Around the World in 9 Months

    The final leg was all about picking the right sails for the wildly fluctuating conditions. And not making mistakes. 
    A few hours into the leg, rainsqualls descended. Mainsails were quickly reefed as fierce winds and waves battered the fleet.
    The first daring breakaway came when Puma sailed to the west of Ile de Sein, a tiny island off the western tip of France. 
    Camper led the pack across the stormy English Channel as darkness descended. Up ahead lay the Leg 9 exclusion zone, a perilous no-sail area encompassing the busiest shipping channel in the world.
    At this point, only a mile separated first from fourth place. Puma and Groupama were to the west and Camper and Telefónica to the east as the fleet entered the notorious Celtic Sea, where the ocean recoils off the continental shelf and radiates with jackhammer waves.

The Light of Day
    After a nasty night at sea, Telefónica held a tenuous lead. Camper was a half-mile astern as the sun rose and the fleet approached the next waypoint, the infamous Fastnet Rock, the most southerly point of Ireland.
    Puma’s westerly route paid off. The black cat rounded Fastnet Rock a minute ahead of Telefónica, with Camper and Groupama less than five minutes behind.
    Rounding Blasket Island on the southwest tip of Ireland, the boats raced downwind along the west coast, passing the misty Aran Islands, their towering dark cliffs guarding the entrance to Galway Bay at the breathtaking Eiragh lighthouse.
    Now it was a four-boat match.
    Puma sailed the shortest route straight up the middle of the bay, while her rivals took slightly different lines, hoping to catch a little more wind or less current.
    With 125 miles to go, Puma was a few hundred yards ahead of Camper.
    Hamish Hooper aboard Camper set the final stage. “We have been sailing along some of the most stunning coastline I have seen anywhere in the world. It is rugged and cold and harsh — the perfect backdrop for the final fight of this leg.”
    The other boats carried lots of equipment to stack on deck for the bumpy ride across the English Channel. Camper skipper Chris Nicholson, however, was convinced the race would be won in the last 30 miles. The weather forecast predicted a warm front would pass through in the wee hours of the last morning, delivering dying winds. So Camper was traveling light. The huge A4 light-wind spinnaker hoisted by this boat alone made the difference when the winds petered out.