With the Chilean duo of Felipe Cubillos and José Muñoz crossing the Leg 5 Scoring Gate at 2122 UTC on Thursday, Desafio Cabo de Hornos took the maximum gate score of two points, bringing their overall total for the circumnavigation to 41 points (the scoring system and individual team scores for Legs 1-5 are listed below).

For the German team of Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme on board Beluga Racer, second place at the scoring gate crossed at 1800 UTC on Friday (12/06) supplies 1.5 points, bringing Herrmann and Oehme’s total pre-finish line to 47.1 points. In effect, as long as Beluga Racer now complete Leg 5 in first, second or third place or are even scored DNF (Did Not Finish) in the double-handed fleet, the German team have won the inaugural Portimão Global Ocean Race overall.

However, the threat of the damaged upper port spreader on the blue, German Class 40 has been a concern, although both Herrmann and Oehme are supremely confident that the lashings they have fitted and prudent sailing will get them across the North Atlantic to Portimão. Until the scoring gate there was, though, one threat to an overall victory by Beluga Racer.

The rules of the Portimão Global Ocean Race are very specific regarding a DNF boat. The event’s  Notice of Race (NOR) supplies the information in NOR 14.3 ‘The time limit at a finishing line (not a scoring gate) will be 12 days after the first boat has finished, after which time any yacht not finished or retired will be scored DNF (changes RRS 35).’ Effectively, if the damage became worse and Herrmann and Oehme are forced to fit a jury rig or make a pitstop for repairs in the Azores, they would have to finish within 12 days of the first boat to arrive in Portimão.

There is a further rule applied to a DNF boat regarding points for a boat that fails to complete a leg of the race. Part A of the Sailing Instructions (SI) for Portimão Global Ocean Race state: ‘A boat which does not finish a leg (DNF) or retires after finishing (RAF) will receive any bonus points gained at a scoring gate plus finish points for the place one more than that of the last-placed boat had all starters finished.’ In effect, should Beluga Racer become DNF, Herrmann and Oehme would still net the points that would have been awarded to a phantom fourth boat in the double-handed fleet and score  4 points for Leg 5 despite the DNF status.

Had Beluga Racer been overtaken by Jeremy Salvesen and David Thomson on Team Mowgli at the Leg 5 Scoring Gate and then failed to finish the race within the crucial 12 days, the scenario would have been very different with a leg win by the Chilean team and a tie-break on points between Desafio Cabo de Hornos and Beluga Racer. In such a situation, the tie would have been broken by the fastest elapsed time around the planet between the two boats. However, the German’s DNF for the final leg would hand any elapsed time victory to the Chilean team.

As the danger of a potential German overall loss through DNF has been removed since Herrmann and Oehme crossed the scoring gate in second place, the honour bestowed on the first boat to return to Portimão is still at stake.

Scoring value system:
Gate Scores: 1^st – 2 points, 2^nd – 1.5 points, 3^rd – 1 point
Leg finish scores: 1^st – 10 points, 2^nd – 8 points, 3^rd – 6 points

Portimão Global Ocean Race running total for Leg 1 – Leg 5:

Leg 1 Portimão-Cape Town
Scoring Gate points
1. Beluga Racer 2
2. Team Mowgli 1.5
3. Desafio Cabo de Hornos 1
Leg finish points
1. Beluga Racer 10
2. Desafio Cabo de Hornos 8
3. Team Mowgli 6
Total points for Leg 1
1. Beluga Racer 12
2. Desafio Cabo de Hornos 9
3. Team Mowgli 7.5

Leg 2 Cape Town - Wellington
Scoring Gate points
1. Beluga Racer 2
2. Desafio Cabo de Hornos 1.5
3. Team Mowgli 1
Leg finish points 
1. Beluga Racer 10
2. Desafio Cabo de Hornos 8
3. Team Mowgli 6
Total points for Leg 2 (overall points)
1. Beluga Racer 12 (24)
2. Desafio Cabo de Hornos 9.5 (18.5)
3. Team Mowgli 7 (14.5)

Leg 3 Wellington - Ilhabela
Scoring gate points
1. Beluga Racer 2
2. Team Mowgli 1.5
3. Desafio Cabo de Hornos 1
Leg finish points
1. Desafio Cabo de Hornos 10
2. Beluga Racer 8
3. Team Mowgli 6
Total points for Leg 3 (overall)
1. Desafio Cabo de Hornos 11 (29.5)
2. Beluga Racer 10 (34)
3. Team Mowgli 7.5 (22)

Leg 4 Ilhabela - Charleston
Scoring gate points
1. Beluga Racer 2
2. Desafio Cabo de Hornos 1.5
3. Team Mowgli 1
Leg finish points
1. Beluga Racer 10
2. Desafio Cabo de Hornos 8
3. Team Mowgli 6
Total points for Leg 4 (overall)
1. Beluga Racer 12 (46)
2. Desafio Cabo de Hornos 9.5 (39)
3. Team Mowgli 7 (29)