Heading south, but not everyone yet
Simon made good progress to the SE, on the longitude of Port Elizabeth, and continues south, looking for the right side of the high pressure, to finally sail downwind! Behind him, Tapio, Kirsten and Abhilash are also heading south, pushed to the west by the wind and current. Further north, Damien is becalmed on the coastline, conscious of fuel penalties and adverse currents to his south.
Michael Guggenberger posted the best 24-hour distance of the fleet this morning! 80 miles from Cape Town and negotiating a windless bubble, he will be the next skipper to pass the photo gate before heading into the Southern Ocean. The Austrian skipper, who started sailing 11 years ago, is having a superb race so far, and has demonstrated a great deal of mental strength and optimism which will be useful over the next 3 months!
Ertan is sailing in fresh wind, expected early next week, followed by Jeremy now on course for Cape Town, with a superb trajectory despite his handicap, which he explains to non-sailors in this way: “Sailing with barnacles is like doing a triathlon wearing a blanket jacket”. For the others, it will be very calm all week long, except for Ian today, who got wind on his southern route and gained 75 miles on Elliott.
