On the 11th day, the slide southwards is confirmed for the GGR fleet: winds are easing, barometers rising, seas flattening, kettles are on, and boats are drying out.
To the north, sailing around the low-pressure system that is moving south along Portugal, Damien Guillou is working hard, clocking 166 miles over 24 hours, for a 6.9 knots average, the best performance of the fleet! He is now only 30 miles behind Arnaud and 130 behind Mark and may well take advantage of the upcoming northerlies to fly the spinnaker down the Iberian coast.
With 240 miles to go to Lanzarote for the forerunners, we see converging routes for the most outside boats, particularly the trio of Abhilash, Guy deBoer and Kirsten in a favourable position to the West with veering winds, and Pat to the East, who can no longer defend his third place.
East of Madeira, Tapio and Simon have a double advantage: their duel forces them into a higher pace, and their lead could make them avoid the wind hole over the Canaries expected to arrive from the North on Sunday and Monday.
