The second month of the Golden Globe Race 2018 round-the-world regatta has begun. The unprecedented return of Istvan Kopar from the Chichester class to the main regatta fleet has increased the number of participants to 13. The yachtsmen crossed the equator, with one of them left without power and another without a spinnaker geek. Igor Zaretsky managed to fix the third breakdown during the race and rose from ninth to sixth position.
At the end of last week Igor Zaretsky, the only Russian participant of the regatta, encountered another technical problem. If last time he was stranded by the
The yachtsman quickly fixed the malfunction with a sheet of stainless steel, a cut-off saw, a screwdriver and the unwavering Russian ingenuity.
Much more serious problems occurred to Finnish yachtsman Tapio Lehtinen. Solar panels and hydro-generator of his boat failed, and engine stopped to start - probably due to problems with wiring. The lack of electricity and communication not only makes it difficult for the yachtsman to continue racing, but also makes it dangerous for him to do so.
Susie Goodall, the only other
Something incredible happened to American Istvan Kopar, who was forced to steer the boat manually
The exhausted yachtsman decided to make a port call for repairs
The regatta fleet is now led by
He took over the lead from his compatriot Philippe Pesce a week ago and has held it steadily ever since.
The main task for the participants for the near future is to overcome the area of equatorial slack. In solving it, some followed the current leader of the race, choosing a more eastern route, while others took a westward, closer to the Brazilian coast, going after Mark Slats. Despite the fact that this manoeuvre saw Slats drop from third to twelfth with 1,000 nautical miles separating him from Jean-Luc van den Heede, this bet could still come into play.