All the GGR entrants have now been through the Lanzarote gate, an emotional passage for most, marking the departure point towards the Southern Hemisphere. Before, they still have to get out of the windless bubble off Mauritania and Senegal, and cross the Doldrums, an unstable zone that can reshuffle the cards before the fleet glides towards the island of Trindade, off Brazil.
Arnaud, still in downwind conditions, has clocked 106 miles in 24 hours, the third mileage in the fleet behind Simon and Tapio. Damien has also closed the gap with the mid-fleet group, passing Ian Herbert Jones over the weekend, and is only 70 miles away from Elliott.
For most of the others, it’s a bit of a drifting contest. Salvation looks to be west again, where Jeremy, Kirsten and Pat are finding a light northerly flow, while the wind will return from the back of the fleet mid-week which should regroup the fleet further. Simon and Tapio, 300 miles west, cleared the Cape Verde Islands and started crossing the Doldrums, respectively 130 and 100 miles ahead of Pat Lawless, leading the chase in 3rd place.
Reminder to read the tweets! Full of amazing stories; Elliot covered in red sahara dust, four dead birds and many locusts?
