On Thursday afternoon, the leading boats passed the northernmost points of the route, Papa Westray and Ronaldsay, at 59° North, with average speeds of over 20 knots and top speeds of up to 25 knots. By midday on Friday, the leaders had almost passed the east coast of the UK and were about to enter the Channel.
"Tram travel"
After reaching the turning point, the fleet headed down the British coast on an almost dead straight course. With westerly winds, the field spread out, as after the turning point it was possible to sail an approximately half-wind course and therefore significantly faster than on the way to the turning point. "Macif" with Sam Goodchild maintained the lead, but "Vulnerable" with Thomas Ruyant caught up to seven nautical miles behind.
Shortly after dropping off after the turning point passage, however, there was damage to the mast, which has not yet been specified. The team decided to secure the mast, abandon the race and head for the Scottish coast.
The "Malizia -Seaexplorer" also benefited from this. Skipper Will Harris and his crew moved up one place to fourth place overall, but by midday on Friday they were almost 100 nautical miles behind "Macif". With a total of less than 2000 nautical miles, this was a considerable gap. However, this was also due to an emergency on board.
Reporter injured
Yesterday morning, the on-board reporter Flore was thrown forwards in a sudden dive during filming and injured her ribs and knees, the team reports. She is in pain, but is stable, resting and being well looked after by the crew. The crew immediately slowed the boat down, spoke to a doctor, gave her painkillers and made sure she was okay before she set off again. Since then, Flore has been trying to rest, which is not so easy on a speeding boat.
A short time later, the team discovered that the top three battens of the mainsail were broken. A tough blow, especially after the incident in the morning. But they managed to repair the sail without losing too many miles.
