BT Global Challenge - Leg 2 - 19th October, part 2

It was a close start, we had a port and starboard incident with Olympic Group. We couldn't bear away due to an obstruction - a red channel marker - so Olympic Group altered course and protested. To avoid later hassle we completed our two penalty turns to exonerate the infringement, at the same time the rest of the fleet parked up with no wind. So we were still third as we went up the channel leaving Boston.

We are currently tracking Hurricane Michael moving at eight knots into our path. At present there is very little wind, and we are soaked from the rain on deck and soaked from the humidity below deck - and it is only going to get hotter. And we currently don't have any weather faxes coming in, due to a technical fault, which is frustrating - but hopefully we can sort it out, we need to know where that hurricane is going.'

Since Andy wrote his report, the news from the BT Global Challenge website is that the fleet are safely out of the way of Hurricane Michael. Meteorologist and skipper in the BT Global Challenge 1996/97, Chris Tibbs, said, 'For the more easterly boats the maximum winds may have stayed relatively light, not reaching more than a Force 6 or 7 overnight. The hurricane is believed to have peaked around midday GMT with wind speeds of 65 knots and gusts reaching about 80 knots, so by the time the fleet passed it by the storm was already starting to diminish.'

At 13.48 on Thursday afternoon GMT, the BT Global Challenge reported the positions and distances to the finish of the top six as:

1 Save the Children 5101 nm
2 Olympic Group 5102 nm
3 LG FLATRON 5122 nm
4 Quadstone 5135 nm
5 Isle of Man 5139 nm
6 Compaq 5141 nm