Invest Africa accepts twelfth place

Invest Africa, which was trailing the rest of the fleet after a long delay in the Doldrums, was given the option of accepting twelfth place after being caught in another area of light winds, 700 nautical miles from the finish line, averaging just one knot of boat speed.

This is not a retirement and the team will be awarded one point, however it enables them to motor sail towards Rio de Janeiro to arrive much earlier than would otherwise have been the case.

Race Director Justin Taylor explained: “The forecast indicates that the light winds hampering Invest Africa would persist for 24 to 36 hours, meaning that their ETA into Rio would have been Thursday, a mere 36 hours before restart.  They have taken the prudent decision to accept twelfth place so that they can now make best speed to Rio to ensure that they can prepare and victual the yacht safely and adequately for the race to Cape Town.”

The yacht is expected Wednesday and Race 3 Leg 2 to Cape Town, South Africa, starts from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday 12 October.