SEB, who just 24 hours ago, was over 100 miles behind the leading boat, is now is second place. Having been forced in to the decision to go east to pick up a spare headboard car, she was committed to that side of the course but for several days she floundered off the coast with no wind while the rest of the fleet made slow progress south.

However, over the last day the tables have turned and with more breeze to the east, she’s been able to pull through. She’s now doing 13 knots of boatspeed in 16 knots of true wind speed. As the wind shifted east of north-east, she gybed, heading further to the south, crossing the 18th parallel. At the time of reporting, she was 110 miles north-east of Sta. Maria, one island of the Cape Verde Archipelago.

Of the fleet to the west, illbruck has got more pressure now and their speed is building to up to 8 knots. Assa Abloy, Tyco, Amer Sports One and Too and News Corp are still trapped in the light air bubble.

Disappointment lies in the words of Grant Dalton, saying that “I can’t remember a sustained period of no wind like this ever with the exception maybe off Cape Horn, last race, inside the Falklands when four of us parked for three days and a boat 100s of miles behind simply sailed round the outside of us having stopped for repairs.”

Position Report Day 13, 1004 GMT

1 ILBK

2 TSEB

3 AART

4 TYCO

5 NEWS

6 AONE

7 ATOO

8 DJCE