At 5pm yesterday, 113 yachts in this year’s Rolex Middle Sea Race had rounded Stromboli, the active volcano that marks the most northerly point of the course.
The race leader on the water, Esimit Europa 2, was less than 20 miles from Favignana and preparing to turn south with 289 miles to go. They are expected to finish the race in the early hours of tomorrow which would be well outside the course record.
At sunset on Day Two, Esimit had entered a transition zone in the wind and came to a virtual standstill until dawn.
That allowed the duelling pair of Maxi 72s to temporarily close the gap.
Niklas Zennstrom’s Swedish JV72, Ran V, and George Sakellaris’s RP72, Shockwave, were just ten miles behind Esimit at one stage of the race before Igor Simcic’s maxi regained the upperhand at the front of the race.
Contenders for the win overall under IRC are emerging.
With the vast majority of the fleet past Stromboli, two Maltese yachts are at the top of the leader board – Aaron Gatt Floridia’s J/122, Otra Vez and Lee Satariano’s J/122, Artie.
Conditions were forecast to remain light yesterday and most of the time today.
However, a significant change is expected this evening with the potential for very fast downwind conditions.
As much as 30 knots from the northwest are expected, giving the smaller yachts a fast downwind sleigh ride for the last 300 miles of the race.
For the competitive offshore yacht racer, performing well in light wind is more difficult than blasting through a storm at top speed.
After three nights at sea, the crew may well be at their lowest energy level.
The rhythm of offshore life had not been established yet and the ever changing wind saps energy through numerous sail changes.
Concentration also becomes difficult.
After the excitement of the start, adrenalin levels are now lower and keeping alert is not as easy.
In light airs, losing focus on the helm, or on the sail trim, can be very costly and stalling the boat in little wind makes it difficult to get going again.
Half of the Rolex Middle Sea Race takes place in the hours of darkness.
When the crew are deprived of the sense of sight, spotting changes in the wind on the water becomes difficult but other senses tend to make up for this deficiency.
Feeling the breeze on your cheek, sensing the heel of the boat, hearing the sails flap or the bigger wavelets tapping at the hull, these become the prime indicators for sailors.
The first two days and nights of the race have not been about surfing down big seas with the salt spray hissing past the wheel, but racing well in light airs is a dark art, and there are plenty of magicians out there.