Leg 9, Day 2: It’s all change as Dongfeng and the northern boats lose ground

After leading in the early stages of Leg 9 Dongfeng Race Team has now slipped down the fleet ranking along with MAPFRE as the three boats in the north contend with light winds.

Mid-way through their second day at sea, Charles Caudrelier and his crew are making only 10 knots in sixth position while the four boats to the south led by Team Brunel are rocking along at 20 knots.

The race order has turned inside out which will be causing frustration on board the Chinese-sponsored boat. But the important consolation is that Dongfeng’s main rival for overall honours, MAPFRE, is also in the northern group and currently 18 miles behind Dongfeng in last place.

There is still a long way to go on what looks to be a complex leg meteorologically, and with the lateral separation between the two groups at about 230 miles, anything could happen.

Speaking at the chart table on Dongfeng, Pascal Bidegorry anticipated a difficult few days as he and Caudrelier made their choice – go north or stay more in the south?

“In my mind I don’t want to change the way we sail because it’s a double-points leg…the goal is to try to do the best that we can…we can find a different way to get to Cardiff,” he said.

Bidegorry added that it was not easy deciding which way to go. “There is no special plan for us – the plan is to sail well and that is it,” he said.

On deck Kevin Escoffier has been taking his turn on the wheel. Things look a lot quieter – and drier – now in the cockpit after the power-showers of the first 24 hours.

Position report at 08:46 UTC:

1. Team Brunel. DTF: 2,418.2nm
2. Vestas 11th Hour Racing. DTL: 7.2nm
3. Team AkzoNobel. DTL: 7.6nm
4. Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag. DTL: 20.4nm
5. Turn the Tide on Plastic. DTL: 28.2nm
6. Dongfeng Race Team. DTL: 30.6nm
7. MAPFRE. DTL: 51.3nm