The five teams who squeezed their way out of the congested Singapore Strait on Monday are set to face brutal conditions over the next 24 hours in the South China Sea on the final 1,000 miles of upwind sailing of the second stage of Leg 3 to Sanya in China.
As the first five crews settle back into regular watch systems and brace themselves for storm force winds and huge seas, the standings remain unchanged, with race leader’s Team Telefónica maintaining the narrowest of leads after holding off a sustained challenge from second placed Groupama sailing team.
PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG remain in third, just over 10 nautical miles ahead of fourth and fifth placed Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand who continue to stalk one another closely, less than two nautical miles apart.
Sixth placed Team Sanya are expected to escape the clutches of the Singapore Strait later today after a near miss with an unlit fishing net on the approach to Singapore.