A tactical start of the new year around
Text: Marco Nannini
Image: First Light @colebraueroceanracing
2024 started a little more gently than 2023 had ended, with widespread milder conditions and a persistent high pressure zone in the area south of Cape Leeuwin as well as south east of Cape of Good Hope.
This was great news for Ari Känsäkoski who, after dismasting, is limping back to the safety of a port in Africa, most likely Durban. With the help of the fuel he was given by the Japanese fishing vessel Tomi Maru No.58 Ari has managed to motor north of the high pressure system and is now in light following winds, that will allow him to make good some of the mileage under jury rig alone as the total fuel onboard is not sufficient for the distance to be covered. He is currently 900 Nautical Miles from Durban which is a massive distance for a dismasted boat, but certainly getting below the 1000 Nautical Miles is a psychological milestone that surely helps. Let’s not forget that Ari is now on his 12th day at sea after dismasting and has covered just 600 Nautical Miles. However, what’s most important is that Ari has managed to get himself out of the area of influence of the Roaring Forties low pressure systems and constantly displaying a calm and collected attitude and incredible seamanship. He was between 41 and 42 degrees south at the time of the accident and the area he was in has seen several days of prohibitively strong winds, for a dismasted boat, in the past week, so his strategy to head north first was spot on.
The high pressure system south of Cape Leeuwin has significantly slowed down the group of boats currently busy clearing the ice limit south of the second of the three Great Capes. It’s worth pointing out that the rise in the Ice Limit to 45 degrees south in this region has little to do with drifting icebergs or ice pack. The reason why boats are forced to climb back north stems from an unwritten agreement with Australian rescue authorities that would incur in extremely high costs, difficult to publicly justify to the taxpayers, should they need to venture very deep south in remote waters to rescue a sailor involved in a voluntary “leisure activity”.
As we enter in the second week of the Austral summer, milder conditions can result in larger high pressure systems that can hamper progress in those areas where the skippers cannot dip south to find following winds. This may be the reason why on New Year’s day Pavlin Nadvorni enjoyed a balmy and sunny day away from the grim conditions the majority of the fleet had experienced just a week earlier. Looking at Pavlin’s route it is very interesting to note how his Farr designed Espresso Martini seems to be exceptionally better than Class40s in dealing with light downwind conditions. Whilst both Riccardo Tosetto on Obportus and Francois Gouin on Kawan3 Unicancer had to sail closer to the wind and zig-zag downwind to keep speed in light winds, Pavlin seems to be able to sail a much straighter course at similar or slightly slower speeds, but with a much better VMG.
Pavlin’s conservative sailing strategy has seen him often elect to stay away from the worst of some of the low pressure systems the fleet encountered, and inevitably, he was later left dealing with light wind ridges of high pressure in between the depressions. However, both when sailing in strong winds and when sailing in light winds Espresso Martini has sailed fewer miles for the same distance made good. In strong downwind conditions Pavlin has often resorted to using a poled out jib and in light downwind scenarios the Bulgarian skipper has made the most of the quick Farr designed hull which is certainly a lot less sticky in light airs than flat and wide Class40s.
Another skipper that has been deliberately avoiding strong winds and messy seas of the Roaring Forties is Andrea Mura of Vento di Sardegna. His 2000 designed Open 50, which participated in the Vendée Globe of that year, has later been optimised and made lighter. Vento di Sardegna is a boat that performs at its best in light and medium conditions but which is not at its optimum in heavy seas where light displacement becomes a source of additional risks especially in cross seas where breaking waves and sudden acceleration can lead to risky wipe outs and other potentially equipment-breaking accidents. Andrea has contoured the edge of the vast low pressure systems with centers in the Screaming Fifties and despite sailing inevitably a longer course he is confident that this is the best strategy for him and his boat, which he has now campaigned for over 15 years.
Louis Robein on Le Souffle de La Mer III, following issues with sheared bolts holding the base of his autopilot ram has confirmed the need to stop in Hobart for repairs and has gybed out of the worst of last week’s low which has swept over the fleet. In fact, to his southeast there must have been a collective sigh of relief for David Linger on Koloa Maoli, William MacBrien on Phoenix and Edouard de Keyser on Solarwind who spent a considerable time in very grim conditions. David posted a photo where he was enjoying some much deserved sunshine whilst even tending to some domestic chores such as some laundry.
At the front of the fleet the situation is, on paper unchanged, Philippe Delamare is pushing along with the reliability of an 80s Mercedes taxi, clocking mile after mile with now less than 1200 miles to go to Cape Horn, with a potential rounding sometime around the 9-10 of January. Philippe is dealing with a quick succession of lows. However, perhaps as a result of the advent of the Austral summer, the weather models indicate he may encounter a large ridge of high pressure despite being well into the Screaming Fifties at 54 degrees South. The timing of the start of circumnavigation is timed to take sailors around Cape Horn at the height of summer when conditions may grant a safe passage to the sailors.
Cole Brauer on First Light has shaved a further 200 miles off the gap to Philippe and whilst in the course of last week she was faster, she seemed to have started to lose ground in relative terms letting Philippe consolidate his lead. However, upon entering the gentler swell of the Pacific, renowned for its longer and somewhat easier sea state, she has started once more clawing back time on time still leaving room for a possible renewed attack on Philippe’s solid first place. As the weeks pass this is still a possibility however much will depend on factors such as the oncoming ridge of high pressure that Philippe will face and, most of all, the conditions that each boat will find after rounding Cape Horn.
The stretch east of the coast of Argentina is notorious for being one where cards have been reshuffled in more than one circumnavigation. On rounding the Horn with a solid advantage in the 2012-2013 in the Vendée Globe Armel Le Cléac’h declared he did not need to cover Francois Gabart, as sailing the best route to the finish is what was required to win. Francois Gabart took full advantage of the strategic options left open to him by not being “covered” by Armel and clinched victory by just 3 hours and 15 minutes. A different reason cost Charlie Dalin first place in the 2020-2021 Vendée, on climbing the back to the north of the equator Yannick Bestaven on Maitre Coq IV could count on a traditional masthead light wind asymmetric spinnaker which was not part of the wardrobe on Charlie’s Apivia. This may have not been the only reason, but Yannick certainly staged an incredible come back in the light downind conditions of the south Atlantic after Cape Horn and after allowance for the time lost in standing by Kevin Escoffier’s PRB, he clinched first place again by just 3 hours.
Ronnie Simpson on Shipyard Brewing has reached Hobart for his scheduled pitstop in the afternoon of New Year’s Eve and will have to serve 96 hours penalty before crossing again, under sail, the inbound line where he started motoring on 02:00 UTC of December 31 between Cape Queen Elizabeth and Cape Raoul on the approaches to Hobart. He should be able to restart on the 4th and rejoin the fleet without losing his third place on the water.
On the subject of time penalties, Alessandro Tosetti on Aspra had to serve a total time penalty of 96 hours for stopping in Cape Town and an additional 29h 52’ for motoring on his approach to Cape Town to cross a ridge of light winds. Of the total penalty of 125h 52’, Alessandro has already observed 122h 25’ by virtue of his 5 days stopover in Cape Town from 23rd to 28th December. However, he will need to observe the remainder of the time penalty, i.e. 3h 27’ at a time and location frame assigned by the organisers to him in the South Atlantic, after Cape Horn. The regulations in fact impose that any penalty assigned whilst at sea or residual form a stopover, must be observed before the arrival, but after Cape Horn to avoid extending unnecessarily the time spent in the south by boats just to comply with regulations relating to penalties.
Time penalties should never be seen as a punishment, especially where, for example, the decision to start the engine is driven by safety considerations. However, if the use of the engine gives a skipper a time advantage it is only fair that a time penalty is applied to ensure the sporting element of the Global Solo Challenge is preserved but, unlike many other events, it is not penalised beyond this factor as the organisers wish to create an accessible event with a spirit where safety considerations can always be put first by skippers, without fear of excessive consequences for actions such as emergency motoring that may lead them to unnecessary risk-taking.
With Kevin le Poidevin on Roaring Forty on his approach to Tristan da Cunha and Alessandro Tosetti battling head currents and headwinds in trying to sail east, only these two boats are still sailing in the South Atlantic, 9 are in the South Indian (including Ari Kansakoski) and 3 are in the Pacific (including Ronnie Simpson who has crossed the longitude of south Tasmania where the Indian and Pacific oceans meet).
So far only Philippe Delamare and Cole Brauer are past the halfway mark, so if at any stage anyone thinks “oh well, they’ll be home in no time”, they should pick up a globe and look at the sheer enormity of the endeavour the skippers of the Global Solo Challenge have undertaken. We’re glad the skippers have been given a little break from the grim conditions of last week, so they can restock on energy and motivation for the many many miles still ahead of them.