© María Muiña / MAPFRE
The Spanish boat crossed the finish line at 13:47:32 hours Spanish time after sailing the longest last few miles without any wind. “SCA” made the most out of this situation and crossed the finish line ahead of the Spaniards, who are already thinking about Leg 2.
After 27 days 47 minutes and 32 seconds of non-stop sailing, the Spanish boat “MAPFRE” finished today Friday the approximately 6487 miles (12,014 km) between Alicante and Cape Town (South Africa). The boat sailed across the Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Equator, the Doldrums and the cold Southern Ocean.
“MAPFRE” crossed the finish line at 13:47 Spanish time, under a blue sky, a strong heat and very little wind. The truth is that the approach to the finish line was for Spanish team, most probably, the longest miles during the whole leg. They had practically no wind and were stuck, while “SCA” kept sailing past with more wind finally crossing the finish line ahead of Iker Martínez’s crew.
“There was an exclusion zone by the cargo ships and we had to go either through one side or the other. We knew that if we went to one side, the girls would go the other way and that is what happened: we went to one side, and they to the other. We both ran out of wind but ‘SCA’ in the end had a bit more wind which was enough to pass us. We failed making that choice and we lost a point“, said the skipper Iker Martínez already on shore.
Visibly tired after 27 days at sea, the Spanish crew is already focused on the second leg, which will start in just 12 days: “We don’t have much time to prepare for the next leg and there is lots of work to do. So we have to make the most of this time onshore to get in better shape to the next leg” said Brazilian André Fonseca.
Meanwhile Xabi Fernández added that “the second leg is already in my head. It’s all about preparation and keep tuning up. You have to keep the positive aspects of this leg and we have learned a lot about the boat, the crew and ourselves. I think we are certainly more prepared for the next leg“.
Difficulties of the first leg
Iker Martínez recalled that the first leg is always very hard because it’s where the boats face the first problems, “but this time we’ve been pretty lucky because we had two problems that could have made us even stop and that we managed to solve” he revealed. “The first problem we had was that we weren’t able to use the motor and thus starting it and charge the batteries. We thought we might have to stop. At the very end, after putting a lot of time into it, we fixed it and it finally worked“.
There was also a scare with the sails, which could have been worse than what finally was, thanks to the skills of the crew: “The broken spinnaker stay cable could have been a very serious problem, but we saw it on time and we were able to lower the sail without it snapping it in half. Although that sail was unusable for the rest of the leg, we could save it for the rest of the competition. In an edition in which the number of sails is very limited it’s very important not to lose any. Not having that sail limited us in the tactical options, which in a leg where the ‘weather’ has been very difficult it’s always a handicap“.
Fruit, salad and a good beef steak
Once on shore the crew had their physical and blood tests done. “Although we still have to wait to receive the results, the questionnaires reveal nothing important or that needs to be taken under consideration. Some skin issues and minor contusions. The average weight loss was four kilos, with variations between each other but very similar to previous editions. Nothing to worry about since in this first leg is where more weight is lost”, declared Iñigo Losada, the head of the health department in the team.
And finally, the desired steak, fruit and salad. The crew of “MAPFRE” is already in Cape Town. Tomorrow is a new day at work (on shore).