Rhythm of the Race The Doldrums take affect.  Single digit wind and boat speeds for the leaders.  You have to look back to VM Materiaux 247 miles back to find double digit breeze.

Standings table 

Top 3

1.  PRB Michel Desjoyeaux  7:2 North 24:5 West
2.  Aqutaine Innovations 7:3 North 23:2 West + 14 miles 
3.  Active Wear Marc Thiercelin 8.0 North 24:0 West +36

Virtual Spectator shows Parlier with the green logo on his main nearest to Africa of the leaders.  Yellow Spinnaker is Whirlpool trying to consolidate with leaders.

Courtesy of:

Fleet round up section 

At the top of the fleet it looks like PRB so far has out dueled Aquitaine Innovations in Doldrums routing.   Then again, at last report PRB was sailing at 2.2 knots, Aquitaine Innovations at 7.18 knots.  

A bit farther back are a pair of British boats with different Doldrums plans.  Kingfisher is in 7th place.  Ellen Macarthur has gone west for her Doldrums passage: 26°.  Josh Hall on EBP/Gartmore is taking a route similar to Yves Parlier.  Gartmore is at 23°.

Bernard Stamm is at anchor off Sal Island.  He is awaiting parts to revive his dead autopilot.

Skipper Communications  

Mike Golding Team Group 4 "Sailing without wind instruments on an Open 60 could be described as being like a Formula 1 car without its rev counter. Licking one finger and sticking it in the air is useless on a boat that can travel as fast as the wind."

Javier Sanso Old Spice "I’m behind but I’m not going to follow the others as our boat speed is similar, so I’ll play my own cards and hope to gybe at the right time and gain back a couple of positions."

Raphael Dindelli Sogal Extenso "I also have problems with my old Kevlar sails, especially with the staysail and the gennaker."

March Thiercelin Active Wear ""Otherwise, last night was spent adjusting everything: furling, unfurling, becalmed / squall / becalmed... classic stuff!"

Dominique Wavre Union Bancaire Privée "I am in harmony with the boat, and I have all the potential I need. Here I have less problems because I don’ have all the outside world requirements . I have a marine attitude."

Eric Dumont EUROKA UN UNIVERS DE SERVICES "I’m not sailing the route I wanted to do, it’s more the route I am able to do!

Catherine Chabaud Whirlpool "It’s magic to be able to look for satellite photos which show you the whole world. This planetary game we’re playing with our boats is awesome! You learn so much."

Ellen Macarthur Kingfisher "We were sailing along quite happily, I'd just put the gennaker up when the pilot failed and we went in to an involuntary gybe. The mainsheet snapped as it was sliced by the broken block...big mess. I sat down and thought it through logically - Its taken me two hours to get it all fixed, but I guess at least I've now sorted out the broken mainsheet block that was sitting there as an undone job (this is what happens when something is left for too long!). I used the mobile Spinlock jammer to lock off the remains of the mainsheet while I sorted the problem."

Didier Munduteguy DDP 60° SUD "This boat is not one which you can push quickly, so I am taking a leisurely rhythm, so I reckon it’ll take me 120 days to finish this race."

Yves Parlier Aquitaine Innovations "The wind died abruptly in the afternoon and I spent the night trying to manoeuvre the boat in a practically non-existant wind, which remained elusive, and then would push the boat over to 40 degrees in a sudden gust...So in short I’m in the Doldrums."



Current weather conditions NE winds 10-20 for trailing boats.  For the Doldrums bound leaders light winds from the easterly quadrant.  

Weather Forecast Veering to East for doldrums bound leaders

What does it all mean

The Doldrums and their uncertainty have enveloped the leaders.  They'll experience it all from frustrating random zephyrs to sudden boat breaking squalls.  No guarantee the positions will remain constant.