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8:59 PM Fri 27 Feb 2009 GMT
After six days of racing, the Portim?o Global Ocean Race fleet are bunching as they approach the western end of the Pacific Ocean ice gate barrier at 45?S with the British Class 40, Team Mowgli, leading the charge with a slender 5.6 mile lead over the Chilean team on Desafio Cabo de Hornos in second place.
The fleet's only solo sailor, Michel Kleinjans on Roaring Forty, continues to punch well above his weight, trailing the leading double-handed boat by just 10 miles, while the German duo on Beluga Racer are back in the hunt, closing down on the leading pack from the south, consistently polling the highest speed averages over the past 24 hours and now trailing the leader by just 11.9 miles in the latest poll (1520 GMT).
'Life is sweet aboard the good ship Mowgli,' reported Jeremy Salvesen early this morning. 'Not only are we finally back at the front of the fleet, but with all the confusion of time zones my birthday just seems to go on and on!' For Salvesen and his co-skipper, David Thomson, the option to head north of the fleet has paid off and the duo sped into the lead at 2120 GMT on Thursday: 'We have had 24 hours of the most fantastic sailing with winds steady at around 18-22 knots and sailing at a pretty steady 10-12 knots with occasional bursts of speed over 16 knots,' the British skipper confirms. 'We have the big, masthead spinnaker up and full main meaning we are pretty over powered some of the time and have the odd broach, but nothing too serious,' he continues with characteristic understatement.
On Thursday, the leading trio converged before a fleet re-shuffle for the descent south towards the southern exclusion limit: 'Yesterday morning, as the sun rose, we spotted the Chileans on the horizon off our starboard bow and it wasn't long before we also spotted Michel on Roaring Forty directly in front of us,' recalls Salvesen. 'We were all within about six miles of each other, which is amazing after over 1,000 miles of racing.' The opportunity for radio contact was irresistible, but the chat remained light-hearted: 'We all managed to speak over the VHF,' he continues. 'It was good to hear other voices, although we didn't get round to discussing our tactics!'
Currently sailing in around 15 knots of south-westerly breeze on a starboard reach, Team Mowgli are averaging just under 10 knots in the 1520 GMT position poll today (27/02). 'The weather has been quite squally with large rain and thunder clouds rolling over us delivering unpredictable winds and lots of rain,' Salvesen confirms. 'It was fine when we could see the other guys over there getting a soaking, but not so much fun when it came our way!' However, the fleet rapidly dispersed in the shifting conditions. 'After one particularly large rain cloud, we never saw the other boats again,' explains the British skipper who has clung to his northerly, covering position in the fleet. 'As we get closer to the ice gate at 45?S, this will be important to us and give us more options although, inevitably, we will all have to gybe northwards at some point.'
Yesterday (26/02) was Salvesen's birthday, providing a brief chance to ease off the pressure in the tightly-packed fleet. 'We had invited the other competitors to come over and join us for roast duck and a glass of red wine last night on condition that they let us take the lead,' he explains. 'Sadly, there were no takers, although I think the Germans were tempted. We had a wonderful dinner with the autopilot on for the first time in nearly 24 hours and enjoyed a wonderful bottle of Sandihurst Pinot Noir made by my brother Mike in New Zealand.'
The wind strength has increased for the fleet in the past 24 hours and the light and unstable conditions that have dogged the fleet are now left behind. 'For the next few days, southerly winds are expected and, therefore, the sailing is going to be a little different than the first week of the race,' explains Felipe Cubillos on Desafio Cabo de Hornos. 'We've had to wait quite a long time for the wind to build and come round to our beam: the ideal conditions for these boats. But, if the weather predictions are right, the time may be coming.'
Currently sailing just above 44?S, Cubillos and his co-skipper, Jos? Mu?oz, are racing through a highly turbulent area producing very demanding sailing. 'Furthermore, we are in a zone filled with black clouds that bring rain and squalls,' explains the Chilean skipper. 'By day, it is easy to spot them, at night, it's almost impossible. These are the clouds that break booms and shatter masts when they pounce on the boat under cover of darkness.' Despite the tension of racing hard through squalls, the atmosphere is calm and composed on Desafio Cabo de Hornos. 'I looked at our GPS log today and it records that Jos? and I have sailed 18,000 miles together and, quite surprisingly, we've never had any conflict or arguments, which is pretty extraordinary.'
The fast reaching conditions should continue as the fleet continue their dive towards the ice gate and southerly winds of around 12-18 knots are forecast for the next 24 hours with a possible light patch later today. With the entire Portim?o Global Ocean Race fleet spread over just 40 miles north-south and under 12 miles east-west, the competition, tactics, rivalry and close sailing will be intense.
Leaderboard - at 15:20 UTC Friday, 27th February 2008
Double-handed class
1. Team Mowgli - DTL 0.0nm Spd 9.9kts
2. Cabo de Hornos - DTL 5.6nm Spd 10.6kts
3. Beluga Racer - DTL 11.9nm Spd 12.4kts
Single-handed class
1. Roaring Forty - DTL 0.0nm Spd 9.6kts
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