Penultimate sprint from Punta del Este to Charleston sets sail on Sunday
Gutek's Operon Racing out of the water for keel repairs. Image copyright Ainhoa Sanchez/onEdition.
by Sarah Hames
THE countdown is on to the start of the fourth ocean sprint of the VELUX 5 OCEANS solo round the world race. With less than a week to go until the 5,700-mile sprint to Charleston in the US, excitement and tension is starting to mount in the Uruguayan port of Punta del Este.
At 1pm local time (1600 UTC) on Sunday the VELUX 5 OCEANS’ four solo skippers will blast out of Punta del Este Bay for the penultimate sprint of the 30,000-mile race. After an incredibly close sprint three, which saw Zbigniew ‘Gutek’ Gutkowski beat Chris Stanmore-Major by just 40 seconds and all four boats finish within 48 hours of each other, the pressure is now on for sprint four.
After spending the past two ocean sprints tackling the ferocious downwind sailing of the Southern Ocean, the skippers will have to adopt a more tactical approach for the lighter, upwind weather conditions which they now face as they head north through the Atlantic Ocean to the east coast port of Charleston in South Carolina.
For Charleston resident Brad Van Liew, overall race leader and winner of all three sprints, the leg holds special meaning. “I have a lot of incentives to get to Charleston first,” the skipper of Le Pingouin said. “My kids are there, my family is there and my home is there. The sooner I get there the longer I get to spend at home. Mentally that is a bit of a liability, and it will be important for me to keep my head straight and not get too excited about sailing home.
“This is one of those legs where if tactically you make a bad decision it could mean you end up being left behind. Equally if you call a good move at the head of the fleet you could break away from the others. We’ve got a really competitive fleet so it’s going to be tough. We’re going to be heading back into chess match mode rather than scrum mode!”
After developing keel problems onboard Operon Racing Gutek and his team have carried out a series of repairs since arriving in Punta del Este. Due to the lack of professional boat yards in Uruguay, the team has taken the decision to complete the work once in Charleston. After consulting experts including Operon Racing’s designer and the builders of the keel, it was agreed that the boat is safe to take on the next ocean sprint.
“It’s a long leg so anything can happen. Getting it right with the weather is going to be key,” the Pole said. “If one of the other skippers makes a mistake I will use it as a good opportunity to pass them.”
Buoyed by his impressive performance in ocean sprint three, Britain’s Chris Stanmore-Major is eyeing up another podium in sprint four. “Spartan is good for the fight and I’m keen to get back on the water,” he said. “The target for this leg is to come 40 seconds ahead of Gutek. I’m aware that the best legs for my boat were the Southern Ocean legs but we’ve stripped off as much weight as possible for sprint four. She’s as light as she can be and I have learnt how to sail her in light airs – hopefully that will prove to be a good combination.”
After slipping from second place to fourth in the dying stages of ocean sprint three when his wind instruments died, Canadian Derek Hatfield has vowed to regain the podium positions he won during the first two ocean sprints. Also fixed is the engine oil leak that caused so many problems for the veteran racer in the last sprint.
“The big problem for me was the oil leak in the engine which we sorted in the first week of being here in Punta del Este,” he said. “It wasn’t a huge fix but was just one that had to be done on shore. It’s all fixed now so I will be back up to full speed, pushing hard.
“I know the waters of the North Atlantic very well which will be a real strength. I was disappointed with my performance in the last leg so now I’m going to step it up again. In the last sprint the wheels fell off for me in the last 48 hours. Gutek and Chris managed to both get away from me. I’m really going to go after this one and notch it back up again to the podium.”
Ocean sprint four starts at 1pm local time (1600 UTC) on Sunday March 27.
Skipper quotes:
Gutek:
We can only lift the boat out of the water for six hours at a time which doesn’t give us long enough to carry out total repairs to Operon Racing. We have spoken to the boat’s designers and other experts and they have said she is safe to race to Charleston.
The weather conditions for this leg are going to be very different. We have to sail up the coast of South America and past the Caribbean islands. Tactically it’s going to really tricky. It looks like it’s going to be very similar to the first ocean sprint to Cape Town. It’s definitely going to be really tough.
If one of the other skippers makes a mistake I will use it as a good opportunity to pass them. It’s a long leg so anything can happen. Getting it right with the weather is going to be key.
Chris Stanmore-Major:
The main thing for us is this next leg is all about upwind, light air sailing, tactics and weather systems. One small decision, one small change in tactics could have a huge impact, and I think we will see the pack changing positions often.
I have made some pretty bad fliers on this race so far – some say they are ballsy moves, others say they are a last ditch attempt at clawing back places. Tactics is something I will really have to concentrate on – it’s not my strongest suit but I have honed my light air sailing skills on the last three legs.
Brad has shown himself to be very good tactically so we can assume he’s going to be pretty consistent. Gutek has already shown he is a master of tactics, and I need to take notes from them. If someone gets it wrong on this leg they could find themselves very far behind.
The target for this leg is to come 40 seconds ahead of Gutek. I’m aware that the best legs for my boat were the Southern Ocean legs but we’ve stripped off as much weight as possible for sprint four. She’s as light as she can be and I have learnt how to sail her in light airs – hopefully that will prove to be a good combination.
Brad is not unbeatable and neither is his boat. However Brad works very hard for his victories and he’s not going to make it easy for any of us, especially given that we are sailing to his home port. There would be a lot of satisfaction beating him in though!
There wasn’t much to do to Spartan when we arrived in Punta del Este. The only things we needed to do were repair the Solent headsail and fix the broken pulpit. Other than that there was very little to do. We have been concentrating more on making the boat as light as possible. Spartan is good for the fight and I’m keen to get back on the water.
Derek Hatfield:
If you get it right on this leg it will pay off, but if you get it wrong you will just get spat out the back of the fleet. It is going to be really tactical. In the last leg I had power problems so I wasn’t as connected to the weather as I should have been. That’s all sorted now so this time round hopefully we will get it right.
I like this stretch of water, I feel like I will be sailing into home waters. I know the waters of the North Atlantic very well which will be a real strength. I was disappointed with my performance in the last leg so now I’m going to step it up again. In the last sprint the wheels fell off for me in the last 48 hours. Gutek and Chris managed to both get away from me. I’m really going to go after this one and notch it back up again to the podium.
The big problem for me was the oil leak in the engine which we sorted in the first week of being here in Punta del Este. It wasn’t a huge fix but was just one that had to be done on shore. It’s all fixed now so I will be back up to full speed, pushing hard.
Everyone will be trying to knock Brad off the top spot. He’s a great sailor and a great friend but once we get on the water we will be pushing hard to get him. I think he will be looking behind a lot, a little bit nervous knowing that we are coming to get him.
Brad Van Liew:
Ocean sprint four is going to be entirely different from the last two sprints. The weather is a big issue in every leg but in this leg it’s going to take on a completely different personality. We could end up leaving Punta del Este in heavy conditions which would be fantastic but not the norm. Typically it’s a lightwind scenario up to Cabo Frio. From there we will pick up the south easterly trades at about the Equator. Then we’re going to have to deal with the Doldrums. Once clear of them we will get into the easterly trades which will take us to the latitudes of the Caribbean. Then we’ll have another mixed bag of conditions the rest of the way to Charleston.
Instead of transitioning with the weather systems like we did in the Southern Ocean, sprint four will see us heading north through the weather systems which move west to east. There will be a lot more work on sail changes, more hard work in the sailing sense than just strapping in and going for it. It will be a massively tactical leg because of all those transitions.
This is one of those legs where if tactically you make a bad decision it could mean you end up being left behind. Equally if you call a good move at the head of the fleet you could break away from the others. We’ve got a really competitive fleet so it’s going to be tough. We’re going to be heading back into chess match mode rather than scrum mode!
Everyone in this race is getting faster and faster and the fleet is getting closer and closer. The points are still up for grabs, it’s by no means a done deal yet. Anything could happen. I have a lot of incentives to get to Charleston first. My kids are there, my family is there and my home is there. The sooner I get there the longer I get to spend at home. Mentally that is a bit of a liability, and it will be important for me to keep my head straight and not get too excited about sailing home. I need to check myself on this leg and not do anything stupid.
VELUX5OCEANS
