Velux 5 Oceans Solo Yacht Race: 3rd Leg

Starts off Wellington, New Zealand at 1430hrs (local time) on Sunday, February 6

The 6,000 nautical mile leg from Wellington, New Zealand, to Punta del Este in Uruguay will see the four ocean racers head deeper into the Southern Ocean than they have been yet. Along the way the skippers will face waves up to 30 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.

Ocean sprint three is arguably the most dangerous leg of the VELUX 5 OCEANS. Numerous sailors have had their races ended trying to pass through this section of the Southern Ocean. Some lost their lives.

Hopefully, I won't. I'll be dry (not sober), warm and well-rested behind my keyboard, racing my virtual yacht, 
Open Container III.

It's not the only way to sail single-handed, but the best way at my age!

Update in the evening of Tuesday (PST), February 8

Not a pretty picture for the home team. 

In 7146th place, Open Container III has the purple track here, and she is following in Belladonna's lime green wake in 871st place. 

Paula, in No Going Back (2181st) is way south, circled in red in the lower left-hand corner.
 
Contiguous (764th) is circled in yellow. 

To C's starboard, circled in black is Companion (597th). 

Gerry and Vlad have asked not to have their position publicized. 

To get a handle on scale of this chart. Paula is 523.2 miles from me.
Our heroes: 

Contiguous in 483rd place leads Belladonna in 700th! 

There are 28 miles between them. 

None of the rest of us can get in their picture. 

Belladonna is 146 miles ahead of me!

And, hats off to Belladonna who has stock sails & electronics.
 




The wakes of two boats are shown to the right. 

Paula in No Going Back leads my Open Container by 141 miles.

Belladonna is 216 miles ahead of me.

Contiguous is 260 miles ahead.

My question is WTF is the finish line for this lamentable leg???

Finishing:

Open Container has clearly lost out to No Going Back (red boat 9 miles ahead) and Belladonna (black boat 23 miles ahead).

Belladonna is about 125 miles short of finishing at Punta del Esta and presently packing it in at 10 knots.

I have been justly punished for my myriad lapses and haphazard navigating. I have again failed to score under 1,000.

That's not taking away anything from the competitive sailing of those who beat me. I'm not at all confident I'll be able to beat any of my friends in the next lap. So I'm not about to talk smack at this stage.

I'll look back on this thread with bitter/sweet memories.