Yet the top ten ranking is very precarious and may change significantly according to the upwind angle and the VMG. Whilst Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) falls in 6th Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air) goes up from 10th to 5th at only a mere 0,7 mile behind Nicolas Lunven, same disadvantage for Corentin Douguet (E.Leclerc Mobile, 4th). Fist newcomer is Anthony Marchand (Espoir Region Bretagne) in 11th who precedes Portuguese Francisco Lobato (ROFF/TEMPO-TEAM) in the special ranking.
On the bright side today the fact that the sea state is far better and the north westerly breeze is still a good 15 knots, enough for the boats to keep average speed of around 6 knots.
The fight will not be over until the finish line, yet a more precise situation will be photographed at the passage of the Fastnet Rock. The skippers seems to be focussed and very quiet, not talking too much over the VHF –as reported by the Race Management catamaran that is accompanying them- because the strategy on the last stretch to Kinsale may prove more important than ever.