A great 24 hours for MAPFRE! Perfect sailing conditions. Enjoying between 20 and 25 knots of wind coming from behind, surfing the waves and covering MAPFRE’s deck with water. We’ve taken the second place now that Brunel lost the lead. The fight with Dongfeng is relentless and today, after they switched from the MH0 sail to the A3, we overtook them on windward. We’ve stayed together so far. In the evening the wind dropped to 14-17 knots and we switched to the A3.
Today was the best day of sailing since we left Alicante – perfect water temperature and ideal wind direction for us to sail at full speed towards New Zealand.
Inside the boat – extreme humidity and strong heat. The sun is hitting hard and some of us get red – rojito – because we’re not wearing sunscreen. With all the water on deck, the cream just doesn’t stay.
We’re six days away from the finish and we’re really keen to finish the leg in a podium position. There’s motivation, and things are going really well. There’s confidence, teamwork, and the desire to arrive with a good place in Auckland.
Tonight we’ll sail between Vanuatu and Fiji. It’s going to be a tough night that can define the leg. The fleet is really close together and there isn’t much room for mistakes.
I hope you’re living these last days fully from the shore. I mean, after 15 days of sailing, the fleet is within less than 10 miles. IMPRESSIVE.
#vamosMAPFRE
Fran Vignale