Record out of reach

O2 Team Spirit 60 miles from BMW Round Ireland finish

With just two and a half hours (at 19.45 Tuesday) remaining to the 1998 course record for the BMW Round Ireland Race, David Nixon and the crew of O2 Team Spirit are level with Howth Head, some 25 miles from the finishing line at Wicklow.

However, both wind and tide are against the 60-footer and the actual distance to travel will be considerably longer.

The race focus has effectively switched from record attempt to line honours battle as French entry City Jet Solune has been spotted within one hours sailing of the leader.

Meanwhile, the actual race for overall victory is being dominated by the mid-sized boats further back along the course.

At the Arranmore check-in point, Maltese entry Jazz skippered by Chris Bull was the overall leader. Cork yacht Minnie the Moocher is back into second overall and by 5.00pm had made it to Rathlin Island ahead of the closure of the notorious tidal gate closing at that crucial position.

Third placed Calyx Voice & Data also expected to reach the gate as well. Slower boats behind could find themselves separated from these handicap time front-runners.

Winds for the next 48 hours are forecast to remain fresh to strong and veer from the South-West to a more Westerly direction, boosting the main fleet's chances of beating the 60-footers at the front.