Twelve iconic yachts powered down Auckland Harbour made a thrilling start to Leg 3 of the Ocean Globe Race . . . Next stop, Yacht Club Punta del Este, Uruguay but first CAPE HORN.
In perfect North Easterly 15-20 knot winds it looked easy. A tight start line in front of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron delivered great pictures as yachts fought for the line. Tight tacks, ducking and diving, making it difficult to tell who’d actually crossed the line first.
Four yachts arrived too early with last-minute maneuvers to save themselves and one forced gybe breaking batten cars on L’Esprit d’équipe.
The French Swan 53 Triana FR (66), skippered by Jean D’Arthuys currently sitting 4th in IRC ranking overall, burst through and succeeded in clinching first spot, just seconds ahead of the Finnish yacht Galiana WithSecure FI (06) and Australian entrant Outlaw AU (28).
For an around the world race where a few seconds do not make much difference, this was seriously close racing.
The OGR yachts, including seven former Whitbread yachts put on a display befitting the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the original Whitbread races, with many Whitbread veterans cheering on the fleet from the decks of the legendary Steinlager 2 and Lion New Zealand.
With the 12 yachts across the start line, the fleet raced towards the Royal Akarana Yacht Club, leaving a marker to port then across towards the gate at North Head.
It didn’t take long before the familiar patterns of leaders emerged – Spirit of Helsinki FI (71), Pen Duick VI FR (14), Translated 9 IT (09) and Maiden UK (03) were all battling for the first spot.
By sunrise on the first morning of racing Pen Duick VI had taken the lead.
With 6200 nm to the Yacht Club Punta del Este, the first yachts will arrive between 9 and 14th of February with a restart scheduled for 5 March.
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