Once again, weather is playing the crucial role in the final stages of the second leg in the Whitbread Round the World Race. With just under 1,000 miles to the finishing line off Fremantle, Western Australia, the first of the nine-boat fleet might arrive as early as Sunday.
On Wednesday, Britain's Silk Cut smashed the world record for distance travelled in 24 hours by a monohull sailing boat, covering 449.26 miles.
Skipper Lawrie Smith (42), and his crew beat by 15 miles the previous best of 434.4 set by Toshiba on her qualifying trans-Atlantic race last July.
Silk Cut averaged 18.7 knots in the 24 hours from 8.20 GMT on Wednesday, but her speed overnight was even faster at 19.4 as she made up 13 miles on her rivals.
Currently lying in fifth place, Silk Cut has 1,687.7 miles to go before reaching Fremantle, Western Australia, at the end of the second leg.
The leading yacht, Swedish Match, is 1,108 miles from the finish and is expected in Fremantle on Monday.
Since shortly after the start of leg two off Cape Town 13 days ago, Gunnar Krantz's Swedish Match has had an almost unassailable lead and seems certain to continue its 300-mile advantage over the weekend. On Tuesday, the leading yachts had passed the halfway point and were beginning the slow ascent north-eastward out of the Southern Ocean.
Silk Cut is not the only flier in the fleet. Westerly depressions have allowed virtually all nine boats to maintain speeds of up to 30 knots - sometimes exceeding this figure. But with all boats experiencing more or less the same conditions, there is little room for tactics.
The game for this leg is definitely follow the leader, with all crews hoping for a break - either in fortunes or in gear - ideally on some other yacht.
The deciding point for this leg is the high pressure system that is almost permanently stationed off the west coast of Australia. Normally, the leaders could expect to slow down, allowing the faster conditions further south to bring up the rest of the fleet and giving rise to the prospect of a "restart" as the fleet bunches together waiting for the wind to scatter them again. This year, however, the system is further south than expected and several navigators have been suggesting a fast ride to within a few hundred miles of the line.
Ireland's Gordon Maguire, the number two on board Silk Cut, was offering a few predictions of his own prior to the start of this leg. "Swedish Match will do well - they have a lot of Southern Ocean experience on board," he told The Irish Times. Third-placed Innovation Kvaerner "didn't deserve to be where they were" and will slip in this leg, according to the Raheny-born professional who described their performance as "out of character".
Nevertheless, this new character appears to be suiting Knut Frostad and his crew, who have held a solid second overall behind Krantz and are a safe distance ahead of Toshiba, the US entry currently enjoying a new breath of life under replacement skipper Paul Standbridge. Should the current standings prove to be the final result for this leg, then the Norwegian team will be overall leader or a close second.
Meanwhile, on Saturday night last, the Royal Alfred YC present their annual Yacht of the Year award to Tom Roche for his campaign with Jameson on the winning United States Admiral's Cup team this year. Under the trophy's deed of gift, the club can make the award to "the member or yacht, owned or part-owned by a member, which in the opinion of the committee, at its total discretion, has been outstanding for whatever reason during the preceding year".
Roche has a long association with both the RAYC and the Admiral's Cup. Through a succession of well-known, high-scoring yachts, including Schollevar, Noddy and Deja Blue, his ultimate ambition was fulfilled in August of this year following the selection of his Mumm 36 footer for the US Team last January.
Previously, in 1987, the best Admiral's Cup result came with Full Pelt/Irish Independent with a Fastnet Race win.
