The good, the bad and the ugly
The weekend was fair in the Atlantic, less so in the south which saw some nasty conditions. Puffin was knocked down by a wave on Saturday night while Ian was in conversation with Peter Mott on the HF radio, and spent last night in 30-50 knots, under storm jib only, now 250 miles from Cape Horn which he will round on March 22. Jeremy (CH) 800 miles to his NE has similar rough conditions slightly lighter and later but calmer seas, protected in his SW by the Falklands. He is finally out of the 50’s and enjoying the wildlife.
Now off the coast of Brazil, Michael alternates the good, the bad and the ugly. He made better progress than the forecast suggested this weekend, tacking to take advantage of the wind rotation, but was idle this morning until now. With 180 miles in 72 hours, he’s been averaging 2.5 knots since Friday, but the high pressure moving east will send in some fresh, albeit fragile, NW winds, during the day. This week is going to be hard on Capt. Gugg’s nerves, time to get the disco ball out on Nuri!
In front it’s party time for Kirsten! With 420 miles covered since Friday, she has sailed at a 6-knot average last weekend and has regained 120 miles over Abhilash (40 miles/day) with a gap of now almost 400 miles. The stop was longer and more drastic for Kirsten than for her pursuers, but she will keep a slight advantage this week with the wind coming back from the east: more pressure and earlier! Simon (CH) crossed his own wake on Sunday morning and is keeping pace with the leaders. Next stop: the doldrums, somewhere between the latitudes of Recife and Natal.
