Delta Lloyd, currently 6th, strategically positioning themselves on the left of the fleet where they feel they may get to the high wind pressure before the rest of the fleet. They can not wait to get Delta Lloyd up to max speed in the 20 - 30 knots blast reaching.
At last there is wind and the eight-strong fleet racing in leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race from Alicante to Cape Town is beginning to make some nice progress, but it is a fragile lead for Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri) who left the leading bunch and made a bold move to the west. Behind her, the chasing pack of Ericsson 4, the Green Dragon (Ian Walker) and PUMA (Ken Read) are all tightly bunched within a frightening six miles of the leader. Speeds are up to 15 kts as the fleet races downwind along the African coast. In the second group, the threat is from Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking) which is hunting down Delta Lloyd (Ger O’Rourke) and Team Russia. Since leaving the Spanish coast after making a repair, Telefónica Blue has reduced her 12-hour deficit and has closed to within four miles of Team Russia. She is only 58 nm from sistership Telefónica Black, and she could easily make up the distance in barely a few hours.
