Ocean Race sailors ready for 'extreme' leg in icy waters

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AFP) - On the docks of Cape Town, crews are making the final checks ahead of the most challenging stage of the world's longest sailing race.

The five boats taking part in The Ocean Race leave from South Africa's famous port city on Sunday and face the feared Southern Ocean in the longest crossing in the history of the legendary round-the world yacht contest.

"There is no room for error," said Paul Meilhat, the skipper of France's Biotherm team.

The third leg of the race will see the Imoca monohulls cover 12,750 nautical miles (more than 20,000 kilometres), in a route that will take them around the Cape of Good Hope, past Australia and Cape Horn in Chile, all the way to Itajai, in Brazil.

"We are heading off a bit into the unknown," said British sailor Samantha Davies, 48, who joined Meilhat's crew in Cape Town.

"It's the first time in the history of the race that we're going to do a leg so long in such extreme conditions".

The icy waters of the Southern Ocean are infamous for unpredictable and harsh weather.

Previously known as the Volvo Ocean Race, the competition, which first took place in 1973, started in January from Alicante in Spain and is set to last about six months.

The five-member teams, all of which include at least one woman are expected to arrive in Genoa, Italy in July.

"The hardest part will be life on board, in cold weather, in a small space," said Benjamin Dutreux, 32, of the European Guyot Environnement team.

The team's 60-foot (18.3 metres) black and green boat is equipped with only two basic berths and a blue plastic bucket as a toilet.

The fleet arrived in Cape Town on February 12, at the end of a second stage.

Swiss team Holcim-PRB is in the lead after winning the first two legs.

Skipper Kevin Escoffier of France, 42, was also part of the winning crew on Chinese-sponsored Dongfeng the last time the race was held in 2017-18.

The Ocean Race is usually held every three years, but the start of this edition was postponed twice due to the Covid pandemic.

Dongfeng, skippered by French sailor Charles Caudrelier won after 126 days at sea.

After Brazil, the boats will sail to Newport in the United States, then on to Aarhus in Denmark, and The Hague in the Netherlands before heading to  the finish in  Genoa.