Global Ocean Race: Translated struggles immediately at the head of the fleet

The querelle regarding Vittorio Malingri’s “landing” from Translated 9 still stings, but now is the time for the crew of Marco Trombetti’s Italian Swan 65 to look ahead, because the silhouette of Cape Horn is hovering on the horizon.

The mythical Cape is still a long way off, but in this third leg of the Global Ocean Race the “vintage” round-the-world fleet will go to double it. How is Translated 9 doing in the meantime? The Swan seems in good shape despite the troubled stop in New Zealand.

Ocean Globe Race leg 3 – How it’s going Translated

Simon Curwen is the new skipper of the crew that also has Pietro Luciani, an Italian ocean sailing specialist, on board as navigator. Currently the Swan 65 is second in the Flyer Class, the one it belongs to, third in real time and fifth in IRC compensated.

The 6200-mile leg will end in Punta de l’Este, Uruguay, for what is considered to be the most difficult leg of the round-the-world race, not only of the Ocean Globe but of all the races that pass through these parts and have to go to round Cape Horn.

The next few days, with a wind that should continue to blow from the west-northwest, will provide good speed averages, which for these boats are around 10 knots, and we are likely to see a gybing waltz by the fleet to find the best positioning and the fastest trajectory to make their way east.

For Translated at the moment, at least for the real-time ranking, the duel against Pen Duick and Marie Tabarly, sailing just north of the Italian Swan 65, is renewed.

For the next few days, it will also be useful to keep one thing in mind: boats positioned to the south will have to make fewer miles to head east, so we are likely to see an attempt by some crews to make small placements further south to nibble miles off their opponents.