Weakening winds slowed down the boats in front, Abu Dhabi and Puma, which meant that all the chasing boats drastically reduced the gap as they roared along from behind with more wind. But the party has now come to an end, as a calm zone lies across the front of the field, which still has around 500 miles to go to the finish in Lisbon.
Drama on Groupama: one and a half tonnes of water leaked into the ship from a leak in the aft ballast tank. But that didn't bother them much, because while skipper Franck Cammas and Thomas Coville were bailing and bowman Brad Marsh was mixing the epoxy for the repair, they continued to sail at full speed. Conclusion: Puma, which is a little further north, was overtaken and took second place, 15 miles behind Abu Dhabi. Telefonica has also closed to within 14 miles of Puma and is trying to position itself optimally for the finale in order to defend the overall lead.
"Those behind us want to take the shortcut to Lisbon," said Amory Ross, Puma's media man, suspecting the worst. Tactician Tom Addis and skipper Ken Read will have to decide whether to play defence or offence, as Groupama and Telefonica are directly ahead of Puma in the overall standings. "But we mustn't forget the doldrums either," adds Ross. The situation seems complicated, but the maths is simple: whoever finds the best path now will strike first in Lisbon.
The New Zealanders from Camper, who are currently only in fifth place, almost crashed. The helmsman barely managed to avoid colliding with a whale, as the short video from the on-board camera shows.
The finish in Lisbon is expected this weekend, and the 2D tracker has been switched to minute-by-minute updates - simply click on the Word live in the top left-hand corner.
