DAY 62 - Club Med in the Home Stretch. Innovation Explorer Gained 200 miles. Team Adventure Strong Headwind by Falklands. Warta Polpharma Navigated Expertly Around Cape Horn. Team Legato Suffering in Light Air.
News - Friday, 03/02/2001, 12:19 PM GMT

Position	03/02/2001 12:19 PM GMT
1st	Club Med (538 nm from finish. Crossed into Med at 22:00 GMT Thursday avg speed 13.7 knots)
2nd	Innovation Explorer (1014 nm from the leader. West of Canaries, avg speed 23.0 knots)
3rd	Team Adventure (5953 nm from leader. Passing the Falklands, avg speed 16.2 knots)
4th	Warta Polpharma (6500 nm from the leader. Rounded Cape Horn at 07:00 GMT, avg speed 9.6 knots)
5th	Team Legato (9208 nm from the leader. Suffering with lack of wind, avg speed 6.3 knots)
6th	PlayStation DNF

cat-alist Estimated arrival dates and Positions
1st	Club Med	Saturday, March 3rd - lunchtime
2nd	Innovation Explorer	Monday, March 5th - evening
3rd	Team Adventure	around March 18th
4th	Warta Polpharma	around March 21st
5th	Team Legato	around March 30th

The finish line is in the Western Mediterranean, by Marseille.
The finish line is the length of The Catalans. Once the leading maxi-cat finishes, they will dock at the quai des Belges, where an 80 meter finger has been especially constructed for the occasion.

Click here to read more on the finish in Marseille

Club Med, 'the Untouchables' - in the Mediterranean
Club Med sailed into the Mediterranean at about 2200 GMT last night, blasting through the Straits of Gibraltar on the same low pressure system. They lost wind for about 12 hours after Gibraltar in the Alboran Sea, but regained it this afternoon.

Jacques Caraès: "The sea has got rougher and the weather models are announcing a major gale for the 'Pillars of Hercules' (Gibraltar). We'll be careful, but downwind isn't a problem for us. We've been slipping along perfectly since yesterday, even if the sea is a little rough. All night we ran downwind with the gennaker. We're continuing to be careful. We go round the boat several times a day to check the rigging. Passing Gibraltar at night will be tricky with a wind forecast as being very strong. We don't feel we've achieved a feat. We're just professionals who have done their job."

Franck Proffit: "Last night we didn’t get much sleep. It was a good feeling as we came through the Strait of Gibraltar under gennaker in 30 knots of wind. It’s an important psychological milestone. Since 1.00 pm GMT we have had a southwest wind. We are making 17 knots and should continue to pick up pace. We will definitely savour the last night at sea. I don’t think any of us will sleep much. We’ll probably all stay on deck together."

Innovation Explorer, 'the Hunters'
Elena Caputo: "We have had wind since this morning and we're going fast along an almost direct route. We think we can keep this wind as far as Gibraltar. The passage into the Mediterranean and the sail up to Marseilles will be more complicated for us than for Club Med."

Novak: "All things being equal, they will have beaten us fair and square. Let's not beat around the bush, our goal and desire now is to be in Marseille by Monday evening, before the restaurants close."

"Pierre Lasnier, our meteorologist, has predicted 35 to 40 knots late tonight and tomorrow and we already are flying along with the Solent jib and full main. The reacher is back in the bag, just in case we need it if the wind lightens during the next four days - there is not much life left in it and we have just about run our of Sika Flex and maybe the will to stick it back together."

"The Straits of Gibraltar are going to be tough as the wind will most likely accelerate through it and there is the ironic possibility that we could see the our maximum wind speed across the net for the entire race during the last 30 hours. So the key here is safety first and not to let our guard down in these final stages."

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

Team Adventure, Entertainment Extreme - has passed the Falklands
Team Adventure is 80 miles north of the Falkland Islands but suffering strong headwinds, forcing them to head northeast on a beam reach, easing up with reduced sail area. Team Adventure is being battered by force 8 winds, increasing to gale force 9.

Those Fabulous Poles - passed Cape Horn
Warta Polpharma passed Cape Horn at 07:00 GMT, they were successful in racing the low pressure system, their goal to position themselves in the center of the low. However, they now will have to turn north and break through the edge of the depression and face the strongest blows.

Just as in a high pressure, there is less breeze in the centre of a low - as the wind blows around the edges.

They were storming down the coast of Chile yesterday, while behind them, 65 to 70 knot winds were blowing and forecast to strengthen. They tucked in by the shore, where they can get some shelter from the land.

Warta-Polpharma is now experiencing the brunt of the low as they try to break through. They are being hit by very strong gale force winds, which Météo-Consult predict may reach storm force ten. The Polish challenger has slowed down considerably, averaging 11.9 knots, and has had to bear east. They are prepared with floating anchors, drag lines and harnesses.

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

Team Legato - 'the Survivor's' - suffering
Bullimore: "At this very moment we are becalmed - no wind - flat seas - sails flapping from one side and then the other. We are concerned that we do not damage our sails with all the continued flogging. Looking at the Raytheon wind instruments in front of me at the chart table, course over ground reads zero, speed over ground zero, velocity to waypoint zero - it's enough to send you nuts!"

Map images courtesy of Virtual Spectator, click here to go to The Race site for a free download of the software.

Club Med in blue Innovation Explorer is in green Warta Polpharma is yellow

Team Adventure is in orange Team Legato is in brick-red PlayStation is in orange-red

Map images courtesy of Virtual Spectator, click here to go to The Race site for a free download of the software.

Club Med in blue Innovation Explorer is in green Warta Polpharma is yellow

Team Adventure is in orange Team Legato is in brick-red PlayStation is in orange-red

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