Panama arrivals day 2

After a busy first day of arrivals, day two promised to match the excitement as four more boats were welcomed into the Flamenco Island Marina, Panama.

The first of the days arrivals was UNICEF. The team had a nail-biting race, securing fifth place just 57 seconds ahead of competitors Dare To Lead. After deciding on a more offshore route, they faced lighter winds, but more consistent conditions, allowing them to climb the leader board from near the bottom to fifth in the final 24 hours of the race.

On arrival into Flamenco Island Marina, Skipper Dan Bodey said: “We had a really tight couple of days with Dare To Lead, battling boat on boat which was fantastic. There was an element of seeing which strategy paid off, going north or staying south, and it eventually worked for us.

Image: Dan Bodey

“Our tactics emerged as the race developed, we were planning on potentially staying the same to try and get the land breeze a bit, but obviously the southern route paid off for that Finish Line particularly for PSP Logistics, so they did that really well. It's always hard when you have multiple finishes to pick a tactic that is not only going to do good at the point you are going to at the moment, but looking forward to the next one, and we felt our plan had the best option for all of them.

“We had some really decent breeze which helped speed everything along quite nicely which made it a really tight, and fast race, rather than the two know drifter-thon that we were expecting which was quite nice.”

Image: UNICEF arriving in Panama

Soaring temperatures are known to add an extra challenge to Race 11. On this, Dan added: “The change in weather was a bit of a shock to the system, everyone left Seattle in full foulies, sleeping bags and then by the time you reach here, you're trying to sleep on deck because it's the coolest place and it's just shorts and T-shirts. It's definitely the biggest change in temperature throughout all the legs”

Arriving in port full of smiles, AQP Laura Hampton added: “We had some awesome wildlife, it felt like we were guided all the way south by dolphins. We had lots and lots of boobies, which are big birds that look like they are out of Jurassic Park, and lots of turtles and whales. It was just really lovely, along with incredible sunrises and sunsets.

Image: AQP Laura Hampton

Image: UNICEF team

Next to arrive at the sunny Flamenco Island Marina was Yacht Club Punta del Este. Despite sailing in eighth place for most of Race 11, the team secured fourth place after a strategic gamble. With a plan to find better winds, the team navigated close to the coast of Mexico and made the climb up the leader board.

Image: YCPE arrival

Speaking of his experience on Race 11, Skipper, Nano Antia said: “It was a very interesting race, we knew that near the coast we could pick up a lot of sea breeze, and at night a couple of land breezes, so we sacrificed a good position on the race at the beginning to position ourselves near the coast, thinking of race Finish Line three. When we saw they called it on Finish Line two we thought oh no, we have made a mistake and won't be able to capitalise on a result because it was too close. But after a few brilliant days of doing proper sailing, with proper sea breeze doing eight, nine, ten knots we were able to capitalise fourth place , and really close to third, and we were really happy as it meant our tactics were working.

Image: Nano Antia

“We are happy and now looking forward to what's coming up on the Atlantic side. This part is very special as we head towards home waters. It's the home stretch so now we are going to try and climb a couple of positions and finish the circumnavigation nice and high.

“I like Panama and Costa Rica, they treated us really well so its lovely to be here."

Something that all the arrivals have been talking about so far is the mass of wildlife seen on this race. Nano said: “We had the most amazing encounter with a whale. She was playing with us, she was showing us all her belly and going from side to side for almost 30 minutes. The wildlife on this leg is just amazing, we saw flying manta rays, sharks, pods of up to 300 dolphins, all type of birds, the famous boobies. I think we got to see a lot more as we were close to the coast, so another really good reason."

Reflecting on the race, AQP Angus Whitehead said: “We saw a brief window where going inshore could have been good, especially with our knowledge of the breezes inshore. The forecast was looking a bit thin when we looked back at the fleet, so we got slightly worried, but Nano held his nerve which paid off and that's all we can ask for. It was nice to really stick to our guns, there have been points where in the past we haven't stuck to our decisions and regretted it, so really sticking to this decision was a good call and it paid off.

“It's a nice feeling to be on the up and up again”.

Image: YCPE team

The penultimate team to arrive on day two was Our Isles and Oceans. The team crossed the Finish Line completing Race 11 in an impressive 18 days, 8 hours, 28 minutes, and 16 seconds, securing seventh place in the race.

Tracking the path of fourth-placed Yacht Club Punta del Este, they opted for a slightly more offshore route. Despite this, they maintained excellent and consistent speed, charging towards Mandatory Finish Gate 2 with determination.

Image: Our Isles and Oceans arrival

Ocean racing is all about tactics, and Skipper Max Rivers said: “Right at the very end of the race we followed what Yacht Club Punta del Este were doing, we had it planned already which looked like there was a bit of wind inshore, so we tried to cut inshore and go around some boats. It worked for two boats, so I was happy about that. We couldn't quite catch up with the front pack but really interesting tactics, that worked out in the end, so really positive. To get a couple of points early on with the Scoring Gate helped keep us on track and morale high.

"The crew handled the heat well, it was a gradual change luckily, which allowed them to adapt and get used to it. We had a paddling pool out on deck and had the hose on to try and cool everyone down."

A tough race didn't stop the team from celebrating on arrival, with AQP Tom Newsom adding: “The race was fast initially, when we left Seattle we had a great race down to the Scoring Gate, and we got two points. Zhuhai deserve the three points. Then things slowed down. It's really nice to be here, it's a long way along the coast of Mexico, and the Panama Canal is going to be very exciting as we cross the big manmade feature.

“The best bit of wildlife we saw was when we left Seattle, we saw a rare breed of Orcas, so we’ve been spoilt from the start there."

Image: Ben Holt

Racing against his father on Race 11 was Ben Holt. His father Niel, had arrived the previous evening with his Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam team. Ben said: "Dad's team did better than us, so he will be bragging. But we beat them in the Scoring Gate so that's one thing I have over him! It'll be nice to have a chat and see how his race compared to mine."

Image: Our Isles and Oceans team

And completing day two arrivals into Panama was Dare To Lead that after nearly 2,000nm of racing crossed the Finish Line just 57 seconds behind UNICEF. They also opted for a more offshore route, and despite lighter winds, Dare To Lead maintained a strong pace, surging up the leader board in the final stretch of the race, narrowly losing to UNICEF by a mere 200 meters.

Image: Dare To Lead arrives in Panama

Skipper Ryan Gibson said: “I really enjoyed this race. It was probably one of the best races and the most enjoyable. A lot of wildlife, and the sailing was amazing. We did really well. The finish didn’t go our way, we would have liked one or two more places but it’s still really happy. The other boats did amazing to get in front of us, so well done to them.

Image: Ryan Gibson

“We positioned ourself really well but the wind was so light towards the end. We were eyeing up third or fourth position at one point, but ended up sixth, which isn’t so bad with six points. But PSP Logistics and Yacht Club Punta del Este did amazingly with their tactics so well done to them, and I think UNICEF beat us by about 270 meters! We couldn’t have sailed the boat any better at the end, but well done to them.”

Image: Dare To Lead team

AQP Charlie Warhurst added: “It’s been some of the best sailing we’ve ever had. There was some perfect, downwind, heavy weather sailing which was brilliant. It was really good fun.

“The crew were amazing again, even in the hot weather, which can be quite tricky, but they all did really well.”

Megan Allpress, who is racing around the world with her mother, Amanda Shehab, said: “This one has been the best one. The beginning was hectic, but it’s the best sailing we’ve had. We put the spinnaker up, and then it stayed up for the longest it’s been on this race. It was chilled and enjoyable, low stress sailing. The atmosphere on the boat was amazing.”

Image: Amanda and Megan

We welcome the final two teams, Washington, DC and Bekezela tomorrow. Keep an eye on our socials to watch the action!