Incredibly, Sunday morning UTC the four IMOCAs are lined up alongside each other in a slow drag race to the east.
All four teams are lined up on a 13 mile line extending north to south, but separated by less than 3 miles on the leaderboard. All this after three full weeks of racing.
The reason for the close racing remains a stubbornly persistent ridge of high pressure and its light winds that is acting as a barrier to the teams making progress to the east.
In these conditions, the wind is marginally stronger to the south, so the teams have been taking it in turns to gybe south, dropping down the leaderboard by a few miles as they move towards the ice exclusion zone, before making gains back when the next team dives south.
This should remain the dominant weather pattern until Monday when the ridge begins to dissipate and stronger winds return.
In the relatively calm conditions, teams are doing repairs, boat and mast checks and plenty of drone flying.
The latest weather routings have the teams passing Cape Horn in one week, on 26/27 March, while the ETA in Itajaí, Brazil – with less certainty – is the first weekend in April 2023.
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