Archipelago Raid, Day 4, Leg 7 – Monday 16 June
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In spite of a really long, physically demanding day yesterday, Ellen MacArthur and Greg Homann are gradually working their way up the results board, moving into 10th place overall after Leg 7 on Day 4 of the Archipelago Raid.
Althought the experienced French Formula 18-duo Eric Proust and Romain Motteau on Team Kalix have been leading the Archipelago Raid since Day 1, they are having to beat off some stiff competition from the other boats, notably from
Swedish Team Thule (Martin Strandberg/Johan Örtendahl), whose strategic decision to paddle while the other teams tacked when leaving Nagu island in the Finnish archipelago helped them to win leg 7.
This is the fourth day of the Raid and the boats are back in the Åland archipelago, sailing in great conditions with winds around 10-15 knots.
Several teams have problems with their GPS, because of the humidity. They are having to rely on traditional chart navigation, demanding a lot more of the tired sailors.
The tension is rising in the fleet to achieve a good result and the second leg of the day which started early afternoon was full of action, with three boats capsizing over the line! Team Blue Oceans, NCC, and First Hotels were too eager in the gusty winds and turned over. They were all quickly back on track but with a lot of energy consumed.
The eighth leg will take the competitors to Rödhamn in Åland, where they will arrive at the Yacht Club of Åland late tonight.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, the boats will start the long journey “home”, back to the Stockholm archipelago, ending the day at Sandhamn.
On Wednesday 18 June, the race finishes in the city of Stockholm late afternoon.
See updated results at www.archipelagoraid.com