You really wouldn’t want to be on board one of the Volvo Ocean Race boats right now.
© Martin Keruzore/Volvo Ocean Race
The leaders, Dongfeng Race Team, have made an incredible 11 gybes between the time they passed the northern tip of the Antarctica Ice Exclusion Zone at approximately 22:00 UTC last night and the 0700 UTC report.
MAPFRE, their closest pursuer just 7 miles back, is matching them move for move.
© James Blake/Volvo Ocean Race
The boats behind, Vestas 11th Hour Racing, Brunel and Scallywag appear to be taking a more moderate approach.
Windspeed is in 18-25 knot range, so these won’t be easy maneouvres. They will cost in terms of impact on the crew and the equipment. But the two leaders feel it’s necessary to stay in stronger winds and minimise their distance sailed to Melbourne.
Behind, the good news is that team AkzoNobel is making very good speed again, indicating their latest repair attempt on the mast track has come good. We’ll have more on this in the daily report following the 1300 UTC position report.
In the meantime, follow the tracker here.
