By Friday night, the entire Barcelona World Race fleet is expected to be sailing on the Atlantic Ocean. The question facing the skippers is how far west to go as they set up for the next scoring gate at the Canary Islands. The 'rhumb line' (shortest distance to next mark) is not necessarily the fastest route.
The first weekend of the Barcelona World Race was a tense one for the sailors as the Atlantic throws unusual conditions at them. Light, inconsistent winds, and an upwind beat to the Canaries wouldn't have been in the recruiting brochure for the race, but that's what they face. At the front of the fleet, Paprec Virbac 2 regained the lead overnight and extended over the course of the day, sailing slightly quicker than PRB.
