A Tight Finish For Leg 2 Of The Ocean Race

Leg 2 of The Ocean Race reached an exciting conclusion as the three leaders crossed the finish line in Cape Town. After sailing the 4,600 nautical mile leg from Cabo Verde to the Mother City, the top three boats finished within just twenty five minutes of each other.

Team Holcim-PRB didn’t take the lead until they were ten nautical miles from the finish line, but they held their nerve in a tight finish with second-placed Biotherm and 11th Hour Racing Team in third place, hot on their heels. This leg win gives them two for two after their first place on Leg 1 from Alicante to Cabo Verde, and puts Kevin Escoffier’s team at the top of the leader board.

“Winning here in Cape Town was not easy. The last few days were unpredictable, but we’re really happy to have held on until the end, said Sam Goodchild, watch captain on Team Holcim-PRB.

On arrival at the dock, skipper of 11th Hour Racing Team, Charlie Enright said, “We are a little disappointed with a third place after 17 days, but the bigger picture to take home is that we sailed the boat fast and well, and I think that bodes well for the future. This race is a marathon and not a sprint, and we have a big double pointer coming up with Leg 3 through the Southern Ocean. The leaderboard doesn’t reflect what we would like it to reflect, certainly in terms of how we have sailed, but we are only 20% into the race. If we sail the boat as we have in the last leg from now until July, relative to the competition, we’ll be fine. This is an opportunity for resilience.”

It’s never over till it’s over

Setting off from Cabo Verde island of Sao Vicente the fleet raced south, crossed the light wind doldrums and the Equator. They then sailed deep south looking for the fastest, windiest route to the finish line off Cape Town. For seventeen days and nineteen hours of racing, at some point every boat held the lead.

Leading the fleet for much of the second half of Leg 2, Team Malizia were the northerly most boat as the leaders sailed north towards Cape Town. They lost the lead on the final morning before slipping down to finish the leg in fourth place. GUYOT environnement – Team Europe finished the leg in fifth place.

The fleet is currently undergoing maintenance work in Cape Town to get ready for the In-Port race on 24th February, and the start of Leg 3 from Cape Town to Itajaí on 26th February. This will be the longest leg in the race’s history,  a 12 750nm leg through the southern ocean.

Visit the Live Ocean Park at the V&A Waterfront. See the schedule of whats on.