As predicted, the trade wind eased in front of the Rossbreiten and allowed the boats behind to catch up a little. Puma now has the inside track and the highest speed in the field, as there is slightly better wind and a more favourable current to the west. The lead over Telefonica is around 15 miles. For their part, the Spaniards are two miles ahead of Camper.
"Whoever catches the north-east trade wind first will steal away," surmises Puma's navigator, Tom Addis. "But that won't last until the finish, it looks like it's going to be calm again before Miami, and then the boats behind could catch up again." This is of course music to the ears of Franck Cammas and his Groupama team, who are still in fifth and currently last place behind Abu Dhabi, 120 miles behind Puma.
It is still around 3,000 miles to Miami. Based on the new calculation models, the arrival of the first ships is now expected on 9 May.
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