The Global Ocean Race - Class40s compress for the final 1,000 miles of Leg 1

Having taken the lead in the second wave of Global Ocean Race (GOR), double-handed Class40s on Monday morning, Marco Nannini and Paul Peggs in third place with Financial Crisis kept the pressure on, consistently averaging above 11 knots overnight with around 16 knots of north-westerly breeze from the trailing edge of the high-pressure zone providing fast reaching conditions for the duo’s three year-old Akilaria Class40. In fourth place, Conrad Colman and Hugo Ramon dropped quickly south with their new Akilaria RC2, Cessna Citation, moderating their course as the high-pressure system slipped east towards the southern tip of Africa, but were forced to watch their distance deficit to Financial Crisis grow exponentially as they closed on the main pack.

Furthest south, skating across the top of the Roaring Forties, the South African duo of Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire in fifth with their first generation Akilaria Phesheya-Racing kept hold of Nannini and Peggs and resisted the fast approach of Sec. Hayai with the Dutch duo of Nico Budel and Ruud van Rijsewijk in sixth.

As the sun rose in the high latitudes of the South Atlantic on Tuesday morning, the main pack of GOR Class40s were spread over 180 miles in terms of distance to finish, south of the finish line’s latitude, fanning out over 230 miles north-south for the final 1,000 miles to the Leg 1 finish in Cape Town with Nannini and Peggs leading the group after 37 days at sea.

On Financial Crisis, Nannini and Peggs are extremely happy with their position and the current conditions: “The Southern Ocean with its albatrosses and deep sea creatures is treating us well,” reports the 33 year-old Italian skipper. In the 09:00 GMT position poll on Monday, Financial Crisis has built a lead of 113 miles over Cessna Citation and continues to average the highest speed in the fleet at slightly over 11 knots. A priority for Nannini and Peggs is covering the South African team 145 miles off their starboard quarter: “We’re doing our best to manage our position relative to Phesheya and we dipped south to cover them several days ago when we started to have our first doubts about the feasibility of the northern route taken by Cessna.”