The finish line of the second Ocean Race stage is almost in sight. On the way to Cape Town, the doldrums in the fight for victory have begun. A low-wind zone is particularly challenging for the navigators on board. Team Malizia defended a narrow lead on Friday afternoon.
The front runners sail bow to bow on stage two in the Ocean Race towards the destination port of Cape Town. Two days before the expected finish on Sunday, Boris Herrmann’s team Malizia fought for the lead on Friday as the leader with the US team 11th Hour Racing. Nothing has yet been decided on the last 500 nautical miles of the stage from Cape Verde to the South African port metropolis.
A low-wind zone is a particular challenge for the navigators on board the five Imoca yachts. For Team Malizia, Frenchman Nico Lunven racks his brains about crossing the flat winds off Cape Town as quickly as possible. Not only skipper Will Harris knows: “It will be a nail-biter until the end.” Rival Charlie Enright, skipper on 11th Hour Racing, said: “We could bob around for a while. Anyone could overtake everyone. And then we’ll finish this second stage with a grueling 100nm sprint.”
Competitor Kevin Escoffier, in whose Swiss team Holcim – PRB Susann Beucke is making her debut, said: “The only strategy left now is to sail the boat as quickly as possible for as long as possible.”
In the fight for the podium, even Guyot Environnement – ??Team Europe, which has meanwhile dropped back to 500 nautical miles, has been able to make up a lot of ground with Berlin skipper Robert Stanjek. With the top boats already slowing down, “Guyot” has been able to reduce the gap to 200 nautical miles with recently high speeds. In the doldrums that had started, no one wanted to rule out that even the German-French crew could catch up to the podium again.
