The longest leg in the race’s 50 year history, Leg 3 of The Ocean Race stretched some 12750nm - from Cape Town, South Africa to Itajaí, Brazil. Five teams took on the challenge, each a team of four plus one on board reporter, departing Cape Town on 26 February and set to push their cutting-edge foiling IMOCA 60's to the limit – but crucially not beyond. Success on this leg was always going to be as much about managing the boat as it was about tactical decisions and boat speed – a true test of all round skills and resilience lay ahead.
Just who would get the balance right was the question on every team’s mind as they crossed the startline of leg three, looping twice around Table Bay before racing out into the open ocean. There was high drama from the outset. Hinting at things to come, the inshore course was one of two halves, with punishing gusts and flat calms – a high risk start for the teams with so many manoeuvres to negotiate while boat speeds rocketed from 0 to 20 knots in a blink.
While Boris Herrmann’s showed early form to lead the fleet round the final mark and out to sea, Charlie Enright’s and Paul Meilhat’s were beset by technical problems that caused them to pause racing for two hours and nine hours respectively. On, the crew dropped the mainsail to replace two broken battens, staying afloat but accepting the minimum two-hour suspension rule. Damage to during a gybe forced the French flagged boat back to the dock, skipper Meilhat optimistically accepting: “It’s a long race ahead”.
