Highlights from the final week of the opening leg and a chance for some extreme golf
Barring a disaster in the closing few miles to the finish in Cape Town, Telefonica look likely to win a leg that they have dominated since taking their bold decision to head west three weeks ago.
With Puma out of the race, it was Camper who were on the charge in second place as they tried to haul in the leaders. Having to slow down to repair a crew member and then stopping to remove a fishing net from the keel didn’t help.
Here’s their video summary of a busy week as they head towards the finish in Cape Town.
Telefonica, who at one point were averaging 21 knots as the closed in on Cape Town, continue to dominate this leg and are expected to finish on Saturday afternoon local time.
Camper is expected 12 hours after the leaders, crossing the line at around 0300 UTC on Sunday morning. Groupama is expected to finish on Monday.
Meanwhile, as the front three boats prepare to cross the finish line, Puma have arrived in the tiny volcanic island of Tristan Da Cunha, as they wait for their ship to take the boat to Cape Town.
“Today we get off the boat,” PUMA’s media man Amory Ross wrote in his latest dispatch from Mar Mostro. “It may seem like a minor step towards our return to Cape Town, but it has taken an incredible effort for us just to get this far. Tristan de Cunha will offer some much needed rest, refuge, and recovery, and we’re all looking forward to being distracted for a few days before the freighter arrives from Cape Town. There is no shortage of work to do, but we got a good start over the last few days and everyone’s in agreement that it would be healthy to take some time away from this thing while we can afford it.
“We were in touch with the Tristan residents for much of yesterday and they are really excited for our arrival. We already have some lobster dinners lined up, a round of golf on the worlds most remote course (hazard = cow), fishing trips, volcano hikes…our schedule is full. If we could physically step off the boat onto land, which we can’t (anchor and a water ferry), we’d be stepping onto a regal red carpet.
“It is safe to say we’d all rather be headed towards Cape Town-everyone wants to get started on repairs and stepping the new rig-but this is the hand we’ve been dealt and for the time being we’re trying to do our very best to make the most of it. Our week here is going to be an experience nobody will ever forget, and we’re all planning on taking advantage of it as such.
“But can we make the start? Yes.
“Will we make the start? Don’t know, not yet.
“You can be very sure though that we won’t stop trying.”