As the wind plays havoc with the bulk of the SAP Cape to Rio fleet, the battle for handicap honours and the coveted South Atlantic trophy is heating up. The oldest competitor Gawie Fagan on board the smallest yacht, the 9-metre Suidoos 2, has recaptured his pole position and has now 1,860 miles to go to Rio de Janeiro.

The Fast 42s are continuing their race within a race with Investec and Baleka in second and third position on the handicap ratings with a coverage of 149 and 155 miles respectively. Line honours contender Morning Glory has slipped down to fourth place while the other Fast 42 in the race, John Martin’s MTU Fascination of Power, moved up into fifth position. It seems that the lighter winds conditions around the South Atlantic high are suiting the 42-footers and Martin managed to cover 163.6 miles during the past 24 hours.

The Australian maxi Helsal II had the best run of the day and did 175 miles with the 52ft Auto Atlantic Thunderchild being the only other yacht to manage mileage in the 170 range.

After two frustrating slow days, Klabbe Nylöf on board the trimaran Nicator reported that they have finally found some wind this morning and should be able to do a good run during the next 24 hours. “There’s a nice southerly breeze coming in and if it continues over the next two days, a record crossing to Rio de Janeiro is still possible,” said an optimistic Nylöf, who had to be satisfied with a mere 145.6 miles, but managed to catch up to within ten miles of Morning Glory.

Class A

1. SUIDOOS 2,Gawie Fagan,IRC,23.9.0S,10.17.0W,1638,1860,96.2,4.01

2. INVESTEC,J McGraw/S Cumming,IRC,25.4.0S,5.25.0E,860,2724,149.6,6.23

3. BALEKA,Alex Schon,IRC,26.39.0S,5.25.0E,801,2728,155.1,6.46

4. MORNING GLORY,Hasso Plattner,IRC,23.4.0S,22.0W,1182,2406,139.1,5.80

5. FASCINATION OF POWER,John Martin,IRC,27.37.0S,5.18.0E,774,2726,163.6,6.82

6. KONICA/MALLINICKS INDABA,John Levin,IRC,22.6.0S,7.59.0W,1561,1984,104.3,4.35

7. AUTO ATLANTIC T/Child,R&G Goldswain,IRC,24.30.0S,4.7.0E,936,2653,171.4,7.14

8. MADAME PAZZAZZ,M Skeen/G Hewitt,IRC,26.58.0S,6.44.0E,733,2800,150.2,6.26

9. VCR 90.6 FM,G Boshoff/H Karolus,IRC,27.34.0S,6.50.0E,708,2807,153.0,6.38

10. JULIE III,Robin Green,IRC,22.35.0S,6.3.0W,1456,2092,126.6,5.28

11. DALYS INSURANCE,Mike Daly,IRC,24.26.0S,4.33.0E,921,2677,150.3,6.26

12. HELSAL II,Bill Rawson,IRC,24.11.0S,4.18.0E,941,2663,175.4,7.31

13. BARRACUDA,Nicola Amundsen,IRC,26.34.0S,7.33.0E,714,2842,146.2,6.09

14. 34 SOUTH @ KNYSNA,Theo Beens,IRC,27.20.0S,7.12.0E,700,2826,146.2,6.09

15. INSPIA,Derek Shuttleworth,IRC,26.32.0S,6.5.0E,777,2763,168.8,7.03

16. DIEL,Bernhard Diebold,IRC,26.54.0S,5.27.0E,791,2731,166.3,6.93

17. SCORPIO,H Oliphant/J Dickson,IRC,27.26.0S,6.43.0E,717,2801,158.9,6.62

18. MADIBA RACING TEAM,IRC,24.46.0S,6.49.0E,817,2800,165.0,6.88

19. BIG REEF,Brian Sutherland,IRC,26.23.0S,9.5.0E,661,2924,126.2,5.26

20. SAFARI – CTW,David Tideswell,IRC,26.50.0S,4.11.0W,1242,2219,104.3,4.35

21. FTI FLYER,Keith Mattison,IRC,25.28.0S,2.47.0W,1213,2282,77.3,3.22

22. LOVE LIFE,Marion Cole,IRC,27.33.0S,10.E,577,2975,136.9,5.70

23. MAIDEN,Terry Nielsen,IRC,25.49.0S,10.42.0E,629,3011,156.8,6.53

Class b

NICATOR,Klas Nylof,CRRS,25.21.0S,13.0W,1097,2420,145.6,6.07

ADRENALINA PURA,G Ehrensperger,CRRS,21.17.0S,2.24.0E,1137,2564,68.9,2.87

Class c

INYONI,HI Ferreira,CRRS,24.52.0S,2.57.0W,1239,2269,40.8,1.70

AQUILA,Jon Thurlow,CRRS,22.32.0S,4.50.0W,1401,2159,111.6,4.65

NAUTY 40S,Falk Graser,CRRS,24.40.0S,3.12.0W,1256,2255,38.5,1.60

CUMIN THRU,Alexander Smith,CRRS,26.20.0S,7.0W,1062,2430

ACALANTIS,M Tattavitto,CRRS,27.1.0S,1.58.0W,1130,2337,87.0,3.63

ALBACORE,Grant Saunders,CRRS,26.25.0S,25.0W,1073,2415,97.1,4.05

Class d

FORSDICKS BMW,M Avelino/H Dopke,CRRS,27.52.0S,7.38.0E,662,2851,143.8,5.99