DAY 10 - Approaching the Doldrums
News - Tuesday, 01/09/2001, 6:34 AM GMT

Position	01/09/2001 4:48 AM GMT
1st	Club Med (2200GMT: Still holding the lead towards the Doldrums , avg speed 18 knots)
2nd	Team Adventure (65 nm from the leader. Relentless pursuit of the leader. Gain of 12nm. avg speed 19.2 knots)
3rd	Innovation Explorer 344 nm from the leader. Short leg to the west and then south again towards the Doldrums. Has lost ground from yesterday, avg speed 18.5 knots)
4th	PlayStation 608 nm from the leader. Passing the Cape Verde Islands and trying to get west to position themselves well for Doldrums, avg speed 17.5 knots)
5th	Warta Polpharma (892 nm from leader. Also heading west but at a reduced speed, avg speed 15.4 knots)
6th	Team Legato (1905 nm from the leader. Moving west. Waiting for the Trade Winds, avg speed 7.5 knots)

Club Med experienced the most dangerous problem to date - a steering problem when the steering cable came off.

"We had a big scare last night", says skipper Grant Dalton. "Sailing along at huge speed when a steering cable came off the quadrant. The boat broached, unusual for a catamaran, with the gennaker up.

"We were lucky. I was in the leeward hull looking out the window and I saw the weather hull rise up - blue sky underneath. We were lucky, very lucky. We managed to furl up the gennaker without ripping it and we managed to get the boat to bare away again. But it could have been over right there. The strops on the quadrant are a lot tighter now!"

Weather
The forecast charts for the next few days show winds of around 20 knots from the southwest across the western Atlantic, while along the African coast the winds are falling to around 10 knots.

Club Med is less than 300 miles from the Doldrums and can expect to pass through them tomorrow night, on a course that will take her through its narrowest point - 150 miles compared to 300 miles in many places. The trades are veering northerly and this will force the challengers to head up, taking them away from the direct route, particularly in such light winds.

PlayStation is expected to be able to catch up before being slowed down by the Doldrums.

Navigation
The further east the challengers can cross the band of light airs, the better placed they will be on the far side. Once in the Southern Hemisphere, they will want to open up the sails and steer towards South America on the southeast trade winds which will carry them around their next major obstacle - the high pressure area centered over Saint Helena.

From the NOW live tracker, www.now.com

Innovation Explorer is in turqoise Club Med in yellow Team Adventure is green

PlayStation is in red Warta is orange Team Legato is blue

Showing Innovation Explorer, PlayStation and Warta Polpharma

From the NOW live tracker, www.now.com

Showing Team Legato.

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