Race 10, day 20: Teams start Ocean Sprint section of Leg 6

The first four yachts have entered the Ocean Sprint section of Leg 6, vying for vital extra points that could mean the difference between a podium finish.

em>OneDLL, GREAT Britain, Qingdao and Henri Lloyd have entered the gate of the course that runs between the lines 142 degrees west and 136 degrees west for the chance to win an extra 3, 2 and 1 points respectively for completing the course in the quickest time. To verify their position, skippers must record and submit to the Race Office the time of crossing the marked lines of longitude.

Henri Lloyd has moved up into first position from second yesterday, with GREAT Britain now in second place and Invest Africa in third.

OneDLL skipper Olly Cotterell said he was confident about doing well in the Ocean Sprint.

“We have stayed further north than the lead yachts - this should give us a scoring gated distance that is up to 5 miles shorter. We are also arriving at the gate as the wind has built in front of the cold front, giving us good beam reaching conditions so we are going to have a good old crack at this sprint.”

Pete Stirling, skipper of Jamaica Get All Right added: “We have had a flurry of sail changes including changing the Yankee 1 headsail for the Yankee 2 headsail and putting two reefs in the mainsail.

“We now have 25 to 30 knots of wind on our port quarter and the boat is flying along with our speed constantly in double figures. We have had a few slow and frustrating days so it is good to feel the boat pick up her skirts and fly again.”

Meanwhile, Henri Lloyd has made a tactical decision to enter Stealth Mode, it will enter at 18:00 UTC today and its position will be hidden from the fleet and Race Viewer until 18:00 UTC on 8 April. Rivals Old Pulteney remain in Stealth Mode until 12:00 UTC on Monday 7 April.

To follow the fleet’s progress, you can see the official Race Viewer HERE

To read all the skipper reports, click HERE 

To read the crew diaries, click HERE