Crewman is stable

Team Stelmar continue towards Chile

Tim Johnston, the Crew Volunteer aboard Team Stelmar who broke his arm, is said to be in a comfortable condition. The team is currently heading towards the chosen port, Punta Arenas - a large town with good medical facilities. It is estimated that it will take four to five days. Tim is reported to be in a comfortable condition.

Skipper, Clive Cosby, has reported Tim is in a comfortable condition today: "Tim is doing well, he is one of the strongest most positive crew members onboard. A big loss but a very easy patient. We are maintaining half-hourly observations on him and he is comfortable with the painkillers and in good humour. He is sleeping, reading Jackie Collins (for the first time) and catching up with well wishes. We will keep you updated.

"We are now motoring at 9 knots for Chile, aiming at present for the vicinity of the Cockburn channel to make for Punta Arenas via the Straits of Magellan."

One of the options now facing the skipper and crew will be to retire from the leg for the safety of the crew, as racing in isolation in the Southern Ocean would not necessarily be the most favourable option. It would also allow them to arrive in Wellington (via a more northern route) with time to carry out vital maintenance on the yacht and rest before the remainder of the race.

For the rest of the fleet the wind has shifted faster than expected today, and the top two yachts - Spirit of Sark and VAIO - have picked up the advantage as 30 knots from the southwest have allowed them to creep ahead of the fleet.

BG Spirit continued on their path to the northwest after the majority of the fleet had tacked back towards the west. As a result, they have lost 10nm on the fleet leader, and BP Explorer have crept up to within 2nm behind them, now an immediate threat to their leaderboard position.

BP Explorer’s improved position is not merely a case of gaining from BG Spirit’s loss, they have faired better, in terms of distance to leader, than every other yacht below them, bar Pindar. BP Explorer may have lost 4nm on Spirit of Sark since this morning, but the rest of the fleet have lost an average of least 10nm in same period.

In mid-fleet, a three-way battle between Team Save the Children in fifth, Me to You in sixth and Barclays Adventurer in seventh has become closer and closer. This afternoon there are 3nm separating their performance in terms of distance to the leader. In real terms, they are sailing abreast of one another in an approximately north-south line across 45nm of water, all aiming for BP Explorer and BG Spirit about 25nm ahead of them.

Paul Kelly, skipper of Team Save the Children, reported that squalls make sail changes a real challenge for the foredeck team: "When the wind kicks in the key thing is to get the sails down early - too late and you have a real fight on your hands. We've been caught out a couple of times in some squally weather and as a skipper it is real heart in mouth stuff having to send the foredeck team up to the front. You feel so helpless on the wheel when you see the guys get pummelled by yet another wave, even though you are doing your best to avoid these green monsters."

SAIC La Jolla has reported recently that the yacht was slowing up without an obvious reason, causing much frustration for skipper Eero Lehtinen and crew. They had been in 2nd place briefly over the weekend but this morning they are down to 9th.

"The hand brake is on," reported Eero this morning. "We have been suffering since Friday with a noisy rudder and dropped boat speed, first not realising how slow we were as we had a fantastic private spinnaker run overtaking every other boat except Spirit of Sark within 48hrs.

"As soon as we got together with the fleet again though we could not hold the pace with them. We have tried everything and anything, but we are constantly half to one knot slower, something that has never been the case before. So, we are convinced that we are dragging something on the rudder or the keel and will have to reverse the boat to try and get rid of it."

SAIC La Jolla did eventually get the opportunity to reverse in an attempt to resolve the problem. "Big waves made it very difficult," continued Eero, "and we can only hope that if there was something it would not be there any more."

They have picked up the pace but explain: "Very unstable conditions need trimming and extremely focused helming continuously. Thick fog and freezing air does not help at all. After Waypoint Alpha it will be a new ball game, probably more split fleet and possibly some brave flyers - who knows from whom?"

Positions (distance to finish of leg 2)

Spirit of Sark - 3,273
BG Spirit - 3,305
VAIO - 3,315
BP Explorer - 3,317
Team Save the Children - 3,341
Me to You- 3,342
Barclays Adventurer - 3,343
Samsung - 3,360
SAIC La Jolla - 3,365
Imagine It. Done - 3,410
Pindar - 3,561
Team Stelmar - 3,669