The race continues on Sunday with the 6th leg, for which only five boats will be present because Sanya had already been transported to the USA after breaking her rudder. As always on such occasions, meteorologist Gonzalo Infante is asked to speak and he again sees drama in the forecast models for the 4800-mile leg, which leads through the tropics into the northern hemisphere. Tactically important are the first 500 miles to Cabo Frio, for which low pressure with winds of up to 30 knots are expected. "Very intense systems with thunderstorm gusts and lightning," says the Spaniard. "Bad for sailing, but the only option at the moment." Then the age-old crucial question for the tacticians: a shorter route with a shifting current but deeper and slower courses, or a diversion into the steady trade winds, where sharper and faster angles can be sailed.
How are the individual teams doing? Telefonica still has a 20-point lead because the protest concerning the number of sails carried in stage 4 was rejected. Even if the organisers calculate how many points are still to be awarded for the rest of the race, the Spaniards remain the firm favourites, provided their blue racer holds out. Behind them is Groupama, who secured 3rd place on the 5th leg after breaking their mast with an emergency rig. Skipper Franck Cammas would of course have preferred a win to close the gap to Telefonica, but the French are highly motivated to go all out again with the new rig.
Camper, who only arrived at the finish in Itajai this week, is injured but will be back for the Inport Race on Saturday. It remains to be seen how well the sailors have recovered after the exertions of the 5th leg and the long diversions to Chile forced by a defect. Puma, on the other hand, did not have any catastrophic problems and should go into the race with a lot of self-confidence after their stage win. What's more, the aim is to finish first at the home stop in Miami. Groupama, Camper and Puma will fight each other to the death in the Inport Race on Saturday to pad their points account, especially as Telefonica sails inconsistently in the short harbour sprints.
At Abu Dhabi, whose boat was delivered by freighter on Thursday, the repair tent is a hive of activity. The delaminated hull sections have to be replaced and they hope to be back live on Saturday. As weak as the team has been on the long legs so far, they have already won two harbour races and hope to remain competitive in this category at least.
Intermediate standings after 5 stages
- Telefónica, 147 points
- Groupama, 127
- Camper, 119
- Puma, 113
- Abu Dhabi, 55
- Team Sanya, 25
The start for the Inport Race on Saturday and the 6th stage on Sunday is scheduled for 2 p.m. local time, i.e. 7 p.m. CEST.
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