The procession across the ‘pond’ continues tonight with ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) showing a clean pair of heels to the chasing pack, as she climbs north to almost the same latitude of movistar (Bouwe Bekking).

But, in a change of fortune, Ericsson (Neal McDonald) is the boat for Sanderson to worry about. Neal McDonald’s team is in the groove and their speed over the last six hours has been averaging at two knots faster than ABN AMRO ONE. They have gained 16 miles and are now 59 miles behind the Dutch boat.

Another boat to sail fast and make a gain is fourth placed Pirates of the Caribbean (Paul Cayard), but this team is still 139 miles away from the top spot. Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) with his crew of Olympic sailors, is holding on to third position, but this team’s speed is not as impressive.

Further back in the fleet, the losses become more painful. ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) lost 26 miles, and Brunel (Matt Humphries) 10 miles. But the worst is still to come. Movistar (Bouwe Bekking), which is 148 miles from the south eastern tip of Newfoundland, has lost another 19 miles and is still sailing slower than anyone else. This puts them 269 miles out of touch. However, with only approximately a third of this leg completed, there are still 1720 miles to sail, and anything is possible at this stage of the game.

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