THE LEADERS
🇫🇷 Damien Guillou – SOLAREM
Damien leads the fleet south after passing through the Lanzarote film gate, recording 159 nautical miles in 24 hours. He chose the western side of Fuerteventura and continues to enjoy good breeze, maintaining an advantage of approximately 53 miles over Pat.
🇮🇪 Pat Lawless – SILVERMINES HYDRO
Pat took the eastern route past Fuerteventura and has continued making solid progress, covering 149 nautical miles in 24 hours. Despite the potential for a wind shadow along that route, he is sailing well and keeping the gap to Damien under control.
THE CHASING PACK
🇮🇹 Andrea Lodolo – BIBI
Andrea is expected to be the next arrival at Lanzarote, with an estimated arrival between 20:00 and midnight on the evening of the report. His public tracker position remains out of date: the last recorded figures showed 161 nautical miles in 24 hours, and efforts are continuing to obtain an updated position through his backup tracker.
🇬🇧 Ertan Beskardes – MISS BEAGLE
Ertan continues towards Lanzarote in favourable conditions, recording 153 nautical miles in 24 hours at around 6 knots. Andrea is believed to remain ahead of him, despite the misleading positions shown on the public tracker.
🇫🇷 Louis Kerdelhué – IE CHARGE
Louis is making good progress at around 6.6 knots, gaining approximately five miles on Ertan over the previous day. The steady breeze is keeping the chasing boats moving quickly towards the film gate.
🇨🇭 Etienne Messikommer – BERNARD
Etienne covered 152 nautical miles in 24 hours and is sailing at around 6.8 knots. He and Daniel are now just 1.9 miles apart, close enough to see one another if they are watching from the cockpit.
🇮🇱 Daniel Pinsky – EXODUS
Daniel recorded 156 nautical miles in 24 hours, gaining four miles on Etienne. With the two boats sailing almost alongside one another, their close contest continues on the approach to Lanzarote.
🇮🇹 Guido Cantini – HANNAH OF COWES
Guido continues to sail consistently, covering 154 nautical miles in 24 hours at around 6.1 knots. He remains firmly among the chasing boats as the favourable conditions carry the fleet south.
🇺🇸 Guy deBoer – SPIRIT
Guy covered 150 nautical miles in 24 hours, but has reported a problem with his Hydrovane mounting brackets. He has switched to his backup Windpilot self-steering system and plans to inspect and attempt repairs to the Hydrovane when he reaches Lanzarote.
THE MIDDLE GROUP
🇬🇧 Henry Wootton – PRIVATEER
Henry delivered an impressive 172-nautical-mile day, with a four-hour average speed of 7.3 knots. His Cape George 36 is thriving in winds of around 25 knots, giving him the conditions to make strong gains.
🇳🇴 Helga Marie (Mara) Løvenskiold Kveseth – SHOWGIRL
Mara is also enjoying the stronger breeze, recording 161 nautical miles in 24 hours at around 6.8 knots. Her recent GGR Window footage showed SHOWGIRL charging along at close to 10 knots at times.
🇨🇦 Isa Rosli – OLLEANNA
Isa covered 147 nautical miles in 24 hours and is making around 6.4 knots. The continuing breeze is helping him maintain a steady pace towards Lanzarote.
🇬🇧 Gunnar Christensen – POMPOEN
Gunnar recorded 145 nautical miles in 24 hours, with a displayed average speed of 5.7 knots. He has made a stronger daily run than Matt behind him and continues south with the main fleet.
🇺🇸 Matt Woodside – TIPI HAERE
Matt is moving well at around 6.6 knots, following a 130-nautical-mile day. With approximately 350 miles remaining to Lanzarote at the time of the report, he is still expected to reach the island before the approaching light winds become established.
AT THE BACK OF THE FLEET
🇸🇪 Pär Nyman – LAZY OTTER
Pär has overtaken Selim after covering 151 nautical miles in 24 hours, making around 5.8 knots. His more exposed position brings stronger sailing conditions but also a confused sea, with waves arriving from different directions.
🇹🇷 Selim Yalçın – HELP DISABLED CHILDREN
Selim is taking a more sheltered route closer to the coast, where the sea is smoother but progress is slower. He recorded 108 nautical miles in 24 hours at around 4.3 knots, continuing at his own pace with the longer-term Hobart deadline in mind.
WEATHER AND THE APPROACH TO LANZAROTE
Good sailing conditions should continue for much of the fleet through 19 September, allowing the main group to make rapid progress towards the film gate. Winds are then forecast to weaken significantly, with a broad area of light air developing on 20–21 September.
Pär and Selim are the most exposed to this change. They could lose another one or two days to the fleet, potentially delaying their Lanzarote arrivals until around 23 September. For Damien and Pat, already through the gate, attention now turns towards the Cape Verde region and the eventual crossing of the Doldrums.
Daily Report Archive Skipper tweets from 17/09/2026
