Maximus extends lead

News from the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge

The last two days of gale force winds has been taking its toll on the fleet. Drumbeat is no exception and today we suffered damage to the mainsail headboard car and battens as well as a rip in the mizzen. We have sailed most of the day without mainsail and under staysail only which has been very disappointing to watch the miles slip away to our main competitors in our class particularly Tiara and Windrose.

The crew has been working hard to fix the damage to the main in extremely harsh conditions both above and below deck.The first photo is of the

It has been very tough out here, windy, rainy and with so many English on board it is not difficult to find someone to blame for bringing the bad weather with them. Commenting today on the gale force winds and driving rain, famous yacht designer Ed Dubois said "This opportunity for research and development out here is priceless". Total dedication.

Hopefully by tomorrow we will be back up and running and we can put our repair team back on to the spinnaker for the following South West winds we have been waiting patiently to arrive...

Richard Swansbury chief engineer below deck in the engine room who is refabricating the mainsail track and yes he does have a strong stomach.