The king’s stage of the circumnavigation begins with a strong start from Boris Herrmann’s team Malizia. The competition complains about breakage: Two teams have to interrupt the race for repairs. The Ocean Race fleet has 12,750 stormy and ice-cold nautical miles ahead of them.
The toughest ocean race stage is underway. The third and historically longest leg of the circumnavigation started off Cape Town in South Africa on Sunday. The first hours of the almost 24,000 km long South Sea marathon were characterized by extremely variable winds and technical problems in several teams. The opening winners of the “Monster Stage” were Boris Herrmann’s Team Malizia and Guyot Environnement – Team Europe, who held up well in the difficult conditions. Team Malizia and Team Guyot were ahead when the wind died down temporarily. The fleet bobbed around in front of the Table Mountain backdrop for a while before the boats slowly got going again.
The Biotherm team had already returned to the port with technical problems, where, according to the regulations, they had to wait at least two hours before they could restart. “We experienced between zero and 45 knots of wind today – crazy,” said skipper Paul Meilhat, who described the repairs as “not a big deal”. The 11th Hour Racing team also had to stop the race to replace two broken mainsail battens. The Americans accepted two “penalty hours” at sea in order to be allowed to have replacement material brought to them. Team manager Mark Towill explained: “We do have spare parts on board, but we don’t want to use them just yet with a view to 35 days in the Southern Ocean.”
About an hour and a half after the start, the co-favorite “Malizia – Seaexplorer” led the decimated field ahead of the Guyot Environnement – Team Europe with Berlin co-skipper Robert Stanjek. Boris Herrmann and his crew left Cape Town in the morning to much cheering. Shortly before casting off, the 41-year-old Herrmann, in the best sailing tradition, poured a shot of Caribbean rum into the South African harbor water, onto the deck of his racing yacht and, laughing, onto the cap of teammate Rosalin Kuiper. “We are ready. Our boat is ready. The stage can come,” said Herrmann.
The ocean race fleet has 12,750 stormy and ice-cold nautical miles to go to the Brazilian port of call Itajai. The route in the South Sea leads about three quarters around the Antarctic. “This stage represents perseverance and brutality,” said circumnavigator and Eurosport co-commentator Dee Caffari before the fleet gradually faded over the horizon. Incidentally, the starting area had previously been relocated due to whale sightings.
