With under 350 miles to go to the Leg 6 finish, CAMPER were hoping on Tuesday that the fight for the lead was now solely between them and PUMA – but after stealing third and catching up more than 30 miles in the last 24 hours, Groupama had other ideas.
“From a situation where we were at the end of the fleet with another boat at a rather big distance from the head of the fleet, we are now fighting for the third place” - Yann Riou, Groupama
CAMPER were still around 11 miles adrift of PUMA at 0700 UTC as they passed east of the Bahamas, and with winds and boat speeds back up to around 10 knots, the two frontrunners were afforded some temporary relief from Groupama’s rapid advance.
However, after watching Telefónica drop away into fourth after sailing into a wind hole, CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand media crew member Hamish Hooper said the team were all too aware of the pitfalls of the final few days.
“We are hoping that this leg has now turned into a two-boat match race, but like we saw Telefónica drop so many miles the other night, nothing is given and wont be until the finish line is crossed,” he said. “This will be a very long 48 hours or so until then.”
Meanwhile, Groupama sailing team’s spirits have rocketed with the realisation that they are back in the race.
“From a situation where we were at the end of the fleet with another boat at a rather big distance from the head of the fleet, we are now fighting for the third place,” said media crew member Yann Riou.
“And not with anyone,… with the overall leader. The two leading boats are not so far either.
“It is awfully good for the spirit. It was beginning to hitch a bit to be at the end of the fleet the past two weeks.
“Now, everything is possible. On paper, it will be difficult for us to come back on the two leading boats, strongly ahead of us right in our line.
“But the road to Miami is full of pitfalls. Areas of light wind, islands to be rounded, algae that get stuck in... So we'll have to keep sailing at our best, while being opportunistic.”
Even an 11-mile lead wasn't enough to calm nerves on first-placed PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG.
"With just 350 miles to go it would be easy to overlook the remaining distance, but nobody seems to be making that mistake," PUMA's MCM Amory Ross said.
"The proper mindset, and one we’re all emphasizing, is that each mile is just as important as the next. Don’t look too far beyond the horizon because this race is far from over!"
Telefónica were 66 miles behind PUMA at 0700 having pulled back eight miles between position reports, and were the joint-fastest boat in the fleet along with Groupama with an average speed of 11 knots.
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were just under 40 miles further back, the slowest boat doing 7.5 knots.
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