Charlie Dalin on Apivia has reported damage to his port foil. There was a load cracking sound last evening and he promptly slowed down to explore the reason. Water is not entering the boat and he is in consultation with his team ashore in France to assess the damage so we await further reports. He does not think he hit anything though so this may be another structural failure in the fleet. It is devastating for Charlie Dalin who has lead all the way across the Indian Ocean with a lead of over 200 miles at one time.
Whilst Apivia has slowed to 8 knots the other two in the leading group have continued their headlong progress. LinkedOut has taken the lead followed closely my Maitre Coq. There is now a distinct leading group of LinkedOut, Maitre Coq and Apivia just a few miles apart, and then a large gap of between 346 and 378 miles to the next group of five yachts which have run into much less wind of 4 to 6 knots and slowed right down. Jean Le Cam, the hero of the rescue of Kevin Escoffier, is in the second group lying 5th and will learn tomorrow what redress he will be given for the time he lost performing the search and rescue `long with the other boats that stopped racing to assist at the time.
Pip Hare is holding onto 18th position averaging just over 14 knots for the past 4 hours whilst Miranda Merron has dropped one place to 24th. Charal, skippered by Jeremie Beyou, a firm favourite with Alex Thomson at the start, but who had to return at the beginning of the race to make repairs, has moved into 22nd place now and is sailing some 8 knots faster than the boats around him.