The first night brought few surprises, but the feared early split in the peloton. The tightly bunched group around the leader Alex Thomson ("Hugo Boss"), Armel Le Cléac'h ("Banque Populaire") and Jean-Pierre Dick ("St. Michel-Virbac") pulled away after just under 15 miles. There are six foilers among the first seven Open 60. However, as expected, two boats from the last generation are still holding their own: Vincent Riou's "PRB" and Paul Meilhat's "SMA", the boat of last year's winner François Gabart. Riou's boat is considered to be the fastest non-foiling Open 60 and underwent a major overhaul before the race.
After the boats were travelling at over 20 knots at times last night, the wind seems to have weakened somewhat this morning, with the leaders currently sailing at around 16 knots boat speed. The next important milestone is the height of Gibraltar, in the current conditions the line should be astern by tomorrow morning at the latest.
The Spaniard Didac Costa, who had to return to the harbour shortly after the start yesterday due to unexplained water ingress, has not yet started again.
Go to the race tracker here
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
