After the relentlessly fast sailing of the past few days, the wind has eased and the tired crews, racing in leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race, have been able to enjoy a few hours respite without being constantly soaked by the huge rollers that break over the boat.

Speeds are still high but less water is coming over the deck, which means less bailing out down below. “It’s funny, though,” writes Simon Fisher, navigator of ABN AMRO TWO, the holder of new GANT TIME 24 hour run world record. “Having pushed the boundaries of what we could do with this boat yesterday, what we once thought was extreme no longer seems so extreme any more. I say we have having a more relaxing time, but we are still charging along at 21-22 knots average with our fractional spinnaker and full main. This was pretty full on for us in the last leg, but now it seems more like the norm.”

In frustrating fifth position, ING Real Estate Brunel (Grant Wharington) has rounded the scoring gate at the Kerguelen Islands, scoring 1.5 points. The rest of the fleet is staying south as long as possible, reaping the benefits of the strong westerlies, and banking some miles, before making the critical north easterly turn towards the next scoring gate at Eclipse Island, set off Albany on the Australian coast. In their path is a series of high pressure systems which is starting to affect the leaders’ charge and giving a window of opportunity to the chasing pack.

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