The last 24 hours has seen little change in the order of the fleet. Somewhere still leads Class I. Josh Hall describes the situation this way: "He [Somewhere] now has the advantage of meeting all the favorable winds first for a while, but gradually we are and will reel him in again." Group 4 is 2nd 61 miles back, and Gartmore is 3rd 69 miles back. Gartmore now sails with a bit of handicap as her mast head wind instruments have gone down. Without them Josh Hall will: "I know the boat very well and will rely on my mental data base to keep the boat going at optimum."
Cray Valley has stretched its lead in Class II, and skipper J.P. Moligne has this take on the recent light air: ". A bad day at sea still beats a good day at the office!" Magellan Alpha trails her by 13 miles with Balance Bar 36 miles back.
These race leaders are back in business as far as wind is concerned. Both of the class leaders showed 10 knot readings at last report. IN effect the race is on again, and Mike Garside says from on board Magellan Alpha: "I have my plan, and no doubt, J-P and Brad have theirs." This three way battle for Class II supremacy is remarkable as the boats are still within VHF radio range and speak from time to time !
As predicted the boats in the back of the fleet have slowed. Their boats speeds are now in the 4 & 5 knot range. Robin Davie says that a recent weather forecast summed things up this way: ""there's no real wind between here and the equator - but there are a lot of calms." This is not what is needed when you are trying to catch up ! Neal Petersen describes life on www.no-barriers.com this way: "It has been a long and painful 18 hours." So, look for the top boats in each class to gain relative to the bottom boats.
The next obstacle coming for the leaders is the Doldrums. Right now it looks like they are narrowest at around 4 degrees north and 30 to 38 degrees west. As the leaders approach it will be interest where they transit and how long it takes them.
| Class I | ||
| Boat | Distance to Next Boat | Relative Position |
| Somewhere | ||
| Group 4 | 60 | North and West of Somewhere |
| Gartmore | 69 | North and West of Somewhere |
| Class II | ||
| Cray Valley | ||
| Magellan Alpha | 13 | North and East of Cray Valley |
| Balance Bar | 36 | North of Cray Valley |