At the eye of the anticyclone
Pilar Pasanau.
© Laura Carrau/FNOB
Pilar Pasanau’s Iberdac-GAES attempts to emerge from a lull which has enveloped almost the entire Atlantic Grand Prix fleet, some 1,200 miles from the Dominican Republic. The only entry to escape this barometric pothole are the competiction leaders, Niob Sexto Cheyenne and Macaco, now just 300 miles from the finish and some 20 miles apart.
The last few miles of the Atlantic Grand Prix have turned into a veritable match race between Niob Sexto Cheyenne and Macaco. There are just 19 miles between the first and second entry, as they sail 300 miles from the finishing line. Macaco already knows she has won, once handicaps are applied, but the entry is now focussing on overtaking Niob Sexto Cheyenne to take the double and become winners in real time and with handicaps applied.
The light winds in the area where the leaders are currently sailing, in between the Virgin Islands and southern Puerto Rico mean that the tension is sky high. Lucio Perez’s entry Macaco is an 11-metre yacht, much lighter than Alex Quer’s Niob Sexto and at 14 metres long at an advantage in the light breeze situation.
Things are somewhat trickier for the rest of the fleet. Most of the boats are in a windless pocket 1,200 miles from the finish. The lull has been affecting the skippers for some hours and means they aren’t able to get the best performance from the yachts. Infoveleros.com with Antonio Almería is the third entry in real time. The entry is 1171 miles from the finish. Acrobat with Amador Magraner has managed to make an excellent recovery over the last few hours and is 1,236 miles from the finish. Ernesto Cortina’s Estrella Maris II and Iberdac-Gaes with Spaniard Pilar Pasanau are in the eye of this lull at 1,251 and 1.268 miles from the finish respectively.
