The next few hours are going to be difficult for ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson), the current leaders of leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race, as they continue their drive south in search of the strong westerlies. They are now sailing towards a light wind band, which will slow them down, allowing the chasing pack to close the margin considerably. ABN AMRO ONE is approximately 320 nautical miles off the coast of Brazil, 652 nm north of Rio De Janeiro which features as a stopover port later in the race.

Now only 49 nm behind ABN ARMO ONE and closing quickly is Brasil 1 (Torben Grael), who has reduced the deficit to just 49 nm and achieving a higher 24-hour run (329nm) than ABN AMRO ONE (322) and sailing faster. Grael has kept his easterly position approximately 40 nm east ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) and Ericsson (Neal McDonald) who is sandwiched between them. Sunergy and Friends (Grant Wharington) has gained 14 nm in the last six hours, but are now out of touch with the rest of the fleet.

Will ABN AMRO ONE run into a brick wall, allowing the rest of the fleet to concertina together? The pattern will emerge throughout today.

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