French race leader Jean-Luc Van Den Heede served out his 18 hour penalty (for improper use of his satellite phone on 09.11.2018) on Saturday and is now clear to race the remaining 2,150 miles to the finish at Les Sables d’Olonne. He expects to arrive there on 26th Januar

But will he still be first?

While Jean-Luc was serving his ‘time-out’ in the penalty box south of the 20°N parallel, 2nd placed Dutchman Mark Slats was powering northwards through the SE Trades at more than 5 knots and by 08:00 UTC today, had closed the difference in ‘distance to finish’ to within 417 miles. Worse for Jean-Luc, the NE Trade winds have disappeared and he is likely to be facing the frustration of calms until Wednesday at least, while Slats continues to make strong gains.

The weather map below shows the blue area of calms blocking the path of Van Den Heede and his yacht Matmut and the narrow band of north-easterly winds coming off the African coast, which Slats and his rival Rustler 36 Ophen Maverick are striving to reach. This creates a big opportunity and sets the scene for a tactical battle with the wind gods playing their part during the week ahead. Slats is currently making 5.0 knots and this is likely to continue until he reaches the same 20°N latitude where Jean-Luc is sitting. From then on it will simply be a case of powering into the NE Trades up to the Bay of Biscay, which could also spring more surprises before the finish.
 

Relative positions of Jean-Luc Van Den Heede and Mark Slats at 08:00 UTC today showing area of calms faced by the French leader

Jean-Luc reported today:  "A pretty frustrating day! I did not get any wind at all. I was stopped for several hours, until midnight yesterday while listening to a book 'The foreign student'. I did not make  even 20 miles.
Since then, I found a little wind, it's not crazy speed but at least I advance, and at least I'm sailing with the windvane. I am in a very difficult area where normally the trade winds are well established in January. I can tell you that they are not established at all. I do my best to go north, I hope that next week the weather conditions will have changed, that I will have good speed, and that I will be able to charge my batteries."

The two skippers are racing identical Rustler 36 designs, but Matmut carries a smaller rig and mast damage, which Jean-Luc does not want to overpress. Ophen Maverick has the benefit of a larger sail plan, but after 25,000 miles, she beginning to show signs of wear which could lead to breakages. These final 2 weeks promise to provide a nerve-racking finale.

One man with his money still firmly on Jean-Luc is French weather guru Jean-Yves Bernot. Writing on the Voiles  magazine site, he sums up the situation thus: "The coming days are not going to be very funny because it is a lot of starboard tack work and Jean-Luc will lose half his lead. That said, this is not really a problem for him. These venerable boats are not very fast; it takes a lot of time to regain ground. At best they cover 140 miles a day and VDH still has a good cushion. 

We are in a classic situation, with an Azores anticyclone in its place and the route that passes to the west of this archipelago. There, in the Azores, you hope to find a depression to carry you home on south-westerly winds.  For VDH the wind will be weak and unstable from Monday to at least Wednesday. Meanwhile, yes, his Dutch comrade will make up a lot of ground; maybe 300 or 400 miles to roughly half of his lead. But then, there is no situation where one would miss a weather phenomenon beneficial to the other, and Mark Slats will slow down while VDH goes off again. That's why I think there are no problems for Jean-Luc, even if he will moan because it is all upwind to the Azores "

Van Den Heede did not help his cause by straying north of the 20°N parallel during his 18 hours in the penalty box. The rules are very clear: On crossing north of 20° North latitude, the entrant suffering a time penalty must then return south of that latitude (when the penalty time starts) and not cross North of it again (within 40 miles of the initial crossing point) until the time penalty has been served. The entrant may then make for the finish line.  

Nor should there have been any confusion with navigation. Because of difficulties with traditional means of navigation in knowing precisely when you cross a latitude, GGR HQ gave Jean-Luc a time of 00:10 UTC on Saturday 5th January to start his penalty. All he had to do was remain south of his position at that time.

He started well enough, heading SW (130°T) for two hours at an average speed of 3.67knots, but  he turned and sailed NE (317°T) for a distance of 9.9 miles which carried Matmut north of the line. The yacht remained north of the line for 3 hours.
 

Mark Slats - a last chance perhaps to break Van Den Heede's hold on the Race.

As it happened, the winds died at the end of his 18-hour penalty period, and Jean-Luc found himself trapped behind the line for several hours more so he did in fact serve an uninterrupted 18 hours behind the line.

GGR HQ has since ruled that Jean-Luc made an unintended navigational error and had served the penalty at 21:00 UTC on 5th January. Click here for full ruling.

Third placed Estonian skipper Uku Randmaa and his Rustler 36 One and All, survived last week’s South Atlantic storm unscathed, and now finds himself drifting in a hole, making only 1 knot on Sunday, so has used the time to dive overboard and give the hull another clean. The forecast suggests that the winds will not return until later today – and then from the north! His climb up towards the Equator will not any easier than it was for the two leaders but at least temperatures are warming by the day.

Surprisingly, Istvan Kopar, who rounded Cape Horn on December 1, has made most progress of all during the past 5 days, but now head winds have become his new reality and Puffin’s VMG has dropped to 2.8knots today.

Also surprising is the 5.1knots recorded by Tapio Lehtinen’s Finnish entry Asteria. She is covered in barnacle growth, which is sapping her speed at an ever-increasing rate. Last week, GGR HQ lifted the restriction of the NO-GO ZONE south of the 42°S Parallel in the South Pacific as a safety measure for Lehtinen to escape the worst of a Southern Ocean storm running up behind, and Tapio has been running before strong NE wind towards Cape Horn ever since.

Ever the humourist, Tapio messaged Race HQ on 5th January: CAN I GET 2 THE GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS 4 THE SLOWEST TIME ROUND THE WORLD?
This had set us thinking: Has there been anyone slower than the time of 312 days set by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston 50 years ago?
The distance to finish between his Suhaili and Asteria in this virtual race played out on the YB Tracker is down to 512 miles. Five days ago, Asteria’s lead was 690 miles, so the record could yet be won by Lehtinen

Race to salvage Gregor McGuckin’s abandoned yacht Hanley Energy Endurance.

Plans are moving forward to salvage Irish GGR skipper Gregor McGuckin’s yacht Hanley Energy Endurance. Cody Cordwainer, a tugboat captain operating out of Brooklyn Navy Yard is set to arrive in Perth, W.Australia on January 16 and charter a fishing boat to take him and his crew to collect the yacht, now some 1,100 miles to the west of Fremantle. Cody is posting all news on  Facebook
 

Tracker data showing how Jean-Luc Van Den Heede sailed north of the penalty box

Talking Boats - A personal view from Race Chairman Don McIntyre

The Southern Ocean is as tough on GGR boats as it is for all who venture south. It’s a place of extreme beauty, a true wilderness that captures the imagination of sailors and reminds them of their insignificance. Nowhere else on earth is like it. It’s power is unquestioned and unchallenged. You never beat it, just move and bend with it in deep respect. You venture south at your own risk with an open mind in the knowledge that you may not return. The allure of the Great Southern Ocean is steeped in history and folklore. For many the attraction is to successfully round Cape Horn, a moment mixed with pride, excitement, awe and most often great relief.

To succeed you must believe in yourself and your ability, TRUST YOUR BOAT and prepare for the worst.

JEAN-LUC VAN DEN HEEDE first coined the fun phrase Petit Escargot (little snail) describing the 36ft full displacement yachts of the GGR when he joined the Race in 2015. He has sailed five times solo around the Globe in larger boats up to 80 ft long including his BOC and VENDEE GLOBE yachts. He knew the challenge was tough, indeed very tough but stakes his life on his Rustler 36 MATMUT as a safe ocean-going yacht, up to the demands of the Southern Ocean and right for this simple yet serious adventure.

The essence of the Golden Globe Race rests with strong honest boats, basic reliable sailing systems, no computers, world class safety gear and full risk minimisation. It’s a UNIQUE challenge, accessible and affordable to any man or woman with the passion and desire to do it.

The choice of boats for the GGR is defined within well-conceived parameters specifically relative to the event. At 32-36 ft they are proven ocean voyaging yachts conceived by respected designers. The keels, rudders and hulls are over engineered by modern standards. These designs are not prone to damage from hitting underwater objects and their long keels track well under windvane self-steering even in heavy weather.

Only six of the original 17 starters in the GGR are still sailing and there have been five Southern Ocean dismasting. Some may think this is because the boats are too small, too slow and cannot outrun Southern Ocean storms. History does not support this assumption. MORE
 

Relative positions of Uku Randmaa, Istvan Kopar and Tapio Lehtinen at 12:00 UTC today.

Position of skippers at 08:00 UTC 07.01.19
 

Chichester Class

1. Igor Zaretskiy (RUS) Endurance 35 Esmeralda - In Albany, W Australia

Retired

Ertan Beskardes (GBR) Rustler 36 Lazy Otter
Kevin Farebrother (AUS) Tradewind 35 Sagarmatha
Nabil Amra (PAL) Biscay 36 Liberty II
Philippe Péché (FRA) Rustler 36 PRB
Antoine Cousot (FRA) Biscay 36 Métier Intérim
Are Wiig (NOR) OE32 Olleanna 
Abhilash Tomy (IND) Suhaili replica Thuriya
Gregor McGuckin (IRE) Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance
Francesco Cappelletti (ITA) Endurance 35 007
Loïc Lepage (FRA) Nicholson 32 Laaland
Susie Goodall (GBR) Rustler 36 DHL Starlight
Mark Sinclair (AUS) Lello 34 Coconut