While ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) is cruising along nicely, doing 20 knots at the head of the fleet, the pressure is on the chasing pack as they gybe in order to claw their way north to round Cape Farewell on the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, 354 nautical miles ahead.

Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) and Pirates of the Caribbean (Paul Cayard) are now following the same course to windward of the rest of the fleet. ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) and Ericsson Racing Team (Neal McDonald) are in the middle of the group but further back, and movistar (Bouwe Bekking) is to windward of ABN AMRO ONE.

The wind speed for the leaders is around 20 knots, but Neal McDonald only has 17 knots, making it harder and harder to make inroads into the lead, although he has been able to maintain his position over the last six hours. All may not be lost, as, looking ahead, the likelihood of much lighter and more variable conditions in Cook Strait suggest a possible restart as the lead boats stall and the trailing boats race up from behind. Often such variable conditions can benefit the trailing boats as they can watch for mistakes made by the leaders and possibly sail right past any stalled boats.

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