Puma has been ahead since the start in Itajai, sometimes comfortably, but now only by a hair's breadth. Camper and Telefonica have been able to close the gap after the convergence zone at the equator and are lying in wait just behind. Puma's lead had already shrunk to half a mile before it grew a little again. All the boats have put on every ounce of cloth and are heading north-west at around 22 knots towards the stage finish in Florida.
"This is extremely pleasant sailing," commented Telefonica's navigator Andrew Cape. "We're in a trade wind, force 5, everyone in sight." The red Camper and the blue Telefonica intend to do everything they can in the next 24 hours to get to the top, because it won't stay this great for much longer. The weather forecast predicts that the wind will become light and fickle again at the height of the Caribbean islands, leaving the door wide open for chance.
This is exactly the scenario that Groupama and Abu Dhabi, 120 and 135 miles astern respectively, are hoping for, as they can only get back into the race if the leading group parks itself. "We made up some miles in the Doldrums," says Franck Cammas, the skipper of the French team. "Before we were 12 hours behind, now it's only 6. Even if the battle is currently being fought over 100 miles, it's still a battle."
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