckens, a renowned Belgian offshore racer. The last few years had been difficult for Jonas, including a retirement from the Route du Rhum due to health reasons and an accident in 2024 when their Class40 #187 struck a marine mammal while being delivered to the start of the Québec-St. Malo transatlantic race, resulting in the boat being out of action for almost a year. The team also includes Benoit Hantzperg and Djamila Tassin, who recently acquired Class40 #153. The crew for this second leg therefore included Benoit Hantzperg and Renaud Dehareng. After a third-place finish in the prologue and a second-place finish in the leg between Cadiz and Cape Verde, the Belgian competitors were making strong progress.

This victory should propel BELGIUM OCEAN RACING - CURIUM to the top of the overall standings, pending official confirmation by the race committee after the arrival of the last competitor. It's difficult to summarize these 29 days, given the intensity of the duel between CREDIT MUTUEL and BELGIUM OCEAN RACING, with no fewer than 29 changes of leader, an average of one per day of racing, and never more than 70 miles separating the two competitors. Each of the four skippers had to dig deep to find the resources to endure, to overcome setbacks or technical failures - like CURIUM, which had been partially deprived of power for two weeks - in order to maintain their will to win. Benoit Hantzperg, a renowned professional, instilled his energy in Renaud Dehareng and demonstrated that the word "amateur" primarily refers to a status but doesn't preclude a high level of performance. It had been known for some time that one of the two French or Belgian teams would eventually have to cede their position to the other—a harsh reality of sport—but the incredible performance was shared. The four remaining major stages will surely offer further duels, even though only a third of the points have been awarded so far.

A New Status for the Class40

By demonstrating that the latest generation of Class40s ("round-nosed scows") could reliably and safely complete an 8,000-mile course in the Southern Ocean, for the first time over a distance exceeding that of a transatlantic crossing, the GLOBE40 has laid another cornerstone in the development of the Class40. This event proved that the emotions of the Southern Ocean, the Roaring Forties, the slides, the exhilarating flight of the albatrosses, could be experienced on this technically and financially accessible boat. It also proved that sailing in an international environment, on a high-tech vessel, with top-level crews, is possible in a round-the-world stage race. These two demonstrations will certainly have repercussions in the years to come, not only for future editions of the Class40 but also for the entire ecosystem of this class. The first of the classic Class40s ("the 'pointus'") is expected to arrive at the meeting immediately, as it's only 800 miles away, or 3 to 4 days at sea. This proves that the different models can participate in the same race and each find their own advantage. Once everyone has reached Reunion Island, enjoyed the island's charms, and experienced the hospitality of the Western Territories (TCO) community, they will set off on November 22nd towards Sydney, another new leg that will take the competitors into the Roaring Forties.

www.globe40.com