Bulletin: 22nd January 2008

The battle intensifies

Catching up in a stronger wind, Mutua Madrilena is continuing to threaten TEMENOS II and the battle between the two boats is becoming increasingly intense. After making difficult headway last night due to light winds, at midday TEMENOS II had also been joined by a more feisty breeze and Michèle and Dominique were clearly hoping to reverse the trend.
18 knots for TEMENOS II, 16.1 knots for the Spanish boat, the pace is fast aboard the two boats, both duos constantly at full tilt, TEMENOS II seemingly regaining its advantage during the course of today. A relentless rhythm that solely the high pressure, set to obstruct their course, will manage to influence. Climbing up the coast of Brazil, the boats are unlikely to encounter this zone of light winds for another 4 to 5 days and the weather may well have a few surprises in store for the crews in the meantime.

“We have finally hit steadier breeze, but it took a while coming. Last night was very light and we had less than 15 knots for several hours" indicated Michèle when contacted earlier this afternoon. “Since this morning the wind has filled in gradually and we've had between 20 and 23 knots for a few hours. The wind is on the beam and conditions are quite uncomfortable as we're being shaken about a lot and it's very wet on deck. The boat is heeled over well and it’s slamming in the waves. We’re already missing the downwind and yet we’re not sailing upwind yet! (laughs).

The wind is likely to be fairly steady for the next couple of days and then it will gradually ease as we approach the high pressure. In the latest grib files this zone had climbed northwards and looked a lot bigger. It is currently situated off Brazil so we've still got a while to go yet before we get there. This effectively means that these are long term forecasts right now and the situation could evolve very quickly.”