Take off

25 knot speeds for Challenge Mondial Assistance leaders as they roar down the Portugese coast

Pos	Name	Lat	Long	SOG	COG	Time	DTF	DTL
1	Groupama	41 19.68' N	9 02.94' W	24.5	149	13/05/2003 08:00	2058	0
2	Banque Populaire	41 29.16' N	9 08.34' W	24	157	13/05/2003 08:00	2066	8.1
3	Bayer CropScience	41 12.90' N	8 58.92' W	18.1	167	13/05/2003 09:00	2070	12.1
4	Belgacom	41 27.18' N	9 09.78' W	15.4	158	13/05/2003 09:00	2082	23.7
5	Foncia	41 30.42' N	9 06.90' W	23	156	13/05/2003 09:00	2088	30.3
6	Géant	41 30.42' N	9 25.26' W	22.6	170	13/05/2003 09:25	2098	39.6
7	Bonduelle	43 06.42' N	9 54.24' W	19.8	182	13/05/2003 09:00	2184	126
8	Gitana	43 22.08' N	9 33.60' W	14.7	182	13/05/2003 08:30	2189	131
9	Sergio Tacchini	43 29.40' N	9 06.92' W	12	203	13/05/2003 08:30	2198	140
10	Banque Covefi	43 32.70' N	9 40.86' W	16.4	175	13/05/2003 09:03	2209	151
11	Sopra Group	44 01.40' N	9 43.12' W	11.8	242	13/05/2003 08:30	2228	170
12	Sodebo	44 33.66' N	6 18.84' W	10.9	234	13/05/2003 09:00	2334	276

Over the course of this morning the Challenge Mondial fleet has split in two - the leaders, all six of them, were able to make a break this morning from the others by being first into the strong northerly winds that are blowing just off the Portugese coast. These northerlies are the result of a low pressure over north Africa and the Azores high. They are established for the next few days and will propel all the boats down to Gibraltar at record pace.

The boats are having to gybe downwind and when to take these gybes is tactically at the moment.

Again the places in the table above should not be taken as gospel because the positions were taken at different times but the latest indications are that Bayer CropScience is in the lead having gone on to starboard gybe just to the north of Oporto. She is followed by Groupama and then by the trio of Banque Populaire, Belgacom and Foncia with Geant offshore.

The leaders have 450-500 miles to sail before they pass through the Straits of Gibraltar. Once into the Med conditions look set to take a turn for the worse as there they look set to experience 30 knot headwinds tomorrow.

Bringing up the rear is Thomas Coville's Sodebo which left La Trinité-sur-Mer at 2130hrs (French time) last night after repairing the damaged ram for their Solent. Another boat to experience breakage has been Jean le Cam's Bonduelle. She had to sail for eight hours without a mainsail as the crew struggled to replace broken battens.

"The wind spun round quickly from the south-west to the north-west and we had a pretty ferocious sea coming at us," explained le Cam. "We could have gone fast but we couldn’t allow ourselves to do that. We stopped dead, it was brutal, followed by a restart that wasn’t very good for the mainsail. We had to drop the sail in order to repair it. Now it’s been done but we’re making the most of the night to rest as we didn’t sleep much the first evening!"