Fila cracks Kingfisher

Last night Fila passed the blue and orange boat to take the lead in the EDS Atlantic Challenge

Averaging speeds approaching 20 knots the Fila (Red) crew broke through to first place ahead of Kingfisher (Orange) and Ecover (Green) to command a lead of 17 miles. On top of this the crew logged an incredible 435 miles in the last 24 hours, a full 27 miles further than any of the other competitors in the EDS Atlantic Challenge.

Both Fila and Sill had headed to the south shortly after the start in Boston on Tuesday, at one point placing them over 70 miles behind the then leader Kingfisher. Picking up the southwesterly winds 10 hours before the northerly tracking boats the Italian crew were able to sail at full throttle sneak through to the south in to pole position.

Just as the fleet looked to be converging in the new wind there was again a north-south separation. Again Kingfisher appears to have taken the northerly track, with Ecover forced to follow due to the prevailing wind. However, the chasing duo of Gartmore and Alphagraphics have opted to join the two southern boats of Fila and Sill in an attempt to cash in on some of the their own gains to the south.

These machines are now showing their true potential, logging twice the distance in 24 hours compared to some of the previous legs of the course. It is now a questions of who picks up the next band of pressure, and more importantly, who judges the Gulf Stream the best.