80 year old architect leads on handicap

An update from the Heineken Cape to Bahia yacht race

80-year old Gawie Fagan, a Cape Town architect and veteran of the South Atlantic Race, maintains his handicap lead in the Heineken Cape to Bahia yacht race which started in Cape Town on 4 January. Putting in an amazing sailing performance, Fagan and his crew of three on board the 29-foot Suidoos2 continues to astound with their speed averaging just under 10 knots the past 24-hours.

Rob Meek on board the yacht Windsong had a particularly good day covering a distance of 273 nautical miles at an average speed of over 11 knots. This has catapulted them into second place on handicap and shows the combined experience of the crew.

Navigator Wolf Seitz is no newcomer to the race and actually put in a show-stopping performance when he took handicap honours in the 2003 race on board the yacht Baleka. Seitz reported that the conditions on board are very cramped: “Everything is sopping wet and we’ve been working really hard. We’re all very tired and desperately in need of sleep. We had prepared food for the first two days and only got around to cooking our first meal on Friday afternoon. It was roast leg of lamb with potatoes and veggies. This probably sounds very exotic until you realise that it’s all freeze-dried.

Auto Atlantic Thunderchild has moved to third position on handicap with John Martin and his navy crew on MTU Fascination of Power in fourth place. After three days of sailing in big swells, lots of wind and no sleep, Martin reported their first gentle night at sea: “The swells are now down to only two metres and the wind has subsided enough to allow us to fix some leaks and catch up on some much needed sleep. The repairs are holding well and spirits on board are high." Martin should be quite happy with his move up the handicap rankings as he was expecting a drop down the leader board after they experienced rudder problems earlier.

The battle in the multihull class is still being led by the huge catamaran Adrenalina Pura, who is heading for Salvador at speeds averaging over 14 knots. She is followed by Australian Neville Stanford on board Blithe Spirit. The Australians almost saw their trans-Atlantic dreams scuttled when the boat sustained damage to her hull a mere hour before the start of the race.

Positions by DTF:

Pos	Boat	Type	Skipper	Class	Lat			Long			DTF	Spd
1	ADRENALINA PURA	Multi Cat	G Ehrensperger/D Wright	SAM	24	40.0	S	1	19.0	E	2359	14.77
2	AUTO ATLANTIC THUNDERCHILD	L52	Rhett & Glen Goldswain	IRC 1	27	28.0	S	6	20.0	E	2654	10.88
3	WINDSONG	Wind Song 37	Rob Meek	IRC 1	25	50.0	S	6	53.0	E	2668	11.40
4	OMNIMED SEGUE	Atlantic 55	Russell Vollmer	SAM	28	36.0	S	7	26.0	E	2723	8.81
5	UNZIPPED	Pacer 42 Club	TBA	IRC 1	29	1.3	S	7	26.1	E	2728	8.85
6	MTU FASCINATION OF POWER	Fast 42	John Martin	IRC 1	28	0.0	S	7	40.0	E	2729	9.34
7	GUMPTION	Fast 40	Nicholas Mace	IRC 1	28	2.0	S	7	40.0	E	2729	8.62
8	BLITHE SPIRIT	Hamilex 12m	Neville Stanford	SAM	28	59.0	S	7	33.0	E	2733	9.48
9	GILLY B	First 47.7	Mike Bartholomew	IRC 1	29	1.0	S	7	43.0	E	2742	8.86
10	SUIDOOS II	RCOD	Gawie Fagan	IRC 2	28	3.0	S	8	2.0	E	2749	9.11
11	DEVONVALE BROADREACH	L35 Mod	JJ Provoyeur	IRC 1	28	46.7	S	8	3.0	E	2757	7.87
12	ADMIRAL EXPLORER	Admiral 50	David Bird	SARR	28	25.0	S	8	18.0	E	2766	9.65
13	MAMELIE	Vrolijk/Lutje	Jakob Leverkus	IRC 2	28	33.4	S	8	28.7	E	2777	9.05
14	UNLEASHED	Leisure 42	Dale Promnitz	IRC 1	27	58.0	S	8	36.0	E	2778	8.89
15	MAESTRO	Fast 42	A Roux / P van As	IRC 2	29	7.0	S	8	27.8	E	2782	17.17
16	TRUE STAR	Leopard 40	Barry Kleu	SARR	29	35.0	S	8	46.0	E	2803	7.65
17	PROMOTO IMPEX	Farr 38	Piet Scheepers	IRC 2	28	43.0	S	9	24.0	E	2826	7.86
18	ALLEYCAT	Island Spirit 39	Allan Whitley	SARR	29	55.0	S	9	14.0	E	2830	7.31
19	AFRICAN RENAISSANCE	Farr 40	W B'horst/D Blan'berg	IRC 2	29	36.0	S	9	20.0	E	2832	7.45
20	HOCUSPOCUS	Farr 38	Dale Kushner	IRC 2	30	7.0	S	9	21.0	E	2838	7.33
21	ARGONAUT	Stadt 47	Ian McDonald	IRC 2	30	48.0	S	9	30.0	E	2853	6.88
22	ISLAND FLING	Island Spirit 39	Des Elliott	SARR	29	36.0	S	10	11.0	E	2876	7.08
23	TWO OCEANS	Maxim 380	FS Moolman	SARR	27	58.0	S	10	32.0	E	2879	7.82
24	UKELELE LADY	Sheerwater 39	Nick Marvin	SARR	30	23.0	S	10	49.0	E	2916	6.74
25	DREAM	Wildcat Mk1	John Morley	SARR	30	54.0	S	11	58.0	E	2980	4.85
26	AMJADA	Leopard 40	Euguene Maritz	SARR	31	43.0	S	12	33.0	E	3017	0.00
27	CREAN	Mini Transat	Richard Smurthwaite	Mini	30	24.0	S	14	30.0	E	3104	0.00
28	HI-FIDELITY	Welbourn 46	E de Villiers / A Dawson	IRC 1	32	40.0	S	17	10.0	E	3258	2.20
29	FEDERICO	Mini Transat	Rodrigo Cella	Mini	33	53.5	S	18	25.7	E	3330	0.00