by The Expert
As we reach the end of the daylight hours on the second day, the teams have gone through a second major transition, and this one, has caused a shakeup.
Around midday today the boats that were leading towards the coast, #118 Bodacious Dream, #116 Icarus and #90 40 Degrees fought their way through a brutal light patch and have managed to catch the left hand shift close to shore. As a result they have started pulling away from the rest of the group. #121 Lecoq Cuisine also managed to squeak through but seemed to struggle in the lighter air more than the rest of the lead pack and has hemorrhaged some miles, but still is part of the lead pack.
#106-Gryphon Solo has managed to claw back to a top 5 position but this has come at the expense of #54 Dragon who after fighting east last night caught the brunt of the transition and has now found itself struggling in the middle of the track. At the time of this writing, they are limping along at 2 kts. It’s quite the change of fortune for the early leaders but given their past success I would expect them to get right back into things once the breeze fills.
That leaves #39 Pleiad Racing as the only boat east of rhumbline. They also are caught in lighter air but might have survived a bigger loss than Dragon and I still think there is a chance for the eastern route to pay long term (keep in mind, “expert” is a relative term). There is a fear that the western pack might see slightly less breeze than the offshore boats later this evening, which might open the door for Pleaid Racing, but right now the leading trio look very strong. Tonight will be very stressful for all the teams as they continue north and try to figure an approach to New York Harbor.
Also temperatures are supposed to drop to the mid 30’s,which may begin to sap the energy of all the teams on their third night at sea. Still very much anyone’s game and I don’t expect a clear-cut favorite until they are almost in sight of the Statue of Liberty
The Atlantic Cup
