Less than 200 miles to go

Barclays Adventure holds narrow lead on Vaio in first leg of Global Challenge

There are less than 200 miles to go in the first leg of the Global Challenge and the race is on between the youngest skipper, 28-year old Stuart Jackson aboard Barclays Adventurer and the oldest skipper, 49-year-old Amedeo Sorrentino on VAIO.

In 1st and 2nd place respectively, the two are locked in an intense head to head contest - set to last all the way to the finish line.

Barclays Adventurer reported rounding the waypoint that marks the turn into the River Plate this afternoon. Not long after, Amedeo called in for an audio interview and was excited to report that they have Barclays Adventurer in their sights after turning into the river themselves. “I tell you it’s very exciting,” said Amedeo, “after 6000 miles we are in a match race again.”

Wind conditions have changed dramatically in the past few hours with both BP Explorer and VAIO reporting a 180 degree wind shift from North-East to the South – meaning the crews have had to perform hasty spinnaker drops to prepare to battle up-wind again.

John Bass, aboard BP Explorer described the changing conditions in his daily log:

“This morning we crossed a final hurdle – a low-pressure trough separating a north-easterly wind from a southerly that should take us to Buenos Aires. The gust front, when it does come, comes quickly. Rain lashes down and the wind rises dramatically, sometimes gusting up to 40 knots. Headsails go up, the kite comes down amid urgent shouting and frantic pulling. We are on the wind and the breeze has shifted all the way south.”

If the southerly wind persists the yachts should be on a tight reach right up to the finish line outside Buenos Aires. However, as the yachts pass the waypoint 15 miles south of Punta del Este, the southern-most point of Uruguay, their next obstacle will be navigating the shallow waters of the River Plate.

With numerous obstructions lurking underwater, shipping to avoid and tidal stream anomalies to contend with, the leaders will be only too aware that any mistakes at this stage could cost them dearly.

Behind the leading pair, 4 of the most experienced skippers in the fleet, in terms of big boat racing, are chasing the younger, relatively inexperienced racer Matt Riddell and the crew of Samsung, currently lying in 3rd. The skippers of BP Explorer, BG SPIRIT, Spirit of Sark and SAIC La Jolla in 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th respectively, have over 80 years of race-skipper experience between them.

Some of them may have lost ground by concentrating on each other’s performance and shadowing teams they saw as their fiercest competition. David Melville, skipper of BP Explorer, filed a log on 13 October which started to explain their course through the Canary Islands:

“We have always really rated BG SPIRIT and Spirit of Sark and so in a kind of fixed mindset I decided to go that way - it was something of a gamble and required going between Gran Canaria and Tenerife (at this point experienced sailors roll their eyes)."

In an audio interview on the same day David gave a candid assessment of the gamble:

“The one time I did get overly interested in what BG SPIRIT and Spirit of Sark were doing, because I do rate them as sailing boats, I got dragged into a place I didn’t want to be, so there’s a salutary lesson there.”

However, on the 32nd day of racing every team has the same goal – to carve out the fastest route to the finish line. The battle for the River Plate, and ultimately the 1st leg, has begun.

The lead yachts are expected to arrive in Buenos Aires to a heroes welcome at approximately 0900 local time in Argetina.