A change in wind conditions for the leaders may be the shape of thing to come as Loïck Peyron slows and is headed off, starting to feel the real effects of the St Helena pressure system which is barring their path.
Gitana Eighty has lost 11.4 miles to Seb Josse (BT), 17 miles behind he was still making two knots faster as the 1000hrs GMT poll arrived and speeds of those chasing and to his east have so far remained stable.
To the west Mike Golding has just experienced a spell of lighter winds and hard work to keep the speeds up, confirmed on his morning call to his team this morning, which had to be cut short because the wind had returned.
As the compression occurs, so Jean Pierre Dick has gained 7.5 miles to 45.6 miles behind in third, Armel Le Cléac’h in fourth at +50.9 miles, Ecover 3 remains at +64.8 miles behind in sixth place.
Brian Thompson has made a small gain on Safran, a matter of one mile or so at the moment.
The St Helena High pressure system is proving a complex barrier to progress south, and Peyron is first to start feeling the effect on its fringes. It is expected to compress progressively north south and expand east west to make life slow and difficult for the leading group.
