Sill recovers lead

Conditions pick up for Regata de Rubicon fleet

Positions at 0500GMT

Pos	Boat	Lat	Long	Speed	Course	DTF	DTL
1	Sill Plein Fruit	39 50.72' N	2 17.76' E	8.9	85	409.9	0
2	Bobst Group Armor Lux	39 53.20' N	2 11.40' E	6.9	75	411.8	1.9
3	Temenos	39 45.44' N	2 13.28' E	8.6	84	415.8	5.9
4	Tiscali	39 39.56' N	1 26.40' E	6.3	39	446.6	36.7
5	Kingfisher	38 31.84' N	1 28.36' E	9.7	72	492.7	82.8

In the early hours of this morning in the Regata de Rubicon the five remaining Open 60s have been negotiating the Balearics Islands. Since being overtaken coming out of the Straits of Gibraltar over the weekend, Roland Jourdain's Sill Plein Fruit has recovered her lead - just - from Bernard Stamm in Bobst Group-Armor Lux.

Since entering the Med, Temenos the boat of Whitbread veteran Dominique Wavre has also moved into contention, currently lying in third place just 5.9 miles behind the leaders.

Nick Moloney and his team on board Kingfisher lost out big time when they took a flier across to the Spanish coast to find wind while negotiating the Straits of Gibraltar and have ended up in a resounding last position. In order to make up the miles Kingfisher is taking another flier by ducking to the south of the Balearic Islands, while the other four boats stay to the north. Will this pay off? We shall have to wait and see.

The forecast for tonight looks as though the wind will veer to the west for the boats to the north of the Balearics while it will remain resolutely on the nose for Kingfisher.

Wind at 0600 GMT