Globe40: Entering the Furious Fifties

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 fifth leg on November 26 from Papeete, Tahiti to Ushuaia, Argentina.

(December 12, 2022) – Around 1,000 miles from Cape Horn, the GLOBE40 crews are having to contend with a succession of depressions, the latest one fueling winds of up to 50 knots. Though the skippers aren’t currently reporting any serious damage, the atmosphere is one of tension and concentration during this tricky phase.

The course includes the Chilean Gate, positioned some 1,500 nautical miles from the coast of Chile which forms part of the event’s safety device, as well as adhering to the spirit of the category 1 classification (rules for equipping sailboats according to their course – category 1 comes just after category 0, the latter equating to sailing with no limits).

The gate is positioned in such a way as to prohibit the competitors bound for Cape Horn from dropping down to the more hostile southern latitudes. All the competitors have now negotiated this mark with some 37 hours separating the first and the last boats.

After negotiating the Chilean Gate, a deeper than forecast secondary depression rolled over the top of the fleet yesterday serving up an average of around 35 knots of breeze, gusting up to 50 knots. It was a tense moment for the GLOBE40 teams which are set to reach Cape Horn on December 16.

Solidarity is everything for the sailors, who are competing both against one another and together in this extraordinary adventure. In first place today, the crew aboard MILAI Around The World has now crossed the latitude of 50° South and with them the event joins the realms of the ‘Furious Fifties’.

The large ‘End of the World’ resort town and gateway to Antarctica is the next stopover for the GLOBE40 competitors. The skippers will head to the Argentinean town once they’ve crossed the official finish line for this leg, which is located at the entrance to the Beagle Channel, around 70 miles from Ushuaia.

Race details – Entries – Tracker

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

Standings (after four 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