Today on their fourth day at sea, the fleet is now just 100 miles north of the Zone, but as the crews head east under the high pressure system that has dominated the leg so far, the Zone is going to creep north towards them.
This means there will be a lot of gybing in heavy winds to come, something that is going to push sailors to the limits. One mistake could also have big consequences in terms of damaged gear – masts, sails or people.
The running order in the “Furious Fifties” is still dominated by Vestas 11th Hour Racing with a crew that seems refreshed after missing the leg from Hong Kong to Auckland. They are just ahead of Team AkzoNobel in second place with MAPFRE third (+6.8), Team Brunel fourth (+7.8) and Dongfeng fifth, just under 10 miles behind the leader.
The Dongfeng skipper Charles Caudrelier has been looking at the challenge ahead in his latest blog from the chart table and he is typically very respectful of the sea and wind conditions they will be dealing with as they head at high speed towards the tip of South America.
“There will be five tough days to go until we reach Cape Horn,” he writes. “Five days is long in these conditions when you are close to the ice limit, in the coldest area, with many manoeuvres – it really is going to be very hard.
“We will really have to look after the boat and the sailors because there will be a lot of rough sea, a lot of wind and a lot of rotations. This is the worst because manoeuvres in these conditions and in the big seas are difficult, but we have no choice.
“Here it is, the Great South. Looking ahead, the weather models are not on the same page. There is a violent scenario on GFS (the American weather model), with a lot of wind and then when you look at the European model it is a little more manageable. The two are still very divergent which is normal because it is the end of summer and it is very active,” Caudrelier added.
Images from on board Dongfeng show Carolijn Brouwer and Daryl Wislang taking turns on the helm as the boat flies south propelled by a strong northerly breeze with blue skies and a relatively flat sea. But some of the team are using their visors already which tells us that the water hammering back along the boat from the bow is getting colder and more powerful.
Latest position report at 0700 UTC:
1. Vestas 11th Hour Racing. DTF: 5,636nm
2. Team AkzoNobel. DTL: 2.8nm
3. MAPFRE. DTL: 6.8nm
4. Team Brunel. DTL: 7.8nm
5. Dongfeng Race Team. DTL: 9.9nm
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic. DTL: 16.9nm
7. Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallwag. DTL: 17.1nm
