Onward to Indian Ocean for Globe40

(July 17, 2022) – The start of the second leg of the GLOBE40 got under way today for the six doublehanded Class40 teams in Mindelo Bay on the island of Sao Vincente in the Cape Verde archipelago.

The crews competing in this inaugural round the world race now face the longest leg of the course with some 6,245 nm to cover on a direct course and likely around 7,000 nm before they reach the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

Christian Dumard, official race weather consultant, expects the lead boat will need 35 days to complete the course, but will face immediate questions on how best to descend through the Atlantic Ocean.

“The Globe 40 competitors will have to pass through the Doldrums with a west wind at a point which is much further east than what we’re used to in the races passing through this region in winter.

“Tuesday and Wednesday (July 19-20) are set to be stormy, with the wind gradually backing round from the west to the south and then the south-east. The skippers will have to hunt down this rotation in the wind by making for the African coast.

“Having changed tack on Thursday or Friday, the six boats in the fleet will have to sail in a well-established south east wind from Friday.

“From there, the competitors will have to decide how to get around the Saint Helena High. Each of them will need to choose whether to position themselves to the east or west. The western route enables a faster journey, albeit longer. In contrast, the eastern route is slower but shorter.

“Once the sailors are to the south of the famous zone of high pressure, the focus shifts to rounding the Cape of Good Hope. As such, they’ll have to examine how the depressions and fronts are rolling through so they can nail the timing of their passage, whilst avoiding having to punch into the current in the notorious Agulhas current, which can reach up to 4 knots.”

Race details – Entries – Tracker

First Leg Results:

The inaugural Globe40 is an eight leg round the world race for doublehanded Class40 teams.  As all legs count toward the cumulative score, the longer distances more heavily weighted. The first leg, which took seven to eight days to complete, had a coefficient 1 while the second leg is ranked as a coefficient 3 leg. The race is expected to finish March 2023. A Leg 1 start line collision reduced the fleet from seven to six teams.

Start:
Tangier, Morocco – June 26

Stopovers:
Leg 2 start: Sao Vincente, Cape Verde Islands – July 17
Leg 3 start: Port Louis, Mauritius
Leg 4 start: Auckland, New Zealand
Leg 5 start: Papeete, French Polynesia
Leg 6 start: Ushuaia, Argentina
Leg 7 start: Recife, Brazil
Leg 8 start: St Georges, Grenada

Finish:
Lorient, France