Breeze on!
The wind is picking up as the fleet begins to pick up speed, pointing towards Cape Town…
Written by Peter Rusch – Dee Caffari
© Ugo Fonolla/Volvo Ocean Race, “Dee and Team TTTOP”
A short Monday morning (UTC) update sees the teams all pointing at the finish line, now under 2,000 nautical miles for the leading boats.
The wind is picking up. Vestas 11th Hour Racing is seeing nearly 30 knots of wind, with boat speeds between 20 and 25 knots.
The leaderboard shows MAPFRE and Team Brunel head the fleet, with Bouwe Bekking’s Brunel boat nearly 15 miles further south and 30-odd miles west, of the Spanish.
The pair at the back of the fleet, SHK/Scallywag and Turn the Tide on Plastic are match racing through the South Atlantic, as Turn the Tide skipper Dee Caffari writes:
“We finally parted ways with Scallywag for a few hours today and separated by as much as 30 miles only to meet again for yet another port starboard crossing. Unbelievable that we should be so close for so long. It has been Southern Hemisphere match race so far.
“Those to the South are fast as predicted but we all have the good sailing conditions tonight and the wave pattern has increased along with the wind. Always tricky when we get the increase at night as it seems so much worse in the dark. Tomorrow will seem easier until it starts to drop in the afternoon.
“Cape Town at least feels as if it is getting closer now we are on this gybe for a while. Better than Cape Horn being closer with a skipper that has a reputation for going the wrong way. It makes for a much happier and less concerned crew.
