It’s back to work on Monday (13 March) for the IMOCA sailors in The Ocean Race 2022-23.

Following record-breaking conditions on Saturday (11 March) and the Leg 3 scoring gate on Sunday (12 March), the workaday grind sets in again with Cape Horn still nearly two weeks away.

In case you missed it, on Saturday all four boats blasted past the existing 24-hour distance record for IMOCAs. Subject to ratification by the World Speed Sailing Record Council, the new mark is now held by Team Holcim-PRB, who topped out at 595.26 nautical miles, just a shade off the Race record of 602 nautical miles set by Team AkzoNobel in the last race.

The record-breaking runs were spurred on by highly motivated crews pushing each other hard towards the Leg 3 scoring gate as well as near-perfect winds and a relatively flat sea state.

On Sunday evening UTC, Kevin Escoffier’s Team Holcim-PRB would be first across the 143 degrees east longitude line, collecting another five points and expanding his lead on the points table.

“From the start in Cape Town to this scoring gate I think we’ve done very well to keep the other boats behind us,” Escoffier said. “We’ve also had an amazing 24-hour record. So I’m very happy with the boat, very happy with the crew…and I think we deserve to enjoy, but now it’s back to work.”

Team Malizia was able to sail past 11th Hour Racing Team in a close quarters racing on Sunday to grab second place and earn four points at the gate.

“I am so happy, so relieved that we managed to come away with second place,” said co-skipper Will Harris. “It has been such a fight to even still be in the race after having to fix the mast a week-and-a-half ago and not being sure we could continue, and now we are here crossing the line in second.

“This has been some of the closest offshore racing I have ever done; we crossed 11th Hour Racing within only 200 metres. It is a big relief that we have crossed the line second, we have proved our potential, I can sleep well tonight and then look forward to the Pacific. I am really so happy!”

On the other side of that result in close racing, 11th Hour Racing Team skipper Charlie Enright knew on Sunday he had his hands full trying to fend off Malizia: “These conditions really suit them [Malizia]. We’ve been doing a nice job, but it’s hard. We’ve been sailing for 5,000 miles and it’s going to come down to these last couple hundred.”

11th Hour Racing Team would collect three points at the gate to retain second place on the overall leaderboard, but now just a single point ahead of Malizia.

Fourth across the gate, for two points, was Biotherm — but nearly immediately, Paul Meilhat’s team vaulted back up the Leg 3 tracker rankings.

The team had been too far behind Malizia and 11th Hour Racing Team to engage in a match race for the scoring gate finish and was therefore able to take a longer tactical view, positioning themselves more favourably further to the south. As Malizia and 11th Hour Racing Team gybed after the gate to get to a similar southerly position, Biotherm was suddenly back in the game.

“We are a bit disappointed of course, as one day before the finish they both got in front of us,” Meilhat said. “But on the other side, we are learning a lot and improving our speed all the time. I always remember that we have been the last boat to launch and so we aren’t at the same level of preparation, so the positive thing is we have sailed across the Indian Ocean and now we have the Pacific ahead of us and this is why we do this race.“”

Meilhat went on to say the favourable wind conditions are forecast to last for a couple more days before the fleet bumps up against a high pressure system with much lighter conditions — the next speed bump on the way to Cape Horn.

A special Leg 3 scoring gate show is available on discovery+ and the Eurosport app in Ireland and other European territories.

Leg Three Rankings at 2000 UTC, 13 March

1. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 7,191.1 miles
2. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 100.8 miles
3. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 143.2 miles
4. Biotherm, distance to lead, 154.8 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

Two weeks after the start of The Ocean Race 2022-23’s third stage in Cape Town, skipper Kevin Escoffier and his crew mates on Team Holcim-PRB have collected maximum points, leading the IMOCA fleet through the Leg 3 scoring gate at 17:45:38 UTC on Sunday 12 March.

It’s been a profitable 24 hours for the team. In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Holcim-PRB crew established a (provisional) new 24-hour distance record for IMOCA at 595.26 nautical miles (1,102 km), obliterating the pre-race mark by 50 miles.

“The rhythm of these last hours of racing has been set by a big push to the scoring gate and this first set of points for leg 3,” Escoffier said in a French interview. “We built a big lead early this leg, but the others caught a favourable weather front and there was nearly a restart a few days ago.

“But we managed to hold on to a bit of a lead through it all, which we really wanted to keep for the scoring gate.

“Yesterday [Saturday] the sea state was manageable enough that the IMOCA speed records kept falling. For us, we are very happy to get the record even if that wasn’t the goal, but an objective towards the goal of leading at the scoring gate. We keep learning about this boat and finding ways to go faster and faster.”

By collecting five points at the scoring gate, Escoffier and his team remain perfect on the race leaderboard, and now sit on 15 points, following victories in Legs 1 and 2.

The race for second place at the gate is taking place 135 miles (about seven hours) back, where Boris Herrmann’s Team Malizia showed impressive pace on Sunday by steadily overhauling Charlie Enright’s 11th Hour Racing Team and building a slight, and steadily increasing, lead of nearly 10 miles.

“We have had some super-tight racing today,” said Malizia’s Will Harris, swinging his camera around to show the opposition as his team made the pass on Sunday. “We’ve just managed to overtake them. They’re absolutely flying, but luckily we’ve managed to go a little bit faster.”

Onboard Team Malizia overtaking 11th Hour Racing Team on Leg 3, Day 14 | Credit: Antoine Auriol/Team Malizia

Biotherm is a further 40 miles back having dropped behind on Saturday.

“After working our way through Biotherm last night it was Malizia’s turn to do the same to us this afternoon,” wrote media crew member Amory Ross on Sunday.

“They seem to be able to carry more sail and keep their bow up, presumably with the shape of their hull, and while we struggled in the waves to keep from nosediving they were able to sail at the same speed but lower. We watched as they sailed down to us, around our bow, and then continued on in a more southerly direction.”

After more than three days of relentless speed sailing at a record-breaking pace towards the scoring gate (every team beat the previous record by at least 30 miles), it is possible the crews will take a moment to check their equipment after collecting their points at the scoring longitude of 143-degrees east.

11th Hour Racing Team, for example, has two rudders to inspect for wear and tear and Team Malizia is barely a week removed from its impressive mast repair. Team Holcim-PRB and Biotherm are doubtlessly pushing their equipment outside operational norms as well.

As much as the scoring gate marks a milestone on the longest leg in the 50-year history of The Ocean Race, there are still over 7,500 nautical miles to go before the finish line at Itajaí, Brazil. Half of the points have been awarded, but the halfway point is still to come.

The ETA for Team Malizia and 11th Hour Racing Team at the scoring gate is 0100 UTC Monday morning (13 March) with Biotherm a further two-and-a-half hours back. The relentless race continues.

A special Leg 3 scoring gate show will be available on discovery+ and the Eurosport app in Ireland and other European territories on Monday.

Leg Three Rankings at 1900 UTC, 12 March

1. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 7,584.6 miles
2. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 132.1 miles
3. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 144.4 miles
4. Biotherm, distance to lead, 184.6 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

It’s been a record-breaking day in The Ocean Race as the four IMOCAs racing through the south are pressing hard to gain position — and points — at the Leg 3 scoring gate.

Conditions have certainly been favourable for making big mileage: long hours of daylight, a near perfect wind angle and speed (around 25 knots) and relatively flat water compared to normal Roaring 40s conditions.

At the start of this leg, the fully crewed 24-hour distance record for an IMOCA (officially ratified) was 539.71 nautical miles. Earlier this leg, 11th Hour Racing Team raised the stakes with a 544.63 mile day.

But overnight Friday night (10 March) and into Saturday morning (11 March), those marks have been obliterated by the entire fleet. All four boats have posted more than 572 miles in a 24-hour period.

11th Hour Racing Team set an early marker of 582 miles (and climbing), but on Saturday at 1240 UTC Team Holcim-PRB posted what appears to be the new standard at 588.71 nautical miles, although conditions are still favourable and there is a chance this could be pushed higher still.

(NB: All mileage numbers from this edition of The Ocean Race are from Race Control and subject to ratification from the World Speed Sailing Record Council.)

All of this comes as the fleet closes in on the Leg 3 scoring gate at 143 degrees east longitude, where a full complement of scoring points are on offer and leg leader Kevin Escoffier on Team Holcim-PRB is hoping to continue his perfect mark on the points table.

His lead has diminished massively — down from over 600 miles less than a week ago to as little as 130 miles this afternoon, but this number has stabilised over the past 24 hours as the team finds its pace.

“The 0400 UTC position report has just come in… We’ve been kind of short on speed over the last few position reports so we’ve been doing our best to find the next gear and match the other boats,” said Abby Ehler from a loud and fast Holcim-PRB boat early this morning.

“Now we just had a really good report and we’re almost 2-3 knots faster over the last hour so that’s good miles gained there.”

Behind the leaders, Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm crew appear to be significantly less secure in second place than they were on Friday. The chasing trio, which they still lead, have compressed to the point where they are separated by just 15 miles. There won’t be much sleep for those crews between now and the gate as every advantage will need to be pressed to maximise potential points.

Team Malizia has been battling to fix an issue where their J3 sail connects to the foredeck. This is important not just to utilise the sail, but as a load-bearing support for the mast. But judging from their speeds, they are not holding back.

The ETA at the scoring gate is now Sunday evening UTC (12 March).

Leg Three Rankings at 1900 UTC, 11 March

1. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 8,123.6 miles
2. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 151.9 miles
3. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 153.6 miles
4. Biotherm, distance to lead, 155.3 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

There has been more of the same in The Ocean Race on Friday (10 March), but in a good way. All four IMOCA teams are clicking down the miles, racing to the east in fast-reaching conditions.

The wind is up, the water is still (relatively) flat and the miles keep sliding away under the keel.

The fleet continues to compress slightly, closing the race up with the Leg 3 scoring gate fast approaching. The ETA is now Monday morning UTC (13 March).

There should be good, close racing for the next two-and-a-half days in the battle for points at the north/south scoring line running down 143-degrees east longitude.

“We are just at the end of the Indian Ocean, sailing below Cape Leeuwin in a little bit,” said Paul Meilhat on Biotherm, who continues to charge along in second place. “We are reaching just ahead of a front, with Team Malizia and 11th Hour Racing Team just behind us and Holcim-PRB about 100 miles in front of us.

“It depends on our speed, but when we are faster we are more in sunny conditions, and if we are slower we are in the rain and grey. It seems like we have a few days of this.”

Over the past 24 hours, Team Holcim-PRB has seen its lead continue to shrink, dropping another 60 miles or so. But skipper Kevin Escoffier remains just over 100 miles ahead and strongly positioned between the chasing trio, who are racing in a line directly behind and to the west, and the scoring gate straight ahead of him and nearly 1,300 miles to the east.

Further compression is likely. The light winds to the east continue to favour the trailing pack but there is a difference between closing the gap and making a pass, which may prove to be much more difficult.

Charlie Enright and his 11th Hour Racing Team continue to monitor the condition of their replacement rudder. The team released video last night describing the situation as it first developed earlier this week.

Meanwhile, in Cape Town, GUYOT environnement - Team Europe reports that work on their IMOCA hull is proceeding faster than expected.

After opening the hull in the delaminated area no further damage was discovered and repairs at the improvised construction site in Cape Town have progressed so quickly that the yacht is already being prepared for painting. The team is now planning to begin the delivery to Itajaí late next week.

“The repair has progressed really well,” skipper Benjamin Dutreux said. “The team did a very good, fast and strong job. The lamination work was completed this morning. Now a few more bumps will be filled and the laminated area will be in good shape, then the painters can start work.”

Leg Three Rankings at 1700 UTC, 10 March

1. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 8,767.2 miles
2. Biotherm, distance to lead, 116.4 miles
3. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 130.7 miles
4. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 139.3 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

It’s been a fantastic 48 hours on the race track for the trio of IMOCA boats chasing down the current Leg 3 leader in The Ocean Race 2022-23, Team Holcim-PRB.

Since 1500 UTC on Tuesday (7 March), second-placed Biotherm have gained nearly 250 nautical miles. The lead is still significant — at 170 miles — but certainly far less secure than earlier in the week.

The reason the gap is shrinking so significantly and quickly is certainly largely due to the weather patterns in the southern latitudes of the Roaring 40s.

Kevin Escoffier’s Holcim-PRB has essentially outrun the favourable weather system it had been enjoying and is now nosing against a ridge of high pressure with much lighter wind conditions.

There is nothing to do, and no other option, but to watch the rest of the fleet — still in stronger conditions — bring the wind forward with them. It should get closer yet as the boats approach the scoring gate, likely on Monday (13 March).

“This light spot has been perfect to check through the boat and sleep well, so it’s not bad,” Escoffier said. “We are used to [the fleet getting closer]. It’s all part of the game. We are used to racing in contact with the other boats from Leg 1 and 2 and we’ve been able to stay in front and I hope we can do the same here.”

On Biotherm, spirits are high as you would imagine. But Paul Meilhat’s team has also been experiencing slightly lighter conditions, while Team Malizia and 11th Hour Racing Team continue to make the best mileage, closing the gap and compressing the fleet with each hourly tracker update. It’s making for good, hard racing.

“Conditions are a bit variable and unpredictable today and just an extra two or three knots of windspeed can make a big difference,” Boris Herrmann told the international media on Thursday (9 March) during a conference call. “Being so close to 11th Hour Racing Team and Biotherm is a huge motivation. We’re trying to sail the boat at its best at all times and taking a lot of pleasure in the close racing.”

The current ETA for the Leg 3 scoring gate — a north/south line along 143-degrees east longitude — is noon UTC on Monday.

“It will be very close with Biotherm and 11th Hour Racing Team. Of course we would love to get there in second place but it really depends on the wind and weather,” Herrmann said. “But it should be close and very exciting.“”

“Being the trailing boat we have a little more pressure than the boats ahead,” said Simon Fisher from onboard 11th Hour Racing Team. “But basically the next few days is just reaching. The routing will want to take us down to the ice exclusion zone and there will be some wind shifts to manage, but it should be straightforward sailing for the next few days with flat water.”

Leg Three Rankings at 1800 UTC, 9 March

1. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 9,211.4 miles
2. Biotherm, distance to lead, 164.2 miles
3. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 188.2 miles
4. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 193.1 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

With all four teams in Leg 3 of The Ocean Race 2022-23 sailing deep into the Roaring 40s on Wednesday (8 March), the IMOCA fleet is finally in what the sailors would consider to be more typical Southern Ocean conditions, with strong winds from a series of low pressure systems propelling them relentlessly east.

The leader, Team Holcim-PRB, has made a dive to become the boat furthest to the south. This is because the team keeps nosing into lighter conditions ahead, something that has been a concern for skipper Kevin Escoffier for some days now. He has seen Biotherm slice nearly 100 miles off his lead over the past three days, and this is his best defence.

Escoffier and his crew have also struggled to find the right sail set-up for the conditions, with vibrant discussions taking place (in French) about how to proceed.

On Biotherm, the mood is lighter, as Sam Davies updates: “The wind has shifted to the north and we’ve gybed overnight and now we’re running just ahead of a front and the wind is going to build.

“We’ve been checking the boat and doing the little jobs that are impossible to do in stronger winds. We’re making the most of the smooth running conditions, where life on board is much easier to sleep and eat and make sure all the systems are working for the next week, because we’re going to be sending it on port all the way to Tasmania. The mood on board is as good as ever — I’m using my headphones to cancel out the sound of laughter from the cockpit!”

If you want to understand what ‘smooth running conditions’ look like, hop on board ‘Air Malizia’ — a drone video that has great visuals from the ‘champagne conditions’.

In contrast, it’s been a stressful time on 11th Hour Racing Team. After making repairs to two headsails, the team discovered damage to its rudders during a routine inspection.

Amory Ross takes up the story: “Jack [Bouttell] looked at the windward rudder — the one that’s out of the water — and found a crack. It was decent, from front to back, midway down on the outboard side. Then another nearer the top, much smaller, but also closer to the ‘root’, where the rudder meets the boat; a point of importance because losing the tip of a rudder is one thing but the whole rudder is another.

“Juju [Justine Mettraux] was quick to suggest checking the port rudder so down went the starboard rudder and up came the port. No long crack midway down, but a bigger one at the top in the same place as the starboard rudder.

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind since then, but here’s the summary. After taking our own onboard observations and conferring with our shore team plus the rudders’ designers in France, it was determined that the starboard rudder was the worse off of the two because of its second, longer crack. We chose to put our spare rudder in its place. So the starboard rudder came out, and the spare went in, all quite seamlessly…”

11th Hour Racing Team’s crew watch as the outer layers of carbon are ground away, displaying the true extent of the cracks in their rudders | Credit: Amory Ross/11th Hour Racing/The Ocean Race

The team has been powering along at pace all day Wednesday, a good sign that things on board are back to normal.

Look for the miles to melt away over the coming days, as the breeze comes on and the fleet charges east.

Leg Three Rankings at 1700 UTC, 8 March

1. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 9,489.3 miles
2. Biotherm, distance to lead, 371.1 miles
3. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 409.7.3 miles
4. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 439 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

It’s been an interesting day in The Ocean Race on Tuesday 7 March, with quick-moving weather making for a day of transitions in the southern latitudes.

The big winner over the past 24 hours is second-placed Biotherm, with the team gaining over 30 miles on Team Holcim-PRB.

At the other end of the spectrum, 11th Hour Racing Team appear to be in danger of dropping off the back of a weather system and are making a noticeable dive to the south, toward the southern edge of the race course defined by the ice exclusion zone.

A reduced sail wardrobe due to ongoing repairs has meant the team has struggled to hold on to the chasing IMOCA pack and stay in the same weather system.

According to the latest weather routing, the ETA at the first scoring gate is nearly a week away on 13 March. Incredibly, the routing shows compression in the fleet, with the teams arriving much closer together than they are today.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Dutreux’s GUYOT environnement - Team Europe have confirmed they will pull out of Leg 3 and focus on making repairs to their boat to be ready to rejoin the race in Itajaí, Brazil.

“The decision has been made. We had no choice,” skipper Dutreux said. “If we had resumed the third leg and sailed around the Southern Ocean to Itajaí, we would not have had time to prepare for the next leg. We would then have always been late on the other legs as well. In Itajaí, we still have 60 per cent of the race to go. We lose 20 per cent now, but then we will be ready for the remaining 60 per cent.”

After the non-destructive testing (NDT) of the yacht, no further damage was found apart from the delaminated area on the port side of the hull in the cabin area, but the repair will still take some time.

The current weather in Cape Town with wind and rain is not playing into the team’s cards. In order to be able to carry out the work, the yacht was placed on the cradles between the two team containers. Sheets were used to create a working area that was as protected from the rain as possible.

Before the delaminated area can be opened from the outside, the tech team around Thomas Cardrin reinforced the inner area with carbon laminate. On Wednesday (8 March), the outer carbon layer of the hull will be cut open and the Nomex core removed. The inner carbon layer will remain. The honeycomb structure will be replaced by a foam sandwich core, which will be glued in place on Thursday (9 March).

GUYOT environnement - Team Europe received great help from Team Holcim-PRB in procuring the foam board and carbon fibres, as the special materials required were not readily available in South Africa.

After gluing in the sandwich foam, the open area will be laminated again with carbon fibres on Friday morning (10 March). Filling, sanding and lacquering work should complete the process by Sunday (12 March) before the yacht is likely to be back in the water on Tuesday (14 March) next week.

“Meanwhile, the sailing team is preparing for the transfer and the next stages. We can’t intervene with the repairs, we have four experienced boat builders for that,” Dutreux says. In addition, a specialist from Holcim is assisting with the work.

“We are now planning the delivery and the next legs. The transfer to Itajaí will be made by part of the sailing crew and the technical team,” he adds.

Thomas Cardrin, head of the tech team at GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, said he expects the yacht to be back to 100 per cent load after the repairs.

Leg Three Rankings at 1900 UTC, 7 March

1. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 9,776.9 miles
2. Biotherm, distance to lead, 404.9 miles
3. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 506.3 miles
4. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 578.8 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

Waking up Monday (6 March) with a 470-plus nautical mile lead, one week into Leg 3 of The Ocean Race 2022-23, would appear to be an enviable position for Kevin Escoffier and his Team Holcim-PRB.

But the challenge of a big lead is in how best to cover your opposition, who are sailing in an entirely different weather system and have the benefit of seeing where you are.

Looking at the forecast, there is reason for optimism for the chasing trio of Biotherm, 11th Hour Racing Team and Team Malizia. And Escoffier, for one, isn’t too happy about it.

“If we don’t manage to catch the system ahead we’ll have to wait for the next one, which they will be coming with and we’ll have a restart,” he said in an interview in French. “In what other sport can you get such a big lead and lose everything in a few days and have to start all over again?”

Biotherm has gained around 50 miles in the last 24 hours, which feels impressive. Still, Paul Meilhat and his team would need to do that for nine more days just to draw level, so perhaps the situation isn’t as bad as Escoffier makes out.

A ridge is following the IMOCA fleet. If the chasing pack manage to stay in front of it, then they can likely close the gap considerably with Holcim-PRB. But should they fall off the back, and into the light airs, the lead will open up again.

11th Hour Racing Team’s Amory Ross writes about the conditions ahead: “…this low that’s just passed over us will eventually slide underneath another a big high in our path, and we’ll meet that high head on. It should bring another fleet compression…”

The American team is treading a careful path, exercising patience, with two headsails under repair and unavailable in the short term. And as the teams skirt the ice exclusion zone, the weather of the southern latitudes is starting to bite.

“It’s really cold,” said Biotherm’s Paul Meilhat. “When you go outside to adjust lines, the water is now very cold. It’s quite windy and the sea state is big.”

“It’s uncomfortable, not very easy to sleep,” said Will Harris on Team Malizia. “The wind goes from 15 to 25 in a few seconds so you have to be right there, ready to adjust sheets… We’re trying not to break the boat. I thought it would be more stable down here, but this is probably what I should have expected — it’s hard!”

Leg Three Rankings at 1800 UTC, 6 March

• 1. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 10,202.3 miles
• 2. Biotherm, distance to lead, 460.3 miles
• 3. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 517.2 miles
• 4. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 539.7 miles
• X. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, race suspended

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

Team Holcim-PRB continues to hold a 500-plus mile lead on Leg 3 of The Ocean Race 2022-23, but the pursuing pack of three is making small gains by pushing forward at record-breaking pace.

11th Hour Racing Team posted a 544.63 nautical mile run over the 24 hours ending in a period ending just after midnight early on Sunday (5 March). Should that figure be ratified by the World Speed Sailing Record Council (WSSRC) it would be a new certified record for the IMOCA class.

“It seems the final tally from midnight to midnight UTC, right up to the point we gybed, was 544 nautical miles and an average boatspeed of 22.7 knots, which — unofficially — would be good enough to beat the current standing 60-and-under monohull record for distance sailed in 24 hours, held by Alex Thompson on his IMOCA Hugo Boss,” writes Amory Ross from 11th Hour Racing Team.

“Typically, these records are set in the south Atlantic and the North Atlantic, but we’re excited to have been able to take advantage of a little fine fortune and mother natures’ red carpet, an a glorious day of sunny, fast sailing!”

With the potential record-breaking run, Charlie Enright’s team has pulled into a near dead heat with Biotherm for second place, with Team Malizia just 50 miles further back.

At the head of the fleet, on board Kevin Escoffier’s Holcim-PRB team, the crew has been working to fix a tear in their J2 headsail, applying a patch over the damaged material.

GUYOT environnement - Team Europe’s arrives in Cape Town for repair on in the early hours of Sunday 5 March | Credit: Felix Diemer/GUYOT environnement - Team Europe

“This morning we also noticed some damage to the leech line on the mainsail so we dropped the sail to fix that and now we are going to take advantage of the relatively flat sea state to work on the J2,” said Abby Ehler.

“It’s a really hard fix to do — Sam is trying to hold on, but it’s not ideal. Hopefully we get something on there that will at least stop the tear from getting bigger and then we’ll be back on our way.”

Also getting stuck in to the job list is the GUYOT envrionnement - Team Europe technical team, after their boat arrived in Cape Town overnight.

The boat will be hauled ashore and the damaged area will be examined and the rest of the hull will be subjected to non-destructive testing (NDT). After that, the repair plan can be designed.

“We want to join the fleet in Itajaí as soon as possible,” skipper Benjamin Dutreux said. “We are happy that the team was expecting us here. Everyone wants the boat back in the water as soon as possible. We now have to wait for the investigations and see how long the repairs will take.”

Leg Three Rankings at 1800 UTC, 5 March

1. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 10,630.5 miles
2. Biotherm, distance to lead, 513.2 miles
3. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 519.4 miles
4. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 571.2 miles
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, race suspended

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

As Team Holcim-PRB continues to set the standard in Leg 3 of The Ocean Race 2022-23, racing at speed towards the first scoring gate at 143 degrees east longitude, three other IMOCA boats are — finally — in fast pursuit as of Saturday 4 March.

Biotherm, 11th Hour Racing Team and Team Malizia needed to dive as far south as the edge of the ice exclusion zone to find the wind, but now they’re in it and making miles to the east.

“We have good conditions, flat sea state,“” said Nico Lunven from on board Team Malizia. “It’s very nice sailing. We have 22-24 knots of wind from the northwest, nice and fast sailing conditions.

“The goal is to move as fast as we can to the east. Tomorrow morning [Sunday 5 March] we will be caught by a cold front, coming from behind, so we’ll have a transition [and the wind will shift south] for a few days.”

Writing from 11th Hour Racing Team’s IMOCA Malama, OBR Amory Ross said: “The bow is finally pointed east and boat speeds are finally in excess of 20. Our five minute average is… double checking… 26 knots, and I might say a very pleasant 26.

“The sea is relatively flat for the Southern Ocean and the temps are relatively warm for the Southern Ocean, but I say this knowing our date with the corner of the ice exclusion zone, about 10 miles to our south and 440 miles east of here will bring a right hand turn and a dive into the extremes we know are not always so comfortable.”

The three chasing IMOCAs are much further south than the leader, and skirting the ice exclusion zone near 45 degrees south latitude, while Kevin Escoffier’s Holcim-PRB team are over 400 miles north, still holding on to that original weather system that’s allowed them to escape to a near 550-mile lead.

But at some point, they too will have to come south and that could present an opportunity for the chasing pack, as it will be Escoffier’s turn to bump up against an area of lighter winds.

Over the course of the next week, the fleet is forecast to compress much more tightly again. Until then, it will be fast sailing along the southern boundary of the race course.

Meanwhile, away to the north, GUYOT environnement - Team Europe is closing in on Cape Town, with an ETA of Saturday night. The mast and boat will be hauled out on Sunday, weather permitting, and work to repair the damaged structure will begin immediately.

Leg Three Rankings at 1900 UTC, 4 March

1. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 11,056.8 miles
2. Biotherm, distance to lead, 531.4 miles
3. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 545.5 miles
4. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 582.1 miles
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, race suspended

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.