Ecover out in front

After pulling ahead of Kingfisher shortly after the start of leg five in the EDS Atlantic Challenge

Update 1930 GMT: It was the blue and orange boat of Kingfisher that crossed the Boston start line first, closely followed by Alphagraphics and Fila, of the fifth and final leg in the EDS Atlantic Challenge . Just prior to the start Nick Moloney, co-skipper on Kingfisher, commented on their race strategy: "We will be racing hard on this leg, but our main objective will be to sail safe. We can't afford to break anything."

The Kingfisher team hold a comfortable lead of the rest of the Open 60 fleet, needing only a finish to confirm victory in the overall regatta. Victory, that was snatched away from Sill when the French boat was dismasted only 40 minutes after the start of the previous race. The good news was that Sill successfully stepped their repaired mast in time to leave the dock for today's start. Unfortunately the team made a serious misjudgement when they hit the mud on their way to the start, leaving them just over 11 minutes late for the starting gun.

After three hours of racing Ecover holds a slim 100m lead over second placed Kingfisher and third placed Fila. With the wind looking steady from the southwest for the 3,100 mile race across the Atlantic to St Malo, even the slightest error looks set to vastly change the positions.

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The start of the fifth and final leg of the EDS Atlantic Challenge will see six of the seven original competitors lined up for a drag race across the Atlantic Ocean to the finish line off St. Malo in 8-11 days time.

All eyes are currently on Sill to see whether the team will be ready in time for the restart, due at noon local time - 1600 GMT. Currently working around the clock the shore crew are expecting to be ready in time for the start, securing the repaired mast with only a couple of hours to spare.

Nick Moloney will again be skippering Kingfisher in Ellen's absence as she trains in France for the multihull circuit: "We're all really fired up for what should be a fast and furious 2800 miles back to Europe. Our prime objective is to hold on to our overall lead," commented Moloney.

This final leg could potentially result in the transatlantic monohull record be beaten if the right conditions prevail: "If there are record breaking conditions we will just go with the flow, sail sensibly and see what happens," added Moloney.

It will be a close run battle for the top position, which will bring with it overall victory in this inaugural EDS Atlantic Challenge. Ecover is described as having superior downwind speed, however the leg from Baltimore to Boston, which was predominantly downwind, was in fact won by Kingfisher: "We could match or even have an edge over Ecover in light to moderate conditions, although she seemed to have a small advantage over us in surfing conditions," said Moloney. Josh Hall, skippering Gartmore, also has a chance of a podium finish as he to is racing a boat better designed for downwind sailing.

Kingfisher holds the advantage going in to this event with a six point lead over Sill and Ecover who are currently lying on equal points. Although it is almost impossible for the team to lose first place - needing a retirement, or last place finish, as we have seen in the last four legs of the race anything is possible.