The double ridge effect - is the fleet in for a re-start?

Confident with his southerly option yesterday, BT's skipper undoubtedly took an advantage - if only psychological - but remains very careful today. "Let's not celebrate yet, I pulled out of this one, but there's a second ridge to cross." The tactical battle remains as intense as ever, and the first skipper to catch some breeze behind the windless zone will have a massive advantage.

Yesterday evening saw Loick Peyron (Gitana Eighty) move into the lead, taking advantage of his "middle lane" position, after having been very discreet in the leading pack. What the night blackout prevented us from witnessing is the fact that, merely half an hour later, Sébastien Josse aboard BT had overtaken Gitana Eighty, and was engaging in a fierce duel with PRB, both boats being within sight of each other. As Loick Peyron - a few miles further North - testified, perfectly describing the battlefield: "It's an oily sea, not even a wrinkle. We're not there quite yet"

Could there be anything more nerve-racking than a match race in virtually no wind? Probably not, and the inevitable "gamble factor" doesn't make it easier to accept. Having prepared his move, and obviously being in perfect harmony with his Farr-designed monohull, Sébastien managed to stay in motion, keeping some wind pressure in his sails. And somehow, Vincent Riou wasn't able to keep up - the big gap revealed this morning by the first positions update called for an explanation, since PRB and her skipper are not exactly a slow combo. Reached this morning, Vincent told us: "I had some seaweed caught in the rudders, I stopped for 2 - 3 minutes to get rid of it, I lost just a few hundreds of yards, but that was enough to put me in another world. I was parked for an hour and a half, I saw Seb fly away, that was it. But it's not the first ridge I cross, it won't be the last, and to be honest I was afraid I had lost even more miles." Back in motion with about 10 knots of wind from the South - South East, PRB is now getting ready for the second "wall" tonight.

"The fleet was not in the right spot yesterday", said Sébastien this morning during the videoconference, "except for Loick Peyron", who as we saw led momentarily last evening. The wind was notably weaker in the North, and Michel Desjoyeaux's Foncia (the highest in terms of latitude in the leading group), 5th, was 49 miles behind the leader at the 12:00 GMT position report, while Gitana Eighty managed to keep her second place. Loick Peyron, still faster than 3rd placed Vincent Riou (right in BT's wake), is gradually working his way towards the South, probably anticipating a general park up. In fact, as we write, leader Sébastien Josse has already started to hit the wall and is slowing down, losing 17 miles to Gitana Eighty between 12:00 and 14:00 GMT... Is a second start on the menu?

Meanwhile, at the back of the fleet, Dee Caffari aboard Aviva has finally solved her power issue, but the time spent without any sails up (since no power means no pilot, and hand steering means no hands to carry out repairs...) certainly cost her many miles. Yet the good-natured British skipper manages to stay positive, saying she learns a lot. In the "Vintage Finots division" as Yannick Bestaven (Cervin EnR) calls them, Sam Davies aboard Roxy (7th) is quite north and subsequently rather slow, but the perspective of a massive halt for the frontrunners is certainly motivating. Stuck in his northerly position, Steve White aboard Spirit of Weymouth will have a hard time diving South when the wind kicks in...

About the blackout
The skippers we spoke with today welcomed this weekend's positions blackout, Vincent Riou summing up the general advice: "Sure, it will make a big change, we'll stop sailing according to what the others do, but just in relation to the weather and our own gut feeling." Sébastien Josse added: "It's a good idea, it's a change and we won't be anxiously awaiting the leaderboard updates every two hours." Will the skippers worry more, or less under that rule? Don't forget we will still be speaking with them during that period (but obviously not disclosing any tactical info), so stay tuned to find out.

Yannick Bestaven, Cervin EnR - A match in the "Vintage Finots division"
"I'm great, I slept well, and my pilot issues are history now. On the racing front, of course the new boats are already far away, but there's a nice little match in our vintage Finots division (note: Cervin EnR, Roxy, Akena Verandas) and I think I can do well with my southern route... As far as the blackout is concerned, it will be nice to sail without worrying about where my little friends are, for a change."

News from Marc Guillemot, Safran
"I have 8 to 10 knots of wind, flat seas, and I'm happy that way because my rib cage is really painful again today. I probably did the wrong moves and put too much strain on it. Now I have a bandage around the thorax, and I'm sailing at my own pace, we'll see how it turns out but for sure, I'm not in the game anymore - which doesn't deter me from my desire to reach Boston."

Leaderboard - 14:00 GMT update
1- BT Distance to finish 1859 nm
2- Gitana Eighty Distance to leader 11 nm
3- PRB DTL 19 nm
4- Generali DTL 26 nm
5- Foncia DTL 35 nm
6- Brit Air DTL 80 nm
7- Roxy DTL 152 nm
8- Safran DTL 199 nm
9- Akena Verandas DTL 204 nm
10- Cervin EnR DTL 204 nm
11- Aviva DTL 255 nm
12- Pakea Bizkaia 2009 DTL 273 nm
13- Spirit of Weymouth DTL 279 nm