Ericson leads

Saturday, 25 October 2008 07:00:00

Telefonica Blue is back in the game this morning, roaring south and inside – or east of – the leading pack of boats. Her addition to the leading bunch means the top five boats are all within 12 miles on distance to finish.

But the real standout performer overnight may just be Ericsson 4 Torben Grael's men have also slipped to the east, but perhaps more importantly they are now furthest south.

And although Green Dragon has slipped to fifth on the leaderboard, Ian Walker and co. are the next furthest south, so if the real race right now is get to southern latitudes where the wind comes up, the Dragon might be alright.

Still, the boats chasing do seem to have a speed advantage in these conditions – Walker himself suggested as much – so whether they can hold on is an open question.

At the back, Delta Lloyd is setting up in the east again, risking lighter winds near the big south Atlantic high pressure system for the reward of a more direct route. All of the back markers have made up miles overnight, and first to eighth is less than 100 miles. What a race!