Five go clear in Volvo

Three struggle in Doldrums as illbruck leads accross the equator into the southern hemisphere

As the Volvo fOcean Race fleet head towards Isla Fernando de Noronha, still some 300 miles away, illbruck will become the first yacht in the Race to cross the equator and enter the southern hemisphere for the next five months. The German-flagged yacht is currently 17 miles ahead of AssaAbloy.
On board illbruck, her crew have been quietly preparing to induct the four crew that have yet to cross from north to south. Richard Clarke
(helmsman/trimmer), Ian Moore (navigator), Jamie Gale (mast) and Tony Kolb(bow) will all incur the wrath of King Neptune, who, as justice for past crimes, dishes out punishment in many smelly and sticky forms.

"I saw Stu 'Waffler' Bettany busy getting the King Neptune crown ready, and a bucket on deck contains some brew," explained navigator Juan Vila.

For the rest of the fleet, it’s still plain sailing and a pure test of horse, or rather sail, power in the steady southeast trades as they simply race towards the same waypoint (Fernando de Noronha).

These straight line sailing conditions are the true acid test of every yacht’s sail testing programme and final inventory selection, as News Corp’s Alby Pratt commented: "With a Volvo boat, the yachts have to cover both upwind and downwind plus all the reaching angles in between which can lead to a massive variation in sail designs and sizes. It is easy to see why most teams have seven figure budgets for their sails."

Still some 300 miles off their equator ceremony, the crew on Amer Sports Too are feeling the immense frustration of falling further behind the fleet with every six hourly report. "We are officially parked, or let's say, illegally parked," said navigator Genevieve White. "Our worst fears have been realised - the lead pack of five boats whom we have kept within general striking distance to date have slipped though the doldrums just ahead of us while we have been stopped in our tracks just behind by a breezeless, shifty area combined with sloppy confused seas. Nevertheless, the crew is really positive, itching to get moving again and get on with the job."

Positions at 1000 hrs Wednesday 10 October