End is nigh

As Bernard Stamm closes within 100 miles of Around Alone finish line

Above more stable but lighter southeasterlies are due to kick in in the early hours of this morning

The latest update from Around Alone shows race leader Bernard Stamm making 10 knots towards the Newport, Rhode Island finish line where he is due at 05.30 local EST (10.30GMT) this morning.

Meanwhile the high pressure system to the south is playing havoc with the rest of the class one boats who are all trickling along. Worst affected are those to the west, while finally Emma Richards is making the best speed to the east although the short amount of runway left to Newport is unlikely to affect her position.

Richards needs to finish just behind Tiscali if she is to take third place in Around Alone. At present this looks most unlikely.

Positions at 2200GMT

Pos	Boat	Lat	Lon	DistRun	AvgBsp	AvgHeading	DTF
	Class 1
1	Bobst Group-Armor Lux	40 24.017 N	70 25.606 W	85.19 nm	10.64 kt	306 °T	76.55 nm
2	Tiscali	35 00.000 N	65 35.000 W	50.62 nm	6.33 kt	1 °T	473.59 nm
3	Ocean Planet	33 44.912 N	65 34.437 W	17.51 nm	2.19 kt	340 °T	538.12 nm
4	Solidaires	34 17.160 N	62 20.220 W	38.82 nm	4.86 kt	343 °T	606.06 nm
5	Pindar	32 46.251 N	60 59.735 W	55.83 nm	6.97 kt	318 °T	718.64 nm
	Class 2
1	Tommy Hilfiger	33 24.801 N	65 04.614 W	46.10 nm	5.76 kt	308 °T	567.85 nm
2	Everest Horizontal	30 50.250 N	62 36.950 W	24.12 nm	3.02 kt	13 °T	764.53 nm
3	Spirit of yukoh	27 58.213 N	58 09.337 W	25.98 nm	3.25 kt	333 °T	1036.43 nm
4	BTC Velocity	23 37.663 N	55 17.926 W	35.20 nm	4.40 kt	317 °T	1338.66 nm
	Spirit of Canada @ 2100 utc. 22 04 200 S
	Distance to Salvador 555nm.