The Ocean Race 2023 leg 3: Capetown to Itajaí, Brazil

[3to1]

Epic Shot! Congrats Malizia!

View attachment 582274

that whole front half of that hull just looks stable, fast. overall volume looks perfect for the task at hand.

must be a serious relief getting around The Horn relatively intact. that high IEZ helped a lot, this was a Disney version of a Southern Ocean transit.

 

[Fiji Bitter]

I remember Boris being one of the most communicative sailors in the Vendee Globe as well.
As a result he inspired someone else to buy a Pogo 40S4 to be used by two young sailors (Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink) from the Mini-Series (in German):

Listening to the video during a big thunder squall here, I understood that Malizia actually bought the Pogo, and then chartered her to the 2 youngsters. Pretty nice way to bring in future crew, and wouldn't be surprised to see them in the next TOR.

 

[landratte]

There is a photo of them all on the boom and Nico is the only one without his hands in the air.

Watch out sailors where you keep your hands! It's the sailing anarchy blue-blood-tabloid interpreting your every move ;-)

 

[Swanno]

Watch out sailors where you keep your hands! It's the sailing anarchy blue-blood-tabloid interpreting your every move ;-)

Stay tuned for what I found in the trash last tuesday!

 

[landratte]

Listening to the video during a big thunder squall here, I understood that Malizia actually bought the Pogo, and then chartered her to the 2 youngsters. Pretty nice way to bring in future crew, and wouldn't be surprised to see them in the next TOR.

No connection to Team Malizia (so far). The boat was bought by Joachim Wünning, who was inspired by Boris Hermann's story, who also was backed by someone who bought the first Malizia for him.
Nonetheless a great story, those guys are to watch out for - Melwin did great in the Minitransat.

 

[Herman]

Sounds like they should have had her shift bunks for the gybe.

It's a long way to fall from the high side.

What gybe? Team Malizia did not gybe on the 26th. Check the tracker pls.

"At around 0900 UTC on 26th March Rosalin Kuiper suffered a head injury after she fell from her bunk when the boat turned and slammed unexpectedly in heavy sea conditions."

Team Malizia's Rosalin Kuiper suffers a head injury near Cape Horn - she is conscious, stable and recovering

Team Malizia

www.theoceanrace.com

 

[Goodvibes]

Have to say that I have not had so much fun following an ocean race as I have with this one. The entire TM thing has been so interesting. Particularly compared to the other boats.

Even the psychologist Rosie using her trade to look after the depressed OBR was a revelation.

 

[Goodvibes]

What gybe? Team Malizia did not gybe on the 26th. Check the tracker pls.

"At around 0900 UTC on 26th March Rosalin Kuiper suffered a head injury after she fell from her bunk when the boat turned and slammed unexpectedly in heavy sea conditions."

Team Malizia's Rosalin Kuiper suffers a head injury near Cape Horn - she is conscious, stable and recovering

Team Malizia

www.theoceanrace.com

Ok, I was wrong. Just checked the video.

 

[tiljim]

Holcim was down to 9sm but is now back to 32sm and probably growing.

 

[yl75]

Yeah, we need that 3D Tracker back! I've already contacted TOR on this but no response.

Geovoile just added the spherical projection !
At least on this link :

The Ocean Race 2023

I guess the geovoile guy reads this thread and it is a better medium for requests ..
The windy or squid wind layup doesn't work on it though.
And really late in the game for this leg where it was the most required.

But the ruler disappeared again (on the plan projection)
And just noticed that Guyot can also be seen on the tracker, they will clearly be in Itajai before the winner of this leg.
(which will be HPRB )

 

[despacio avenue]

Holcim was down to 9sm but is now back to 32sm and probably growing.

Yes, and sailing slower than TM too. Wonder if there is an issue....

 

[Broadside]

Looking forward to seeing the latest routings from Herman and co.
Does it look like the 11thHour and Biotherm have an opportunity to close up over the next day or two?

 

[ET1]

This is from Malizia at the moment

 

[LeoV]

Geovoile just added the spherical projection !

Been there for weeks already.

We got a race on, nice.

 

[winchfodder]

Partly maybe because we hear from him so often in the onboard videos, the most impressive communicator for me in the race so far is Will Harris on Malizia.

He explains everything in a clear and simple way and keeps smiling all the time.

Most impressive is his technical ability understanding the systems and how to keep the IMOCA 60's sailing fast.

I have noticed, more than any other video of all the boats, that Will (and Rosalin occasionally) is continually driving the autopilot, even as he talks to the camera.

It looks like success in the foiling 60's is monitoring and adjusting the way the autopilot is reacting to changes in wind speed, wind direction, boat speed, boat heel and course all the time, especially when surfing down the waves.

The idea that sailing an IMOCA around the world with an autopilot as opposed to hand steering the VOR 65's and 70's is a bit of doddle is certainly not the case.

Instead the top boats we see in the videos have one crew permanently minutely adjusting the autopilot. I know they are clever machines, and I am not sure exactly what Will is adjusting, hopefully he will tell all.

I remember Will led an excellent walk through Malizia before the start with Matt Sheahan on Planet Sail talking through the systems.

If I was the new Hugo Boss looking to sponsor a new skipper for the next Vendee Will Harris would be my favourite choice.

 

[Herman]

Weather routing March 28th
No luck with ASCAT today. So let’s have look at the sat images and the Brazilian Navy synoptic chart.

Pic 1 Sat IR color 0635Z

Pic 2 Sat IR color 0635Z and GFS wind and pressure. Stuff seems to match.

Pic 3 synoptic chart 00Z

Pic 4 synoptic chart 00Z and GFS wind and pressure

At the moment and in the coming days a lot of very dynamic weather stuff is projected. Harder to capture for the models.

So Team Malizia and Holcim-PRB are enjoying the elevator ride north as predicted yesterday. While 11th Hour Racing has +/- 100 nm to go to Cape Horn and Biotherm +/- 140 nm as the bird flies.

The LP with 40-45 kts wind speed will move quickly to the SE is predicted, TM already reporting less winds +/- 35 kts atm. With the LP moving away the wind speed will steadily go down until the evening. But the first 2 boats are not out of the woods yet.

Looking forward to March 29th, another LP is projected to start developing on the Argentinian coast. And is projected by GFS to move quickly east on the 29th across the path of the first 2 boats. Some wind barbs with 50 kts. That would be a force 10 and a storm. Sig waves (WW3) up to 5 meters at the nucleus of the LP. If boats want to play it safe they could slow down a bit, but then they would miss the 2nd elevator north.

Pic 5 March 29th 0645Z GFS

Pic 6 March 29th 1345Z GFS

But as usual the weather models don’t agree on this LP. The latest ECWMF GRIB file has TM take a 100 nm more western routing accordingly. Further down the road the ECMWF wx routing completely derails though and TM falls from the flat earth.

Pic 7 March 29th 0545Z ECMWF

Looking forward to March 30th, a HP zone is projected to develop forcing TM to gybe.

For whatever reasons I was not able to projected Holcim-PRB. Will try again tomorrow. They are very close (+/- 32 nm) behind Team Malizia. The other boats are still trying to get to CH, will route them later when they are past that.

With ECMWF longer term routing gone AWOL and GFS maybe not accurate I do not post the Wx table.

For Team Malizia the GFS ETA is 4 and a half days sailing and an ETA on April 1st in the evening.

ETA Guyot March 30th in the evening.

We won't get bored in the last days of this leg with so much stuff going on.

 

[Herman]

Does it look like the 11thHour and Biotherm have an opportunity to close up over the next day or two?

That is not very realistic. I would give that a 5% probability.

 

[noaano]

But the ruler disappeared again (on the plan projection)

Try enlarging the window. It is there.

And just noticed that Guyot can also be seen on the tracker

Its been there since they left CT.

 

[noaano]

If I was the new Hugo Boss looking to sponsor a new skipper for the next Vendee Will Harris would be my favourite choice.

It would/will be an interesting "race", for next Alex - Between Will, Boris and Rosalin

 

[Fiji Bitter]

Did we see this Niall show yet?
Quite a few bits of it, but interview with Bouwe Bekking and Will talking with Rosalin were new for me.

Bouwe is with 8 nearly complete races the all time legend. And also a very good skipper/team leader, and a very decent person as well. He never won it though, and after the last race, were he just missed an overall win, I asked him if he would rather have sailed and won just 1 race, instead of sailed 8 and not win any, and his answer was that doing the race was the most important to him. A manifestation of a true sportsman.

Rosalin still a bit quiet, and later in the Kaap Hoorn interview she said that she still had a terrible headache. Dunno, but shouldn't she be wearing sunglasses, and also stay more quiet? Anyway, it also clearly shows that there is only a lifting/canting pipe cot, but no leecloth. Obviously a bad shortcoming.