One leg remaining 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 four teams having started the 2000 nm Leg 7 on February 5 from Recife, Brazil to St Georges, Grenada. Here’s the finish line report:

(February 13, 2023) – Today at 22:09 local time (02:09 UTC on February 14), the Canadian crew WHISKEY JACK crossed the finish line to win leg 7 of the GLOBE40 in Grenada. The completed the 2123 nm leg covered in 8 days and 8 hours at an average speed of 10.6 knots, with the 24 hour event record broken on this occasion with 347 nm at an average speed of 14.5 knots.

Canadian skipper Mélodie Schaffer showed all her energy while several breakdowns in the previous stages had prevented her from claiming the podium. The Dutch from SEC HAYAI will follow during the night as well as the Americans from AHMAS. The general ranking should remain unchanged with a final transatlantic leg to Lorient which may yet decide the fate of the two leaders in the general ranking.

Starting on February 5 from Recife, the GLOBE40 competitors quickly had to make tactical choices, playing the wind offshore like AHMAS or the current on the Brazilian coast like SEC HAYAI; for several days the results of the different tactics were undecided, each one taking its turn at the different places in the ranking, then obviously the onshore route along the exclusion zone proved to be the right choice to benefit from a strong current.

SEC HAYAI dominated for several days as a race of speed began between the different skippers. WHISKEY JACK gradually caught up with the Dutch crew before overtaking them and demonstrating their speed to the entire fleet by taking a 50-mile lead over their direct competitor and breaking the distance record in 24 hours on the event.

A great success for Schaffer, seconded on this leg by Tom Pierce, whereas on several occasions in the previous legs she had seen her excellent performance called into question by various breakdowns; multiple sail tears between Cape Verde and Mauritius, a catastrophic gybe off the island of Amsterdam in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands with several days of hardship, a broken bowsprit a week after the start from Papeete when she was in the leading group.

A lifelong racer and mile-hungry sailor with several Clipper Race legs to her credit, three transatlantic races including a Jacques Vabre in 2021-22, 25,000 miles sailed since June 2022 in the GLOBE40, Schaffer displays an experience and determination that is highlighted by her victory in leg 7. And it should be remembered that she and Pierce had only 5 days to stop in Recife after the 3800 miles of the difficult leg from Ushuaia…

After 8 months of the event, 8 legs with the prologue in Lorient and the Grand Depart in Tangier, 25,000 miles sailed, the question as to who will win overall remains. MILAI Around the World, which is in retreat due to its accident and the work in progress in Argentina, is still in the race with a good ranking but can no longer claim victory in the general standings.

The Dutch team of SEC HAYAI are showing a superb regularity with an extremely well prepared and motivated team which often compensates for an older support than the others, and should remain in the lead in the general classification at the end of this stage 7.

Barring any unforeseen events, their American competitor AMHAS should lose a point at the end of this coefficient 1 leg but remains a serious threat on the last coefficient 2 leg, a long transatlantic course to Lorient which can prove complicated at this time of year.

Finally, the Italo-Americans of GRYPHON SOLO2 and the Canadians of WHISKEY JACK have shown with their 2nd place before the jury in Recife for the former and their victory in Grenada for the latter that they are still capable of disrupting the ranking calculations of the overall leaders.

A final exciting stage lies ahead with the arrival of the great competition and the great adventure in Lorient for this first edition of the GLOBE40.

The Campers and Nicholson Port Louis Marina will be hosting the competitors until the next start on February 24.

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