Sailing Magazine
pic by Trevopr Wilkins
by Matthew Thomas
With just over 24 hours of racing completed, there are yachts that are flying towards Rio in and others that are limping back to Cape Town with damage.
After a slow start in light SW conditions, much of the fleet encountered very strong head winds and huge, lumpy seas overnight which resulted in numerous yachts reporting damage this morning. Yachts reported wind speeds of 50 knots and breaking waves of 4 to 5m.
Black Cat is returning to Cape Town with a broken rudder, Peekay is on her way to Saldahna Bay with shreaded sails and Bille is on her way back to Cape Town for sail and mast repairs. Other boats with damage, and still racing, are Explora with a flooded engine and Isla without engines, but their generator is working.
Out front Maserati is leading the line honours charge, with Scarlet Runner and DStv Explora hot on her heels.
In class 1, Scarlet Runner is leading on handicap, but there is still a lot of ocean for them to cross.
The next few days will be interesting due to the unstable weather conditions. The leaders will be playing cat and mouse with everyone as they try to stay ahead.
As the race devpelops, we’ll bring you constant updates.
Provisional Results by Class:
