Fluky winds yesterday

Position: 30,31.26N , 69,44.24W

Speed: 19 knots, Course: 324 deg.

It was a long a tedious day yesterday as we crawled our way through the high pressure ridge. Fluky winds with maximum gusts of 5 knots were the norm for about 10 hours. We managed just 77 miles in 12 hours during the middle of the day. Everyone had to go through it and everyone took their turn losing miles on the way in (lighter winds in the high) then gaining them back on the way out.

Now we are enjoying 20 knots form the southwest which is helping us close in on Baltimore with a bit more pace. ABN Amro One and Movistar look pretty strong at this point. We have built a nicer lead on Ericsson and Brasil1. There is at least one more transition to go through and that will occur around 0400 local time on Monday when the wind will shift from the west to the north east just off Cape Hatteras. Then we will have the 120 mile sail up the Chesapeake which could bring anything. At this stage it looks like we will be sailing the final 120 miles Monday night and finishing early Tuesday.

For our trip up the Chesapeake we are scheduled to have a famous guest; Gary Jobson. Gary will get onboard just after the entrance of the Bay and ride all the way to Baltimore with us. He is making a TV show on the race for ESPN and will be filming from onboard The Black Pearl. He did the same thing 8 years ago with us on EF Language.

Everyone is well onboard and the sailing is not too difficult at the moment.

Very wet as we are ripping along at 20 knots with the wind forward of the beam. It is a bit bouncy down below but not too bad. We did have to do two sail changes tonight as the breeze has built and those are 7 man operations;

4 on the foredeck, two in the cockpit and one driving.

Looking foreword to the arrival in the USA on Tuesday!

Paul Cayard

Pirates of the Caribbean