Sweden’s Ericsson 4 held a slim lead over the US entry Puma Ocean Racing on Tuesday as the yachts in the Volvo Ocean Race around the world headed at a fast pace for the first stop in Cape Town, South Africa.
A low pressure system and strong winds of 40 knots put the eight 70-foot (21.5m) boats to the test.
“We’ll have to see if we can keep up this pace,” said Ian Walker, skipper of the Chinese-Irish entry Green Dragon, which was in third place followed closely by Spain’s two Telefonica yachts.
The yachts left the Spanish Mediterranean port of Alicante on Oct. 11.
They are expected in Cape Town on Monday at the end of the first leg.
The finish line in the race of 37,000 nautical miles (68,524km) is in St Petersburg, Russia, where the teams are expected in June.
Each of the yachts receive points according to their position in each of the 10 legs. Half-points are also awarded at six scoring gates along the route and for the seven “in-port” races.
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