Neck and neck

Fierce fighting at the front of the Challenge Mondial fleet

Pos	Boat	Lat	Long	SOG	COG	Time of pos	DTF	DTL
1	Bayer CropScience	43 34.12' N	9 42.28' W	19	242	5/13/03 1:30 AM	2201	0
2	Belgacom	43 44.36' N	9 32.20' W	14	228	5/13/03 12:30 AM	2202	0.3
3	Banque Populaire	43 34.04' N	9 55.08' W	18.1	250	5/13/03 2:00 AM	2205	3.4
4	Groupama	43 41.32' N	10 02.44' W	15.7	219	5/13/03 1:30 AM	2209	8
5	Foncia	43 55.92' N	9 43.96' W	16.2	236	5/13/03 1:30 AM	2223	21.8
6	Géant	44 00.08' N	9 31.84' W	17.6	244	5/13/03 1:30 AM	2227	25.8
7	Bonduelle	44 21.48' N	8 38.00' W	15.9	221	5/13/03 1:30 AM	2254	52.8
8	Gitana	44 26.36' N	8 22.76' W	14.5	224	5/13/03 1:00 AM	2256	54.6
9	Sergio Tacchini	44 32.28' N	8 20.96' W	19.6	222	5/13/03 1:30 AM	2269	67.5
10	Banque Covefi	44 56.10' N	8 13.86' W	16.4	223	5/13/03 12:00 AM	2269	68
11	Sopra Group	44 38.96' N	7 52.52' W	15.1	233	5/13/03 1:30 AM	2284	83.3
12	Sodebo	45 51.08' N	4 08.12' W	23.2	210	5/13/03 1:30 AM	2448	247

Having been the leader of the charge southwest until yesterday morning, Thomas Coville and the team on Sodebo have been working through the night in their homeport of La Trinite-sur-Mer to replace the broken ram for their Solent jib.

The above positions are fairly inaccurate given the hour and a half difference between the fixes of the first three, but the indication is that at present Belgacom and Franck Cammas' Groupama are jockeying for the lead. Close behind though as the boat forge across the Bay of Biscay are Alain Gautier's Foncia out to the west and Michel Desjoyeaux on Geant to the east.

Since leaving Ushant in their wake the boats have been making good progress in the 20 knot northerly, although the wind angle is a little too free to allow the boats to sail to their full potential. However this does not look set to last as with a small high pressure system encroaching from the west will see the wind going light. This may pay for those to the east such as Geant and Jean Maurel's Bayer CropScience who should be able stay with the breeze for longer.

It is somewhat ironic that the boats look likely to be rounding Cape Finistere in light following winds, in the same waters where 60 knot winds caused so much chaos and destruction in last November's Route du Rhum.

This early stage may be won or lost on how quickly the boats can get through this light patch and into the stiff northerlies they are forecast to get sailing down the Portugese coast later today. Inevitably those behind will suffer the worst at the high bars the passage of latecomers, in particular Thomas Coville's Sodebo, who was set to leave La Trinite early yesterday evening, her ram repaired.

There was more drama on board Michel Desjoyeaux's Geant this yesterday afternoon when suddenly the lower starboard shroud fell onto the deck. Desjoyeaux and his five crew were sailing on starboard tack in a south-westerly wind at the time and were forced to tack west nearly 90° off course.

The shrouds attachment to the mast has failed and the team were due to give Nicolas de Castro, the unenviable task of climbing the rig (wingmasts are large in area, but have no spreaders or footholds) to effect a repair.

But the main experience of the crews yesterday was crashing across the Bay of Biscay.

Figaro winner Kito de Pavant sailing on board Jean le Cam's Bonduelle compared it to "a ping pong ball in a washing machine".

Meanwhile the all-star cast including Laurent Bourgnon and Florence Arthaud have been having to sail without electronics today.