Only three sailors are racing for the finish in the solo round-the-world Golden Globe Race, and it’s getting really close! Who will be the first to cross the finish line in Les Sables d’Olonne? Who will win this incredibly disputed GGR 2022? Who will dare make a prediction on those questions? One thing is for sure; it won’t be the team at the Race Office!
"We have always said that Kirsten Neuschäfer needed to build a big gap in the Southern Ocean where Minnehaha’s power makes for incredible daily distances. Despite a 650-mile gap in the southern Atlantic that made a come-back from Abhilash seem doubtful at the time, here we are! The two leaders are now battling it out in the doldrums, with less than 300 miles difference between the nimble Rustler Bayanat and the heavier Minnehaha", says race founder Don McIntyre.
Kirsten and Abhilash have not talked on the HF radio for weeks, and Kirsten, unaware of Abhilash’s position, is chasing an imaginary leader. She is quite despondent and thinks she has made too many mistakes which she shared on her weekly call.
In reality, she has been leading for the last month! Abhilash Tomy (IND) knows Kirsten is in the lead but ignores where she is exactly. But make no mistake; he is racing! All is well on Bayanat, and Abhilash thoroughly enjoys his uneventful sailing, as he shared in his weekly call. He is busy sailing, collected another 100 litres of water, topping all tanks on Bayanat, and finally has leisure time, namely French literature and a (long) tale of revenge: The Count of Monte-Cristo!
"I haven’t found the trades at all ever since I’ve been in that high, with the wind coming from all directions but saw nothing consistent with a south-easterly trade, that’s for sure. It’s pretty hot in here, especially when there’s no wind, and it’s been raining all day, which is a bit unusual. I probably haven’t been east enough, but I don’t know since I have zero weather information. If I weren’t in a race, I wouldn’t be frustrated, but I am racing."
Both sailors now have equal weather information: Bayanat has no weather fax installed and Abhilash does not receive Peter Mott’s New Zealand HF weather forecast, while Kirsten recently stopped receiving faxes from Chile and Passage Guardians bulletins relays. Abhilash decided to sail the shorter course, relying on coastal traffic for weather information, while Kirsten is taking an option 550 miles to the east of him based on historical data.
Both boats were involved in the Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) rescue four months ago, and received time and/or fuel compensation to be calculated after docking in Les Sables d’Olonne. Abhilash was awarded a 12-hour compensation for diverting course before being relieved from the rescue effort by the GGR Crisis Management Team and MRCC Cape Town. However, he has lost some diesel through a leak and will be penalised 2 hours for any litre over the 25-litre allowance. Kirsten has been awarded a 35-hour compensation for her rescue and transfer aboard the M.V. Darya Gayatri and a 30-litre fuel allowance for engine use. Every litre of fuel consumed gives the entrant a two-hour time penalty.
2022 GGR entrants to date current positions:
1. Kirsten Neuschäfer (39) / South Africa / Cape George 36 - "MINNEHAHA"
2. Abhilash Tomy (43) / India / Rustler 36 - "BAYANAT"
3. Michael Guggenberger (44) / Austria / Biscay 36 - "NURI"
2022 GGR Chichester Class:
1. Simon Curwen (63) / UK / Biscay 36 - "CLARA"
2. Jeremy Bagshaw (59) / South Africa / OE32 - "OLLEANNA"
3. Ian Herbert Jones (52) / UK / Tradewind 35 - "PUFFIN"
2022 GGR Retired:
1. Edward Walentynowicz, (Canada), Rustler 36, Noah’s Jest
2. Guy deBoer, (USA), Tashiba 36, Spirit
3. Mark Sinclair (Australia), Lello 34, Coconut
4. Pat Lawless, (Ireland), Saltram Saga 36, Green Rebel
5. Damien Guillou, (France), Rustler 36, PRB
6. Ertan Beskardes, (UK), Rustler 36, Lazy Otter
7. Tapio Lehtinen, (Finland), Gaia 36, Asteria
8. Arnaud Gaist, (France), Barbican 33 Mk 2, Hermes Phoning
9. Elliot Smith, (USA), Gale Force 34, Second Wind
10. Guy Waites (UK), Tradewind 35, Sagarmatha
