ABN AMRO One, the leading yacht in the VOR, is now just over 300 miles away from the Leg 7 finish line at Portsmouth. The conditions are still fairly extreme with winds of 33kts being recorded from the boat.
In a reasonably safe position 172 miles from second placed Ericsson, Mike Sanderson and team have cautiously pulled back on the trottle and are recording steady speeds of 19kts.
The real battle is on for second place with Neal McDonald and his Ericsson Racing Team, and Paul Cayard's Pirates of the Caribbean just 10 miles apart as they head towards the next scoring gate off the Lizard.
Interestingly in fractionally less wind speed The Pirates, in third, are clocking 20kts compared with Ericsson's 18kts. Eager to notch up 3.5 points at the scoring gate and retain second spot overall Pirates will be pushing hard over the next few hours.
The latest ETA for leading yacht to arrive in Portsmouth is 2153 tonight.
Sue Pelling/Yachting World, 20 May 2006
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