The challenge continues on Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, with extended doldrums-like conditions making for painfully slow progress.
© James Blake/Volvo Ocean Race
SHK/Scallywag and AkzoNobel have traded off the lead a few times over the past 12 hours and despite polling in at only 4 or 5 knots on the 0700 (UTC) position report, have maintaned their advantage over the fleet.
That's because the rest of the boats are only making 3-4 knots, which gives an idea as to how difficult it is out there.
"At our current speed our ETA is in 55 days, ha ha we will definitely have run out of food by then," jokes Scallywag navigator Libby Greenhalgh. "This is always a fun game that really boosts morale onboard when you tell the guys on deck it will be 55 days at this speed or 6 more days until we see more than 8-knots of wind except in some freak clouds!"
Scallywag and AkzoNobel are one of three match races in the fleet at the moment. 25 miles behind, and making a move to the east, Turn the Tide on Plastic and Brunel are joined at the hip.
"So we had a good night sailing and have woken up to enjoy breakfast with Brunel once again," writes Dee Caffari, skipper on Turn the Tide on Plastic.
"We are much closer this time and are in the same wind with no clouds and squalls to separate us again so we are now locked in a close battle, hopefully all the way to the end!
"In fact looking at the position report this morning sees the fleet in three groups of two battling it out. We just are not sure who is playing the finals, who is playing the semi finals and who is playing for the wooden spoon!"
Her counterpart on Brunel agrees: "The next 48 hours will be decisive as to who is going to be the front runner going into NZL," noted Bouwe Bekking.
"The team that sails out first into the new pressure will start making a healthy jump. But of course everything can happen, as the wind has done many times not even close to what the forecast said it would do."
Meanwhile, the third pairing features the top two boats on the overall leaderboard - MAPFRE and Dongfeng.
These two have been more or less in sight of each other for the full leg. And that's still the case this morning, 100 miles behind the leader. Plenty of work to do for this pair then, but the light and variable conditions provide hope and possibility.
