Global Ocean Race - High-speed leadership battle as a cold front approaches

At 07:00 GMT on Thursday, Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon with Financial Crisis were the fourth double-handed, Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR) Class40 to pass the eastern extremity of the western Indian Ocean’s Leg 2 ice limit at 42S, followed two hours later by the South African duo of Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire in fifth on Phesheya-Racing. While Financial Crisis and Phesheya-Racing remained north, separated by 16 miles and reaching east with slightly under ten-knot averages, the leading trio, 160 miles to the south-east, were into their first 24 hours of free-range racing following release from the ice limit’s restrictions.

Overnight, distances remained relatively stable throughout the fleet, but on Thursday, Conrad Colman and Artemis Offshore Academy sailor, Sam Goodchild, on Cessna Citation began to close down on the leaders, Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron on Campagne de France, with Ross and Campbell Field in hot pursuit on BSL in third place. By 15:00 GMT, Colman and Goodchild had squeezed back into the lead averaging the highest speed in the fleet at over 11 knots.

While the leadership battle raged, on Financial Crisis, Hugo Ramon was looking at the weather files and the forecast front due to roll over the fleet: “We’re a bit like an animal being led to the slaughterhouse,” he explains dramatically. “Although, we do have a choice of when we let the front give us a whipping.” Since leaving the ice limit astern, Financial Crisis has maintained a heading of 96 degrees. “If we head east at about 90 degrees, we’ll spend more time with the wind that we have at the moment and the front will arrive over us in about 36 hours,” he calculated late on Wednesday. “The lead group; Cessna, Campagne de France and BSL, being to the south will probably get it a little earlier.” The option of getting the front over and done with has been sidelined: “It’s not like we’re at the dentist where the ‘get-the-tooth-pulled-out-quickly-and-reduce-the- suffering-and-anxiety’ approach is wise,” Ramon debates. “The more time we spend going east on our current heading at ten knots, the more miles we make towards Wellington, rather than bearing away and making eight knots and heading south-east in an unfavourable direction.” The theory is sound. “In reality, we’ll just have to see what happens when the front arrives,” he adds. At 15:00 GMT on Thursday, Nannini and Ramon had extended their lead over Phesheya-Racing by 12 miles in 24 hours, leading their Akilaria Class40 sistership by 22 miles.

Meanwhile, on Cessna Citation, Conrad Colman was confused by the clear skies, flat sea and ten knots of breeze: “Ah, the Southern Ocean of legend,” he comments. “We had psyched ourselves up for a big blow, a heavy spinnaker run after we turned the corner of the ice gate to dive into the deep south were waves are as big as houses and dragons roam the uncharted waters,” says the 27 year-old New Zealander. “However, so far Mother Nature has been indifferent to our thrill-seeking and has instead turned out a pearler of a day.”