This time next year: facing the Roaring Forties

Definition:

Roaring Forties [nautical]

The areas of ocean between 40° and 50° latitude in the Southern Hemisphere, noted for gale-force winds

Whilst the world starts getting into the festive spirit, for Clipper Race sailors, this time of year means one thing: facing the Roaring Forties.

From late November and through December, Race Crew are tackling Leg 3: The Roaring Forties -one of the most intense, exhilarating and testing stages of the entire 40,000nm circumnavigation. This stretch of ocean,located between 40- and 50-degrees south, is notorious for gale-force winds and towering waves which slingshots the fleet almost 5,000nm from South Africa over to Western Australia. The ocean they venture into isone of the most remote expanses of ocean on the planet.

It’s not for the faint hearted, but it’s a wild ride that will create lifelong memories and a sense of adventure hard to find elsewhere.

It also features the rounding of one of the world’s Great Capes: The Cape of Good Hope, before onto the Agulhas Bank, an area of disturbed seas as the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. From a racing perspective, this leg is high-octane. Spinnakers will feature heavily on this downwind sprint, with surfing huge waves at speeds of 20-30 knots not uncommon.

Image: Leg 3 - On board Washington, DC in the Clipper 2023-24 Race

Deputy Race Director Max Rivers, who raced through the Roaring Forties as a skipper on the last race edition says:

“Sailing in the Roaring Forties should be on any sailor's bucket list. This is area of ocean, located between 40° and 50° latitude in the Southern Hemisphere, is noted for its gale-force winds. The name Roaring Forties comes from the noise that the wind makes at this latitude, with the lack of landmass allowing the prevailing westerly breeze to accelerate to gale force conditions. With little in the way of these winds to slow them down or decrease the size of the waves that are created by them, Clipper Race crew can expect incrediblystrong winds and up to 10-meter waves.

“These prevailing conditions were used by explorers to quickly make it to Europe on their way back from the Indian subcontinent, and now, Clipper Race teams use the same natural phenomena to make a fast transit of the South Indian Ocean.”

Not only does this leg offer the chance to race in seas so far south on the continent, from a wildlife perspective, it’s a chance to spot the snowy or wondering albatross (the largest wingspan of any flying bird), the hourglass dolphin, and plenty of other wildlife that make their home only in these regions.

Image: Leg 3 - On board UNICEF in the Clipper 2023-24 Race

Reporting from the Roaring Forties, we look back at some of the sailors on the 2023-24 edition blog entries from this time last year... maybe this time next year, it could be you?

Paulo Perillo, Qingdao:

Around 5.30pm the story changed. In a quick few moments, the skies became grey, the seas became greenish and streaked with white foam, the wind rose abruptly to more than 50 knots and we took another reef to keep control. The size of the waves behind us became even bigger and the boat started literally to fly. Jeronimo on the helm, vang and main sheet ready, nobody was speaking anymore, nor asking the speed, the boat was literally flying. Even the dozens of albatrosses and other species that were flying around us disappeared. Only one, the biggest, the king of all, was flying in front of us as if he was showing us the way, or maybe he (or she) was just playing with us at speed. This we’ll never know. At some point the sun appeared from the thick cover of clouds, ready to set, and in one moment the sky became yellow. On the other side of the horizon a full rainbow came out. The wind speed recorded up to 66 kts. No fear, but great respect for the immense strength of this uncontaminated nature. And in the end, we all felt as ONE: the boat, the crew, the ocean.

Sue Melly, UNICEF:

Imagine now driving a long vehicle, with skates not wheels, down a steep ski slope avoiding boulders and potholes slalom style. Scary? Exhilarating? Madness for sure.

Bence Olveczky, Washington, DC:

Our Skipper, Hannah, had warned us that it would be a ‘bit windy’, a quintessentially British understatement given that the gusts exceeded 65 knots.

Helming a 70-foot Clipper Race yacht in the extreme conditions presented by the Southern Indian Ocean is nothing short of exhilarating. At the start, you are overpowered in all senses of the word. The waves get the better of you, and the boat gets slapped around with a price to pay for you and your fellow crew. But as you start to get a feel for the helm and the boat, something magical happens. Rather than fighting an antagonistic battle with the ocean, it becomes your partner. It makes a move, and you respond in kind. The better you become at reading the waves and the wind, the more this interplay becomes a ‘pas-de-deux’. ‘Dancing with the waves’ in this way is not only intoxicating for the helmsman, but it also makes the boat glide gently on even the biggest waves, allowing you to harness their power to push Washington, DC faster towards its goal of Fremantle, Australia.

Image: Leg 3 - On board Bekezela in the Clipper 2023-24 Race

David Hartshorn, Skipper on Bekezela:

We have been fizzing along on some awesome waves and wind speeds mainly in the high 30kts, and occasionally in the 40kt region for the last 20 hours or so. The seascape has been awesome, with rolling 5m to 6m waves, maybe slightly bigger at times. They have been dressed in navy/grey and dusted with brilliant white spindrift, mixed with the occasional breaking crests of effervescent white and mixed shades of vivid blues. They come along in undulations, more like moving ridges, with valleys and escarpments dropping away from them. This is the Roaring Forties, and this is what the Clipper 70 was designed for and thrives in. We have been surfing the slopes and hitting great speeds. The leg record currently sits with Brian, now at a confirmed on-course 22.9kts.

Izzy King, Washington, DC:

The last two days have been challenging. We’ve had everything from 45knots, easing back down to 20…I’ve been on the helm for the last hour. I can’t feel my hands, or my feet.

Mike Davies, First Mate, Zhuhai:

You tend to miss home and the comfort of a sofa a lot more when it is like this. But there is a lot to be said about the people who achieve something remarkable, crossing one of the great oceans on a 70ft vessel in third place!

We couldn’t agree more. Sound like your thing? Hit the link below to find out more on how to apply.