The Quartet's position in the Indian Ocean at 12:00 GMT
The days with weak winds and increasing heat are drawing to a close for the quartet of multinationals in the Indian Ocean. After crossing the equator, the southern Doldrum belt is to be reached in the coming night, after which it goes into the trade wind zone.
At the last position report at 12.00 GMT, the trimaran "Geronimo" was just three nautical miles ahead of the catamaran "Doh2006", ex- "Club Med". As expected, the two multinationals form the top duo, as they were predicted to have the best light wind properties, especially because of their relatively small wetted areas. About 330 nautical miles behind the two, the fastest multi in the world, "Cheyenne", ex-Playstation, struggles through the light wind zone. The Kat needs more wind for top speeds, as it has demonstrated on many occasions, but owes its current deficit above all to an unconventional route to the east at the start of the race. The smallest boat of the quartet, "Team Daedalus", ex- "Enza", is only about ten nautical miles ahead. After almost ten days, the race is still in the starting phase. Only when the southern trade wind belt is reached will the speeds increase again, the actual decision is expected in the Southern Ocean.