Suidoos 2 still ahead

An update from the Heineken Cape to Bahia Race

After a day of radio silence, Gawie Fagan on Suidoos 2 reported his position this morning to confirm that he still leads the handicap race in the Heineken Cape to Bahia yacht race. A great day of sailing, the 37ft, super-light Windsong has however reduced the lead on handicap to just over three hours.

Skipper Rob Meek and his crew covered 226 nautical miles averaging 9.4 knots during the past 24 hours. According to Race Secretary Eric Wells, Windsong is currently really well-placed in the existing weather conditions and on a more westerly course. “I would, however, keep a close watch on Nicholas Mace of Polo Sport Gumption as they might be on a flyer and if they strike stronger winds, there might be an exciting challenge on the cards. Gumption was the only other monohull to cover a similar distance (225 nm) at a similar speed to that of Windsong,” stated Wells.

Polo Sport Gumption started on a more northerly course earlier this week and is still going north. Although they are on virtually the same latitude as Windsong, they are still further to the east and a sudden wind change could cause quite a battle. Gauteng businessman Mace predicted prior to the start of the race that he’ll take a more northerly route and then try to slingshot into Salvador.

John Martin and his naval crew on board MTU Fascination of Power remains in third position on handicap with Auto Atlantic Thunderchild in fourth. The double-handed entry Devonvale Broadreach with JJ Provoyeur and Anthony Spillebeen on board has moved up two positions in the rankings into the fifth position on handicap. Earlier this week, they decided on a more northerly course similar to that of Gumption, which saw them dropping down to seventh place.

In an e-mail by Spillebeen, he confessed their initial disappointment with their tactics to sail a more northerly course, but this was soon remedied. “We met good steady breeze and have just come off a potential 230 mile straight line day, which has been an awesome experience even if the desired effect on the overall position is not there. We were flying along, chatting, snacking and dealing with a humungous squall. The predawn was awesome with Provs (Provoyeur) at his vintage best, bottom lip tucked in and head cocked. With an average wind speed of 15 knots, we never dropped below 9 knots,” wrote Spillebeen.