Speaking on the dockside, Basurko commented, “It has been a very difficult leg and we are very pleased to be here. To finish second or third is important but the most important is to finish. When you finish you have everything. When sailing in Southern Ocean and you round Cape Horn and you are tacking up the Atlantic and you arrive here and you are finish. You feel so proud it is fantastic.”

“This year was very hard in the Southern Ocean, many cold fronts and very windy but also very beautiful as well. The Atlantic has been very strategically difficult and the race has been very tiring. I am looking forward to some down time with my friends and family and getting the boat ready for the next leg.”

“It is very close between me and Sir Robin but I know the North Atlantic very well and I am looking forward to the next leg. It will be very special for me to arrive in Bilbao. But before you finish anything is possible and it is so important to finish. I am very happy with myself because I know I do my best and I know Robin is doing his best also. But I can say it, I will be waiting for Robin with good wine in Bilbao.”

The podium finish should propel Basurko from fifth to third in the overall rankings for the VELUX 5 OCEANS Velux 5 Oceans #Velux5Oceans . After the leg one, Unai was over 5 days behind Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who finished third. However, with SAGA INSURANCE still over 1,000 miles from the finish, the Basque sailor hero should guarantee that he moves past Knox-Johnston and Dalton in the general rankings and secure third place before the final sprint home.

The second leg from Fremantle to Norfolk presented a number of problems for the young solo sailor. Basurko battled with strong winds and large seas immediately after leaving Western Australia much as with leg one and Unai initially headed directly west to position PAKEA to make a pass for Cape Leeuwin. When Sir Robin turned back to Fremantle to repair his autopilot systems, Unai feel into fourth as the rest of the fleet headed south to the great Australian Cape. The Basque skipper then held a northerly route through the Great Australian Bight, which left PAKEA over 500 miles behind the leader Stamm by Day 3. Day 6 saw him overtaken by SAGA INSURANCE, dropping back to last place, although Unai reclaimed fourth only two days later.

PAKEA became locked in a close battle with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston as they approached the southern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, often separated by only a few hundred miles. When Graham Dalton was forced to make a pit stop in his native New Zealand to replenish his ruined food stores on a SOUTHERN MAN AGD, Basurko moved into third place (Day 16), although by now over 2,000 miles behind the leader Stamm who was blasting through the icy expanses of the desolate Southern Ocean. When Dalton re-joined the race track after 48 hours, the last three yachts were all closely positioned and set up for a tight drag race to Cape Horn.

The brave Basque skipper managed to hold off his adversaries across thousands of miles in a close fought battle, in what was his first experience sailing in the deep southern latitudes. However, just prior reaching the tip of South America Sir Robin Knox-Johnston overtook PAKEA and moved up into third. However, immediately after passing the Horn the sailing legend was forced to make a pit stop in Ushuaia (Argentina) to repair essential communications equipment and handed third place back to Unai on a plate.

An excited Unai Basurko was ecstatic to have rounded Cape Horn on February 18 for the first time in his career, dedicating his accomplishment to his father, who always supported his ambitions and dream. This tricky milestone was made all the harder with rain and winds of 45 knots. Although Basurko had sailed PAKEA single-handed from its Australian boatyard, he had taken the Open 60 through the Panama Canal and this was an important achievement.

With Knox-Johnston pulling into Argentina, Unai’s remaining competitor in close proximity also dropped away as Graham Dalton was forced to make a pit stop in the Falkland Islands in order to re-fuel. Whilst Basurko was still 1,000 miles behind the Japanese skipper Kojiro Shiraishi in second, he developed a comfortable distance between the two back markers in the South Atlantic and never again rescinded third as he pushed towards Norfolk and crossed the equator.

Basurko set some impressive speeds in the Atlantic despite a number of set backs, including a close encounter with two whales and a broken halyard. The young sailor also had no masthead wind instruments since the delicate equipment was torn from the mast early in the Pacific Ocean. Basurko was consequently unable to provide his autopilots with the vital wind strength and direction data, making solo sailing more demanding, with less opportunity to rest. His risky tactic of sailing through the S^t Helena High Pressure System also paid huge dividends.

Basurko was met by friends, family and shore team, as well as local supporters from Norfolk and will take time to rest and repair PAKEA before taking her home. Norfolk will play host to the VELUX 5 OCEANS Velux 5 Oceans #Velux5Oceans throughout March and April as the other skippers arrive, with the yachts moored in downtown Norfolk at the waterfront marina in the heart of the city. The yachts will set off on the final leg of the round the world race to Bilbao on April 15, with a spectacular send off in Norfolk and the Chesapeake Bay ahead of the start of the Azalea Festival (NATO festival) and the 400 year celebrations of the Jamestown landings.