The tactics of the leading group over the past 24 hours have been fascinating. By midday yesterday Bureau Vallée had taken the lead whilst Apivia continued on an easterly course, the only boat amongst the leaders to have continued its easterly course at that time, all the rest having gybed north, but last night Apivia gybed to the north as well.
Was he in time? The answer is there this morning, as Charlie Dalin is back in the lead by 32 miles from Bureau Vallée and 69 from Boris Herrmann’s Seaexplorer-Yacht Club de Monaco, both of whom have since gybed back onto an easterly course. Bureau Vallée and Apivia are currently closing on each other, both experiencing SW’ly winds of 18-19 knots. I expect Boris Herrmann to gybe north again shortly.
The distances back from the leader are misleading though as it's the angle and distance to Cape Finisterre that matter now and how they plan their gybes downwind. It's still very close, closer than it appears.
But this is Apivia’s favoured tack as he heads north as his starboard foil is undamaged. When he has to tack, his speed will not be quite so good on account of his damaged port foil. The race really is between these three now as Linked Out in fourth place is 156 miles behind and Maître CoQ in fifth is 232 miles behind. Unless any of the leading boats have problems, with less than 1,000 miles to the finish, those percentages of extra speed required are too large.
There is currently a wind reversal off Cape Finisterre and a calm patch between the South and West South Westerlies the whole leading fleet have now, but this will start to fade tonight. It’s still all to go for amongst these three, but Charlie Dalin is going to be on starboard tack along the Spanish coast which will disadvantage him again in the final leg.
Groupe Apicil is 297 miles, Prysmian Groupe 374 and Yes we Can 556 from the lead. Even with redress they won’t make the podium.
Pip Hare is making her way up the Brazilian coast towards the Equator and Miranda Merron has light WNW’ly winds which as slowed her on the same latitude as Uruguay.
Great comment from Ben Ainslie last evening after I congratulated him on his fifth win out of five and into the semi finals, in what was the most exciting America’s Cup race for a long time. “Great race for the sport that one”, he said. With the lead changing nine times in six legs - and how!