Up she goes!
Yesterday, we talked with Kirsten about the wind and sea conditions preventing her from heading as high as she would like. Today, with stronger winds, she went 35° up, at 350° and 6 knots boat speed, a little higher than her runner-up. In doing so, the leader who was bleeding up to 40 miles/day has reversed the trend, and gained 10 miles on Abhilash today, for a gap of 60 miles! The trade winds are finally coming back for Kirsten who has spent almost a month in light airs.
Simon (CH) finds his way up between the two leaders. He is leading the fleet, but of course not leading the race, since he is in Chichester class. Hats-off nevertheless! Gugg has slowed down and is getting in the doldrums, but is happy and active. He exercises between sail changes and dawn dancing to beat the heat, confident in his plan for an express crossing of the doldrums.
Further south, it’s Jeremy (CH) who calls the shots, with the best distance in the fleet today, on a nice beam reach on a direct northerly course on 31°W. Did Michael share his trade secret for his speedy crossing of the South Atlantic? Puffin is coming at good pace, further improving her upwind sailing in a medium northerly flow that will increase tomorrow. Now over 49°S, Ian (CH) is finally out of the Furious 50s!
