STAMM FIRST TO THE HORN
23rd February 2003

Bernard Stamm has rounded Cape Horn, the infamous landmark at the southern tip of South America. At 0600 GMT Sunday he was 40 miles from the corner sailing at 12 knots. While Bernard has not yet emailed to confirm that he is around, we can assume that with the cracking pace he has been setting that he is safely past the lighthouse that marks the gateway between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It will be a momentous occasion for the Swiss sailor who, despite his long sailing resume, has not notched up a Cape Horn rounding. Until now.

Stamm’s pace from New Zealand has again been nothing short of remarkable. Until we get his official time for rounding, we cannot calculate his time from Tauranga, but it’s roughly 14 and a half days. When you compare this against the Volvo Ocean race leaders who rounded in just over 14 days, you get a sense of what an extraordinary sailor this man is. Since leaving New Zealand Bernard has had his foot firmly on the pedal and has not let up the pace for even a second. The cracking pace of Bobst Group Armor lux led fellow Class 1 skipper Emma Richards, no stranger to Cape Horn herself, to write, "I continue to watch in amazement, no fascination, as Bernard keeps clocking massive average speeds. He will exit the Southern Ocean in the next few hours and I still have 900miles to go!" Indeed Stamm has blown the doors off everybody and looks set to tackle the second stage of Leg 4 with the same intensity. Only a major breakdown can stop him now.

--- Brian Hancock great.circle@verizon.net

Source: Around Alone Official Site