CORUM L'Épargne (IMOCA) and The Austrian Ocean Race Project (VO65) win Leg One of The Ocean Race Europe
The opening leg of The Ocean Race Europe came to a nail-biting conclusion today in Cascais, Portugal with the winners in both the VO65 and IMOCA 60 classes decided only in the last few moments of the four-day passage from Lorient, France.
A thrilling finish in the one design VO65 class saw The Austrian Ocean Race Project, skippered by Gerwin Jansen (NED), pull off a remarkable come-from-behind victory to edge out Rokas Milevičius’ Lithuanian entry Ambersail-2 by just six seconds.
“It’s crazy that we won this super-intense race,” Jansen said from the helm, moments after crossing the finishing line. “Did you see that? Four boats in a row. What a wild race. We are super-happy!”
Later, on the dock, he said: “We are the newbies, the young team, not that much experience… The last 30 miles were so intense, it was unbelievable. We just kept on fighting and this was the result!”
A further 15 seconds behind in third was Dutch skipper Simeon Tienpont’s Team Childhood I and the full seven-boat fleet finished within six minutes.
Meanwhile in the IMOCA class Nicolas Troussel’s CORUM L'Epargne (FRA) took the winner’s gun, ahead of Charlie Enright’s United States entry 11th Hour Racing Team in second, and Thomas Ruyant’s LinkedOut (FRA) in third.
“It was an intense race… and we knew that everything could be decided here like everything can be decided in Alicante and later on in Genoa for the race final,” Troussel said. “Anyway we’re really happy with that victory, we fought very hard and the finish was magical for us.”
Yesterday’s stint of high-speed, straight-line reaching back from the Atlantic turning mark had continued overnight for both classes, but at around 0600 UTC today the entire fleet started to compress as the IMOCA 60 and VO65 crews began to strategically position themselves to round the large race exclusion zone which blocked their path to the finish line.
In the VO65s, long-time leader Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team was alone in choosing the northerly route, while the rest of the class squeezed together into a tight gaggle to round the south-west corner of the zone.
The final 40 nautical miles (nm) of the leg saw the VO65s in the south racing line abreast with the leader board positions changing incessantly, seemingly with every new gust of breeze.
Things got even more unpredictable in the final 15 nm as the fleet slowed in easing winds from a cold front sweeping towards the Portuguese coast.
A split amongst the six southerly VO65s, saw Sailing Poland, Team Childhood I and The Austrian Ocean Race Project holding high, while AkzoNobel Ocean Racing (NED), Ambersail-2 (LTU), and Viva Mexico (MEX) gybed away to the south in search of a better angle to the finish.
When the boats converged again in the final two miles to the finish line there was nothing to choose between the Austrians, Ambersail-2, and Team Childhood I as they raced for the line.
In the end it was The Austrian Ocean Race Project, a new team with a relatively young, inexperienced crew, who edged ahead to claim victory over second-placed Ambersail-2 with Team Childhood completing the podium.
It is a testimony to the incredible intensity of the racing in the one design VO65 class that all seven crews finished within just six minutes of each other after more than four days of open water racing.
The racing between the five IMOCA 60s was also a close-run affair with all five teams very much in contention for victory on the final day.
Special mention should be made of the crew of non-foiling Offshore Team Germany, led by experienced offshore racer Robert Stanjek, who somehow managed to claw back a deficit of over 100 nm yesterday to take the lead at one point on the final approach to Cascais this afternoon, before ultimately finishing in fourth.
The decision on which route to take around the exclusion zone played a significant factor in the final IMOCA 60 standings.
Louis Burton’s Bureau Vallee (FRA), CORUM L'Epargne, and 11th Hour Racing Team, all looked set to round to the north but a last-minute change of heart from CORUM L'Epargne, and 11th Hour Racing Team saw them gybe away to the south.
Although this move initially looked costly for the French and American team, it paid dividends for both as they somehow managed to skirt their way around the exclusion zone quickly enough to be able to overtake Offshore Team Germany and Thomas Ruyant’s LinkedOut who had committed themselves to the southerly route earlier.
Teams will get some well-deserved rest on Thursday and Friday in Cascais, before competing in the Coastal Race as part of The Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy on Saturday and the start of Leg Two, into Alicante, on Sunday.
PROVISIONAL RESULTS:
IMOCA
1st: CORUM L'Epargne
2nd: : 11th Hour Racing Team
3rd: LinkedOut
4th: Offshore Team Germany
5th: Bureau Vallée
VO65
1st: The Austrian Ocean Race Project
2nd: AMBERSAIL-2
3rd: Team Childhood I
4th: Sailing Poland
5th: AkzoNobel Ocean Racing
6th: Viva México
7th: Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team
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1200 UTC UPDATE
Just 6nm to the finish and the lead is still changing as the fickle breeze delivers boosts to individual teams as it rolls across the course.
At present the southern group look set to have the upper hand, crossing ahead of Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team and Bureau Vallée who are around 2nm behind as they head down from the north.
But within the southern group the finishing order continues to look uncertain as the lead changes between Sailing Poland, Team Childhood I and The Austrian Ocean Racing Project every few minutes.
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1100 UTC UPDATE
As the cold front sweeps towards the Portuguese coast it is bringing patchy breeze and changing the fortunes in the fleet with each random puff. Things got pretty tricky too as the fleet tried to avoid slipping into the exclusion zone. After around 1,300nm so far and four nights at sea it is as if the race has just started.
Meanwhile to the north, Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team continue to put their faith in diving down to the finish.
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1000 UTC UPDATE
Will local knowledge deliver a win? Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team’s apparent gamble to stick with an approach from the north is looking better as the team rides the northerly breeze associated with the cold front that is sweeping towards the Portuguese coast. If they can stay with this weather feature, they may keep the breeze to the finish.
Because of the angle that the cold front is aligned to the coast, those that went south may find themselves with a longer distance to run in light breezes.
Ifs, buts and maybes could be the story of Leg 1!
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0900 UTC UPDATE
Planning the final approach to the finish is getting harder by the minute as some of the high resolution weather models suggest that the breeze closer to the shore will be much lighter and from the south.
Taking the northerly route to the finish could result in slow upwind progress in these very light winds.
Taking the southerly route looks like a safer bet with stronger winds from the north providing better, faster conditions as the weather front sweeps the fleet towards Cascais. Is this why 11th Hour Racing Team and CORUM L’Épargne gybed at the last minute to head South?
All well in theory but the team with arguably the most local knowledge - Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team - is sticking to the northerly route to the finish.
High stakes… nerve wracking times.
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0800 UTC UPDATE
With the fleet having compressed just 60nm out from the finish, the big decision facing teams is to decide which way to pass the exclusion zone that lies between teams and the finish. South seems the most popular choice, but this route comes with the risk of running into light breeze before the finish. Diving down from the north could keep teams in more breeze, but with a potentially slower sailing angle.
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0700 UTC Update: It's going to be photo finish in Cascais for Leg One of the The Ocean Race. In both fleets the racing is incredibly tight.
For the IMOCAs, less than seven miles separate the fleet on distance to finish, with just over 50 miles to the line. But that's not the whole story.
There is a Traffic Separation Scheme to negotiate (the yellow shaded box on the race tracker), with teams forced to chose a north or south option.
LinkedOut and Offshore Team Germany will drop to the south, with CORUM L'Epargne and Bureau Vallée taking a northern option. 11th Hour Racing Team still has an option but looks to be tracking north.
For the VO65s, it's similarly close, with six teams to the south and the spread is just a few miles. Interestingly, it is the home crew, Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, who has chosen the northern option. Will local knowledge play a role in the outcome?
It will be stressful time for sailor and navigators as the breeze builds around the finish area for the final miles.