Spindrift 2 crossed the longitude of Cape Horn on Tuesday, December 22 at 08:09 GMT, with a nice westerly breeze of 20 knots after 30 days 04 hours and 07 minutes at sea since leaving Ushant: that equals an improvement of 18 hours 11 minutes on the record time set by Banque Populaire V. Dona Bertarelli, Yann Guichard and their 12 teammates will now head back up the Atlantic for one last 7000-mile dash.
In the final analysis the Pacific has been too...pacific. Because even though Spindrift 2 has been faster than the holder of the Jules Verne Trophy across the largest ocean on the planet (9d 23h 30’ against 10d 15h 07’ for Banque Populaire V), the weather conditions were not as high as the hopes of the crew: the light weather off New Zealand, a low-wind transition zone in the middle of the ocean and short, choppy swell and waves in the approach to Drake Passage. Thus, Orange II keeps the WSSRC Pacific Ocean record it set in 2005: 8d 18h 08’.
Message from Dona Bertarelli, just before rounding Cape Horn:
"I can’t sleep. And I’m not the only one. Yann can’t sleep on the bunk above, nor Erwan, over near the chart table. The aim is to get a bit of rest, because in a few hours’ times we’ll go very close to the legendary rock that is Cape Horn, marking the end of three weeks of sailing between the 40th and 60th parallels in the oceans of the south. From here, I can see the instruments, the control screens and the chart. We’re cruising downwind at a steady speed of 30 knots, heading straight towards the cape in 20 knot winds. The boat is cruising along in a 2.5 m swell. The conditions are ideal to press home our advantage over our two rivals: our virtual rival – the record holder – and our red rival: Idec. At the start of the Jules Verne Trophy, we set a goal to get to Cape Horn in record time; at best with a two-day lead and at worst a day behind. In the end, we’ll have a good half-day lead. Therefore, nothing is decided because Loïck Peyron and his men were like lightning back up the Atlantic. Not unbeatable, but very fast. Since the Equator, where we set a new record, Spindrift 2 has not stopped having trouble with weather systems. First in the Indian Ocean and then in the Pacific: the lead we had acquired melted like snow in the sun in front of ridges of high pressure, troughs and other phenomena regularly blocking the road. I hope that Aeolus (the Greek god of winds) has finished trying to get us with his traps. But I know very well that it’s still a long road ahead. There’ll be more traps, and we’re not going to be able to relax or lose focus at all.”
From Spindrift Racing
