Sailing Magazine
by Richard Crockett
The past 24 hours has been tough as the fleet in general recorded very slow progress, many battling to get over 100nm for the 24 hour period. That’s soul destroying stuff as the sails flop, flap, and tensions rise!
Yet there was a notable exception with the AlexForbes Archangel youngsters recording the second best days run. They managed 134nm with best run of the day coming from a boat almost twice their size. ‘Translated 9′ recorded 137nm for the same period. This is a timely and very welcome boost for the “Angels”.
It has always been said that the winning course is a northerly one, which concerns me for those in the south, especially ‘Nemesis, which, as southern-most yacht shows a course on the tracker as almost south west. Is she pushing he southing too far? My fear here is that the “southerners” will have another day or maybe even more of lightish winds, while the “northerners” appear to be in a more consistent breeze. Only time will tell, but as the most northern boat, ‘Ray of Light’ may well be putting down a marker for the rest of the race.
The distance between Ray of Light and Nemesis is very close to 400nm. Let’s see in a few days who has made the best decision.
In terms of the ORC handicap positions, ‘Atalanta’ continues to head the leader board, followed by ‘Nemesis’ and ‘AlexForbes Archangel’.
This race is not a sprint, but a marathon, so it could take as long as a week or more before we have any inkling of who may take the race by the scruff of the neck!
As always, some newspaper cuttings from days of yore.
1971. Flurry As Rio Race Approaches. READ IT HERE: 1971 01 09 – 1971 Rio – S&A – 002089 – OCR
1971. From Dream House to Rio Race. READ IT HERE: 1971 01 09 – Rio 1971 – S&A – 0246 – 001 – Redacted – OCR
1971. Talk At the Tavern of the Seas. READ IT HERE: 1973 01 09 – Rio 1973 – S&A – 000057 – OCR
1979. R2500 Worth of Food READ IT HERE: It’s Tougher Than Rio. READ IT HERE: 1973 01 09 – Rio 1973 – S&A – 000058 – OCR
1982. Flotilla Sails Out of Table Bay to Cross the Ocean. READ IT HERE: 1979 01 09 – 1979 Uruguay – S&A – 000689_Redacted – OCR
1993. Panther Party. READ IT HERE: 1993 01 09 – S&A – 370_Redacted
1993. Cape to Rio Battles to Stay Afloat. READ IT HERE: 1993 01 09 – S&A – 372
1996. Rio Route Gamble Pays Off. READ IT HERE: 1996 01 09a – S&A – 111_Redacted
2000. Cape of Tame Winds Sends Yachts on Way. READ IT HERE: 2000 01 09a – S&A – 752_Redacted
2009. It’s the Cape to Bahia Battle of the Super-maxis. READ IT HERE: 2009 01 09 – Rio Race – S&A – 003228 – OCR_Redacted
