They make this leg exciting in the final sprint: Simeon Tienpont's Dutch team AkzoNobel, David Witt's team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag and Dee Caffari's team Turn the Tide on Plastic. With less than 300 nautical miles to the finish, all three teams have a good chance of winning this leg from Hong Kong to Auckland. After Witt's team first donned their camouflage cap over the past 24 hours and went into invisible "stealth mode" for 24 hours, it is now the Dutch who are disguising their approach to Auckland. The leading trio was recently separated by just a few nautical miles. There are signs of a final thriller.
On the other hand, the night of the 20th day at sea brought bad news for the chasing trio of Mapfre, Dongfeng and Brunel. While the teams leading the overall classification, Mapfre and Dongfeng, have now worked their way into a wind window similar to that of the leaders, they are still separated from the leading boats by almost 130 nautical miles. Bouwe Bekking's team, which is heading south, has been hit even harder and is probably now bitterly regretting its eastern position on the height of New Caledonia and its decision to approach the "City of Sails" directly. According to current wind forecasts, the road to Auckland will be a long one for Brunel. The top two position of two days ago has become an almost hopeless gap of more than 160 nautical miles. Bekking noted early Monday morning: "I have to admit that it is very painful to receive each of these position reports. Loss follows loss. It's not fun to be on the losing side."
The boats are expected to arrive in Auckland on Tuesday. The old and new host city of the America's Cup has spruced itself up and is ready for the longest stopover of the 13th edition of the race around the world.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
