At the head of the fleet Joé Seeten and Conrad Humphreys continue their tactical scrap for seventh, the British skipper back to within just 5 miles of the Dunkirk skipper after dropping down to 8th two nights ago. 666 miles back American skipper Bruce Schwab is in favourable downwind conditions south of a depression off the Canaries. Anne Liardet has now joined Benoît Parnaudeau in the Northern hemisphere after crossing the equator at around 0200 GMT this morning, both upbeat upwind. Raphael Dinelli and Karen Leibovici are the only competitors left in the Southern hemisphere today, still suffering what has been a hellish few days in violent storms and shifty winds off the coast of Brazil. Right at the tail of the fleet Karen has lost her water propeller for making energy in a 70 knot storm. With just 10 litres of diesel and a generator which only works in flat seas, Benefic is going to be severely lacking in power to recharge its batteries 4240 miles from the finish which has numerous implications in terms of both comfort and safety.
On their entry into the Bay of Biscay, Joé Seeten has seen his lead reduced considerably during the day as he is slowed by the light winds at the centre of the anticyclone. Further East Conrad Humphreys is able to make around three knots more boat speed with about four knots better VMG than the French skipper. For Joé the NNE’ly wind shift cannot come too soon, enabling him to tack towards Les Sables d’Olonne. Further back in the fleet Anne Liardet on Roxy has crossed over into the Northern hemisphere, a fact that Karen Leibovici can but dream of for the moment. Struggling up the coast of Brazil for what seems like an eternity, the situation on board Benefic has been worsened overnight in fierce 70 knot winds with the loss of an all too important water propeller to increase the amount of onboard power.
