The six-strong fleet, which started out from Portsmouth (UK) on 2 June, has
now been racing for seven days after being plagued by light, fluky winds for
much of leg eight. Racing has been extremely close amongst all the yachts,
as they sailed around Ireland and up to Scotland. Last night they negotiated
the fearsome Pentland Firth on the north coast of Scotland and a tactical
decision by the three front runners - Ericsson, Brasil 1 and ABN Amro One -
paid off. They sneaked through the narrow Inner Sound, dodging between the
island of Stroma and the Scottish mainland, while trailing boats - Pirates
of the Caribbean, Brunel and ABN Amro Two - opted for the Outer Sound route
and fell foul of the tide.
Brasil 1 and Ericsson have been match racing for the entire leg and ABN Amro
One has now joined the party. According to this morning's 10.00 GMT position
report, Ericsson is back in charge of the fleet, beating in 13 knots of
south-south westerly wind. To windward, ABN Amro One sails just two nautical
miles behind, followed by Brasil 1 three miles behind. The team has extended
its lead over fourth placed Pirates of the Caribbean to 58 nautical miles.
Crewmember Ken Read (USA) comments: "Being a fan of Ericsson watching this
race would be like being a Boston Red Sox fan back home for so many years.
So close but just can't quite pull away. Well, like the Sox we plan on
pushing harder than ever to the finish and hopefully break the streak. No
curse of the Bambino here."
With the light forecast expected to continue for the next 24 hours, the
current ETA for the leading boats in Rotterdam is Saturday morning. Provided
the entire fleet arrives by midnight on Saturday, the in-port race will take
place at 09.00 GMT on Sunday 11 June.