The Polish-flagged WindWhisper Racing team has stretched away to a 90 mile lead, winning the Vasco da Gama Mirpuri Foundation Prize in the process.
As skipper Daryl Wislang pushed his WindWhisper Racing Team across the line of 37-degress north latitude at 10:04 UTC on Wednesday morning, his team prepared to turn east towards the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea.
By crossing this 37-degree latitude at the head of both fleets, Wislang’s team wins the Vasco da Gama Mirpuri Foundation Prize, celebrating the heritage of the great navigators of The Ocean Race.
In this case, WindWhisper Racing Team navigator Aksel Magdahl will be given the award in Genova.
While this milestone is in their wake, the team still has over 1000 nautical miles to run to the finish line and very challenging, light conditions ahead, with the four chasing boats in the VO65 class all at least 90 miles back.
Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm is now within 10 miles, and Team Malizia has closed up as well, sitting some 33 miles behind.
The IMOCAs, starting behind the VO65s, are just starting to catch the trailing boats in the 65 fleet, as the slow conditions haven’t allowed the best performance from these foiling marvels.
