The TIMEZERO South Atlantic Showdown has been a hard-fought close battle from start to finish. The Race Start was announced by a Uruguayan Navy vessel blasting a canon and, suddenly, the fleet was underway again, this time bound for Cape Town – home port of Dare To Lead skipper Ryan Gibson, and a number of crew.

Ryan’s first blog reported: “It’s been a really nice start with light conditions and calm seas, which is welcoming for the new crew joining to settle in better. We started off with what felt like a Level 4 training race when all boats are in a short proximity, tacking across each other all the time.

The team play their Joker, allowed only once in the circumnavigation, to double their points, not including scoring gate and ocean sprint. It’s a big gamble, but will it pay off? (Hell yeah!).

“The spirits are high onboard, and we have almost half the crew sailing back to their home country. But we do have lots of work to do for a good result considering the competition and tricky forecasts ahead. CAPE TOWN, WE COMING!”

After light winds it eventually filled in and the race was on. But it had its consequences: Ryan reported “the green monster has revealed its ugly head once again for a few of the crew, but the stronger wind has also been more stable so there's also been a little more rest going on. We’re looking forward to seeing what Neptune has to show us.”

Ten days in Ryan writes that “the crew’s motivation is endless, even in the worst conditions they’re still eager to get on deck and keep the boat driving as fast as they can.

“The Scoring Gate was a lovely little win for us, feeling like justice had been served after our close loss on the one from race two. The key now is to keep the momentum we have going for the other two thirds of the trip. “There’s still a lot of miles to be covered and a lot of tricky weather systems to navigate round. It's still very much all to play for.”

By day 16, with the smell of Cape Town almost in the air, Dare To Lead was jostling for a podium place. Spirits were high as Ryan reported: “We just had a very productive four-hour watch averaging some high speeds so hoping the positions that will be coming through shortly are in our favour.

“This is a crucial part of the race as it is very tactical now. The last few days into Cape Town with a high pressure are looking to create some lighter winds nearer Cape Town so we are hoping to maintain our position and get through the high pressure without getting windholed...”

Then a master move: Stealth Mode. 24 hours of invisible destiny. The skipper report on the other side says it all: “As some of you have probably noticed we have come out of Stealth Mode and …are leading the race now, just ahead of Perseverance. It is very close and will be an amazing finish as we could easily keep trading places until the finish line!

“The last 150nm will keep everyone on their toes and I know how much a win would mean for this team and certainly myself into my hometown, with all our friends and family waiting for our arrival. Regardless of the result, I am extremely proud of our team and Charlie, who have all given 120% the entire race.

“Through all difficult situations and at the lowest times everyone really stepped up and motivated each other which was inspiring to witness. We are certainly ready for our stopover now in Cape Town, see you soon!

As we now know, they held onto that lead despite Perseverance driving hard to close the 9 nautical mile gap.

Congratulations to the crew of Dare To Lead. You did us proud.