The northeast trade winds are providing plenty of power on warm water as the fleet heads towards the even stronger northeast monsoon winds that will give the sailors a final power-blast into the finish of this 5,600-mile stage from Melbourne.
Right now the navigators – Dongfeng’s Franck Cammas among them – are having to keep an eagle eye on their charts as the boats pick their way past reefs and small atolls. At times they can skim past islands without having to alter course but occasional expensive diversions are required and these can have a big impact on the ranking.
The big story of the second half of the leg continues to be the successful gamble by Team Sun Hung Kai Scallywag which is still leading the fleet on its southerly and leeward flank.
Mid-way through their 14th day at sea Scallywag has established a big advantage over second-placed Vestas 11th Hour Racing (+76.5), with Team AkzoNobel another 12 miles back in third place and Dongfeng eight miles further back (+96) in fourth.
Over the last 24 hours the south-north separation between Scallywag and AkzoNobel on the windward edge has been cut in half as the fleet comes closer together, something that reduces the passing opportunities for the boats behind as the northern tip of the Philippines nears.
Dongfeng has slipped a little in its battle with Vestas and Team AkzoNobel over the last couple of days. And although its main race rival, MAPFRE, is still a long way behind it in fifth place (+171), there are no longer two or three boats between them, something that could have transformed the overall scoreboard in Dongfeng’s favour by Hong Kong.
However there is still a long way to go and the men and women led by Charles Caudrelier on Dongfeng will be pushing hard, 24 hours-a-day, to try to gain places against MAPFRE and get back ahead of Vestas who started the leg equal on points with Dongfeng in second place overall.
Latest position report at 0700UTC:
1. Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag. DTF: 1,822.2nm
2. Vestas 11th Hour Racing. DTL: 76.5nm
3. Team AkzoNobel. DTL: 88.5nm
4. Dongfeng Race Team. DTL: 96.0nm
5. MAPFRE. DTL: 171.7nm
6. Team Brunel. DTL: 218.4nm
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic. DTL: 219.4nm
