After almost three weeks at sea, the third ocean sprint of the VELUX 5 OCEANS is now firmly on the home straight towards Punta del Este and the battle for positions at the back of the fleet couldn’t be tighter. Whilst the toughest part of the 6000 nautical mile leg is now over, there is no time to relax as changeable winds will make the next day or so crucial for the final standings.
 
Race leader, Brad Van Liew, passed Cape Horn in perfect conditions on Monday 21st, but has endured light winds since turning up into the Atlantic.  Although it allowed him time ‘to get some jobs done’ at first, it has lead to a somewhat frustrating week for him, especially as the rest of the pack are making good progress.
 
“At first the quiet was welcome and I tended to many boat a personal chores that had been neglected” he said, “now I have cleaned, eaten and slept I want my 13 knot averages back!”
 
Brad’s speeds on Le Pingouin are slowly climbing and in the hour before the 12h00 UTC position reports he averaged 10.8 knots.  As long as he maintains the speeds and stays between his chasers and Punta del Este it appears that he will win ocean sprint three as he has done the first two legs of the race, billed as ‘the Ultimate Solo Challenge’.
 
Behind Brad, the situation is far from resolved. Zbigniew ‘Gutek’ Gutkowski and Derek Hatfield have been enjoying some good sailing conditions, and at 12h00 UTC only 28 nautical miles separated them.
 
Gutek and Operon Racing has had a week of highs and lows, having reported a worrying noise coming from his keel earlier in the week, which could have seriously jeopardised his race he then made a euphoric rounding of Cape Horn on Wednesday and since then he seems to have found a way to stabilise the issue:
 
“Now I have my boat heeled a lot because I noticed it’s a very good position for my keel. When it’s almost horizontal, the 3.5 tons of lead at its end make such a big lever that the keel can’t move. Only when it’s straight down it knocks again” he said, “It’s not very comfortable configuration for the boat, because I can feel she’s tired. It’s not so fast either, but I am satisfied with this solution. “
 
For Derek on Active House Cape Horn held huge significance, not just as a major achievement in this race, but also to lay to rest the ghost of races past. In the 2002/3 edition of the VELUX 5 OCEANS Derek had a serious incident and pitchpoled and dismasted whilst rounding Cape Horn. He could hardly contain his joy and relief at having got round safely on Wednesday, shortly after Gutek.
 
“For me Cape Horn was unfinished business, and that box is now ticked. It is such a weight off my shoulders. For the whole leg it’s all that any of us have been thinking about. I feel like I really lucked out, I couldn’t have asked for a better day to round Cape Horn” he said.
 
Onboard Spartan, Chris Stanmore-Major (CSM) has done an amazing job to make up the distance he lost on Derek and Gutek during his mainsail difficulties. At one stage last week he was almost 600 nautical miles behind Brad, but at today’s 12h00 UTC reports he’d closed that gap to just 222 nautical miles and the gap between him and Derek is a mere 44 nautical miles.
 
As for what the weather may hold over the next few crucial days, from tomorrow there is a wave of disturbance form the Magellan Strait together with a low pressure bubble from Argentinean pampas; It will give a strong wind current from the South that will be favourable mainly for Gutek, Derek and CSM if he stays with them. Brad will probably have a close reach and a little less wind. Gutek and Derek should have a broad reach, also weakening but potentially lasting until the finish line. The conditions could easily see the second, third and fourth skippers finish within 24 hours of each other, and will make for an exciting close to the sprint, whatever happens.
 
Skipper / distance to finish (nm) / distance to leader (nm) / distance covered in last 24 hours (nm) / average speed in last 24 hours (kts)
 
Brad Van Liew, Le Pingouin: 857.1 / 0 / 143.2 / 6
Zbigniew Gutkowski, Operon Racing: 1007.1 / 150 / 140.9 / 5.9
Derek Hatfield, Active House: 1035.5 / 178.4 / 206.1 / 8.6
Chris Stanmore-Major, Spartan: 1079.4 / 222.3 / 186 / 7.7

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In  an excerpt his blog  Brad Vin Liew,  leader of the Velux 5 Oceans,  reflects on his upcoming rounding of Cape Horn on Le Pingouin.   Brad Van Liew is a self proclaimed adrenaline junkie with a vast array of extreme sports behind him. A lifelong sailor,  Brad had set his heart competing in the BOC Challenge, which would in 2005 be renamed the VELUX 5 OCEANS and in 1998 his dream was realised when he competed in the Around Alone finishing third in class two. Brad lives in Charleston, South Carolina, USA and his new yacht Le Pingouin, which he bought in France last year, has a rich racing pedigree.

The VELUX 5 OCEANS is the oldest single-handed round the world yacht race. Run every 4 years since 1982, the race is the longest and toughest event for any individual in any sport. The race is a series of five high-pressure ocean sprints within a marathon circumnavigation. The 30,000 route takes the sailors from La Rochelle FR to Cape Town SA, then onto Wellington NZ, Punta del Este Uruguay, Charleston USA and back to La Rochelle FR, for the finish.

Brad said today  “Cape Horn here I come! I’m guessing I am 5-6 days from rounding the nautical summit of Cape Horn. It will be my third time around the horn solo, and it is never the same – a place impossible to predict. There is nothing to stop the winds and waves racing around the bottom of the globe unimpeded by land, until you reach Cape Horn. This is where the vast South Ocean and all of its fury is squeezed into a small corridor between the southern tip of South America and Antarctica. To add to the drama, the sea floor quickly jumps up to be much more shallow. The place is extreme and can be extremely dangerous. It has been called a sailor’s graveyard, because so many boats have gone down. Considering this dramatic but true description, I am of course looking at the weather data very closely in anticipation of the upcoming milestone.

From what I can see right now, it looks like it will be fairly rough and a bit of a challenge. There are three low pressure systems to deal with between now and The Horn. I’m looking closely at one of them, because it is one I should encounter immediately before, during or after the rounding. Ideally I will get there right after that system rolls through. If I had to guess now what conditions will be like on my special day, it looks to be 40 knots of wind that feels more like 50 and 30 foot seas. I’ll try and update that as we get closer to the moment.

What some may not realize is that rounding Cape Horn can be quite spectacular and awesome. For one, the accomplishment is like summiting Mt. Everest for sailors. If you are lucky enough to actually see it (usually masked in fog or too stormy to get the visual) it really does look like a rock sticking out of the bottom of the Earth. I am hoping for that beautiful clear shot, and no surprises. We’ll see.

On the Cape Horn subject, my team has launched an initiative tied to the occasion. It is a fundraising campaign and intended to offer some nice perks to those that get involved. The sponsorship scene has been pretty brutal so we are required to get creative! So while rounding this magnificent corner of the continent, I will have a Sharpie in hand and take some time to write personal notes to some special folks on photos of Le Pingouin. You can learn more about the Cape Horn Crew and how to get involved at http://www.oceanracing.org/WELCOME_files/capehorncrewrevised.pdf.

A special thanks goes out to some of the great folks already onboard the Cape Horn Crew, including Don Gearing/AlpineAire Food, Dennis Ledbetter, Charles Duell, Jeffere Van Liew, Ken & Anne King, Dr. Sheri Hunt, Mary Denis Cauthen, and Scott & Tracy Strother. I very much appreciate your support and look forward to sharing some great moments together in Charleston.”

Thanks to all for checking in.
Cheers,
Brad

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When you’re alone on a 60ft yacht in the depths of the Southern Ocean, thousands of miles from land or help, the last thing you want is to lose to control of your boat. But that was the situation facing Canadian Derek Hatfield last night when he awoke to find his Eco 60 Active House screaming along at a dangerously quick 21 knots, struggling to cope with a Southern Ocean squall.
 
The 58-year-old solo sailing veteran had been enjoying a rare moment of rest when he was woken from his sleep by the sound of Active House’s keel humming, a sign that she was traveling incredibly fast through the water. He scrambled on deck to find the wind had whipped up to 35 knots and Active House had accelerated from a comfortable 13 knots to 21.
 
“I was asleep when a squall came through and I woke to the sound of the keel humming,” Derek explained. “I put some foulies on quickly and went on deck to find Active House doing 21 knots. It was unbelievable, she was totally out of control. When you’re asleep and you wake up to that it’s a bit of a shock. It was the middle of the night, pitch black and quite disconcerting.
 
“I had to slow the boat down she was going so fast. It sounds funny that I would be trying to slow the boat down in a yacht race but it’s all about getting that balance between speed and safety.”
 
The incident took place near to Point Nemo, the most remote place on the planet, around 2,000 miles from land in every direction. “Going too quickly can get very dangerous very quickly and we are not in a place where you can afford for anything to go wrong,” Derek added.
 
Derek also revealed that he discovered a water leak in the mid compartment on Active House which he has been bailing out daily. He also had a scare when he went on deck to find the baby stay – the smaller, inner forestay – had disconnected from the deck. Luckily there was no damage and Derek managed to secure the stay using a spare bolt.
 
“I’ve been full on over the last few days trying to deal with all this stuff and race the boat at the same time,” Derek said. “I feel my speeds and tactics are suffering a little, but I’m doing my best to hang on to Brad and Gutek.”
 
The 1200 UTC position report polled Derek in third place just under 200 nautical miles behind sprint leader Brad Van Liew and less than 25 nautical miles behind second placed Zbigniew Gutkowski. At midday Derek was 200 nautical miles from the exit of the sprint three speed gate.
 
Ocean sprint three positions at 12h00 UTC:
 
Skipper / distance to finish (nm) / distance to leader (nm) / distance covered in last 24 hours (nm) / average speed in last 24 hours (kts)
 
Brad Van Liew, Le Pingouin: 3021.3/ 0/ 240.1/10
Zbigniew Gutkowski, Operon Racing: 3193.2/171.9/210.2/8.8
Derek Hatfield, Active House: 3217.1/195.8/ 229.5/9.6
Chris Stanmore-Major, Spartan: 3351.2/ 329.9/ 263.4/ 11

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CHRIS Stanmore-Major has been forced to carry out vital repairs to his yacht Spartan in the middle of the Southern Ocean after a 2.5-metre rip developed in his mainsail. The 33-year-old from Cowes, UK, had been chasing the leading pack in the third sprint of the VELUX 5 OCEANS solo round the world yacht race when disaster struck.
 
Despite blasting along through big seas en route to Cape Horn, Stanmore-Major, known as CSM, had no choice but to drop Spartan’s huge mainsail onto the deck to attempt a repair in the freezing, wet conditions.
 
CSM said: “I was about to change my mainsail from the second reef to the third reef. As I went to pull the reef in one of the screws that holds the mainsail track onto the mast caught on one of the sliders and the main would neither go up nor come down. It took about an hour to sort all that out. I tried to bear away and slow the boat down but by the time I got the slider moving again I looked along the sail and saw a huge rip had opened up in the back of the mainsail. The rip is about 2.5 metres long along the leech and the back 200mm of my sail is hanging off.
 
“It’s put a real crimp on proceedings. I’ve got the big Solent headsail up but it can’t pull as well the mainsail can push, so where we were doing about 15 knots we’re now doing 10 or 11 knots. It took two days for me to get into this position but now I have to sail a higher angle and that’s going to slow me down considerably.”
 
Over the past few days CSM, currently in fourth place, had been catching third placed Derek Hatfield, the gap between the two reducing from 160 nautical miles at the beginning of the week to 140 nautical miles yesterday.
 
“It’s a real disappointment but I’m doing the best I can,” CSM added. “It could be an interesting 24 hours. I’ve got to get the top part of that big mainsail off the boom, control it on the deck, lash it down as best I can then stretch out the ripped section of sail on the deck and get it stuck back together.
 
“At the moment I’ve got 35 knots on deck coming over the port quarter. The boat is making good speed still so there’s a lot of spray. The sail weighs just short of 200 kilos. I don’t have to move the whole lot but I do have to be very careful not to lose control otherwise it could be disastrous. Although I will lose a bit more ground on the rest of the fleet it is vital that I fix the tear. It’s something that I do once and I do right. Leaving it as it is would just result in the tear getting bigger. It’s just not an option.”
 
CSM is due to exit the easterly speed gate later today. He has less than 2,000 nautical miles to go until he reaches Cape Horn, the next major milestone on the sprint to Punta del Este in Uruguay.
 
Ocean sprint three positions at 12h00 UTC:
 
Skipper / distance to finish (nm) / distance to leader (nm) / distance covered in last 24 hours (nm) / average speed in last 24 hours (kts)
 
Brad Van Liew, Le Pingouin: 2741.7/ 0/ 279.6/11.7
Zbigniew Gutkowski, Operon Racing: 2942.2/200.5/251/10.5
Derek Hatfield, Active House: 2974/232.4/ 243/10.1
Chris Stanmore-Major, Spartan: 3201.5/ 459.8/ 149.8/ 6.2

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IT was a wild, wet and windy start to the third sprint of the VELUX 5 OCEANS solo round the world yacht race today as the four ocean racers blasted out of Wellington Harbour. Grey, drizzly conditions with strong 25 to 35 knot winds greeted the skippers as they set sail on the sprint to Punta del Este Uruguay, the third of five legs that make up The Ultimate Solo Challenge.
 
Despite the weather, hundreds of people flocked to Queens Wharf in central Wellington to watch the emotional departure ceremony before thousands lined the city’s waterfront for the race start which took place just a few hundred metres from the shore.

 
As the starting gun fired at 14.30 local time (0130 UTC) it was American skipper Brad Van Liew, the overall race leader, who was first across the line on Le Pingouin and out towards the first turning mark laid inside the harbour, two nautical miles from the start. But it was Polish ocean racer Zbigniew ‘Gutek’ Gutkowski on Operon Racing who stole a march on the fleet rounding the turning mark first.
 
After a dramatic run-up to the start, where he had to fix an oil leak onboard Active House, Canadian Derek Hatfield crossed the start line in third place but overtook Brad Van Liew on the way to the first mark. By the time the racers headed out through Barrett Reef and Pencarrow Head and into the Cook Strait, winds had reached 50 knots. By that point Brad and Derek were already locked in battle, at times just a few boatlengths separating the pair. British skipper Chris Stanmore-Major started the race in fourth after problems with the genoa on Spartan meant he could only put up a storm jib.
 
The 6,000 nautical mile sprint from Wellington to Punta del Este in Uruguay will see the fleet head deeper into the Southern Ocean than they have been yet as they dip down to the latitude 56 degrees south to get round Cape Horn, the southerly tip of South America. Along the way the skippers will face waves that could reach up to 25 metres tall and winds that will consistently blow between 25 and 40 knots – and often more.
 
They will also pass Point Nemo, the most remote spot in the world, more than 2,000 nautical miles from land in every direction. After surviving all the Southern Ocean can throw at them they must round Cape Horn, one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the world, where millions of tonnes of water are forced through a 400-mile wide gap between the South American continent and Antarctica.
 
Run by Clipper Ventures PLC, the VELUX 5 OCEANS started from La Rochelle in France in October and features five ocean sprints. After starting from La Rochelle in October it headed to Cape Town, and then Wellington in New Zealand. The fleet is now on route to Punta del Este in Uruguay and then on to Charleston in the US before returning back across the Atlantic to France. The 2010/11 edition of the race is the eighth its 28-year history.
 Skipper quotes:
 
Derek Hatfield:
 
“Ocean sprint three really is the pinnacle for me. I liken it to climbing Mount Everest – you have a massive struggle to get to the top but then you have to make it all the way back down again and you still have a long way to go to get to safety. Cape Horn is the summit – once you’ve made it safely round the Horn and you’re into the South Atlantic you can start to rest a little bit easier. Everyone seems to be on edge a little, we’re all a little nervous about the next leg. You’re very exposed in the stretch of water between Wellington and Cape Horn, there’s no commercial traffic, just 4,000 miles of ocean. When you’re halfway to Cape Horn you’re further from land in any one direction than astronauts in space. That gives you an idea of just how far away from civilization you are. That’s the biggest challenge.
“During my first round the world race in 2002, the Around Alone, my boat pitchpoled in 80 knots of wind and 60ft waves. My mast broke and I had to pull into Argentina. I managed to fix it and carry on to finish the race so I got round, but I didn’t see Cape Horn. In my second round the world race I dismasted south of Australia so I didn’t make it to the Horn. My hope in this race is to get round the Horn cleanly and safely and get up quickly to Punta without any big incidents. Because of that incident in 2002 I have a massive respect for this next section of the race.
“With some good luck and a lot of hard work I think I could win this leg. That’s my goal. The competition is getting tougher as the race goes on, as we all get more used to our boats. Of course, the boats are getting more and more tired. It’s all about perseverance, just like a marathon. You have to keep up the pace but you also have to keep the boat together. It’s all part of the game.”
 
Brad Van Liew:
 
“The biggest challenge with ocean sprint three is Cape Horn. Job number one is getting round the Horn safely. The reality of this leg is that you can get rough weather at any time, even after Cape Horn, but the biggest concern for me is getting round Cape Horn safely.
“My aim is to get well stuck in to the leg, approach it with a good attitude and try to reboot a little after the experience of ocean sprint two. I’ll try to get down south enough to hook into those westerlies, all the time watching out for ice, and then round the Horn safely. A certain amount of that comes down to the luck of what the conditions are when you get there. If it’s going to be bad weather I’ll have to play that system, either putting the handbrake on or heading north a bit – the thing to avoid is ending up right on the shelf at Cape Horn.
“The thing that’s so dangerous about Cape Horn is the passage is so narrow – you’ve got to thread the needle. It also gets shallow very quickly there so you have this huge amount of water and weather being forced between the Andes and Antarctica. The water moving through there is going from thousands of metres deep to very shallow, very quickly.
“I wouldn’t say I am scared, more apprehensive. Everyone will have a little bit of apprehension – it’s Cape Horn after all. I’m just going to go out there, sail hard and have a good time doing it within my boat’s ability and my ability. I’ve got to be careful, I’m not going to go in gung ho. I’m just going to sail as fast as is safe and enjoy the chess match that us skippers play.”
 
Chris Stanmore-Major:
 
“Cape Horn is obviously the biggest challenge of the next sprint. It’s a famous point in the ocean and rightly so. The world’s currents and winds circle the planet completely unimpeded until they get to Cape Horn. There things get pretty spicy.
“Normally if big heavy weather system is coming through we can head up north to avoid it but on this leg we are pinned in position by the landmass of South America. Anything that comes through we will just have to ride it out. Getting away from the coast of New Zealand will be the first challenge and then the next big one will be “Cape Horn. Once round the Horn heading towards Uruguay it will become very tactical.
“Cape Horn is a new challenge for me. I have never done it before but I know what is coming and how rough it’s going to be and I’m not looking forward to it. The boat proved itself so much on the last leg, she really got smashed around and came out on top. I know she can take whatever is thrown at her on the next leg.
“I had some hassle from the boat on the first leg, and on the second leg I was the one that messed up. I’m going to be more conservative with tactics on this next leg. I will be paying particular attention to tactics once round Cape Horn. The boat has great pace and potential and could beat any other boat in the fleet – it just comes down to me.
“I can mix it up with the other guys. Spartan has needed very little work to it while the others have been working quite hard on theirs. As long as I can get into the groove I think you could see good things from Spartan and I. I relish the challenge that being on the ocean brings. I have learnt such huge lessons each day I’m onboard and I really enjoy it.”
 
Zbigniew Gutkowski:
 
“The next leg will be similar to the last one, back into the Southern Ocean, but this time we will be going even deeper south. It’s an empty place without any life. To be honest the passage to Cape Horn will be quite straightforward – where it is going to get tactical is after rounding the Horn. Once in the South Atlantic, this is where the leg could be won or lost.
“You can never plan for the Southern Ocean – it is never the same conditions twice, there are always different winds, temperatures, waves. You must always stay alert, use your brain and look around you at what is happening. This is what you have to do to survive the Southern Ocean.
“The most important thing is to keep the boat in one piece. After Cape Horn, it will all be about tactics. One mistake and you could lose lots of miles on the other skippers. I will always be looking for slip-ups by the other skippers and if there is an opportunity to pass them I will take it.”

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Active House skipper finishes two days behind leg winner
VETERAN solo sailor Derek Hatfield today described the second ocean sprint of the VELUX 5
OCEANS as the toughest sailing of his life as he arrived in Wellington to clinch the final podium
position. The 58-year-old Canadian sailed his Eco 60 yacht Active House across the finish line
at 3pm local time (0200 UTC), less than 60 hours behind leg two winner and overall race leader
Brad Van Liew.
In the second of five ocean sprints that make up the VELUX 5 OCEANS, Derek, Canada’s top
solo yachtsman, sailed more than 7,500 nautical miles through the Southern Ocean from Cape
Town in South Africa in 32 days and 17 hours.

After a month at sea taking a beating from the relentless Southern Ocean conditions the finish
of ocean sprint two couldn’t come soon enough for Derek, who was running dangerously low on
food supplies onboard Active House. Derek arrived in Wellington with just two bottles of water
left and no more food, having eaten his last freeze-dried meal earlier in the day.
“It’s been a long, difficult and brutal leg and I’m glad to be here,” Derek said as he stepped off
Active House for the first time in over a month. “It was just relentless storms, high pressure
systems, low pressure systems… It’s good to have it over with. This is my third race around the
world and this last leg was the toughest sailing I’ve ever done.”
Derek was reunited on the dock with his children Ben, 2, and Sarah, 6, for the first time since
the VELUX 5 OCEANS started on October 17. “It’s very special to see the kids again,” Derek
said. “They are growing up all the time. I am going to spend the next few days just relaxing with
my family.”

After taking third in ocean sprint one from La Rochelle to Cape Town, Derek promised to push
even harder in the second leg to Wellington – and that’s just what he did from the off, leading
the fleet out of Cape Town and into the Southern Ocean. With positions changing often at the
head of the fleet the leading pack, which included Brad Van Liew and Zbigniew ‘Gutek’
Gutkowski, fought hard for the top spot as they all battled huge winds, raging seas and freezing
temperatures.
After passing through the safety gate south east of Australia, Derek engaged in a bitter duel
with Gutek for second place. At one point Derek and Gutek were separated by just a few
nautical miles. The Pole eventually beat Derek to the finish line by 36 hours after his east coast
route gamble paid off.
“I was a lot more competitive this time,” Derek added. “Gutek and I found ourselves in the same
patch of water, it was great to have such close competition. At one point we were getting so
close I called him in the middle of a storm just to make sure his radar was on. I made one slip
up by tacking too soon about a week ago and that set the scene for the rest of the race with
Gutek just beating me by a day.”
The challenge began in October, www.velux5oceans.com
Ocean sprint two positions at 18h00 UTC:
Skipper / distance to finish (nm) / distance to leader (nm) / distance covered in last 24 hours
(nm) / average speed in last 24 hours (kts)
Brad Van Liew, Le Pingouin: finished January 16, 30 days, nine hours, 49 mins
Zbigniew Gutkowski, Operon Racing: finished January 17, 31 days 8 hours and 27 mins
Derek Hatfield, Active House: finished January 18, 32 Days 17 Hours
Chris Stanmore-Major, Spartan: 766.2/0/244.4/10.2

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Polish skipper gives all in gruelling Southern Ocean leg
POLISH solo sailor Zbigniew Gutkowski crossed the VELUX 5 OCEANS sprint two finish line
after exactly a month at sea to claim second place. In an adrenaline-fuelled race the 36-year-old from Gdansk, known as Gutek, arrived in Wellington, New Zealand, less than 24 hours behind leg winner Brad Van Liew.
Gutek sailed across the finish line on his 60ft Eco 60 yacht Operon Racing at 6.27am local time (5.27pm UTC) as the sun rose over the city before berthing in Queens Wharf at around 8.30pm to the cheers of watching crowds. It brought an end to a gruelling Southern Ocean leg which saw him overcome huge waves and strong winds despite major problems with his autopilot, the electronic system used to steer the boat. During ocean sprint two Gutek sailed 7,753 nautical miles at an average speed of 10.3 knots.
“I’m really happy to be on dry land, alive and in one piece,” Gutek said as he stepped off
Operon Racing. “The boat is also in one piece too which is great considering I have spent more than three weeks with major problems with my autopilot. There is a big difference between the Southern Ocean and the Atlantic. The Southern Ocean is no joke. There are monstrous waves and huge gusts – 50 knots is normal. If you make one mistake you could lose your mast or even your life. For the first time in my life I was scared, and I took a real battering in this leg.”
Ocean sprint two has seen some of the closest racing in the VELUX 5 OCEANS so far with
positions changing frequently as the fleet battled through the huge winds and mountainous seas that characterise the bleak Southern Ocean leg. Gutek held the lead for a number of days over Christmas before being overtaken by Brad. A bold tactical decision to sail up the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island saw Gutek make up hundreds of miles on his race rivals.

Among the crowds waiting to welcome Gutek to Wellington was his wife Eliza and their 11-yearold daughter Zusanna. Gutek added: “I haven’t seen my daughter since I left La Rochelle back in October and just in two months she has changed so much. Seeing Zusanna and my wife again is an absolute pleasure.”

For second place Gutek is awarded ten points which are added to the points he won for taking second in the first ocean sprint from La Rochelle, France, to Cape Town.
Ocean sprint two positions at 18h00 UTC:

Skipper / distance to finish (nm) / distance to leader (nm) / distance covered in last 24 hours
(nm) / average speed in last 24 hours (kts)
Brad Van Liew, Le Pingouin: finished January 16, 30 days, nine hours, 49 mins
Zbigniew Gutkowski, Operon Racing: finished January 17, 31 days 8 hours and 27 mins
Derek Hatfield, Active House: 199.3/ 0 / 208.4 / 8.

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Canadian’s on-the-water battle with Gutek set to go to the wire
 
VETERAN solo sailor Derek Hatfield has vowed to fight tooth and nail to beat rival ocean racer Zbigniew ‘Gutek’ Gutkowski into Wellington in the second sprint of the VELUX 5 OCEANS. The pair have been locked in a bitter Southern Ocean duel for more than three weeks, constantly trading second and third positions and at one point were less than five nautical miles apart.
 
After taking third place in the first sprint of the VELUX 5 OCEANS from La Rochelle to Cape Town, Active House skipper Derek vowed to push even harder in the second sprint through the Southern Ocean from Cape Town to Wellington in New Zealand. And that is just what the 58-year-old has been doing, chasing race leader Brad Van Liew hard while locking horns with Gutek in the battle for second place. With less than a week left at sea, Derek said his fight with his Polish rival could go down to the wire.
 
“It will be interesting to see who gets to Wellington first – the race is about to get even more exciting,” said Derek, who was at the last position report in third place, 28.7 nautical miles behind Gutek. “We seem to be matching each other boat-wise and we’re in the same stretch of water so the weather conditions are similar. I am very competitive and I will fight tooth and nail to beat Gutek because we are so close. That said, one of the great things about the VELUX 5 OCEANS is that you can be fierce competitors on the water and the best of friends off the water.
 
“Of course, I am still keeping an eye on Brad too. He’s about a day and a half ahead of us right now, and although I would never wish any bad luck on anyone, one little breakage and he could be slowed right up. Yacht races are never over until you are across the finish line.”
 
Following the aftermath of the big storm that swept through the fleet last week the VELUX 5 OCEANS skippers have been enjoying more favourable conditions for several days. Their next challenge comes in the form of a high pressure system that is lying in wait for them as they sail south of the Australian island of Tasmania.
 
Derek added: “It will be interesting to see first of all how everyone handles this high pressure system and then which way they are going to round New Zealand to get into Wellington. Brad will be looking over his shoulder to see which way we are lining up to go and we’re looking forward to see which way he’s going to go. It can be a real deciding factor.”
 
Ocean sprint two positions at 00h00 UTC:
 
Skipper / distance to finish (nm) / distance to leader (nm) / distance covered in last 24 hours (nm) / average speed in last 24 hours (kts)
 
Brad Van Liew, Le Pingouin: 1300.7/ 0 / 223.1 / 9.3
Zbigniew Gutkowski, Operon Racing: 1609.8/ 309.1 / 283.5/ 11.8
Derek Hatfield, Active House: 1638.6/ 337.8/ 240.3/ 10
Chris Stanmore-Major, Spartan: 2228.4/ 927.6/ 240.5 / 10

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