There was a whiff of déjà vu at the head of the fleet almost 12 hours into the fourth leg, a 2,500-mile upwind slog from Singapore to Qingdao, China.
PUMA and Ericsson 4, joined by a bungee cord for long periods of this race, were once again keeping close company in the South China Sea.
With 150 nautical miles covered, and boat speeds hovering around 13 knots, Ken Read’s il mostro maintained a one-mile gap to overall race leader Torben Grael’s E4.
The pair got the jump on the fleet at the start as Jennifer Lilly’s prediction of north-easterly winds in the low teens rang true.
By the 16:00 GMT Position Report, Ericsson 3 (+3 Distance To Leader), with veteran Magnus Olsson at the controls in place of regular skipper Anders Lewander who is on the injured list, was attempting to muscle in on the action in third place.
Telefonica Blue (+4) had recovered from a stuttering start in the Singapore Strait and was tied for fourth with sister ship Telefonica Black. Delta Lloyd and Green Dragon (both +5) rounded out the fleet.
