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28 September 2026


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CONGRATULATIONS CriticalHippo !!!
CONGRATULATIONS Flamingo !!
GRATTIS StIngFI !

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The fourth leg of the Migration series got underway in 9.5 knots of northerly wind. The fleet initially headed east-northeast, aiming for open water and stronger conditions. The northerly breeze persisted for the first four days, forcing the fleet to sail upwind while gradually following the South American coast northwards, all the way to Recife, at the easternmost point of Brazil. At Recife, the fleet split into two distinct groups. The main fleet headed across the Atlantic towards the African coast and the Cape Verde Islands, while a smaller group of around 12 boats chose to continue westwards along the northern coast of Brazil. Their strategy presumably aimed at reaching the strong south-westerly winds around 41°N, but this would require some ten days of sailing to reach. The group, soon dubbed the “Dirty Dozen,” paid a considerable price for the detour, losing more than 500 nautical miles to the main fleet.

The eventual winner made the race's pivotal routing decision on day eight, breaking away from the main fleet and heading west. The move initially appeared costly, with the boat losing around 250 nautical miles by day ten. The objective, however, was presumably to find a favourable passage through the doldrums. Both the western and eastern groups managed to negotiate the doldrums in remarkably short order, taking only a single day. Their fortunes changed considerably afterwards. The eastern group encountered persistent headwinds for almost two weeks, continuing all the way to the Bay of Biscay and ultimately giving away 1000 nautical miles. The western group, meanwhile, found the south-westerlies and made good progress north-eastwards, at times reaching speeds above 30 knots, all VMC.

The podium positions reflected three distinctly different strategies. The winner and runner-up each followed their own individual routes, while the bronze medallist, one of the original “Dirty Dozen,” managed to stay ahead of the larger western group and secure the final podium place. The podium was largely decided around 600 nautical miles from the finish, although the battle for second and third continued right to the final stages, with the order only settled at the last moment. In total, 113 contenders took part, with 85 having reached the finish line at the time of writing. The routing spread was considerable: the longest distance sailed was 8,105 nautical miles, good enough for 8th place, while the shortest was 6,563 nautical miles, finishing in 71st. The winner completed the race in 20 days, 1 hour and 52 minutes, achieving an average VMC of 12.3 knots and a real average speed of 16.1 knots. Another Migration leg where the route—and knowing when to abandon the obvious one—proved just as important as boat speed.

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