When the nine yachts competing in the Whitbread Race set off from Fremantle to Sydney tomorrow, what might appear at first glance to be a mere jaunt by comparison to other legs could turn out to be one of the toughest tests the 108 sailors will endure. This is the third shortest stage of the nine-month race but with two legs already completed, pressure is building to either maintain or improve performances.
Leading overall on the new points table system is Norway's Knut Frodstad who, at 32 years of age, is the youngest skipper in the fleet. A third and second placing since the race started in September leaves Innovation Kvaerner in the clear, echoing predictions that the eventual overall winner may not even win a single leg.
By contrast, leg one winner and America's Cup veteran Paul Cayard ended the stage to Australia a much wiser ocean racer after taking a hammering in the southern ocean. In spite of his first leg success, Cayard took fifth place and is second overall with a 10point gap to the leader. The American sustained considerable damage and had to `rest' his boat and crew for nearly 20 hours, losing valuable ground to the chasing pack.
The next leg, however is likely to be the most significant for Lawrie Smith and the crew of the British entry in the race. Two fourth places leaves Silk Cut in third overall but with a gap of nearly 40 points to the leader, a first place for Christmas would be bring welcome relief later in the race and certainly close the gap to realistic proportions.
As is becoming very evident in this year's Whitbread, apart from small performance differences between the boats, weather has acted as a major factor so far. With just 2,250 miles to Sydney, it becomes even more critical as fewer opportunities to make up for mistakes are available; early indications suggest light winds next week for the fleet as they cross the Australian Bight and attempt to be the first to find the fresher breeze to the north-west of Tasmania.
"This leg basically breaks down into three parts," says Gordon Maguire, Smith's right-hand man on board. "The race southwards to reach the westerlies first is similar to the Cape Town restart if not exactly the same. You then have to cross east towards the Bass Strait before turning north for Sydney."
While the leaders that can get out of the high pressure may reach the east coast of Australia first, they then must protect their advantage in very tricky conditions. Off the coast, the current runs against the fleet but close inshore, a narrow corridor of less than one mile gives the yachts a favourable current.
"The emphasis on this leg is toughing it out," says Maguire. "Our plan is to have the full crew on deck for the first two and last two days of this leg. We will be short tacking every 10 minutes from the Bass Strait northwards for more than 300 miles. This means moving all the sails, food and gear from side to side on every tack - we'll arrive probably more exhausted than any other leg of the race."
If the weather predictions are accurate, the conditions may prove ideal for Silk Cut. "We designed and built a light-airs boat - it's one of the narrowest in the fleet," said Maguire. "However, while we have to watch Kvaerner and EF, I think that the boat that could win this leg will be Merit - she's shown blistering speed in the light stuff. If I was a gambling man, I'd put money on either ourselves or Merit to win this leg, so I guess it's them we fear most."
