Climbing the Atlantic begins for Globe40

The 2022-23 Globe40 is an eight-leg doublehanded round the world race in Class40s. Seven teams were at the beginning on June 26, with five teams having started the sixth leg on January 8 from Ushuaia, Argentina to Recife, Brazil.

Having covered close to 75% of the total distance for this event, this leg offers a 3,273 nm course along the South American continent.

The start of leg 6 took place within Ushuaia Bay itself, in a light breeze that contrasted with the 40 knots that rocked the moorings the previous week. Ahead of them the competitors can enjoy a 50-mile sprint along the Beagle Channel and its spectacular backdrop of snow-capped mountains, before they reach the open waters of the Atlantic.

The sixth leg promises to be a complex course with at least three phases: nearly 1,000 miles through the Roaring Forties with a low pressure system scheduled to roll through on January 10, a complex zone up to Rio de Janeiro with multiple influences, and finally a rendezvous with the SE’ly trade wind to make landfall in Recife.

Race router Christian Dumard explains the course in more detail:
“After exiting the Beagle Channel in light and variable winds, mainly from the north, with gusts likely sweeping down from the mountains, the five duos will have to make their first strategic choice: to pass to the east or west of the Isla de los Estados.

“If they opt for the west, they’ll have to pass through the Le Maire Strait with its strong currents. Timing will be key to benefit from favorable currents and avoid punching into them. What comes next is not yet set in stone. Some 3 to 4 days out, the weather models are yet to reach an agreement.

“The primary difficulty will involve trying to avoid a depression to the north on January 12-13. A westerly rounding will be called for to avoid sailing close-hauled in boisterous conditions. A long slalom will ensue between depressions rolling off South America and cells of high pressure before the competitors try to hunt down the trade wind off Rio for the home straight to Recife where the front runners will be expected around January 24.”

The coefficients for the last three legs has Leg 6 as coefficient 2, Leg 7 as coefficient 1, and the return sprint across the Atlantic to Lorient for leg 8 is coefficient 2.

Race details – Entries – Tracker

Note: The scoring format gives extra value to the longer legs.

Standings (after five of eight legs):

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. Seven teams were ready to compete, but a Leg 1 start line collision eliminated The Globe En Solidaire with Eric and Léo Grosclaude (FRA) while the Moroccan team of Simon and Omar Bensenddik on IBN BATTOUTA retired before the Leg 2 start.

Start:
Tangier, Morocco – June 26

Stopovers:
Leg 2 start: Sao Vincente, Cape Verde Islands – July 17
Leg 3 start: Port Louis, Mauritius – September 11
Leg 4 start: Auckland, New Zealand – October 29
Leg 5 start: Papeete, French Polynesia – November 26
Leg 6 start: Ushuaia, Argentina
Leg 7 start: Recife, Brazil
Leg 8 start: St Georges, Grenada

Finish:
Lorient, France

Source: Globe40