Dominique Wavre on Temenos 2 lamented his lack of breeze yesterday and last night, losing over 120 miles on the leaders over one day but tonight it is the two Swiss skippers Wavre and Bernard Stamm who are seeing the highest numbers on their speedos.

Behind they them are going to have to wait until tomorrow evening to pick up speed again.  The low-pressure area, which enabled the leaders to achieve some great speeds this weekend is now moving away from the whole fleet towards the Kerguelens and beyond.  This evening all of the boats are therefore behind this low in a westerly flow, which is easing off to around 12 knots. 

The gaps between these leading sailors should not change much until tomorrow lunchtime, when the middle of the fleet should be able to start closing the gaps again, as another front arrives.  Ahead of this new system, the winds will remain light and directly from astern (10-12 knot westerly), while for those immediately behind, the NW'ly wind will freshen to around twenty knots, before backing WSW'ly as the front goes over.

After wallowing through the worst of the high pressure Wavre is now making 16.8 knots this evening while Stamm is up to 17.5.

The leaders have slowed waiting for the ridge to catch them, while the low pressure system they have been riding for the last three days is leaving them, speeding its way to the Kerguelen Islands to the east.

There will be no real escape from the high pressure ridge, north or south for the leaders.

For Derek Hatfield, progress is painfully slow on Algimouss Spirit of Canada has he is snared by the high pressure in the South Atlantic, making just 3 knots just now.

Steve White, meantime, becomes the 18^th skipper to break into the Indian Ocean, making his first passage under sail past the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope today on Toe in the Water.