Please consult The Around Alone Report Users Guide for an explanation of this report.
Call it karma, call it payback, call it turn about is fair play it is happening in Around Alone's Class I. Fila has closed to within 78 miles. Certainly if the race ended now, Fila would be the winner as Giovanni Soldini has many hours of redress time coming. The question now is will he beat Somewhere to Punta Del Este without aid of redress ?
Fleet Round Up:
Somewhere still leads the race, but
her lead over Fila is down to 78 miles. Somewhere was hurt by a repair stop.
First, the repairs took longer than expected. Once he was able to get
Somewhere underway the wind had shifted. Therefore he was unable to sail the preferred
course. Rather he had to sail east and had the added burden of a lumpy head
sea. He head to sail outside Isla de los Estados. He then fell under the wind shadow
of this island, and drifted. All the while Soldini was sailing around Cape Horn and
moving fast on a northerly course.
Fila has rounded Cape Horn and is making a play for a second consecutive Leg 3 victory. On rounding Cape Horn, Giovanni Soldini said: ""Four years ago I did it in total darkness and couldn't see a thing. But yesterday even the sun was shining!" Fila is closer to South America should get wind coming off the land first. Still, Somewhere leads and Soldini must sail hard to catch him. At last report, Somewhere had a 1 knot speed advantage, so the race is still on. The race is expected until Sunday or Monday with the boats sailing upwind in heavy air.
Cray Valley is 1st in Class II by 152 miles, 58 more than yesterday. J.P. Mouligne sums up the recent past and the recent future in this statement: "Getting to the Horn draws more on survival than sailing skills but the last 1200 miles to Punta will be back to conventional sailing and I need to be ready for it."
Magellan Alpha is 2nd in Class by 152 miles. Mike Garside is making plans for his Cape Horn rounding. One of worst case scenarios he ran through: "I guess my biggest worry would be that I was to close on Cape Horn well to the north with a southerly blowing me onto the land."
Balance Bar is 3rd in Class II by 303 miles 50 miles less than yesterday.
Next is the first of the 40 foot Class II entries, Wind
of Change. Wind of Change is 525 miles back, a 22 mile gain. Viktor
comments, "IS NOT TOO BAD", however he also comments, "WE HAVE THE MAINSAIL
LASHED TO THE BOOM AND BOOM DOWN TO THE DECK.SAILING ALMOST DEAD DOWN WIND WITH JENOA
DOING ABOUT TEN KNOTS."
Next is Shuten Dojhi II. Shuten lies 1796 miles from 1st place.
Next is www.no-barriers.com. Neal Petersen is 2049 miles back. Via an onshore consultant Neal Petersen has a running heater again. He says, "I must send Winds of Change and Balance Bar a note on what they could do to get their heaters working again."
Paladin 2 comes next 2218 miles back.
From Paladin Neil Hunter comments: "Now started reading the book
"1492" which is a little more nautical and should be interesting given that
Columbus sailed the same waters we have crossed and will cross again. No GPS or satellite
e-mail in those days."
What does it all mean ?
Weather forecasters expect the worst storm yet of Leg 2 to pound the Class 2 leaders as they approach Cape Horn. N-NW Winds of 30-50 knots will hit them as they round the Horn. So, the Class II leaders must still make Cape Horn in one piece before mounting a closing charge.