After finding an extra bit of wind through Monday and Tuesday, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Team Brunel extended the distance between themselves and the rest of the fleet in the doldrums on Wednesday.
As of the 12.40pm UTC position report (4.40pm UAE), the two lead boats were within seven nautical miles of one another, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's Azzam with the slight advantage.
Writing on the ADOR blog, Azzam onboard reporter Matt Knighton relayed, "It has been a constant waltz.
“All the members of ADOR have taken full advantage of this time to rest; prepping for the drag race that’s sure to start.”
While the pair at the front had crossed a threshold bringing them within 4,000 miles of the first leg’s conclusion, it’s been the opposite story for the rest of the Volvo Ocean Race yachts. They’ve been at a near standstill making their way to the eastern tip of Brazil to round a marker on their way to Cape Town, South Africa, where they’ll dock and complete the first leg.
China’s Dongfeng Race Team maintained third position after holding it all of Tuesday, still 77 miles behind Brunel though.
On their heels were Team Vestas Wind, who had found their own gusts of wind and moved from seventh to fourth overnight. The Danish boat, nearly 50 miles behind Dongfeng at one point Tuesday night, now trails the Chinese by just 1.1 miles.
The rearguard three were another 30 some miles out, with Team Alvimedica 107.7 miles behind Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. Behind them are Mapfre, 111.5 miles off the lead pace, and Team SCA, 121.3 miles behind.
“Ain’t much fun being stuck,” wrote Dongfeng onboard reporter Yann Riou, as the doldrums halted the closest challengers to the top two.
“We’ve been in the same place for 24 hours,” wrote a similarly dispirited Francisco Vignale of Team Mapfre.
Vignale passed along the words of Maprfre watch captain Xabi Fernandez: “This is exasperating and the only thing you can expect is for another team to be in a worst situation than you.”
“I doubt it,” wrote Vignale.
To the sure relief of the chasing pack, the dynamic appeared to change some, at least momentarily, later on Wednesday. ADOR and Team Brunel were both listed travelling under 9 knots, with the rest of the boats between 9-10.2 knots, seventh-placed SCA registering the fastest speed.
Each of the five following yahcts had gained somewhere between 1-4 miles on the leaders.
Not enough to put a significant dent in the lead, but a start.
In the meantime, though, the smooth sailing has continued for Azzam and Brunel.
Said Knighton: “As I write, the wind has started to build again.”
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