Upside Down

Green Dragon navigator Ian Moore's investment in the west is paying dividends this morning as the Irish-Chinese entry tops the leaderboard. On the 0400 position report, Green Dragon was up by 31 miles over Ericsson 3, but Walker's men were sailing more than twice as fast at 9 knots.

But for every winner, there is a loser, and this morning, Ken Read's PUMA team must be feeling a bit miserable. Leading until early afternoon yesterday, the American boat has dropped to fifth place. But a big chunk of that loss can be explained by the westward gybe the team has made.

With Ericsson 4 in step, the two former leaders have made a move to the west. That means for the past three or four position reports, both teams haven't been making too many miles towards the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha, and have thus been tumbling down the standings. But this is certainly a tactical move, an investment in the future, and there's a chance it could yet pay off.

Team Russia and Telefonica Blue are the other teams climbing the standings this weekend. The Russians are up to fourth place. But how about Bouwe Bekking's Telefonica Blue? Third place on the 0400 position report! Remember, this is the team that stopped at Gibraltar for 12 hours to make repairs and rejoined the race some 200 miles behind the leaders.

"We seem to be slipping along nicely and it will be interesting to see how we go when we get really light air, but I know you need a little bit of luck as well," wrote the understated Bouwe overnight. "I'm crossing my fingers that we grab some extra points at the scoring waypoint; we are fortunate to be back in the race and beating some of the others at the halfway mark would be a huge boost for us."

The only problem for Bouwe and his crew is that they are among the pack furthest to the east, along with Ericsson 3, Team Russia and Delta Lloyd. Traditionally, a route further west is the fastest way through the Doldrums. Delta Lloyd is furthest east, more than 200 miles east of Green Dragon. Skipper Ger O'Rourke is looking for a small system that will allow him to sail 'around' the fleet, but he's definitely put his eggs in one basket. We'll need another day or so to see how it plays out.