All out and two in front!
This is it, Damien has taken PRB past La Coruña during a well-executed exit from the Bay of Biscay and must now negotiate the low-pressure system which is moving South. He has made up a lot of ground on Arnaud Gaist, whose track suggests he spent part of the night hove-to in confused seas, same as Mark “Coconut” Sinclair off the Rias Baixas in Galicia.
Ahead, Kirsten, who sailed west of the fleet in stronger winds and averaged above 6,5 knots during the night, broke away from Ian Herbert-Jones and Elliott Smith to close in on the “chasers” a tight-knit group of 6 boats led to the west by Abhilash Tomy, 4th in the fleet and first Rustler.
Further east, the friendly brawl between Jeremy Bagshaw and Guy Waites which started in Asturias, has been joined by Ertan Beskardes, happy at sea. Heartfelt message from Jeremy yesterday, aware of the privilege of living his dream: “Today I’m sailing with my late dad. He had his own dreams, but he put them aside to be a damn good father. RIP”
Ahead, a steadfast Pat Lawless to the East of the fleet, will probably alter course as the wind shifts north to stay in fresh air, closing in on Tapio Lehtinen and Simon Curwen, who are having a relentless and entertaining mano a mano off the coast of Morocco, within VHF range of each other and a mere 400 miles from Lanzarote.
The wind will gradually shift to the north tomorrow, Wednesday, dropping in intensity with seas flattening further, a little bit of heaven.
