Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) in his daily log yesterday evening talking about seeing an Arctic Tern, a bird known for covering huge distances around the world from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back.
"Had a call from my current neighbour, Dominic Wavre on Temenos, and it was great to chat as we voyage these waters together. He is also rested and is working on his boat. He is hopeful of catching some miles on the leaders over the next few days, and I am all for that! Passed by Trindade Island and saw it for the first time. Lots of sea birds came out for a look at the big blue Bahrain Team Pindar and I was sure that I saw an Arctic Tern amongst the other birds. Away from the island no birds, but still the occasional splash as another flying fish launches itself out of the water to skip away across the waves to land up to a hundred metres from its take off point. Cabin temp now 29 degrees and water temp 22.7°, It is noticeably cooler now. The days are growing noticeably longer now as well."

"There's something else that changes, when you are in the south and it happens as soon as you cross the Equator. Coriolis has turned around. Having said that, I'm wondering whether he actually exists here, as it has been six days we've had wind from the same direction.  South Africa must be emptying itself and Copacabana filling up.  The itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny bikinis must be flying off. As if they needed any wind down there to get them off....Something crazy is happening at the front of the fleet, leading them to change tack to take advantage of a pressure gradient  to get in the miles to the east, and the troops are spreading out? Those of us poor guys following on behind a few gybes behind, can only continue southwards, still heeled over."  Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia)

 

At 21h42 yesterday evening, Derek Hatfield crossed the imaginary line that is the equator.  There were no celebrations this time, as he was busy trying to make the boat go faster. This was his fifth crossing, the third in this boat.  Derek is fighting to stay in front of Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty,  who is now only about 30 miles behind him and the winds have not been kind, so he is working hard to keep ahead.

 

"I'm at 60 degrees to the wind and am sailing at 11 or 12 knots hugging the wind to move towards the east...It is reassuring (to be in close contact) for two reasons; Firstly, that creates an emulation allowing you to get 100% out of the boat, and to adapt your performance to those of the others and it is also  reassuring to see all these exceptional sailors sharing more or less the same analysis as far as their trajectory and strategy are concerned..."  Yann Eliès (Générali) yesterday evening

 

Jonny Malbon (Artemis) is tonight in 18th place 820 miles from the leader.  Here is his daily message received this evening.
"All good onboard – squall school again this morning for a few hours  they are just everywhere.  Lets hope tonight is a little more relaxing, but I doubt it.  Boat feels great and its good t make some miles back.  Learning a lot about how to reach with her – getting some good speeds, and certainly helped us get past Unai last night. Sights set on Steve now!!
Cheers,
Jonny and Artemis II"

 

Dominique Wavre (Temenos) is in 11th place 234 miles from the leader.  Like those just ahead of him (Brian Thompson and Marc Guillemot), he has been busy analysing the weather, as the leaders slow down:
 "You really get the feeling that you’re heading into a zone where there will be less wind. There are clouds of all shapes and sizes in the sky, which is an indicator of some intense weather activity. I’m studying the weather a great deal at the moment. I’ve set myself a position to pass through the core of the high pressure. The situation is still complicated. There are two zones of high pressure. One is evacuating itself towards the east, and the other is forming in the west. It’s imperative that we avoid falling into it and also avoid the squalls, which could stop us in our tracks. It’s not easy though as not everything is visible in the satellite images. I’m not too displeased about my position for the time being. I hope to have a slightly more favourable breeze than those further east. It’s an interesting situation and the race is exciting, but a small part of our performance will be down to luck. We should see what’s what this weekend.”