Damien Guillou and Pat Lawless are accelerating in the southeast trade winds while the chasing fleet continues to struggle through patchy breeze and calms. Étienne Messikommer holds third place, Andrea Lodolo is pushing west in search of wind, and Pär Nyman has closed to within approximately 100 miles of Gunnar Christensen. A developing northeasterly flow could bring relief to much of the fleet over the next two days.
THE LEADERS
🇫🇷 Damien Guillou
Damien is powering ahead at 6.7 knots, with 130 miles of daily progress. His latest live broadcast showed the boat sailing strongly on a close reach under blue skies, and the established trade winds should allow him to keep extending his advantage over the main fleet.
🇮🇪 Pat Lawless
Pat is making 5.6 knots, with 116 miles of daily progress, approximately 140 miles behind Damien. He is also enjoying the southeast trades, giving the leading pair a substantial advantage while their pursuers remain in much slower conditions.
THE CHASING PACK
🇨🇭 Étienne Messikommer
Étienne holds third place, sailing at 3.3 knots, with 43 miles of daily progress. He continues working to stay in the available breeze. His onboard barograph also provided a striking record of the recent storm, with the boat’s violent movement leaving a thick, jagged trace on the paper.
🇬🇧 Ertan Beskardes
Ertan is making 3.5 knots, with 75 miles of daily progress, and is holding a useful position close to the rhumb line. Don highlighted his steady movement towards the finish, although remaining in the breeze will be important as the surrounding calm patches shift.
🇮🇹 Andrea Lodolo
Andrea is heading west at 5.6 knots, apparently seeking more reliable wind even though the course takes him away from the direct route. His 19 miles of daily progress reflects the tracker’s measurement of distance gained towards the finish, rather than the total distance sailed. The forecast suggests his western positioning could offer a short-term advantage.
🇮🇹 Guido Cantini
Guido is moving at 4.1 knots, with 38 miles of daily progress, on a heading towards the east. Don wondered whether he might be carrying a large reaching sail, but this was unconfirmed. His speed is encouraging, although heading too far east could leave him vulnerable to lighter winds.
🇮🇱 Daniel Pinsky
Daniel is sailing again at 5.4 knots, following 32 miles of daily progress. After his prolonged frustration in the calms, the immediate priority is to make the most of the breeze without sailing out of it.
THROUGH THE FLEET
🇬🇧 Henry Wootton
Henry recorded 99 miles of daily progress, a productive day compared with many nearby boats, although his speed had eased to 2.8 knots. Maintaining that momentum will depend on finding a passage through the remaining light-wind areas.
🇳🇴 Mara
Mara has found better movement at 4.2 knots, with 52 miles of daily progress. In her latest live broadcast, she reflected on the previous day’s frustrations and confirmed she had spoken with her shore team by radio. Don also said race management would remind her that passing team logistics messages through Window Live breaches its code of conduct.
🇫🇷 Louis Kerdelhué
Louis is enduring a particularly slow spell, with the tracker showing 1.3 knots and just 15 miles of daily progress. His apparently unhelpful heading reflects the lack of wind, with little opportunity to make consistent ground towards the course.
🇨🇦 Isa Rosli
Isa is making 3.2 knots, with 47 miles of daily progress. Don noted that, unlike Gunnar, Isa had not motored for eight hours, an important distinction when comparing their latest daily gains.
🇬🇧 Gunnar Christensen
Gunnar recorded 74 miles of daily progress and was moving at 2.8 knots, with Don reporting that he had motored for eight hours. His morning broadcast brought some humour to the slow conditions as he debated whether to hoist his spinnaker and described his attempts to find English-language radio programmes.
🇺🇸 Matt Woodside
Matt is progressing at 2.9 knots, with 47 miles of daily progress, matching Isa’s daily gain. He remains caught in the broader slowdown, with the return of more consistent wind offering the best prospect of improvement.
🇸🇪 Pär Nyman
Pär has closed to within approximately 100 miles of Gunnar, following 75 miles of daily progress. However, his speed has dropped to 2.7 knots, and a substantial calm area ahead threatens to interrupt his recovery after several favourable days.
IN PORT
🇺🇸 Guy deBoer
Guy’s return aboard SPIRIT remains dependent on the repair and approval process. Don confirmed that someone has been assigned to inspect the rig, while the surveyor must approve the structural work and take responsibility for the boat’s seaworthiness. Clearance to restart in Chichester Class has not yet been given.
WEATHER OUTLOOK
The leading pair are roughly 500 miles clear of the main fleet, with conditions favouring further gains. Don estimated that Damien and Pat could average around 5.5–6 knots over the next couple of days, while much of the chasing fleet manages nearer 3 knots.
For the pursuers, the forecast suggests northeasterly trade winds extending south during the next 24–48 hours, potentially bringing useful movement to the eastern group. Andrea’s western route may help him retain breeze before that change arrives, while Pär faces a more persistent calm patch.
Further ahead, the forecast points towards a possible passage south near 30° west, although the position and extent of the light-wind zones will continue to evolve.
BARNACLE WATCH
Don corrected an earlier interpretation of Damien’s comments: Damien was referring to barnacles encountered in the same area during his previous race, rather than reporting a new infestation now. With boats moving slowly through warm water, hull and rudder checks remain an important concern following Isa’s earlier sighting.
Daily Report Archive Skipper tweets from 29/09/2026
