Incredible GLOBE40 Leg 4 Finish: Seconds split Belgium Ocean Racing - Curium and Credit Mutuel

Belgium Ocean Racing - Curium and Credit Mutuel finish GLOBE40 Leg 4 neck and neck in Valparaiso © Jean-Marie Liot / Globe40

This Friday 23rd January 2026 is a milestone in the annals of ocean racing. The competitors of the 4th leg of the GLOBE40 set off from Sydney on 1st January and had to cover 6,228 miles on their direct route to Valparaiso in Chile.

The leg lived up to the reputation of the great southern seas with a route only limited to 50° south. The commitment of the skippers on this course is maximal and the speed records have again fallen with 459 miles recorded. But even more, it is undoubtedly the arrival of the first in Valparaiso that will be remembered.

With nearly 7000 surface miles covered at an average speed of 13.40 knots - new record for an offshore event Class40 - the first two Belgium Ocean Racing - Curium and Credit Mutuel finish the stage in the incredible situation of a finish line with a gap that is counted in seconds. Given the weakness of the gap which is counted in seconds and taking into account the stakes of this stage with a coefficient of 3, the actors of the sports chain, organization, race direction, race committee and international jury will meet today to take a final position on the ranking of the leg.

A transpacific without concessions

Having left Sydney on 1st January, a good start for the new year, the competitors of this 4th leg had before them a Pacific to cross in its entirety. If legs could be longer in the event, like leg 2 between Cape Verde and Reunion Island (8000 miles), this leg of the Pacific was unprecedented with an ocean to cross in its entirety from west to east, far from any inhabited land, and passing through the famous Nemo point. A course where the depressions followed one another once descended to the South of New Zealand in the forties. Cold, fatigue, steep seas with up to 7 meters of trough, the anguish of breaking equipment, nothing was spared the crews. Even more, this leg was pioneering in the sense that it was the first time that the new generation Class40s had completed such a route, twice as long as a transat. The experience was conclusive and opens the door to new development territories for the Class40.

A finish in Valparaiso never seen in the history of ocean racing

For all the stages of the 2nd edition of the GLOBE40, as for all those of the 1st edition, the finish lines are virtual lines with rankings calculated by satellite tracker. Technology today gives tools that modernize this part of the organization. This was therefore the case in Valparaiso with a position frequency of every minute. The finish line was defined by a line between a point on land near the southern entrance of Valparaiso and a point at sea.

Arriving 5 miles ahead, BELGIUM OCEAN RACING- CURIUM found itself in the last mile of the race stuck in a windless area in Valparaiso Bay. CREDIT MUTUEL arriving at full speed was able to take advantage of this situation to come back 500m from the first one before being stuck in turn in areas without wind. With great effort, the two competitors were able to get closer to the finish line by being almost side by side before crossing it with a gap of seconds.

In view of the small size of this gap (59"), and the stakes of this 4th leg with a coefficient of 3, the sports officials of the event decided to consult each other and check all the elements before validating a ranking of the event. It is the rigor of this organization, resulting from decades of experience in officiating offshore races by the FFV, which is also a witness to the overall quality of the event. But regardless of the result, these are two magnificent teams that have always fought with respect for each other. And is eagerly awaiting the story of all the other competitors currently at sea.

Follow the race at www.globe40.com/cartographie.