The forecast is for winds gusting near 50 knots as the leaders approach their penultimate night at sea on Leg 4...
As the leading boats get within 600 miles of the finishing line off Newport, Rhode Island, the crews are preparing for a brutal afternoon and evening at sea.
There is a weather front approaching with southwest winds forecast at 40 knots, gusting as high at 50 knots. If this weather comes through as predicted, it will be some of the strongest winds the teams have faced in the entire race.
The Ocean Race 2022-23 - 7 May 2023, Leg 4 onboard Team Malizia. Christopher Pratt checking on 11th Hour Racing Team. © Antoine Auriol / Team Malizia / The Ocean Race
11th Hour Racing Team and Team Malizia are beginning to feel the impact of this system already (1400 UTC). Adding to the stress is the current the boats are starting to see as well, due to the Gulf Stream.
Fortunately, the wind direction - southwest - is largely in line with the current, which should keep the sea state manageable.
"I've been trying to get my head around the forecast for the final couple of days... it's hard," said Francesca Clapcich on 11th Hour Racing Team. "Leg 4 is not over! It's going to be pretty messy."
"I think the whole fleet will get tested," said on board reporter Amory Ross. "We're making sure we're prepared going into this and the boat is in good shape. This will be the most wind we have seen all leg. We haven't even had a reef in since we left Brazil... It's just one more significant obstacle between here and Newport."
11th Hour Racing Team has eked out to a 25 mile lead over Team Malizia heading into this weather front.
"We are going into a small low pressure, with very strong wind, probably around 50 knots at one stage. Not for very long, but quite extreme," is the view of Nico Lunven on Team Malizia. "The sea state should not be too bad, I think, because it's a new system so it shouldn't have had time to develop."
For the pair behind - Biotherm and GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, this system will also be an obstacle.
"The forecast has evolved. The low pressure is deeper and stronger than previously forecast," was the description given by Alan Roberts on Biotherm. "There's possibly 50 knots, gusting even higher, to the south of the low.
The optimal route takes us that way but in terms of boat preservation it's not ideal. We have to decide whether to keep heading north towards it, or to tack and invest in the west in order to pass a bit further south of the low. It's not easy."
His team on Biotherm has made one little hitch to the west in the past 12 hours, sacrificing a little bit of their lead over GUYOT environnement, who now trail by less than 30 miles on the leaderboard, but are in a tactically more difficult position out to the east.
"We are being welcomed to America with a big low pressure," said skipper Ben Dutreux. "Some forecasts predict 60 knots of wind.
It is not a light one. Biotherm has already set a tack. I think they probably don't want to go into the storm."
The Ocean Race 2022-23 - 7 May 2023, Leg 4 Day 15 onboard GUYOT environnement - Team Europe. Skipper Benjamin Dutreux working on deck. © Gauthier Lebec / GUYOT environnement - Team Europe / The Ocean Race
But this last obstacle can't be avoided entirely. It will be a leg-defining 24 hours on the North Atlantic.
The ETA to Newport remains Wednesday May 10. Following the passage through this storm, the wind fades again quite rapidly, meaning another go slow period, before more moderate reaching conditions power the fleet towards land.
The Ocean Race 2022-23 - 7 May 2023, Leg 4 Day 14 onboard Biotherm. Alan Roberts and Mariana Lobato working on the pedestal during a tack. © Anne Beauge / Biotherm / The Ocean Race
The latest positions are on the Race Tracker and the leaderboard is available here
The latest news is at www.theoceanrace.com and you can follow sailing’s greatest round-the-world challenge on Eurosport with every leg departure live and on-demand on discoveryplus.com or Eurosport.com
Cover photo The Ocean Race 2022-23 - May 07 2023, Leg 4 Day 14 onboard 11th Hour Racing Team. Malama going upwind at sunrise in a messy sea state. © Amory Ross / 11th Hour Racing / The Ocean Race
Ti Potrebbe Interessare Anche
Yacht Club Imperia: numeri in crescita per la seconda edizione della Locauto Eurocup...
Numeri in aumento per l'edizione 2024 della Locato Eurocup WASZP, evento di cartello organizzato dallo Yacht Club Imperia in collaborazione con Drylaps,...
37^ America's Cup: i ''Maghi'' si comportano bene con il moto ondoso
Con Barcellona che sta attraversando l'inizio della primavera, mentre i sistemi meteorologici inclementi in arrivo dall'Atlantico e dal Mediterraneo tengono...
Ocean Globe Race: finalmente verso casa la Mcintyre OGR
La flotta che attraversa l'Equatore lotta per ogni miglio nella quarta tappa McIntyre OGR. Il sole cocente brucia i marinai. Un'altra settimana...
Yacht Club Costa Smeralda: aperte le iscrizioni alla Grand Soleil Cup 2024
Porto Cervo, 27 marzo 2024. La Grand Soleil Cup, evento riservato agli yacht a vela costruiti dal Cantiere del Pardo, ritorna a Porto Cervo in occasione...
Sardinia Cup 2024: conclusa la 39^ edizione. Tutti i vincitori
Conclusa la 39° edizione del Campionato Invernale, organizzato dal Circolo Velico Riminese. Un campionato non è solo regate. È...
Fraglia Vela Riva: 42mo Meeting del Garda Optimist, Riva del Garda si prepara per...
Riva del Garda, 26 marzo 2024 - Si respira aria di vigilia presso la sede della Fraglia Vela Riva che, come sempre accade nella settimana...
Europei ILCA Under 21 2024: trionfi italiani a Maiorca
Si è concluso oggi, a Maiorca, il Campionato Europeo ILCA Under 21, evento che ha visto la partecipazione di 201 velisti provenienti da 35 nazioni. L'Italia...
La Direzione Tecnica indica due atleti per i Giochi Olimpici di Parigi 2024
Il Direttore Tecnico della Federazione Italiana Vela Michele Marchesini ha reso noti i nominativi dei due atleti che proporrà al prossimo Consiglio...
La Grand Soleil Cup 2024 si prepara per il grande ritorno in Costa Smeralda
Cantiere del Pardo è lieto di annunciare il ritorno della Grand Soleil Cup, che si terrà dal 21 al 23 giugno 2024, nelle acque cristalline...