What’s it like to race round the world?

Racing round the world via the great capes is an ultimate bucket list item, but what’s it really like? Rupert Holmes found out when competing in the Globe40 round the world race:

Four days from the Cape of Good Hope it’s still proving impossible to identify a safe route past the cape and the infamous west-going Agulhas current. At this point we’re 25 days into the 40-day, 8,000-mile second leg of the race, taking us from the Cape Verdes to Reunion in the Indian Ocean.

A full gale blowing against the Agulhas, which can reach five knots, can produce breaking waves capable of inflicting serious damage to large ships. And we have 40-plus knots of breeze forecast, plus we’re double-handed in a 40-footer.

Should we slow down and stay to the north-east, waiting for this low pressure system to pass? It’s tempting and we certainly don’t want to risk breaking the boat, or ourselves. But more depressions are on the way and we don’t want to give away unnecessary ground. Fortunately, the next two weather model runs show the low passing further south, so conditions should be manageable. – Full report