Thursday (19/03) was a landmark 24 hours for the Portimão Global Ocean Race with Felipe Cubillos and José Munoz rounding Cape Horn at 0050 GMT on Desafio Cabo de Hornos complete with fixed wing, helicopter and warship escort provided by the Armada de Chile transporting friends family and supporters to this rocky outcrop of Chilean territory at 56°S. Just under ten hours later as the Southern Ocean sun rose, Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme in second place on Beluga Racer squeezed close enough inshore to smell the guano on the cape’s cliffs.

This morning (20/03) at 0404 GMT, the British duo of Jeremy Salvesen and David Thomson took Team Mowgli round the cape under the cover of darkness, holding third place in the double-handed fleet. “We have just rounded the last of the Great Capes on our race around the world - and we feel completely fantastic,” reported Salvesen in very high spirits at 0600 GMT this morning. “To put this achievement into a little perspective, it is worth noting that in the last two years, fewer than 20 people have achieved this in short-handed racing and, of course, only the seven of us ever in a 40ft racing class.” Salvesen and Thomson have now joined a very exclusive group: “To date, 11 people have walked on the moon and nearly 500 people have been to space,” he continues, “and over 500 people reached the top of Mount Everest last year alone.”

Yesterday morning (19/03), the speed averages of Team Mowgli and the fleet’s solo entry, Michel Kleinjans on Roaring Forty, rose as the two boats approached the cape. “The weather forecast we received from the Chilean Coastguard was for 40-50 knots of wind with gust of up to 100 knots,” explains Salvesen.  “Neither of us has ever been in an area subject to such a forecast! So it was with not a little trepidation that we sailed onwards towards Cape Horn with the wind at our backs and the knowledge that as the sea bed rises, so do the waves.” Fortunately, conditions were less wild than predicted. “In the event we 'only' had gusts of just under 60 knots and the sea wasn't as bad as we had feared,” he continues. “It was rough and far more than the autopilot could handle, so we spent the last 12 hours helming one hour on, one hour off. And it was brilliant!”

Although Team Mowgli passed the cape in darkness and only the lighthouse beacons were visible, nothing could spoil the moment explains Salvesen. “After rounding the Horn and getting into the lee of the land, the wind dropped off sharply and after an hour or so, we put the pilot back on and cracked open the champagne - followed sharply by a quick curry at 6am!” In the latest 0620 GMT (20/03) position poll, the British duo are ten miles due east of Deceit Island, just north-east of Cape Horn, averaging 10 knots in around 24 knots of north-westerly breeze. “So, northwards again and into the Atlantic,” confirms Salvesen. “Still another 1,000 miles of official Southern Ocean to go though before we are north of the 40th parallel and plenty of room for miles to be gained and lost in the tricky weather systems up the South American coast. We may be behind but we are certainly not out of this race yet!” With the approach to Le Maire Strait 90 miles to the north, Salvesen and Thomson are set to follow Herrmann and Oehme through the 16 mile gap between Tierra del Fuego and Isla de Los Estados.

Just over 100 miles west of Team Mowgli, Michel Kleinjans on Roaring Forty is averaging the highest speed in the fleet at 12.6 knots. Sailing in the strongest breeze around the Horn with north-westerly winds of 30-40 knots spinning off a low pressure system centred west of the Antarctic Peninsula, the fleet’s only solo sailor will have the toughest ride round the cape and an ETA of 1300-1400 GMT is likely. Meanwhile, Felipe Cubillos and José Muñoz took Desafio Cabo de Hornos passed the eastern end of Isla de Los Estados at 2100 GMT last night, while Herrmann and Oehme on Beluga Racer cut the corner through Le Maire Strait, exiting the channel at 0100 GMT this morning, shaving the Chilean’s lead down to 60 miles.

However intense the competition becomes for the remaining 2,000 miles of racing before reaching the finish line in Ilhabela, Brazil, the achievement of all the teams is already immense. “Helen Keller had it right - and she was both blind and deaf,” explains Salvesen. “Not only should life for all of us be an adventure, but we should also challenge ourselves,” he continues. “Have dreams and the courage to follow them with a passion and a determination to see them through. If anything can come out of what we have achieved, we can only hope that it is to inspire others to conquer their fears, achieve their ambitions. Aim for the stars and never let up.” Having learnt to sail just five years ago, rounding Cape Horn is especially poignant for Salvesen. “Of course it doesn't have to be sailing or even anything remotely adventurous,” he adds. “Hell, it doesn't matter if your passion is to play an instrument, write a book or even be a great stamp collector. The important thing is to do it with a passion. That's something that each and every one of us should achieve at least once in our lives.”