Each day a little after noon ARC headquarters sends out a list of boats, positions, and distance to the finish in a text file. This afternoon we are pleased to report that on our own we were able to import this into an Excel spreadsheet, and sort for distance to the finish. It makes for an interesting study if you are not otherwise occupied.

The first thing to note is that Berenice, the Swan 80, is 204 nautical miles behind Wind Horse after 71 hours. More interesting is the little Open 40, 58 miles behind the Swan. There is a group of half a dozen yachts that have followed us west rather than sailing south to pick up the trades. The latter are running out of wind and the prognosis does not look favorable. The radio is buzzing with folks discussing a detour to the Cape Verdes for fuel. This might make sense for another reason. There are strong headwinds forecast a few days hence in the east.

Meanwhile, aboard Wind Horse we are doing our usual eleven knots. The southerly breeze, formerly on the beam, has started to swing to the western quadrants, where is is prog’d to stay until tomorrow when we are promised light NE for Thanksgiving.

The three boats closest behind us are all north of our track. The GFS weather model shows some difficulty for them over the next 48 hours. Hopefully we can extend our spacing as when they get into the trades – the Open 40 in particular – our lead should rapidly vanish. It would not surprise us at all to see a big kite bearing down on us as we close with Saint Lucia. Mind you, we are an Unsailboat and therefor not racing anyone… except the clock.

A good place to check the weather for the ARC is www.passageweather.com

Nap time.

Position: 22 39’04.39 N, 028 25’46.50 W