Mich Desjoyeaux confirmed this morning that he thinks he is already emerging into the NE’ly trades.
He is making 10.3 knots this morning much the same speed as Roland Jourdain, but the second placed skipper has yet to be slowed down by the Doldrums. For Desjoyeaux the trades do look to be quite well established at the moment and so he should be off…again.
Jourdain has gained 165 miles back since Sunday night and is now 336.1 miles behind Desjoyeaux. Armel Le Cléach is making 9.2 knots in third, he is into the trades and doing fine, about 691 miles behind Bilou.
Marc Guillemot is up to fourth –was 247 miles behind when Sam Davies when the British skipper hit the buffers and slowed. It is iportant to note that Sam’s passage to the west, the route that Safran managed to take, was barred by no wind at all, and so she has been forced to stay right, to the east. Davies is averaging 5.1 knots between the rankings and over 5.9 knots this morning. She is going to have to remain patient.
The trio are starting to slow, Brain Thompson is just making 14.2 knots, Dee Caffari 13,3 and Arnaud Boissières also13.3. Dee is 75 miles behind Brian, while Thompson explained that they have been in different bands of breeze and only last night did he get the same wind Dee has had, with the breeze coming forward to the beam.
On the Presidential Inauguration Day, Rich Wilson is about 1440 miles from Cape Horn, in 35 knot winds, while Norbert Sedlacek and Rapahel Dinelli have now been lifted enough by the backing wind to allow them to head up to catch the SW Pacific security gate, after paralleling it for more than 24 hours.
