© Photo Richard Konkolski
© Photo Richard Konkolski
While two of the remaining Class I boats have reached the southeast trade winds the rest of the fleet moved closer to the Doldrums. Giovanni Soldini opened up an 89-mile lead over Marc Thiercelin. Both men were sailing in steady 12- to 18-knot southeast trades and theirs order would not likely change soon.
Giovanni Soldini © Photo Billy Black
In Class II, Mike Garside had also extended his advantage over J.P. Mouligne. At the end of the day Garside was 120 miles in front of Mouligne. In third Viktor Yazykov trailed Mouligne by only 45 miles. Three Class II boats, close to the coast, remained in less favorable northeasterly winds.
J.P. Mouligne had an infected knee. The next 24 hours would determine how his infection responded to medicine. Mouligne was in contact with Dr. Dan Carlin whose medical advice for Mouligne was based in part on some 25 pictures that Mouligne sent out.
J.P. Mouligne © Photo Marek Slodownik 
Dr. Carlin said that it could be anything from a bump in the area under the kneecap or even something as small as a pinprick. At the moment it was unclear which type of bacteria had caused the infection. It was possible that Mouligne might have to drain the swelling In worst-case scenario Mouligne would have to be removed from his boat. For now Mouligne was taking strong antibiotics.
Mouligne, in a communication with his wife Kate, was more concerned with his torn mainsail than his knee problems. His main concern was to fix the main enough to get back on track, and to make up for lost miles as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, the Class II leader, Mike Garside, continued to stay close behind the Class I boats. Garside was actually closer to Thiercelin than Thiercelin was to his fellow Class I competitor Soldini.
Mike Garside
Garside, being farthest east, was in the best position for the changing weather. In the worst position was Viktor Yazykov, who was farthest west and would not see a favorable wind shift any time soon. But Neal Petersen was in far worse shape than Yazykov. By hugging the coast, Petersen emailed last night, he was just three miles offshore. Weak winds and the strong Brazilian current, he complained, were pushing his boat toward an offshore oilrig. Petersen was trying to grab land breeze during the day, but land breezes along this stretch of coast were not that strong and they only lasted a couple of hours a day and extended out to sea only about five miles. Petersen had to watch out for fishing boats as well as commercial shipping, pleasure craft and sandbars. As long as Petersen was following a coastal course, he had to stay awake and at the helm most of the time.
Neil Hunter, some 115 miles behind Petersen, spent 9 hours stitching up the mainsail. He finished it but did not get much breeze to fill it.
© Photo Richard Konkolski
| Place | Skipper | Boat | Latitude | Longitude | Dist. to go | Speed | Dist. to first | Time |
| 1 | Soldini | Fila | 12 42S | 034 59W | 3949 | 7 | 0 | 2140 |
| 2 | Thiercelin | Somewhere | 14 01S | 035 42W | 4038 | 6.6 | 88.7 | 2140 |
| Place | Skipper | Boat | Latitude | Longitude | Dist. to go | Speed | Dist. to first | Time |
| 1 | Garside | Magellan Alpha | 15 37S | 036 30W | 4144 | 9.5 | 0 | 2144 |
| 2 | Mouligne | Cray Valley | 17 29S | 037 13W | 4264 | 4.1 | 120 | 2144 |
| 3 | Yazykov | Wind of Change | 18 00S | 037 58W | 4309 | 2.1 | 165.3 | 2144 |
| 4 | Petersen | No Barriers | 21 36S | 040 39W | 4570 | 5.7 | 425.9 | 2144 |
| 5 | Saito | Shuten-dohji II | 22 21S | 039 48W | 4590 | 4.9 | 445.9 | 2144 |
| 6 | Hunter | Paladin II | 23 49S | 040 29W | 4685 | 3.9 | 540.7 | 2144 |
| 7 | Van Liew | Balance Bar | 31 50S | 050 12W | 5368 | 9.5 | 1224.1 | 2144 |
Copyright © Richard Konkolski
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