Wind and Seas ‘Kind’ for Three Former Whitbread Yachts Passing Cape Horn!
- Maiden UK (03) and her crew continue to break records with first black female crew to race around Cape Horn.
- Three former Whitbread yachts, Maiden, Spirit of Helsinki FI formerly Fazer Finland, and Neptune FR make the passage within hours of each other.
- Second Finnish Woman ever around Cape Horn onboard Spirit of Helsinki.
- Neptune’s FR achievement extra poignant with Bertrand Delhom, a Parkinson’s sufferer, spreading message of hope from the world’s most inhospitable places.
- Pen Duick VI FR and Translated 9 IT continue battle to lead the fleet – SIX miles apart just past the Falkland Islands. Translated 9 suffers knockdown.
- English Transcript Of Marie Tabarly‘s Pen Duick Cape Horn Video.
The all-female crew racing on the much-loved Maiden UK (03), rounded the infamous Cape Horn at 04:15 UTC, on 8 February 2024.
The 58-foot Bruce Farr-designed yacht passed the Cape Horn coastline 35 years ago making history when Tracy Edwards skippered the first all-female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Race.
And Thursday 8 February, the nine crew, skippered by 26-year-old Heather Thomas, returned to the history books sailing in the Ocean Globe Race, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Whitbread, by making the infamous passage with the first black female crew members racing around the horn.
The Finnish Swan 651 Spirit of Helsinki FI successfully passed the Horn 18 miles south at 10:49 UTC with 27 knots of wind gusting to 35 knots in 3-metre seas.
After crossing the longitude of Cape Horn they continued north for a look, allowing Neptune to sail past inside them to snatch an 8-mile lead.
Neptune FR which raced in the 1977 Whitbread, successfully made the passage at 11:38 UTC.
Skippered by Tanneguy Raffray, Leg 3 has proved their most successful leg in the race so far. Currently, they sit 4th on the leaderboard and 4th in IRC rankings.
Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet continue to race extremely hard.
Pen Duick VI FR and Translated 9 IT have just left the Falkland Islands to starboard and tease each other up the coast towards Punta del Este.
At 18:44 they are just six miles apart, with Translated recovering from a knockdown yesterday.
Nobody was injured and the stunning Swan 65 was not damaged, and the crew continues in the quest to take first spot on the leaderboard.
The Swan 53, Triana FR will pass Cape Horn later Thursday night, with the rest of the fleet due Friday.
Explorer AU has passed the third waypoint meaning the fleet have now all passed the required way points en route to Punta del Este.
The first yachts are due to arrive at the Yacht Club Punta Del Este approximately 14 February 2024.
