Tom Roach Yachting
For this year’s millennium race the weather in the South Atlantic has not followed the expected pattern.
Instead of spending days on end sailing downwind under huge spinnakers, crews found themselves battling fickle winds on their beam, or from ahead.
Frequent sail changes, often several times an hour, kept them on their toes, reduced sleep and added to the mess and general wetness down below.
At other times, near gale force winds heeled boats over to 50 or 60 degrees as they crashed through the waves.
“Scary stuff at night,” reported “Kaz” on Dj Vu, adding that he hoped the wind would ease by morning when it was his turn again to cook.
Three weeks have passed since the start of the race. The two leading American maxis, ZephyrusEIV and Sagamore, have successfully beaten the existing fastest passage record of fourteen-and-a-half days and are enjoying all the pleasures of the world’s sexiest city.
Zephyrus IV, the fastest yacht and first to enter Rio, has probably won the race. The remaining high placers are trickling in to port, their progress helped by the seductive appeal of the G-string city.
South Africa’s Maxtec Wizard has arrived, its skipper reporting, “The crew are extremely happy to be in Rio and are looking forward to a few beers.”
Wizard’s chief competition for third place, Greenwich Warrior, has also finished, at least a day ahead of their passage time in the 1996 race when they sailed exactly the same route.
The start of this year’s race proved a crowd pleaser and, for those following its progress, the excitement has continued.
One yacht, La Bamba, has been lost, thankfully without loss of life, and six have retired.
At the start, Portugal-Brasil 500 broke a spar and had to return for hurried repairs.
By cheekily sailing a less-favoured route, she made up much of the lost time though she was unable to break the existing passage record.
To her go the honours for the best fight of the race.
The sentimental favourites, Environ High Noon with John Galbraith and his fiance, Marion Frost, found ripped sails meant they would be late for their Rio wedding.
A quick call by radio to the leaders means they will still have a wedding, but in a different chapel than planned.
Most boats are recording faster than expected times.
Race secretary Eric Wells believes this is due to excellent work by yacht designers, combined with the use of modern lightweight materials such as carbon fibres and a thorough understanding of how to produce efficient sails.
Despite design improvement, the crew is still all-important. Skipper Jan Reuvers of Maxtec Wizard sailed with two professional yachtsmen in his crew, Magnus Ohlsson and Klas Nylof.
“These guys just push so much harder,” Reuvers told a reporter.
“South African sailing still has a long way to go to reach the level at which these guys compete.”
The next race in four years’ time will show whether or not South Africa is up to this challenge.