At 1000 UTC on Monday, Groupama 4 with Franck Cammas/FRA was making slow progress at a measly 8.7 knots as the team struggle in light winds. Not surprisingly, the crew is showing signs of frustration at still being at sea while Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) and CAMPER (Chris Nicholson/AUS), who have both finished, have a head start with the preparation of their boats for the Cape Town In-Port Race and the start of Leg 2 on December 10 and 11 respectively.
With just one more night at sea and 274 nautical miles to run, this is a team who will be more than happy to arrive safely in Cape Town.
Meanwhile, the crew of PUMA’s Mar Mostro are filling their time by playing golf and keeping watch for their rescue freighter, Team Bremen, which left Cape Town in the early hours of Monday morning. The ship is expected to take four days to cover the 1,500nm to the remote island of Tristan da Cunha where she will crane PUMA’s Mar Mostro up onto the cradle, which sits on her deck.
On board is shore team boat builder Chris Hill, the cradle for Mar Mostro, a shipping container filled with tools, supplies, personal items for sailors and some freeze-dried food for them to eat on the return trip. In the best-case scenario, the boat will arrive in Cape Town on December 6. The replacement mast leaves the United States today, and is expected to arrive in Cape Town on Friday.