22 January 2012
GOR Leg 3 bluQube Southern Ocean Scoring Gate confirmed
At 02:00 GMT (15:00 local) on Sunday 29 January, the five double-handed, Global Ocean Race (GOR) Class40s will cross the Leg 3 start line in Lambton Harbour off the city of Wellington, New Zealand, for the 6,200-mile course through the Pacific Ocean, around Cape Horn and through the South Atlantic to the finish line in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
Leg 3 will take the GOR Class40s through the Pacific’s high-latitudes on the classic round-the-world race route and in addition to intense low pressure systems spinning off Antarctica and sweeping east across the fleet, there is the increasing frequency of icebergs drifting north from Antarctica’s ice shelves. Consequently, over the past few months, the GOR Race Committee has been monitoring the presence of ice in the Pacific Ocean.
In addition to the non-scoring, Felipe Cubillos Cape Horn Gate stretching north-south through Drake Passage between Horn Island and the Antarctic Peninsula, the bluQube Scoring Gate running north-south and located at 127.30W with a southern limit at 47S will double as a safety limit, bringing the fleet north from the threat of known and extensive ice fields.
For Josh Hall, Race Director of the GOR, the safety of the Class40 fleet is of paramount importance, but imposing safety measures without devaluing the unique excitement of high latitude racing is a delicate issue: “Finding the right balance between setting some responsible limits that allow a fleet to navigate through potentially severe weather conditions in an unrestricted way and keeping the spirit of high adventure alive is not an easy one for any race organisers,” Hall confirms. “We believe we have chosen the right path by requiring the fleet to pass above 47S at 127.30W and allowing them freedom of navigation either side of this,” he adds.
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