Close-hauled happiness…
With the wind shifting south as noted by Simon overnight, all the GGR boats are now close-hauled in crossed seas for some wet sailing. Simon is heading to Trindade to change his genoa halyard, sheltered from wind and waves. This repair will reduce the 200-mile gap with Abhilash, still trucking at 7 knots with Tapio and Pat, while Kirsten is heading south directly towards the South Atlantic high.
Still 20 knots of ESE in the mid-fleet pack with Damien pulling away in these uncomfortable conditions, happy to finally hear Pat and Kirsten on the SSB radio, a sign that he is getting closer to the lead! Michael announced he does not wish to sail around the world upwind, and all sailors acknowledge they need to manage their book stock and reading time, or risk running out early!
Elliott and Arnaud finally got some fresh winds and are moving south! Elliott is now only 1° from the equator, which he should cross this weekend. Arnaud is only 8 miles north of Ian, which he could overtake this weekend. Ian has not yet had the same wind, but gave Puffin some TLC, diving (no barnacles), repairing his windvane and mainsail, ready for some southern upwind quality time!
