Day 89

Not a French day

In the Atlantic Ocean, Arnaud, victim of barnacles and rigging issues, finally decided to throw in the towel. Unable to sail east, he would be too late in Cape Town to make the Hobart Gate in time. Heading north, he is leaving Guy on course to Granger Bay, posting encouraging averages over 100 nm a day, 700 miles from Cape Town.

On the other side of Good Hope, Ian, who has caught the current, is widening the gap with Elliott at 100 miles. Both sailors will be hit by a fairly deep low pressure this afternoon. Race HQ have sent a heavy weather warning to the sailors. Jeremy takes miles on all sailors ahead of him except Simon.  

The leading trio are taking advantage of the westerly flow to rack up miles, and Simon is extending his lead to nearly 700 miles this morning. It’s still early days for predictions but Simon is expected in Hobart just before Christmas, while Kirsten is expected just before New Year’s Day.