Emma Hanging Tough

With the fleet in the Charente-Maritime/Bahia Transat 6.50 preparing to punch through the doldrums, the Bay Area’s Emma Creighton is holding on to 23rd place in the proto division. Some eight days into the 3,100-mile second leg to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, three of the protos, including Leg One-winner Seb Rogues, have dropped out, the latter having suffered nerve damage when he fell on his keel head. Creighton’s Pocket Rocket is currently close to the rhumbline in a pack of three boats about 170 miles behind the leaders, and set up for a more easterly transit of the decidedly unsettled-looking ITCZ.

Conventional wisdom on the ITCZ in these races is that a more westerly crossing is usually much safer bet, but with the way the breeze has clocked, Creighton could well make some gains on the clot of boats to her west. Race leader David Raison and his crazy-looking, scow-shaped Teamwork Evolution made the most strategic call of the race so far, digging deep into the Cape Verde archipelago as the only boat to pass between the islands of Fogo and Santiago. With about 1,500 miles to go, Raison is set up to the east of the rhumbline with a 20-mile lead over Thomas Normand some 50 miles to the west. Of course the Pot au Noir is a great equalizer so Creighton could find herself right back in the thick of things if the leading pack slows. You can follow all the action at the link above.