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Sunergy and Friends are now sailing in a completely different wind pattern with the breeze at less than ten knots, leaving them 868 nm behind ABN AMRO ONE following their pitstop in Madeira to repair the boat.

With the boat speeds nearly matching, and, in the case of ABN AMRO ONE, exceeding, the wind speeds over the last 24 hours, the leading pack of four is quickly making its way through the trade winds. Conditions yesterday were as good as they get, with flat seas, sun, and wind speeds in the high teens. Still, no one is sitting back and enjoying the ride, as decisions made now will have a big impact on the next few days.

Over the last 24 hours the east/west split of the fleet has narrowed dramatically as the boats all struggle to choose the best lane to cross the doldrums - the light wind zone which lies between the current positions of the boats and the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha. The northern edge of the doldrums is still sitting at about seven degrees north (between 26W-31W, the yachts longitude), so speeds will decrease once the boats arrive at the doldrums in the next day or so.

Position Report At 1000 Hours UTC, 18 November 2005