8:48 PM Sun 11 Oct 2009 GMT
Clipper 09-10. Team Finland is the first team to cross the Equator into the southern hemisphere and continues to stretch the lead over the chasing pack. King Neptune had a courtier for this morning's hearing of the sins of the crew - watch leader Mark Cole has crossed the Equator several times in his regular job in the Merchant Navy, although this is the first time he has raced from north to south on a yacht.
The Doldrums have been very cruel to half the fleet, the leading group managed to get through virtually unscathed but the ITCZ pounced on the middle order and refuses to let them through.
Team Finland's skipper, Eero Lehtinen, says, 'We just slipped through while it was still heading north and have since been enjoying improving pressure and recently even more open wind angles. Luck certainly plays a big role in these waters, but we surely are loving the great progress and constantly growing lead. We will soon be back to the same gap what we had before Doldrums. It's nice to see a game plan work so well for once!'
It's not quite going to plan for Qingdao, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital and Hull & Humber, who are all caught fast in the ITCZ. 'The main Doldrum belt is moving south at the same rate we are, so it's proving tricky to shake,' explains Piers Dudin, skipper of Hull & Humber.
'We spent yesterday on the lookout for any breath of wind to catch to help push us south, the Equatorial Counter Current also sets us eastwards and once in a while we get to hook into a rain squall which we use to charge off for about 20 minutes, hopefully in the right direction!
'This part of the course was always going to be a lottery. As it turns out we missed our window of opportunity by only a few hours earlier in the week to stretch across the area as the current top five did. Which is a pretty tough pill to swallow but that's the way it goes.'
'Patience is stretched to its maximum,' according to Matt Pike, skipper of Edinburgh Inspiring Capital. 'The strongest helms when it's windy rarely have the patience for this. The heat is relentless as is the bang of limp sails rocking in the ever present swell. The scheds came in and we'd done three miles in six hours!
'There are clouds around and under them is the wind. We edged closer, put the kite up and yes we are sailing... 2.4 knots, 4.6 knots and over the sound of cheering on deck I called for it to be dropped. The message hits home - we're about to get a whole day's wind right now!
'They're the best; the kite was down the hatch as it hit - hot rain and 30 knots, cold rain and 35 knots, back to warm rain. It's as dark as most nights with warm rain as large as marbles falling at the rate of a power shower. We are flying for the best part of an hour with no visibility beyond a boat length ahead with the warm rain pelting us. We doubled our day's run in the first 15 minutes, barely dipping below 12 knots with only the main up. But it didn't last long before were back drifting in circles again.'
Qingdao has altered their watch system to take account of the sweltering conditions. Cleaning is done in the morning before the sun climbs too high, and maintenance is done in the couple of hours before it sets as the heat abates slightly. During the day watches have been pared back to have as few crew on deck as possible.
Chris Stanmore-Major, skippering the Chinese boat, says, 'As we listlessly sit here waiting for the breeze the front runners draw further away. Cork, whom we were just 25nm behind two days ago, is a long way over the horizon now and Team Finland is fast approaching the Equator.'
Race Director, Joff Bailey, says, 'The leading pack has and will continue to extend their lead over the next few days. California is still making painfully slow progress in lighter than normal trade winds, and they still have the ITCZ to deal with. They have however significantly reduced their deficit on the middle order and may still be in with a chance. Once all of the teams are through the ITCZ they can hook into the reliable SE trade winds and start to really power their way towards Rio.'
In the meantime it is still frustrating. Skipper of the Irish entry, Richie Fearon, says, 'We are doing our best to keep Cork going as fast as we can in these variable conditions with the wind dropping on and off constantly, going from 15 knots down to three knots. And to rub salt in the wound the boats off to the west have good steady breeze and are
pulling miles away from us! We enjoy a challenge and hope this one works out in the end - we aren't giving up until it's over!'
Despite their huge deficit, California's crew refuses to be bowed. 'After some good speeds yesterday the wind has deserted us overnight and we are once again crawling along, however, it still seems like we are gaining miles on the boats in front at each sched.'
Cape Breton Island, Jamaica Lightning Bolt and Spirit of Australia are enjoying a hugely engaging three-way battle for a podium spot when they get to Rio. The advantage seems to change with every position report and Peter Stirling, skipper of Jamaica Lighting Bolt says, 'We are desperately doing everything we can to keep the boat sailing fast and keep them at bay. In the same respect I'm sure both the other teams are doing everything they can to get past us. I would love to put a few more miles between us but at least being close keeps us all on our toes and keeps us all fast. Within 24 hours the wind should have freed us off enough to set a spinnaker again and it will be a downwind dash to the finish line. The question is who will make the break first and get the upper hand?'
That's the million dollar question and the answer is not straightforward.
'Is the writing already on the wall?' asks Chris Stanmore-Major. 'I suspect not yet - the coast of Brazil has quite a few tricks up its sleeve with strong currents, wind holes and variable breeze. It may be that before the fat lady sings the audience may well change seats again.'
Eero echoes his comments, 'The next interesting point to watch is the corner of Brazil. Are all boats laying the course around it without tacking or will they end up in the bad current and possibly less wind? It looks like we will have no problems and can start easing our sheets soon. We might be flying a spinnaker again in a couple of days' time.'
POSITIONS AT 1500UTC, SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER
1 Team Finland DTF 1519
2 Spirit of Australia DTF 1652 DTL +133
3 Jamaica Lightning Bolt DTF 1656 DTL +137
4 Cape Breton Island DTF 1658 DTL +139
5 Cork DTF 1717 DTL +198
6 Qingdao DTF 1961 DTL +442
7 Hull & Humber DTF 1993 DTL +474
8 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital DTF 2017 DTL +498
9 Uniquely Singapore DTF 2052 DTL +532
10 California DTF 2418 DTL +899
(DTF = Distance to Finish, DTL = Distance to Leader)
Full positions updated every three hours,
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Troughton Island, WA
