Despite being battered by constant winds of 35-40 knots and encountering a few problems over the past 24 hours, Kip Stone aboard his Open 50 Artforms, has taken the lead from Joe Harris aboard Wells Fargo – American Pioneer in the Open 50 fleet. They are currently fighting it out with just two miles between them with over 1,500 miles to go the finish line in Boston.

According to a report from the boat last night the conditions disrupted his Iridium satellite signal, temporarily blocking access to crucial weather data. In the last 24 hours Stone has also had his mainsail down twice in a 40kt winds – to put in the fourth reef, and to clear the port rudder, which had hung up on something. Stone said: “I actually thought that I’d lost my rudder, but after stopping the boat I was able to shake it off.”

Lastly, his staysail halyard failed, so he’s had to rig a replacement until the seas flattened out.