DAY 78 – Race update

Jean-Luc Van Den Heede increases lead to 9 day advantage over Mark Slats
Gregor McGuckin and Abhilash Tomy fight over 3rd place – just 1 mile apart
Loïc Lepage resumes in the Chichester Class
Mark Sinclair makes impromptu stop in Table Bay – then goes cruising!

Dateline 17.9.2018 – Les Sables d’Olonne, France
73-year old Jean-Luc Van Den Heede continues to defy his age and best efforts of the chasing pack of Golden Globe Race skippers to extend his lead across the South Indian Ocean to 9+ days over the past week. The Frenchman is now a complete weather system ahead of his closest rivals and expects to pass Cape Leeuwin, the second of the three main Capes next weekend. He also remains on course for his compulsory stop in Hobart at the BoatShed.com film drop on October 3.

Before the start from Les Sables d’Olonne on July 1st, the best computer predictions suggested that the winner could complete a sub-200 day solo circumnavigation. Well, according to the YB tracker today, Jean-Luc’s Rustler 36 Matmut will return to the Vendee port in 199 days! That is based on her 5.2knot average over the last 24 hours, which has to be optimistic, but with this septuagenarian, anything seems possible. Before today the worst thing to have happened has been a lost sailing croc, dropped overboard last week, but today Van Den Heede reported his first breakage. “The shackle connecting the halyard and top swivel on my staysail came undone. I had to climb the mast to the 2nd spreader to reconnect them – I’m too old to be doing this! He admitted.

1,100 miles astern, 2nd placed Dutchman Mark Slats sailing the rival Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick, has dropped a further 300 miles behind Matmut during the past week. He has reported concerns about the state of his halyards, for without headsail roller furling systems, the constant changing of sails is causing considerable chafe. Another disadvantage is the need to drag the sails down below to repack them, which makes the inside of the boat both wet and cold.

There is much more of a fight for third place. The 13:00 report placed Gregor McGuckin’s Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance just 1 miles ahead of Abhilash Tomy’s Indian Thuriya, a modern replica of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s Suhaili. The Irishman texted: ‘MID INDIAN OCEAN & ABHILASH IS IN SIGHT ABOUT A MILE AWAY!’

Thuriya is the surprise package in this 50th anniversary of the original Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Even Sir Robin predicted that she would be slow compared to the production yachts but she and her skipper are proving to be exceptionally fast in the Southern Ocean, having moved up from 10th to challenge for 3rd place since rounding the Cape of Good Hope.

Tomy and McGuckin are now in VHF contact and constantly egging each other with rivalry matched only by American/Hungarian Istvan Kopar’s Tradewind 35 Puffin and Tapio Lehtinen’s Finnish Gaia 36 Asteria. Today, they are 37 miles apart disputing 7th place, but that’s still close enough for Tapio to suggest that they should have fenders out at night!

Kopar is still plagued with wind vane issues and in a text report yesterday added: “50K SQUALL RIPPED JIB SHEET & MY ONLY YANKEE INTO PIECES DURING THE NIGHT.”

Estonian Uku Randmaa has also been in the wars. He reported “30-50KT LAST 24H. NOT NICE WEEKEND SAILING WEATHER” and in a follow-up call to Race HQ today added that his Rustler 36 One and All had been hit by a big wave that had burst the spray dodger and buckled the frame.

Last Wednesday, Frenchman Loïc Lepage restarted from Cape Town in the Chichester Class following a forced stop to repair his SB radio and replenish fresh water supplies on his Nicholson 32 Laaland. In recent times, this African region has been beset by severe water shortages of its own but the marina got special dispensation to turn on the water tap for Lepage. He made the perfect departure, crossing the Agulhas Current at its narrowest point then positioned his boat to benefit from three days of easterly current before diving down towards the Roaring Forty latitudes.

Gone Cruising?

Not so with Australian tail-ender Mark Sinclair, who made an impromptu stop in Table Bay on Thursday to drop film off on what appears to have been a pilgrimage to the birthplace of his Lello 34 Coconut. Sinclair was met by three other Lello owners, who took his package and listened to his stories. Riaan Smit reported “He was in great spirits and looked like – along with Coconut – as if they had just popped out for a Sunday afternoon jaunt.”

Overcome perhaps by the welcome and mountain scenery, Sinclair then decided to cruise round the Cape and continue up the east coast despite the threat of light winds and need to cross the west running Agulhas Current at its widest point. This morning, Coconut, which made her 9th rounding of The Cape of Good Hope last Friday, was still hugging the coastline 1.4 miles south of Cape Seal, and heading towards Port Elisabeth.

“We are left wondering whether to inaugurate a new ‘Hiscocks’ category for Mark to flag his passion for cruising round the world – And just hope he rejoins the GGR soon!” says Race Chairman Don McIntyre.

Latest positions at 08:00 UTC today 17.9.18

1. Jean- Luc VDH (FRA)Rustler 36 Matmut
2. Mark Slats (NED)Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick
3. Gregor McGuckin (IRE) Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance
4. Abhilash Tomy (IND) Suhaili replica Thuriya
5. Uku Randmaa (EST) Rustler 36 One and All
6. Susie Goodall (GBR) Rustler 36 DHL Starlight
7. Istvan Kopar (USA) Tradewind 35 Puffin
8. Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) Gaia 36 Asteria
9. Igor Zaretskiy (RUS) Endurance 35 Esmeralda
10. Mark Sinclair (Aus) Lello 34 Coconut

CHICHESTER CLASS

1. Loïc Lepage (FRA) Nicholson 32 Laaland

RETIRED

1. Ertan Beskardes (GBR) Rustler 36 Lazy Otter
2. Kevin Farebrother (AUS) Tradewind 35 Sagarmatha
3. Nabil Amra (PAL) Biscay 36 Liberty II
4. Antoine Cousot (FRA) Biscay 36 Métier Intérim
5. Philippe Péché (FRA) Rustler 36 PRB
6. Are Wiig (NOR) OE 32 Olleanna
7. Francesco Cappelletti (ITA) Endurance 35 007

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Turtles or Snails?

Years ago, during a fast-moving light conversation with my fiend JEAN-LUC VAN DEN HEEDE, he declared through his distinctive laugh that it will be fun to live the Golden Globe life in these PETIT ESCARGOT! I smiled. This week for the first time I hear our fleet described with affection, as LITTLE TURTLES! I smile again. But is that fair?

What these GGR yachts are not, is the typical foiling IMOCA flyers (we love watching), nor Volvo machines with their personal Niagara for the after guard (we would not sail). They’re not even your ordinary fast racing boat. So what are they? Well the short answer is, great ocean-going boats and perfect Golden Globe Racing yachts.
Designed before 1988 is OLD. Seven to nine ton is HEAVY. Full keels are SLOW. Focus group reviews on the GGR concept years ago had sailors laughing at the idea of racing them full stop! Now most understand and it’s cool. Not for all, but they’re OK.

If I had to choose one thing that was driving people to follow the GGR, other than strong heritage, real characters and pure adventure, it would be the boats. Sailors relate to them. They are particularly ordinary. They imagine themselves in one. Sure they’re recycled and not fantastic plastic and yes, a Beneteau is a fine boat. But if I wanted to sail solo around the world on a budget, or on any ocean any time with my partner, a GGR type boat is very much the way to go and people are beginning to see that.

The GGR is a tough proving ground and already, looking at the retirements (there have been a few), it’s not the boats that fail. That title belongs to the skippers, wind vanes and one nasty wave!

Is the Rustler 36 so much better that it belongs in the lead? Not really. JL VDH and his magic sure deserves to be right where he is, out front. His boat helps, nothing more. He is the perfect blend of age, experience, discipline and talent supported by a very well-prepared boat. This Rustler 36 idea as the winning boat may be rewritten in 2022. Already a Vancouver 34 and Cape Dory 36 are lining up. On paper they can pass a Rustler 36. But what about their captains and preparation and reason? It is a complex formula and only time can tell.

SUHAILI was never going to get anywhere in this 2018 GGR, so some thought. That replica was a great idea, a beautiful piece of nostalgia nothing more! But wait. After 74 days he has four Rustler 36’s behind him and is closing the leaders fast, just one boat and one day away from a podium position. Impossible but true. Why? Not just the boat.

It is certainly NOT the luck of the Irish or the colour of the hull that has a Biscay 36 hunting down the two lead Rustlers. He will probably get one in the next few days and run second overall. A great boat for sure, but again it is the total package, not sleep patterns, nor sail shape alone. Thinking hard and smart at the planning stage is as critical as catching enough rain.

They say resale values of Rustlers went up 10% because of the GGR. If that is the case Biscay 36’s should be headed North. With construction moulds resurrected new builds are possible. This week a sailor asked for a replica of the GGR replica SUHAILI to be built for him. It is a beautiful boat, so why not!

Esmeralda is OK for Endurance 35 fans and there are many around the world watching! More have entered GGR 2022 already. The Tradewind 35 is possibly the most comfortable liveaboard ocean sailing boat in the fleet. The Nicholson 32 MKX the best value ocean voyager around.

So, TURTLES or SNAILS what is it to be? Who cares! They are simply great boats. They race the GGR as a fleet with all the colour, adventure and drama that the human spirit can ever imagine. I am proud of them all. They have proven the concept. Affordable long distance around the world competitive racing is not only possible, it is now. These yachts show the world that little boats are capable, and age is just a number. They show the average sailor they can follow their dreams beyond the horizon.

The Golden Globe is available to any sensible sailor who understands that magic formula of planning, preparation and execution. ANYONE CAN WIN IN ANY BOAT. Come back again in 2022 on the same boat and you are still competitive! Think about that. You could even take a cruise to French Polynesia while you are waiting. That’s the kind of boat they are.

Keep your heart young and your expectations high and never allow your dreams to die!

Don

Petit ESCARGOT is kinda cute though hey!!

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And then there were 10

Jean-Luc Van Den Heede extends his lead
Loïc Lepage stops in Cape Town
Tapio Lehtinen and Istvan Kopar meet up in mid-ocean
Igor Zaretskiy calls on the Doctor

Day 71: Dateline 10.9.2018 – Les Sables d’Olonne, France
As Jean-Luc Van Den Heede continues to set the pace across the South Indian Ocean, fellow Frenchman Loïc Lepage docked his Nicholson 32 Laaland in Cape Town, and Finland’s Tapio Lehtinen surprised himself and American/Hungarian Istvan Kopar by meeting up in mid-ocean.

73-year old Van Den Heede and his Rustler 36 Matmut now have a healthy 7-day lead over Dutchman Mark Slats whose rival Rustler Ohpen Maverick lost a further day on the leader this week. He now has Ireland’s Gregor McGuckin (Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance) within a day’s distance behind after the Irishman clawed back 4 days this past week. India’s Abhilash Tomy sailing Thuriya, a replica of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s Suhaili, winner of the first GGR 50 years ago, has also made big gains, overtaking Uku Randmaa’s Estonian Rustler 36 One and All at the weekend and move up to within a day of McGuckin.

“This is fantastic…and just what I had hoped when conceiving this adventure three years ago” Says Race founder Don McIntyre, adding: “Now we have a Biscay 36 and a Suhaili replica chasing 2nd place which shows that any boat can win. It is all down to the skipper and their preparations. Jean-Luc’s lead is a product of very careful planning, preparation and execution born from five previous solo circumnavigations. He is showing that age is not a factor. By contrast, Mark Slats, who reported last week that he experienced the worst seas so far, is slowly losing his advantage, probably because of one decision – choosing to sail with hanked headsails rather than furling gear.”

Igor Zaretskiy has been in a war zone too. The Russian requested medical advice last week after being thrown across the cockpit of his Endurance 35 Esmeralda and crashed against the liferaft. He was worried that he might have broken a rib or two but in stoical fashion, had no thought of stopping.

Igor reported last week: “It’s blowing 25 knots for the third day in row, sometimes 30, and the waves are now 4m high. At times an abnormal wave hits us on the beam sending everything flying across the saloon. It’s a total mess inside. I’m tidying up every evening just to start it all over again in the morning.”

Igor, who is expected to pass the Cape of Good Hope tonight, has also been plagued by the constant drip-drip of water leaking where the mainsheet track was torn away a few weeks ago, but this is nothing compared to the flooded hull Abhilash Tomy suffered twice last week. The Indian clearly had some respite yesterday, texting Race HQ: SUN APPEARED BRIEFLY LIKE RAINBOW AFTER BIBLICAL FLOODS. Whatever the problems, they are not slowing him down!

Loïc Lepage arrived in Cape Town at 14:00 UTC last Saturday to replenish water supplies and have his SSB Radio, which he relies on to pick up weather forecasts, repaired or replaced. The Frenchman plans to resume in the Chichester Class for those who make one stop, on Wednesday.

Australia’s Mark Sinclair is also planning a pit-stop off Cape Town to make an unscheduled film drop. The weather may conspire against him. Forecasters predict a big storm sweeping in on Wednesday. He and the other tail-enders have been given a weather/current alert from Race HQ saying that this storm, mixed with the counter Agulhas Current, could produce extremely dangerous seas in the area around the Cape.

On Sunday Tapio Lehtinen woke up to the more pleasant surprise of seeing Istvan Kopar’s Tradewind 35 Puffin within a mile of him. “WOW” was Tapio’s response to Race HQ. The two were 360 miles south of the Cape of Good Hope and by 08:00 today, were still neck-and-neck despite Istvan reporting continued problems with his wind vane self steering.

Susie Goodall, whose Rustler 36 DHL Starlight is trailing in 6th place, has the problem, like those astern, of being a complete weather system behind those in mid-fleet. It will be almost impossible for her to regain that lost ground in the Southern Ocean and her only hope now is that those ahead make mistakes.

Latest positions at 08:00 UTC today 10.09.2018

1. Jean- Luc VDH (FRA)Rustler 36 Matmut
2. Mark Slats (NED)Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick
3. Gregor McGuckin (IRE) Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance
4. Abhilash Tomy (IND) Suhaili replica Thuriya
5. Uku Randmaa (EST) Rustler 36 One and All
6. Susie Goodall (GBR) Rustler 36 DHL Starlight
7. Istvan Kopar (USA) Tradewind 35 Puffin
8. Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) Gaia 36 Asteria
9. Igor Zaretskiy (RUS) Endurance 35 Esmeralda
10. Mark Sinclair (Aus) Lello 34 Coconut

CHICHESTER CLASS

1. Loïc Lepage (FRA) Nicholson 32 Laaland

RETIRED

1. Ertan Beskardes (GBR) Rustler 36 Lazy Otter
2. Kevin Farebrother (AUS) Tradewind 35 Sagarmatha
3. Nabil Amra (PAL) Biscay 36 Liberty II
4. Antoine Cousot (FRA) Biscay 36 Métier Intérim
5. Philippe Péché (FRA) Rustler 36 PRB
6. Are Wiig (NOR) OE 32 Olleanna
7. Francesco Cappelletti (ITA) Endurance 35 007

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What’s going on?

Just 10 entrants remain in the Golden Globe Race. Seven will not pass the first Cape. 17 sailors pushing toward Hobart would have been very impressive, but who really thought that would happen. Certainly not me. Before the start I could probably have given odds on who would or would not pass that Cape, but on the Vendee Marina at the GGR Village we were family, so why? Just starting was significant.
All true adventures have an unknown outcome. Back in Les Sables d’Olonne I was surrounded by real adventurers from 13 countries with one common objective. They were setting out totally alone with no connection to shore support or open phone lines offering social and emotional comfort on the way round. This simple fact makes the GGR unlike any other around the world yacht Race in the last 50 years. The Vendee and Volvo are pick up the phone 24hrs a day and asks for support. Call your mum or your engineer. Not so the GGR. When they sailed over that horizon for a long slow voyage, giving up every aspect of a normal life, just like in 1968, they were as alone and unsupported as you can possibly be.
It was all too much for some and they are no longer sailing. Each has a story to tell of their investment in a dream. It could be said that all but ARE Wiig were beaten in their mind well ahead of any equipment failures. SIR ROBIN on SUHAILI was super human with a drive and passion that was hard to believe and harder to replicate 50 years on. His prize was different, even though the challenge was similar. He was to be the FIRST and he was fiercely British, a scholar of Britannia ruling the waves.! He also had a Frenchman following.
Today (compared to the 1960’s) our values are totally different, our reasoning and commitment on another level and the results are starting to show. JL VDH knows what is needed and is doing it. His boat, the equipment, the food and the fun are all much better than in 1968. The challenge is the same, but with that huge advantage he can do it better and faster and he is. Bravo!
My weekly phone calls to entrants continue to evolve. They are softer and slower. They cling to the last and do not want to go. You hear it in the voice of a single soul, questioning their existence in this game. It is there, hard to describe but it is. They try a brave face as they know the world is listening. They want to project ALL OK and they are strong, but little things suggest there may be personal struggles during that week.
Her boat is OK, yet SUSIE offers little hints of doing it tough, her conversation a little down. With genuine emotion UKU declares IT IS HARD! NOT the sailing, but the emotional challenge of real isolation from life, family and friends. He longs for them. MARK SLATS is a tough giant softening over time. He wants to talk and not hang up. I tried four times to do just that before I succeeded!
TAPIO is a window to happy and sad. He is absorbed and emotionally involved in the beauty of his surroundings and forgiving of anything else. A yacht does not need electricity. He will not stop. LOIC is desperately alone with no radio and no news. He misses family. He does everything with what he has. He thought about ARE in Cape town and then his old mast. To be sure and safe he heads to Cape Town for a safety pitstop. Bravo! A proud CHICHESTER sailor.

A call from Tomy offered more than his words. IT IS NICE TO TALK WITH YOU TODAY was delivered off a quivering voice. It was humbling for me to listen to that. He understands fourteen weeks in the Southern Ocean brings no guarantees! He goes over emergency procedures with me. He has solo circumnavigated before, but not like this, in this little boat totally alone.

Of course, it is OK for IGOR and his beloved ESMERALDA. He laughs loud. Capt’n COCONUT I’m not so sure. His calls give nothing away. He is on Holiday. He is happy. ISTVAN is the same. When he talks of his challenges, and there are many, you can hear his smile! GREGOR is pure youthful determination from an Irish guy going places. Bring it on then give him more.

ARE WIIG became a headline banner for honest seamanship. Strong as an OX, he and his boat took a fall! It shocked us all. It was ARE. No way, Not ARE. But that is the way of the sea. Without realizing, ARE became a headline banner for the SPIRIT of the Golden Globe. He sailed himself home. We were all proud. He praised the GGR regulations and the GGR family. It is a story for all sailors yet to be told, but it will be.
ERTAN, KEVIN, NABIL, PHILIPPE, ANTOINE, and ARE have gone. We miss them but understand. We admire LOIC in the Chichester Class. We salute the final 10. The Golden Globe is a tough journey like no other. Is it a Voyage for Madmen. NO WAY! But there are hints of real parallels to 1968 even similar type pressures that played on Donald Crowhurst.
These sailors are alone, truly unsupported, without technology, in little ships inspiring us every day. That’s WHAT’s GOING ON!
DON

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Are Wiig safe in Cape Town

Antoine Cousot arrives in Rio

Francesco Cappelletti also heading for Brazil – another casualty of wind vane failure

Race leader Jean-Luc Van Den Heede predicts October 3 as ETA at Hobart Gate

Day 65: Dateline 3.9.2018 – Les Sables d’Olonne, France
Are Wiig, the Norwegian GGR skipper dismasted 8 days ago after his OE 32 Olleanna was rolled through 360° in the Southern Ocean, arrived in Cape Town at 21:06 UTC on Sunday, having sailed the 400 miles under jury rig with no outside assistance

Peter Muller, one of the Capetonians to have waited up to welcome Wiig when he docked at the Royal Cape YC yesterday reports: “His boat took a hell of a beating. The mast had broken in at least two places and the pieces were lashed down on deck. She had a cracked deck and popped porthole. Are said that the cracks and damage on the starboard side went right through the boat. He had only seen this type of damage before in his work (as a yacht surveyor) when boats had fallen over onto concrete when stored on land.

Recounting the fateful episode, Wiig said he was hove-to at the time and had just started repairing his self steering for the second time in two days. He was standing in the companionway working on repairing a part in the vice mounted on the top of the companionway. There was no warning. The boat got lifted up on a big wave and then dropped down.

Olleanna also suffered a bent pushpit and had only partial steering. Wiig managed to fix the self -steering and used it with his jury rig so that he could get some sleep. His main fuel tank was contaminated and he only had 15 litres of diesel in day tank, which gave him 20 hours of slow motoring.

But Are was well, with no complaints, was very factual and friendly. What a person!”

Wiig also said that he was very glad that he had built and trialled his jury rig system utilising two spinnaker poles before departure – a race requirement for all competitors – and praised the Yellow Brick satellite tracking system which gave Race HQ his position each hour and was used to send and transmit text messages between the boat and Race officials. “It was good to know that people watch out for us” he said.

Another useful piece of compulsory kit was the emergency Echomax inflatable radar reflector, which Wiig set up at the back of the boat after the dismasting. This helped a passing ship locate Olleanna a few days before her arrival in Cape Town. Wiig politely declined the Captain’s offer of support, and made it to port unaided.
“This was a great display of seamanship” Don McIntyre, the Race Chairman said today, adding: “Harbor Master Steve Bentley has been extremely helpful in monitoring Are’s progress and arrival, and The Royal Cape Yacht Club has been very welcoming. Many people are looking forward to hearing a report from Are about his experiences.”

Another to make port safely yesterday, this time on the opposite side of the South Atlantic, was Frenchman Antoine Cousot who arrived in Rio de Janeiro under full sail but nursing shoulder and foot injuries sustained while attempting to change headsails on the bouncing foredeck of his Biscay 36 ketch Métier Intérim. The indication is that if he does this again, it will be with furling headsails rather than hanked sails.

Carozzo sailor Francesco Cappelletti who missed the start of the GGR by 21 days and has been following the fleet for the adventure, is now following in Cousot’s wake to Brazil after the Italian reported last week that the self-steering wind vane on his Endurance 35 007 had broken. He has the same Beaufort Lynx wind vane that cost Palestinian entrant Nabil Amra and Frenchman Philippe Péché their races after weld failures on the vertical articulating arm proved unrepairable at sea.

At the front of the fleet, French veteran Jean-Luc Van Den Heede continues to belie his age (he turned 73 last month) as his Rustler 36 Matmut continues to steam ahead of the fleet. This morning she has a 900 mile lead over Dutchman Mark Slats rival Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick. In an area of the Southern Ocean where you expect westerly winds, Slats reported this morning “HEADWINDS AGAIN 20 [knots from the] EAST. UNREAL THIS. WHERE ARE THOSE WESTERLIES?

In his weekly conversation with Race HQ, Slats, like Cousot, said that he rued not having roller furling headsails. Now down to 38°S and on a SSW heading, the wind chill factor takes air temperatures well below freezing. Without gloves (Slats realised he had left them behind two weeks ago) hanked sail changes have to be performed with bare hands. Head winds apart, this could be why he has been losing ground to 3rd placed Irish skipper Gregor McGuckin’s Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance and Uku Randmaa’s Rustler 36 One and All. During the past week, Gregor has closed the gap by 160 miles and the 4th placed Estonian, who found that he set sail without tea, coffee and a hat, is 86 miles closer.

By contrast, this morning’s tracking data shows Jean-Luc Van Den Heede making 7.1 knots in the right direction and a run of 128 miles over the last 24 hours. Jean-Luc is now predicting October 3 as his ETA at the BoatShed.com film drop off Hobart.

The other big winner today is Indian Abhilash Tomy sailing his Suhaili replica Thuriya. He was making a remarkable 10.1knots having covered 194 miles during the same period. This is the best distance recorded so far, helped by a 3.1knot westerly current.

If there are winners, there have to be losers too, and this week that award goes to Britain’s Susie Goodall sailing the Rustler 36 DHL Starlight. Caught up in a high pressure system west of the Cape, she has lost almost 800 miles on boats that 10 days ago were quite close. They went south while she went NE. At least she is back in the game now, having made 116 miles in the right direction overnight.

American Hungarian Istvan Kopar sailing the Tradewind 35 Puffin, will also be buoyed with his performance of late. He dropped to the back of the fleet after stopping in the Cape Verde Islands to repair his wind vane self-steering. Last week, he overtook last placed Australian Mark Sinclair and his Lello 34 Coconut and today is challenging 7th placed Frenchman Loïc Lepage in his Nicholson 32 Laaland. Lepage looks to be heading straight for Cape Town to replenish his water supplies and repair his SSB radio before heading into the Southern Ocean, so Kopar, trailing just 9 miles behind Laaland today, could be in mid-fleet position by this time next week – if he can fix his self-steering again. In a message received today, Kopar texted: MY SELF STEERING LEFT ME ALONE AGAIN IN A NASTY STORM DURING THE WEEKEND!

Latest positions at 08:00 UTC today 03.09.2018

1. Jean- Luc VDH (FRA)Rustler 36 Matmut
2. Mark Slats (NED)Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick
3. Gregor McGuckin (IRE) Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance
4. Uku Randmaa (EST) Rustler 36 One and All
5. Abhilash Tomy (IND) Suhaili replica Thuriya
6. Susie Goodall (GBR) Rustler 36 DHL Starlight
7. Istvan Kopar (USA) Tradewind 35 Puffin
8. Loïc Lepage (FRA) Nicholson 32 Laaland
9. Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) Gaia 36 Asteria
10. Igor Zaretskiy (RUS) Endurance 35 Esmeralda
11. Mark Sinclair (Aus) Lello 34 Coconut

CAROZZO SAILOR

1. Francesco Cappelletti (ITA) Endurance 35 007

RETIRED

1. Ertan Beskardes (GBR) Rustler 36 Lazy Otter
2. Kevin Farebrother (AUS) Tradewind 35 Sagarmatha
3. Nabil Amra (PAL) Biscay 36 Liberty II
4. Antoine Cousot (FRA) Biscay 36 Métier Intérim
5. Philippe Péché (FRA) Rustler 36 PRB
6. Are Wiig (NOR) OE 32 Olleanna

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