Compaq has managed to open out a 7 mile lead on Logica as these two clear the northwest corner of Spain and romp away from the rest of the fleet in favourable winds.

Spirit of Hong Kong made big gains on all but the leaders yesterday moving up 3 places on the leader board into 5th. Although their westerly track did not make as big a gain as they had hoped, it proved to be a good tactic and has given them a lead of 20 miles over 6th place which is likely to increase as they bear away to a faster sailing angle.

Isle of Man and BP managed to stay in touch with the leaders and cleared Cape Finisterre without having to tack making their positions more secures as the fleet stretches out.

The rest of the yachts are all having to tack to get around the Cape. This has resulted in very big losses particularly for the more southerly and easterly yachts. Olympic Group fell a further 97 miles behind in the 24 hours to 08:00 this morning, they are now 463 miles behind and face a long hard beat all the way to the finish making it unlikely that they will arrive much before next weekend.

Caught too close to the coast Quadstone, LG FLATRON and TeamSpirIT also fared badly losing between 86 and 75 miles each. This makes it almost impossible for them to get a top 5 finish.

TeamSpirIT and Norwich Union are involved in a tacking duel 2 miles apart to round the northwest tip of Spain; both should do so this morning to join the lead group heading through the Bay of Biscay towards La Rochelle. This group of 7 will continue to pull away from the rest of the fleet as high pressure pushes in, however this may result in some further upsets if the fleet becomes becalmed tomorrow.

Credit: www.btchallenge.com