Maître CoQ has extended its lead over Apivia to 145 miles whilst Linked Out has closed to 60 miles on Apivia but is still 200 miles from the lead.
The leading group is riding the top of a depression which is due to move off to the south east and sharing winds from a westerly direction of 20 - 26 knots. The next dominant system is another low forming on Wednesday to the fleet's north which will intensify, and is forecast to pass Cape Horn on Saturday morning with winds of 40 knots. The Southern Ocean does not let you pass easily.
Bureau Vallée in 11th place, the last of the leading group, has made a days run over the past 24 hours of 396 miles and is now 455 miles behind Maître CoQ. If they continue like this we could see 11 boats rounding Cape Horn within a 24 to 30 hour period which has never happened before in any race around the world. Effectively, the race will re-start as they enter the Atlantic with its somewhat complex systems of high and low pressures.
Pip Hare is still in 17th place with a days run of 353 miles and Miranda Merron is in 23rd with a days run of 296. 26th placed Alexia Barrier had the nightmare of her main runner block exploding which almost cost her the mast. Fortunately, it held and she gybed to change runners. But until she gybed all that was holding her mast up was the tension on the main sheet. These boats, because of the huge roach on their mainsails, do not have fixed backstays, so every tack or gybe requires exchanging the two running backstays. Stéphane Le Diraison in 19th place was heading for the lee of Macquarie Island to repair his top mainsail slider and hook. There have been a number of problems with these through the fleet, but he has managed to fix it.