Going, going, gone…
Jeremy, who’s waiting to slip Olleanna today, lost no ground on Ian, who’s been tacking nowhere for a day, but salvation is near with the low pressure bringing fresh westerlies later today, to push him though the last 60 miles he needs to reach the gate in 5th place.
In the Indian Ocean, Elliott has rounded Cape Leeuwin and making most of a downwind breeze that will strengthen and rotate west for the remaining 150-mile sprint to Fremantle, where his friends are waiting. Guy is still at 44°S and 140 miles this morning but will slow down during the day with a change of wind regime from NNW to SSW.
In the Pacific, Gugg saves the day at 3.5 knots average in weak winds but will be stuck later. The same fate awaits Kirsten and Abhilash a thousand miles west, still clocking good mileage. Kirsten dove to 47°S to escape the high pressure to her north, Abhilash is taking advantage of his eastern gap position, but both see the barometer rise inexorably as the wind drops. This will benefit Simon, the fastest in the fleet this morning, until Thursday.
