© María Muiña / MAPFRE
“MAPFRE” has already covered more than half of the second leg between South Africa and Abu Dhabi, but there is much still to be faced.
We’ll have to wait to see the final outcome of “MAPFRE’s” bet towards the east but it ain’t over till the fat lady sings. Ahead, there will be several difficult steps which can result into large differences. Skipper Iker Martínez explained: “First, crossing the Equator and then, further north, another area where it’s forecasted not much wind. After that we will still have 1500 miles to go… Wow, there is still lots to go!”
November 21st: 517.38 miles in 24 hours
After passing the Agulhas current “MAPFRE” went back to sailing great speeds and it became a cocktail shaker.
With the extreme conditions of the Indian Ocean and strong winds, “MAPFRE” presented his candidacy for the IWC Schaffhausen Speed Record Challenge, after achieving the highest record since leaving Cape Town: 517.38 miles in 24 hours. A mark that today still holds the Spanish boat.
Negotiating the transition towards the South Trade Winds
After six days of racing with “MAPFRE” leading, the fleet separated slightly to overcome the Trade Winds: three different tactical bets (West, East and in between) with the majority going towards the East.
“MAPFRE” set the pace of a group of five boats who had decided to be further east. The wind kept blowing and the boats sailing upwind. During the night the wind was over 23 knots with gusts of almost 30, showers and continuous sail changes. Tack after tack, the Spaniards defended their position on their way to Abu Dhabi. On November 25th they were second, just five miles behind the leader.
Leaders for three days and cyclone that was finally just a storm
On Thursday, November 27th, at 16:00 UTC “MAPFRE” retook the lead of Leg 2, after holding the lead for 14 hours the day before.
In an again compressed fleet, the Spaniards pushed without losing their minds: “The fleet is very close and everything can change in a moment so we can’t relax. There are still lots to go and we have to keep fighting”, warned Spanish Ñeti Cuervas-Mons.
After days talking about the possibility of facing a cyclone, it finally was just a tropical storm. Saturday dawned and in the Spanish boat the crew was breathing calmly after a fantastic night of sailing downwind and surfing over the waves. It was the last wet stretch before the Equator.
The islands of Reunion and Mauritius were definitely left behind and as the fleet moved north the Doldrums approached. The wind started to lose its strength, and the distance between the boats ahead too. “MAPFRE” kept leading for the third consecutive day.
Surprising bet for the East
In the early stages of Sunday the 30th, “MAPFRE” made a decision that surprised everyone: to go solo towards the east away from a fleet yet shocked from what happened to the “Vestas” crew, who was rescued from their boat after running aground on a reef in the Indian Ocean.
“MAPFRE’s” navigator, Jean-Luc Nélias, explained their decision and gave a heads up that the result would be eight or nine days away, not right away: “We’re going east again trying to catch the new trade winds which is starting to build again. We think that the east is also the best place to cross the two Indian Doldrums, passing near the Chagos Archipelago, so we decided to change course and separate from the fleet. We are going towards the East, trying to catch the trade winds”.
On Tuesday, December 2nd, after nearly three days sailing towards the east, skipper Iker Martinez announced that they had finally found the trade winds there were seeking. “MAPFRE” keeps cutting miles to the leader and has gone from sixth to fourth in six hours. It seems that they are slowly beginning to profit from its commitment to the East.