Making for Brest at Warp Speed

This significant separation is set to continue extending out over the course of the day. The reason for this is that since yesterday the leading boats and those at the tail end of the fleet have no longer been subject to the same sailing conditions. Indeed, the front runners are powering along on a high-speed reach, propelled by a NW’ly wind of 20 knots, whilst the latecomers are making headway at low speed in a 5-knot WSW’ly breeze. For his part, Giancarlo Pedote is in the right carriage. The skipper of Prysmian Group, who is still in 5th position this Thursday, is absolutely creaming along at an average speed of 19 knots, with a slight speed advantage over his direct rival, Maxime Sorel. As a result, the Italian sailor has managed to eke out a lead of 1.5 miles over his adversary 24 hours ago to a bonus of nearly 20 miles today. However, he has no intention of easing off the pace. There are 300 miles left to go between now and the finish, with a small transition phase this afternoon. This phase will mean that he and his fellow sailors will have to realign themselves slightly in relation to the finish before Giancarlo’s estimated time of arrival of late in the day tomorrow.