GLOBE40 Leg 4 Update: At Point Nemo

Globe40 at Point Nemo © Globe40

Last night, the Class40 BELGIUM OCEAN RACING - CURIUM, skippered by Benoit Hantzperg and Djemila Tassin, passed Point Nemo. The Vendée Globe has made this beautiful mathematical construct familiar, edition after edition, and now the GLOBE40 is crossing this mythical shore.

But who exactly is this Mr. Nemo? It's located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the point in the ocean furthest from any land on planet Earth, in scientific terms, the maritime pole of inaccessibility; in short, no land within 2,688 km. The nearest humans are on the International Space Station at an altitude of 300 km, making communication difficult. 4,000 km to the west lie the first New Zealand islands, to the north Pitcairn Island and Easter Island, to the east the Chilean coast, and to the south Antarctica. In short, the vast emptiness of the open sea.

The skippers of this fourth leg of the second edition of the GLOBE40 didn't need to name this point to realize, since their departure from Sydney on January 1st, the immensity of the task: 3,820 miles already covered on the direct route, 2,400 miles still to go before discovering the colorful houses and streets of Valparaiso. Often skirting the 50° South latitude permitted by the course, everyone discovers this world of the inaccessible, a world of immense maritime power. Depressions follow one another, as they have in recent days, an endless horizon of mountain-like waves, gray skies, cold... But this infinity also intoxicates those privileged enough to cross it, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The race remains fierce, with the transpacific crossing being sailed at a breakneck pace: an average speed of 14.37 knots since the start, a new 24-hour record, and days of 400 miles now commonplace. The GLOBE40 is intoxicated, exhilarated, and surpasses itself in this celestial realm. And, as with Wilson, in the middle of the night, in the midst of the storm, in the middle of the Pacific, they climb to the masthead to tighten a crucial piece of rigging. Well-informed sources (CREDIT MUTUEL this morning) predict an arrival in Valparaiso on January 21st, which would cover 7,000 miles in 3 weeks, roughly double the distance of a transatlantic crossing in the same timeframe.

The Belgian-French duel among the leaders remains fierce, with a slight advantage for the Belgian team, a small cushion of 25 miles in the 22.00 ranking. Among the shark boats, BARCO BRASIL remains in the lead with a fairly southerly position, while WILSON, JANGADA RACING, and WHISKEY JACK have temporarily opted for a more northerly route during the latest and violent low-pressure system. FREE DOM is biding its time, awaiting its new rudder and an early departure. NEXT GENERATION has officially announced its imminent return to Reunion Island before departing for Recife to resume the race. Such is the GLOBE40...

Follow the race at www.globe40.com/cartographie