No matter what the Atlantic has served up so far in this rather pleasant leg of the current Volvo Ocean Race, Ken Read and his Puma team have always had the right answers at the ready and have been able to keep the two immediate pursuers Camper and Telefonica at bay. However, around 500 miles before the finish, roughly at the level of the Bahamas, there is the threat of another car park, which gives those behind hope of reducing the gap or even thwarting a home victory for the "Mar Mostro".
"There's certainly a lot of smooth water, up to 100 miles wide, and it will take time to navigate," said Chris Nicholson, the Australian skipper of the New Zealand boat. "There are risks involved, but also opportunities." The New Zealanders continued to make up ground overnight and were about 18 miles behind at 6.15am on Monday's position report, while Telefonica was already 46 miles behind.
As much as the chasers are hoping for the positive side of a calm-induced traffic jam, they must also keep an eye on the stragglers Groupama and Abu Dhabi, who have nothing to lose and, in the case of Groupama, have set an extremely westerly course in order to perhaps still benefit from the situation. They are still far out of striking distance, but were travelling much faster than the leading trio with more wind. It remains exciting. The finish in Miami is expected on Wednesday.
More on the Event page and in the Position tracker
