February 1, 2019
Like a cow's tongue …
The next, already 16th day of non-stop racing around the world of the 40-meter maxi-trimaran Spindrift 2 with skipper Jan Guichard ended.
The Spindrift 2 team has passed since the start of the 11330 nautical miles and all 16 days ahead of the IDEC-SPORT tri-schedule with skipper Francis Juillon, who has owned Jules Verne Trophy since 2017. But now, it is likely there has been a turning point.
On Wednesday at 15.00 Moscow time, the advantage of Spindrift 2 over its virtual rival, we recall, was almost 360 nautical miles (or about 12 hours). But now, two days later, the former handicap licked like a cow with its tongue – only 29 miles remained (that is, an hour), and even this pitiful advantage continues to thaw. And, quite likely, in a few hours Spindrift 2 will be lagging behind …
The most amazing thing is that Guichard and Co. are walking a distance with excellent speed – 33.6 knots in the last 24 hours. But IDEC-SPORT for the same 16th day of the race, the speed was higher, more than 36 knots! And so for several days. Here is the advantage of Spindrift 2 gradually melting.
One way or another, the tension begins to go off scale. Until the next important frontier, Cape Lewwin in southwestern Australia, just over 30 hours to go. Who will be the first at this turn?
341 February 1, 2019 # 8764
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