• Abhilash Tomy and Kirsten Neuschäfer trading places one week from the finish after 228 days and 29000 miles.  
• First GGR sailors in Les Sables d’Olonne expected for Labour Day week-end, 29/30th April. Come and welcome them into the Channel!
• How is the fuel allowance and time compensation granted for Tapio’s rescue work?
• Captain Gugg, third, served his 4,5 hours penalty now headed to Les Sables d’Olonne.
• Ian Herbert Jones back on land in Cape Town today

228 days from the start with just one week till the finish in Les Sables d’Olonne with 29.000 miles under the keel, Abhilash Tomy (IND) BAYANAT and Kirsten Neuschäfer (ZAF) are now separated by only a few miles. This is an incredibly tight finish for the two fantastic sailors who have led the fleet since February after Simon Curwen (GBR) HOWDENS moved into Chichester Class. 

On paper, the situation looked dire for Kirsten Neuschafer last week. She had lost all of her lead in the very wide doldrums, and Bayanat the Rustler 36 of Abhilash Tomy is a better boat for the all-round conditions of the North Atlantic, with upwind, downwind in the medium to light conditions.  Abhilash had made a bold move over the last weekend, tacking to the NNE with negative VMG, in pursuit of the low pressure that was pushing the high away. He did lose precious miles in the operation, but the payback was well worth it as he sailed in more wind, longer, and a better angle, catching up on Kirsten and finally snatching the lead on Wednesday! Nursing a wounded boat home, Abhilash is skirting the low pressure, constantly arbitrating between speed and safety, keeping the boat together for a safe return. He tweeted that his starboard runner broke but that he was doing a repair.

Kirsten still has a few cards up her sleeve however. The wind will be fair and downwind for both sailors after April 21^st once the low pressure north of Abhilash has gone east. They will then surf the Atlantic swell all the way to Cape Finisterre and the entry of the last -but not least- stretch to Les Sables d’Olonne. They will be side by side entering the Bay of Biscay and that means Kirsten will be virtually one day ahead of Abhilash when you account for Kirstens 23-hour net time compensation from Tapio’s rescue.

The Bay of Biscay presents plenty of challenges in the last 400 miles to Les Sables d’Olonne, with highly localised and fast changing weather systems and where both fishing and shipping traffic are intense. The skippers cannot let their guards down after more than 230 days at sea. There is sure to be true suspense as both navigate this last obstacle that will decide the winner of the toughest game on the planet!

Minnehaha is in fine form and Kirsten is pushing as hard as she can, flying the spinnaker on her bowsprit and racking up miles. In fact, she has posted the best 24-hours and 7-day distance of the last 30 days as per the GGR Underground page curated by Jonathan Endersby. Also, she has proven time after time how resourceful she is in making most of the cards she’s dealt with, and not shy of bold options that have paid-off more often than not.

A tale of three heroes…

In the blue corner, Indian Navy Commander, Abhilash Tomy nearly lost his life in the GGR 2018 in the Indian Ocean after his Suhaili Replica got rolled over in a storm. He was left hanging from the spreaders by his watch strap, which eventually gave in, falling on the boom, breaking his back in the process, unable to move, until rescued by the French navy ship Osiris.

With welded vertebrae and several years of hard work to be able to walk, fly planes and sail, Abhilash was back in 2022 with unfinished business, but the road was not easy. Bayanat suffered a collision with a ship during the SITRAN Challenge from Gijon, nearly ending his race before it started. He then suffered from PTSD after the start, unable to eat or sleep in the Bay of Biscay due to his past trauma. In Cape Town he delivered an extraordinary outburst to organisers suggesting the GGR was not a race anymore, he was not enjoying it and he was no longer racing. This all changed on passing the position of his GGR 2018 rollover and rescue, apologising to organisers. After Southern Ocean storms he spent most of 2023 repairing his yacht showing incredible DIY skills and ingenuity in the process.

To see him leading the GGR is a testament to his skills as a sailor but equally to his incredible resilience and resources.

In the red corner, professional sailor Kirsten Neuschäfer has by far the most miles at sea than any other sailor in the fleet, in excess of 250.000 miles working on deliveries and skipper with sailing legend Skip Novak (USA) Pelagic expeditions in the most inhospitable places of the southern Atlantic. At 22 years of age, she cycled back alone from Europe to her home in a 15.000 kms voyage which enabled her to pick French on the way.

She is made for this stuff. Out there, she is at one with the sea, whales and marine life, she loves the solitude at sea without ever being lonely, and being cut from technology. Her ongoing fight for the lead is nothing short of extraordinary and the mental toll of ignoring and not knowing where the competition is, is real. For the other sailors, she never was the “woman in the Race” but a fierce, experienced sailor, feared and respected.

In the middle, Simon Curwen (GBR) is “fast cruising” in Chichester Class as he says himself, and now out of the rankings. The most Francophile of British sailors, terror of the Solent onboard his J/105 Voador, and in the Mini Transat which he finished second in 2001, behind Yannick Bestaven (FRA), the Vendée Globe 2022 winner. “L’Indétronable” as the French called him had been leading the GGR from Cape Finisterre until the fateful day when his Hydrovane broke in a storm on the way to Cape Horn, but never lost his humour or his competitive spirit.

Without spares to affect a repair, he made a 2000-mile round trip to get them and stopped three days in Puerto Montt, then another two days waiting for a weather window on anchor. He eventually caught-up and passed Michael Guggenberger (AUT) at Cape Horn and is now playing the shifts and the Joker between King Abhilash and Queen Kirsten, potentially arriving first in Les Sables d’Olonne.

Whatever happens in the next week, they all battled overwhelming odds to be leading the fleet of five, and will be duly celebrated by the people of Les Sables d’Olonne, the Vendée and the Pays de la Loire together with the extended GGR family.

We’re expecting an early arrival on Friday 28th of April and all three could be docked and on dry land by Labour Day.

Saving a life…and time credits

It is a long-held tradition of the sea, that if a mariner is in Distress and declares a “Mayday”, all other mariners will use their best endeavours to immediately assist if they are safely able to do so. Such was the case for Abhilash on Bayanat and Kirsten on Minnehaha when asked by GGR control to assist in the rescue of fellow GGR entrant Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) on Asteria. Both altered courses immediately and stopped racing on receiving the request. The rescue was successful.

To calculate time compensation for both sailors all the factors affecting both sailors were considered, focusing on the primary impacts of:

• Time away from the course
• Changing and new weather systems on resuming the course
• Position at the start and finish of their diversion

PRIMARY DATA

Abhilash acknowledged the rescue message at 0930 UTC and was subsequently released at 13:50 UTC, (4:20 hours). He confirmed he resumed sailing at 1400 UTC (total 4:30 hours) and he also stayed on a higher course (80° approx.) for the duration of the rescue in case he may be needed. Engine: did not use the engine.

Distance 27.5 nm @ 50°, approx. Lateral 23 nm/vertical 15 nm

Kirsten acknowledged the rescue message at 1303UTC and called to confirm transfer to vessel at 0745+1 but stayed on scene until 1000 UTC before proceeding under reduced sails: total 22 hours. Engine hours: 2 beginning, 2 middle, 3 at the end for a total of 7 hours.

5 hrs @ 1.8K rpm=3.5 l/h= 17,5lt and 2 hrs @ 2.4K rpm=5 l/h = 10lt. Total 27.5 litres

Distance 100 miles @ 38°approx, lateral 57 nm/vertical 83 nm

The following time compensation has been determined by GGR team:

• Kirsten Neuschäfer 35 hours + 30 litres of fuel
• Abhilash Tomy 12hrs

Abhilash and Kirsten both commented that it took some time to let the adrenaline go and get back into racing mode. Although released from rescue effort, Abhilash was emotionally involved and remained on a more northerly course than normal for the duration of the rescue, asking to be regularly updated on progress and Kirsten had steered Minnehaha all night and manoeuvred at close quarters to the vessel for Tapio’s transfer.

While it seemed far-fetched at the time, that they would be neck to neck for victory in Les Sables d’Olonne several months later, there had been a precedent in the Vendée Globe for Kevin Escoffier’s rescue. While such calculations are always subjective by nature, we have been extremely careful in the fairness and equity of the compensation between Kirsten and Abhilash, but also in comparison to Simon who was leading in good winds at the time of the rescue.

Sébastien Delasnerie, GGR Race Director

South Atlantic closing…

It’s closing time for the fleet with various misfortunes in the “Mental Bermuda Triangle” a term coined by Jeremy Bagshaw (ZAF) Chichester Class, in his last safety call. Closing the fleet, Olleanna and her skipper are continuing their “longue route” now crossing the equator. He did not turn right to save his soul or even towards home in Simon’s Town, clocking miles before getting into the doldrums. Jeremy has sailed an exemplary race, and the doldrums he is entering this weekend look particularly narrow, only at the end will we know if his personal goal of the best time between Hobart and Les Sables d’Olonne will stand! 

Michael Guggenberger (AUT) NURI who has been struggling for weeks in trade winds he doesn’t recognise! Unstable in strength and direction, alternating calms, squalls, rain, humidity, and heat, he suggests they are only an extension of the doldrums, and a purgatory for Nuri on the way back. But will they lead to heaven?

It was not that simple earlier this week when Race Control sent him a message informing him, he must serve a 4.5-hour penalty (for sailing into the Pacific exclusion zone) in a penalty box. To achieve that, at 1200 TU on a given day he must turn south and not cross north of that point for at least 4.5hrs. He refused to do it. After it was explained that if he did not, he would be deemed “not to have completed the course” and therefore disqualified from the GGR. He eventually complied and continues in 3rd place of the GGR.

Since before Cape Town we have had several conversations with Michael as he expressed frustrations with the race course and communication systems used. We know that the isolation and challenges of such a long arduous voyage can play havoc on the mind and emotions of all entrants. We understand that and take the mental well-being of our entrants seriously. But the Rules of the Notice of Race are the GGR itself and must be adhered to.

Don McIntyre GGR Founder & Chairman

Ian is on dry land in Cape Town!

Ian Herbert Jones arrived safely in Cape Town today onboard the ZI DA WANG having been rescued from Puffin following her dismasting during a rollover on April 10th. It was previously reported that Puffin was scuttled and had sunk, but Ian did not have time during the “Do or Die” rescue that took place. She was known to be drifting as her satellite tracker lost power, but her status is unknown. Ian is very grateful to all involved, especially the exceptional hospitality of the master and crew of ZI DA WANG during this repatriation voyage to Cape Town. 

• First vessel on scene was F/V ZI DA WANG at 1830 UTC
• Transfer of Ian Herbert Jones from S/V Puffin to F/V ZI DA WANG successful in 25k wind and 4mtr sea. Now bound for Cape Town.
• S/V FA DA CAI and S/V  YUH SHENG N°1 released from rescue operation.
• GGR wishes to thank MRCC Argentina, SAR Puerto Belgrano, MRCC Taiwan for their coordination of Ian’s rescue and the Taiwanese shipowner for routing 3 of their vessels to Puffin’s position. 

IT was 1740 UTC when Ian Herbert Jones first saw the Taiwanese Fishing Vessel ZI DA WANG arriving from the North. 26 hours before, the Shropshire sailor closing the GGR fleet in the southern Atlantic was unable to make contact by sat phone. He chose to set off his EPIRB to make sure the Search and Rescue chain of his zone -NAVAREA 6- knew where he was, and that he was facing a bad situation.

Ian had been in heavy weather for a full day already but was unable to deploy his drogue as the wind intensified. Not trailing a drogue or warps made it difficult to keep Puffins stern into the waves and avoid being rolled by the building sea.

The condition soon became overwhelming as the boat could not be held direct downwind. Two hours later, in a SW wind of 55 knots, gusting 75 knots and 8-metre sea, Ian manually lifted the safety cover of his YB3 Satellite tracking and texting device and pressed the distress alert button. This is recognised GGR distress protocol for all entrants, suggesting something more serious had happened.

In fact, at 1930 UTC Puffin had been rolled and dismasted, and her Master had hurt his back and gashed his head in the ordeal. He tried to get out and cut the rig to avoid the mast opening a hole in the hull but conditions were too dire to finish the job. So he went inside, sorted the water ingress  through a cabin hatch and proceeded to pump the water out before resting.

Meanwhile the GGR Crisis Management Team had made contact with the MRCC Argentina and later with the SAR Puerto Belgrano to coordinate rescue with commercial traffic in the vicinity. It proved a challenge in the extreme conditions as commercial ships in the vicinity could not safely make way towards Puffin at the time.

The UK Fisheries Patrol boat Lilibet was the first responder, before concerted efforts from the Argentinian SAR Puerto Belgrano and MRCC Taiwan contacted a fleet of fishing vessels closer to Ian’s position able to get to him in a safe and timely manner. Soon there were three fishing vessels routing towards Puffin the ZI DA WANG, FA DA CAI and YUH SHENG N°1.

At 1815 UTC the ZI DA WANG arrived first on the rescue site and positioned herself to the West of Puffin to windward, in order to cut the wind and flatten the sea for Ian, enabling him to manoeuvre at close quarters, while discussing on the VHF the best way to transfer from the injured Puffin to the rescue vessel.

At 19:30 the GGR were informed by the SAR Puerto Belgrano that Ian was on the ZI DA WANG, bruised, cut, scraped, still suffering from his back injury, but safe!

It is believed to be bound for Cape Town, South Africa where Ian will be put ashore.

Puffin, completed a first circumnavigation with Istvan Köpar in the GGR 2018, nearly completed a second one with Ian completing 79.4% of the round the world course with one stop in Tierra del Fuego to repair the Hydrovane.. Alas, the brave Tradewind 35 was a hazard to safety and had to be scuttled before Ian left his home for the last 7 months to board the ZI DA WANG.The GGR wish to thank the SAR Puerto Belgrano in Argentina and the MRCC Taiwan for an exemplary international coordination of Ian’s rescue, as well as the shipowner, masters and crew of the F/V  Zi Da Wang and the F/V Fa Da Cai and Yuh Sheng N°1. MRCC UK and GRIZ NEZ France were also on standby.

• Ian experienced a tough night unable to cut the mast free because of storm conditions and is taking pain killers for injured back. Water ingress into the hull stopped.
• Ian reports at first light his back injury is mobile able to work. Can climb ladders for evacuation, weather moderated to 4/5mtr sea and 25/30 kt wind,
• Mast still over the side but not banging too much and he is now trying to cut free. Plenty of power for VHF , sat phone and YB3 , AIS is on and transmitting. He will test the engine later today to check if it is operational for manoeuvring.
• SAR Puerto Belgrano Argentina and MRCC Taiwan coordinated the routing of three Taiwanese fishing vessels, the FA DA CAI, ETA 1700 UTC in addition to the ZI DA WANG, ETA 1900 UTC and YUH SHENG N°1. 

While the GGR Crisis Management Team ( CMT)  kept Ian informed of the developments in his rescue throughout the night, they were not receiving response and updates. He was however manually activating the “acknowledgment” button on his YB3 device, meaning he was conscious and informed of the latest developments, even if physically diminished.

At 0647 UTC GGR had confirmation from SAR Puerto Belgrano that a Taiwanese fishing vessel, the ZI DA WANG, 90 miles away from his position had been diverted to his position with an ETA at 1900 UTC the same day, earlier than the Fisheries Patrol boat Lilibet, 300 miles to his South that would arrive the next day.

 At 0842 UTC ; Ian  sent a message through his YB3 positioning and texting device: ALL RECD THKU! OK HERE TOUGHNIGHT TRYING2STAYWARM, shortly followed by another message at 0852 : GRTNEWS REF FISHIMGBOAT WAITING4 FIRSTLIGHT 2CLEAR RIG. 

From this moment on, the GGR team knew that he was able, active in his own rescue and aware of the effort taking place coordinated by the SAR Puerto Belgrano in Argentina, the MRCC Taiwan, as well as ETA’s for the ship’s arrival on his position. 

At 0845 UTC GGR contacted the SAR Puerto Belgrano in charge of the rescue coordination to share the news about Ian. The Officer in Charge informed that a second fishing vessel the Taiwanese flagged FADACAI had been contacted and changed course towards Puffin with a 1700 UTC ETA. They informed the GGR that the British Ship Lilibet had been released from rescue operations due to adverse weather conditions and late ETA. The Lilibet at the time was still en route towards Puffin, but  later stood down and is no longer involved in the rescue.

At 1010 UTC, Ian called the GGR from his satellite phone, confirming he had received messages and had rested. He took Ibuprofen last night from his medical kit and his back is mobile. Ian confirmed he is able to work on deck and can climb a ladder if needed. You can listen to his call here.

Weather moderated significantly at PUFFIN, to 4/5mtr sea and 25/30kt wind. Puffin’s mast is still over the side, but not banging too much on the hull. The boom is secured onboard, and there is no more water ingress in the boat from his broken cabin hatch. He has power for communication including VHF , sat phone and YB3, AIS is on and transmitting. He will test the motor later today to check if it is operational for rescue.

We’re all hands on deck obviously thinking of IAN and grateful for the international efforts to assist him. Fortunately the situation has improved dramatically for several reasons: first Ian is able and active in his rescue, secondly, the weather conditions at PUFFIN have improved a lot facilitating the possibility of a transfer operation, which will still be challenging and the final decision is with the master of the fishing vessels.

Don McIntyre, GGR Founder and Chairman

The GGR wish to thank the CROSS Griz-Nez, the UK Maritime and CoastGuard Agency and in particular the SAR Puerto Belgrano in Argentina who has worked tirelessly to contact vessels in Puffin’s vicinity, as well as the MRCC Taiwan for their coordination and cooperation in Ian’s rescue, as well as the Masters and crews of the Lilibet, the M/V Da Zi Wang and the Fa Da Cai and Yuh Shenh N°1 for perpetuating the tradition of the sea in very adverse conditions.

ENDS 

• Rolled over, dismasted, injured back, gashed head, water in the boat- Ian Herbert Jones message to Race control in storm gusting over 90 kts with confused sea.
• Ian Herbert Jones unable to deploy his drogue was hand-steering in heavy weather 50 kts gusting 80kts with 7.7mtr sea and dangerous counter sea.
• Yellow Brick distress signal manually activated at 1725 UTC, 25 minutes after Ian missed a scheduled safety call, informing GGR he had been rolled.
• GGR Crisis Management Team (CMT) informed CROSS Griz-Nez, UK Coast guards Agency and MRCC Argentina who are directing rescue operations.

At 1540UTC Ian Herbert Jones SKIPPER PUFFIN rang the GGR Race Office on Iridium phone to advise that he was in extreme weather and confused sea, 50 knots, gusting over 70 knots, running under bare poles, trying to hand steer downwind. The yacht was laid over often by the force of wind and waves. There was a small amount of water down below. The line was bad and contact was lost.

10 minutes later Ian called again. He could not launch his drogue to keep Puffin stern to the waves. Conditions were extreme and he had been washed out of the cockpit twice. He had activated his EPIRB. Don McIntyre advised Ian that the extreme weather would last for at least another 5 hours, and that he should launch his drogue if possible, to assist down wind control on Puffin. Keeping the stern facing the wave is critical to avoid being rolled.

There was only 8 inches of water over the cabin sole and Ian said it was probably leakage through the cockpit, the manual bilge pump was working and Puffin was not sinking. The mast was secure and all safety equipment onboard was secure, although his electrical system was low on power.

Because he was unable to make contact with his Satphone, Ian decided to activate his EPIRB so that the Search And Rescue chain would be aware of his position and situation.

The  Crisis Management Team (CMT) made initial contact with the MRCC Argentina on the phone, to confirm the EPIRB signal reception. MRCC confirmed receiving signal from Puffin’s EPIRB and that they had opened a case with the information contained in the GGR Safety Book provided by the organiser prior to the start of the race. CMT provided SITREPS as information came available.

At 1725 UTC,  Ian had missed a planned safety call to GGR CMT. 25 minutes later they received a message from PUFFIN YELLOW-BRICK YB3 satellite tracking and texting unit advising ” Button ALERT…. 46., 57.250S 037, 12.382W “

This meant that Ian had gone to the YB3 satellite texting and tracking unit, manually lifted the safety cover and pressed the distress alert button. This is recognised as a distress protocol for all GGR entrants, suggesting he was in trouble and could not text or use the sat phone. A SITREP was immediately forwarded to MRCC Argentina, followed by a call to explain the importance of this development.

Search and Rescue Puerto Belgrano are coordinating the rescue. Puffin was still in extreme weather. There are several ships in his vicinity, including a tanker 120 miles North of his position, and several fishing boats. MRCC Argentina is attempting to make contact with them and seek their support.

The low pressure system is moving quickly through Puffin’s position, currently SW 55 knots, gusting 88 knots. Puffin’s tracker position is updated every 15 minutes.  At 1810 UTC, Ian’s second satphone and second YB3 tracking and texting device (normally on standby) were activated. Ready for use. 

SITUATION : PUFFIN ROLLED DISMASTED Skipper injured.

At 1842 UTC PUFFIN sent the following YB3 TEXT message – Rolled Dismasted , injured Back, hard to move, 2ft water in boat. Then at 1844 UTC PUFFIN sent another YB3 TEXT Message  –  Situation getting worse..need weather break to cut rig from PUFFIN

The 7.7mtr South West sea also had a forecast 1.8mtr North East secondary swell at 9 second intervals at the same time . This is hard to comprehend, two opposing seas and suggests an extremely dangerous sea. With the mast down hanging over the side and Ian unable to cut the rig clear the risk of damage to the hull is real. The motion of the Puffin without a mast is also very dynamic.  

SITUATION : 2015 UTC Sat phone Message: Cutting Rig away, water ingress under control, Back getting stiff, Gashed head. 

Latest Sat Phone call from Ian onboard Puffin listen here

At 2015UTC Ian rang with a poor connection but explained the water ingress was under control, he had gashed his head and his back was painful and getting stiff. Conditions were horrendous, but he must cut the rig away as it is bashing against the hull. He was part way through that task. We then lost contact. At 2025 UTC Ian rang again. GGR gave the latest weather forecast that winds and sea are very slowly dropping in the next 12 hours., discussed the possibility of a ship being diverted. He wanted SHIP ETA but advised ship NOT confirmed yet. Phone batteries are OK.

Further updates will be made when available. Our thoughts are with Ian and all those working to assist him at this moment. We thank them for their efforts.

ENDS 

• Kirsten in fresh winds no longer bleeding miles on Abhilash’s Rustler
• Capt Gugg gained 450 miles on leaders last week but now in the doldrums
• Jeremy out of the worst weather, Ian out of the furious 50s and Simon into the mix
• Guy Waites, retired from the GGR, rounds Cape Horn in his private solo circumnavigation

In the northern hemisphere, it’s been tense for Kirsten Neuschäfer (ZAF), in less wind than her runner-up for longer. Every time it looks like she’s losing the lead, she finds the resources to grab some miles back, or clutch to the extra bit of wind to hold the lead.

At the back of the fleet, Ian Herbert-Jones (GBR) and Jeremy Bagshaw (ZAF) still experienced heavy weather, with another storm for Jeremy at 30° South. The feat of the week goes to a retired GGR sailor, but nevertheless very much part of the GGR family. Guy Waites who rounded Cape Horn on the 3rd of April in rough conditions with winds ranging from 40 to 60 knots. He received a warm letter from his personal heroes at the International Cape Horners Association, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Jean-Luc Van Den Heede. Congratulations Guy!

The week has been hard on Kirsten who has generally been in lighter weather for several weeks running, bleeding miles from her lead to Abhilash, falling from 300 miles last week to 50 today. Worse, the eastern option she chose, while closer to the finish has brought an in-and-out of the doldrums scenario with more frustrating light winds and psychological trauma. But yesterday she was in fresh winds, now on a higher route at speed towards Les Sables d’Olonne.

The contrast with Abhilash Tomy, Bayanat, is stunning. Choosing a closer route to Brazil, he had very narrow doldrums and found strong, consistent tradewinds earlier, allowing him to sail higher and faster for weeks. After several months of fixing/rebuilding equipment failures and rationing water to less than one litre a day, he is really enjoying the sailing, posting good speed, with time to relax and drinking plenty of fresh water as he shared in his call.

Unexpectedly, Abhilash called the Race Office yesterday to inform that one of his two EPIRBs activated inadvertently for a couple minutes, with the antenna not deployed. Two minutes later, the CROSS Antilles Guyane / MRCC Fort-de-France called Race Director Sébastien Delasnerie as he was drafting the incident report to advise them of the false alarm. After being informed of the situation on Bayanat, the CROSS then called Abhilash directly on his satellite phone for a SitRep and closed the case. It all went smoothly and the response from the Cross Antille Guyane to the EPIRB activation was instantaneous. The Race Office wishes to thank the team in Fort de France and all of the MRCC’s along the route of the Golden Globe Race for looking after vessels worldwide, including the GGR yachts.

Tooth and nails

While sounding despondent on her last weekly call, Kirsten’s resistance however is nothing short of spectacular, as she always seems to come back when her leadership seems lost. A few days ago, after 7 months and 27,000 miles, she played a wind shift at night for 8 hours, pointing straight to Les Sables d’Olonne and gaining precious miles over Abhilash. Yesterday, after losing 40 miles daily to Abhilash, she finally got fresh, steady trade winds bringing Minnehaha back up to speed, and pointing higher, somehow keeping Bayanat at bay. As the saying goes, it’s not over till the fat lady sings!

It is unclear however how the arrival will pan out, but we know this: Kirsten received 35 hours time allowance and 30 litres of fuel for Tapio’s rescue. Abhilash got a 12 hours time allowance for his early involvement in the same rescue, so that’s  23 hours to Kirsten. Then there are fuel penalties to consider, with a 2-hour penalty for every litre of fuel used above 25 litres, and Abhilash had a fuel leak onboard. What we don’t know is how much fuel he lost, and that may change everything.

While the Queen and the King of the GGR fleet battle it out, the Jester Simon Curwen (GBR) HOWDENS in Chichester Class on board Clara is playing his own cards in between them, pointing higher than any. He is in excellent spirits, looking after Clara’s interior, building curtains to protect himself from the sun! But don’t be fooled by the cruising stories he shares in his weekly call. He’s still the fastest, now leading the fleet, but not the race.

On top of elusive winds, the Sargasso weed is impacting the fleet. While Robin Knox-Johnston found them at 24° north latitude in 1968, the GGR leaders found them on the equator and the raft of weed was reported on CNN as now being bigger than the size of America! The Sargassum were first mentioned by Christopher Columbus during his 1492 voyage and created quite a panic as seaweed is normally a sign of close ground. He eventually recognised them for their own oceanic danger: stopping boats from moving in light winds! Learn more about them at the Sargasso Sea Commission. Bayanat can’t get his wind pilot to operate in all the seaweed! Scientists suggest the massive sudden increase is due to global warming.

Southern adventures

South of the Equator, they have not yet seen the dreaded Sargasso seaweed, and are not the slowest of the bunch, starting with Michael Guggenberger (AUT) on Nuri Sardines. The Austrian sailor had a fantastic week in the trade winds, piling up miles while the leaders were struggling in the doldrums. Now he himself is entering the ITCZ (Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone) while the leaders are in the NE trade winds, tensioning the elastic again. Such is the game of ocean racing!

He is working very hard in the light weather, alternating light genoa, spinnaker or code zero and keeps Nuri Sardines moving well, while taking advantage of the current as per his contingency plan. He is hiding from the heat and taking seawater showers several times a day. The disco ball is back out and he is dawn dancing at the early hours of the morning to cheat the heat and stay fit. Feels like clubbing back in the day, he says in his weekly call!

At 25° S, Jeremy Bagshaw (ZAF) in Chichester Class has weathered his biggest storm to date unscathed. He had to replace -yet another- plywood vane on the wind pilot, but Olleanna and her seasoned skipper have done well in dreadful weather. A usual understated tale shared by Jeremy in his weekly safety call, but he is certainly happy to head north in not enough wind than too much!

Ian Herbert Jones (GBR) in Chichester Class had his share of heavy northerlies, pushing him more east than he liked, but we know gentlemen don’t sail to windward. He is especially happy to be out of the Furious 50s but had a most unusual experience in Southern Patagonia as he shared in his lengthy chat this week. One that might be the highlight of his round the world trip, even if it meant continuing in Chichester Class.

Those started with meeting Mark and Caroline on S/V Jonathan who are organising sailing adventures in remote places and came out of their way to meet and tow Puffin into a sheltered anchorage. More adventure ensued involving stunning scenery, anchor drift, stepping on land for the first time in months.

One more Cape Horner in the GGR Family!

Last but not least, Guy Waites (GBR) and Sagarmatha have rounded Cape Horn on the third of April, in winds ranging 40 to 60 knots and heavy seas. Guy, who arrived late in the season, is tired after weeks of foul weather in the Pacific but delighted with the achievement.

He received a letter from the International Cape Horners Association to congratulate him on his rounding, as did all GGR entrants.

The International Association of Cape Horners, the President Robin Knox-Johnston, the Vice President Jean-Luc Van Den Heede congratulate you on rounding the Horn on Sagarmatha. A great achievement even though you are no longer part of the GGR Race. We wish you well on the home run to Les Sables d’Olonne.

Ashley Manton, Chairman of the IACH