The Clipper Race fleet has bid adiós to Punta del Este and is back out on the water for its next taste of the Atlantic. With over 3,500 nautical miles between them and their next stop in Cape Town, South Africa, the ten racing teams can expect exhilarating downwind sailing, relentless waves and cold, fast conditions as they surf towards Africa.
As Stage 3: The Musto South Atlantic Challenge got underway on Monday (20 October), Race Manager Hannah Brewis explained what can be expected on this next stage of racing: “As the fleet departed Punta del Este it expected a little bit of a light wind start. Once over the horizon, heading into the Atlantic and the Roaring Forties, the teams will start to see those low pressures, with big, strong, following winds. Hopefully they will get onto the back of low pressure with fast downwind conditions which will get them across the Atlantic Ocean.
“The challenge is that the low pressures will move quite quickly, so the aim is to get onto one and stay on it as long as possible and that will propel them across the ocean. Towards the end of the race the fleet will come back up towards South Africa, and as they approach the city of Cape Town they will witness such an amazing experience. You start thinking “that’s a strange looking cloud”, and then you realise it’s Table Mountain. You can see it from so far away, and then you get closer, and closer and it really is one of the most spectacular cities to sail into.”
Cape Town national, and Clipper Race Skipper, Dylan Kotze has been also analysing the weather ahead in the hope to make best speed to his home port. He added: “I’ve been looking at the weather, and it looks like we’ve got a bit of a breeze to start off with which makes for great sailing. I’m looking forward to getting going on this special Leg, arriving at my hometown and re-connecting with my friends and family.”
Stage 3 of the Clipper Race is certainly one for thrill seekers, with the South Atlantic serving up big swells and trade winds that will see boat speeds exceed 20 knots as teams surf their way down big waves. The spinnaker will feature heavily during this race, and teams who have already honed their spinnaker handling skills have great potential to climb the leaderboard.
With an early doors tactical decision to be made, teams must choose whether to head further south, where they are likely to get far more consistent wind speeds but take a longer route, or take a more easterly heading, sticking to the Rhumb Line, but risk getting too close to the windless centre of the South Atlantic High.
There’s often a lot of jostling for positions during Leg 2, and despite thousands of miles of racing, there have been plenty of photo finishes on the line in South Africa, keeping the energy and the action flowing from start to finish.
Sailing home, the long way, is 46-year-old Marcus Dayton, a Customer Relations Manager from Cape Town. Marcus set sail with Team London Business School from Portsmouth, UK on 31 August and when he arrives at his hometown will have more 10,000nm of sailing under his belt, spending over 50 days at sea.
Talking on departure from Uruguay, Marcus said: “Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. My team crossed the line first into Uruguay and we plan on doing the same thing again. On the way here, we were working on our top speeds, and we hit almost 25 knots downwind, which is super exciting with the spray coming up in front of the boat. This time, we’re going to try and get 30, that would be a dream come true. These boats are not cruising boats. You are continually fighting the boat, managing sail plans, trying to trim and get the boat sailing as quickly as possible, but at the same time thinking about getting on course, not deviating too much. It’s a challenge, but it’s super, super exciting.”
The fleet will now spend around 17 days battling it out on the South Atlantic, where for the teams every point will count. With the leaderboard remaining tight after the first two stages, Stage 3 brings fresh opportunity to bolster those racing points, and secure up to six bonus points along the way.
On departure from Punta del Este, the standings were:
1 // GOSH // 30 points
2 // Scotland // 18 points
3 // London Business School // 17 points
4 // Power of Seattle Sports // 15 points
5 // Qingdao // 13 points
6 // Washington, DC // 12 points
7 // Tongyeong // 11 points
8 // Yacht Club Punta del Este // 8 points
9 // UNICEF // 5 points
10// Warrant // 3 points
