Globe40 fleet onward to Grenada

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 2000 nm Leg 7 on February 5 from Recife, Brazil to St Georges, Grenada. Here’s the update from the start:

At 15:00 hours local time, the GLOBE40 skippers took the start of the penultimate leg of the event, which will lead the fleet to their next finish in the West Indies.

As the course kicks off with a passage through the doldrums, the competitors are set to be swept along to their destination by the E’ly trade wind. On paper then, a fairly simple leg awaits, though it comes with the risk of heavy shipping along the coast.

Just 3 points separating the top two crews in the overall ranking, with the Dutch on SEC HAYAI and the Americans on AMHAS, who won the previous leg. Meantime, Japanese team MILAI Around The World is making a concerted effort to complete repairs in Argentina and rejoin the race.

The racetrack for this next leg will stretch across Brazil, from offshore of Fortaleza in northern Recife to Belem at the gateway to the Amazon River, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, and finally Trinidad and Tobago. A prohibited zone has been set up across the entire course, making it impossible for the competitors to hug the coast due to the abundance of debris swept along offshore of the Amazon River and to the heightened security risk.

“The Globe 40 competitors will set sail from Recife in a light E’ly wind with numerous squalls forecast, together with the risk of storms,” explains weather expert Christian Dumard. “They’ll cross the western extension of the doldrums on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 February.

“The doldrums is not very active along the Brazilian coast. A few squalls await them, as well as a few light patches, but it won’t be a case of long windless days and huge storm zones, as was the case during their descent of the Atlantic further over to the east.

“Once they’ve passed Cape Calcanhar in north-east Brazil, the ENE’ly trade wind should gradually pick up to 13-20 knots. At that point, the fleet will have a long downwind sprint to the finish on starboard tack, a few squalls still making their presence felt. The current will also play a pivotal role. It may reach 2 to 3 knots in places as it carries them westwards towards their goal.”

Recife was a quick stopover which also required a quick turnaround to get the Class40s match-fit again after the 3,800 miles that made up leg 6. Indeed, with a week-long stopover for the first team to make the finish, and just 5 days for the last, the intensity of this event and the competitive commitment required are second to none.

Furthermore, there are now just 3 coefficients still to be awarded, with leg 7 to Grenada counting as coefficient 1, and the return sprint across the Atlantic to Lorient a coefficient 2.

The quick stopover did not give MILAI Around The World sufficient time to recover from their collision with an unidentified object during Leg 6.

“We’re going to try to set sail from Mar Del Plata on around 15 February,” said skipper Masa Suzuki. “The damage has been more extensive than we could have imagined, but we have a great technical team here to carry out repairs. The Mar Del Plata watersports club is also being incredibly supportive. MILAI is still on track to complete the circumnavigation of the globe. We aren’t giving up and we can’t wait to see everyone again in Lorient.”

Race details – Entries – Tracker

Note: The scoring format gives extra value to the longer legs.The coefficients for the last two legs has Leg 7 as coefficient 1 and the return sprint across the Atlantic to Lorient for leg 8 is coefficient 2.

Standings (after six 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 – January 8
Leg 7 start: Recife, Brazil – February 5
Leg 8 start: St Georges, Grenada – February 24

Finish:
Lorient, France

Source: Globe40