Although Team News Corp’s chances of leading the fleet to the finish line are rapidly diminishing, Ross Field is still positive and know as well as anyone, anything can happen in yacht racing. Take the 1989 Whitbread race for example when Field sailing on Steinlager was 100s of miles behind Fischer & Paykel during the second leg coming in to Freemantle. They came through and won by 10 minutes! And look at SEB who, during the third week of this race made an amazing recovery from last to first during a 24-hour period.

Amer Sports One and Illbruck currently have fresher breezes and better angles over Team News Corp, “but believe me,” says Field, “we still have the hammer down.” They are now 280 miles behind Illbruck and Amer Sports One and further to the south but are now sailing on a straight course to Cape Town which should give a good angle to the finish in the forecast 30 knots south-easterly.