Ice limit reset – Global Ocean Race Class40s ready to roll

Last week, the Race Committee of the double-handed, Class40 Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR) imposed a southern limit for the forthcoming Leg 2 from Cape Town to Wellington, New Zealand. The no-go zone stretched across the majority of the Indian Ocean below 42 degrees South from the start line’s longitude beneath the Cape of Good Hope, to south of Australia, prohibiting the six Class40s in the GOR fleet from diving south on a shorter route. The trigger for this decision was the increasing incidence of ice drifting far north from Antarctica, specifically in the double-handed, IMOCA Open 60, Barcelona World Race earlier this year and, more recently, just over one month ago, a report of ‘two very large icebergs’ at 44 degrees S, 49 degrees E in the vicinity of the Crozet Islands logged by a yacht competing in the Clipper Round the World Race.

Up-to-date, bespoke, Southern Ocean iceberg information via satellite radar is available, but at a cost – in the region of €29,000 to book a satellite for an image and analysis – which is beyond the budget of the GOR. The result was the prudent ban on sailing below 42S which was agreed by the event’s 12 skippers despite the implications on tactics and the potential for avoiding strong conditions in the deep low pressure systems chasing the fleet across the Southern Ocean during the event’s classic round the world route through the high latitudes. However, news of the GOR ice limit spread quickly and a European agency currently monitoring Southern Ocean ice soon contacted the GOR’s Race Director, Josh Hall, advising that relaxing the existing limit was acceptable and posed no extreme threat for the GOR’s Class40s.

Subsequently, the GOR Leg 2 southern limit has been adapted to an exclusion zone below 42S from the start until 49E, north of the Crozet Islands, with an additional southern limit south-west of Australia below Cape Leeuwin stretching from 100E to 120E at 45S, pulling the fleet up towards the Australian Bight from the Southern Ocean, permitting a variety of options between the two southern limits. In addition, the GOR fleet has been instructed to leave Kerguelen Island at 49S and 69E to starboard and the Celox Sailing Scoring Gate, stretching north-south at 69E - approximately midway between the African and Australian continents – has been extended south to Kerguelen.

The delay to the GOR’s Leg 2 start has been timely and Table Bay off Cape Town is no longer a boiling expanse of white caps and flying spray and the Class40 battle flags on each of the six boats in the V&A Waterfront Marina have ceased snapping hard on the forestays and shrouds as the teams make final preparations for the 12:00 (10:00 GMT) start on Tuesday. The two day extension to the Cape Town stopover has allowed the teams extra time to prepare for Leg 2 and there is currently a calm atmosphere around the race pontoons in North Wharf.