Dutchman mark Slats (Slats Mark) is moving ever closer to race leader, Frenchman Jean-Luc van den Heede (Jean Luc Van Den Heede). In a straight line on the map between them is 442, 5 nautical miles. If we take into account the position of the parties regarding the finish in the French Les Sables d’olonne, the gap between them, which automatically calculates the tracker, “scare” value of 47 miles.
48 hours Slats narrowed the gap on this option at 205 miles. However, all the achievements of the Dutchman can go to the dogs: race organizers forbade him to use shortwave radio due to the lack of a license Amateur radio operator.
Now Slats can get weather forecasts are only using high-frequency receiver and the “official” broadcast for the sailors.
“I’m thinking to leave the competition, if there is no weather data. Safety is paramount,” reads one of the last messages from him.
The GGR organizers assured that they will continue as before to report to the Slats (and all participants) on the wind 40 knots, as required by safety considerations.
It is known that issues have arisen and to license van den Heede, but the messages and banning him to communicate with Amateur radio whatsoever.
If both leaders around the world will be able to continue the fight, in many respects it will be a struggle of strategies. Opponents have chosen dramatically different routes: van den Heede moving to the North-West, in the Atlantic and is likely to leave the Azores to starboard, and Slats while that holds a course on Spanish Cape Finisterreinto the Bay of Biscay.
At the same time, both of them are now under the influence of a large anticyclone is forecast to remain in the region until at least the end of the week. South of the Azores is another anticyclone, which will move gradually to the South and Southeast at the same time with his “brother”. For the current course of baths den Heede the weather is favorable: wind, twist in anticyclones clockwise should bring it to Biscay for that delicate damaged mast Frenchman will tell them a big “thank you”. Slats, which has less reason to be cautious when running downwind, while that goes against the wind. At the same speed by almost 5 knots for the last day, the Dutchman passed for 19 miles more than his opponent. And given the fact that the hull of the Slats again overgrown with sea ducks.
The main trouble that promise the Slats anticyclone is the lack of rainfall. The Dutchman already almost a week he produces his own fresh water by the manual Watermaker, and in the near future, it seems, will continue to do so as I will not be able to replenish with rain. Work, to put it mildly, difficult: to get 750 ml of drinking water, he needs to continuously pump the pump with both hands for one hour, and to have on Board 2.5 litres — 3 hours. Because of this, he even thinking to leave the competition for safety reasons.
Far behind van den Heede and Slats, off the coast of Brazil continue to move towards the finish of the Estonian Uku, Randoma (Uku Randmaa) and the American Kopar Istvan (Istvan Kopar). Going into the race in third, Randoma, taking advantage of the lull in the centre of the anticyclone, in which he was finally able to clean my boat from goose barnacles. During the day, he was only 12 nautical miles. The Istvan Kopar enough wind, but he stayed for half a day, to once again deal with problems arising from the autopilot.
In the Pacific ocean, 1700 nautical miles from Cape horn, and then running away from another storm, lonely is Finn Tapio Lehtinen (Tapio Lehtinen). Have overgrown sea ducks boats very little speed of only 3.4 per node. In the “virtual race” with the winner GGR-1968 sir Robin Knox-Johnston (Robin Knox-Johnston) the gap between Suhaili and going “ahead” Lehtinen decreased to 280 nautical miles. You can say that of all the participants of the regatta Finn, trailing fleet, at the same time best able to feel the spirit of the original competitions 50 years ago.
Russian Igor Zaretskiy, who made a stop in Australia and went to class Chichester in early December, and then flew to Moscow for medical examination, will continue to travel until October—November.
Due to health problems yachtsman does not have time to return to Albany before the end of January, and begin the transition to Cape horn later just dangerous — then to South America , the Russians are already in the season of storms. The GGR organizers emphasize that participants of a regatta in the class Chichester no time limits, so the rules allow you to continue the tour around the world at any time.
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