The doldrums around the equator are not letting the six teams out of their clutches on day 14 of this sixth leg. With boat speeds of 0.1 to 2.4 knots, the racing boats have been labouring their way south over the last few hours. Most of the time anyway. Every now and then they sailed across the course to make a little progress. Each of the boats has a "playmate", a direct rival, as the fleet has been sailing towards Auckland in pairs for several days.
At the top, David Witt's Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag and Simeon Tienpont's Team AkzoNobel are separated by just 1.3 nautical miles. Around 20 nautical miles behind them, Dee Caffari's Team Turn the Tide on Plastic and Bouwe Bekking's Team Brunel are "duelling" for third place with a difference of just 1.2 nautical miles. Bringing up the rear after more than two thirds of this Pacific leg are teams Mapfre and Dongfeng, who are in the overall lead. The "Reds" are deliberately keeping a good 70 nautical miles behind the leaders and are separated by just 0.4 nautical miles. With the light winds, that's almost close enough for a coffee break.
On Tuesday lunchtime, Brunel's skipper Bouwe Bekking shared the doldrums on the high seas with fans via a blog, writing: "Sometimes we think we're doing the best sport in the world. But on days like these, I think the majority of the crew think that it can also be a very dull job. The sails are flapping around and there is hardly any wind. If there is any, it's unpredictable. You struggle to get the boat's speed up to over a knot. Then the sails suddenly fill up and you glide through the water at 3.5 knots. It feels like you've been hit by a hurricane. People's voices change immediately. Everything sounds more optimistic and yes, you feel like it's the best sport in the world again."
In a message three hours earlier on Tuesday morning, Bekking, who was keen to write on this slow-motion day, had already pointed out that he was expecting a possible preliminary decision within the next two days: "The next 48 hours will decide who the leaders will be in the approach to New Zealand. The team that sails into the new pressure first will make a good jump. But of course anything can happen. The wind has already behaved completely differently to the forecasts on several occasions. The two forecast models we receive on board come up with different routes. And of course we also have to factor into our strategy the fact that there are many islands along the course."
While the boats are stuck in the doldrums, circumnavigator Conrad Coleman entertains the spectators with creative entertainment. Of course, there is also a sporting overview
The record eight-time participant, who is still chasing his first overall victory, also gave an insight into his private thoughts that day: "I miss my girls (ed.: his wife and daughter) and my dogs. And I miss the opportunity to watch the Winter Olympics. I love snow and speed skating the most." Bekking himself is very good at it. A Dutchman, after all.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
