www.SPINNAKERWEB.net - PAPREC-VIRBAC 2 RUNNING AWAY FROM HUGO BOSS

There are a few tough days ahead for Hugo Boss as the race leader, Paprec-Virbac 2 has hooked into a nice Southern Ocean low and is running away, while Hugo Boss is stuck in very mild conditions - in every sense of the word. Describing their current situation, the words of Jean-Pierre Dick on Paprec-Virbac 2 and Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss couldn't have been more different.

"There is a lot of rain and gusty winds, up to 35 knots. It's very difficult to sail the boat," Jean-Pierre said. "It's very, very cold here, so just checking the sails and adjusting the sheets is torture. It's terrible really."

The consolation is a boat speed approaching 20 knots. Meanwhile, Hugo Boss is in the same 'Furious Fifties', but struggling to make 5 knots on a sunny, warm, windless day.

"Our situation hasn't really changed for the past few days. We're still catching up to this ridge of high pressure and sailing along with the ridge," Alex Thomson said on the video conference today. He then switched the camera to an outside view, showing a beautiful, sunny, blue sky, the sea calm and nearly flat. It certainly looked like anything but the Southern Ocean.

Behind them, the rest of the fleet has picked up the pace as well. Temenos II is trying to fend off the advance of Mutua Madrilema, who has picked up 75 miles over the last 24 hours. Javier Sanso and Pachi Rivero are now just over 100 miles behind Temenos II.

And Educacion sin Fronteras is up to speed today again, after passing through Cook Strait yesterday and leaving New Zealand behind. Albert Bargues is happy to begin the second half of the race without having stopped, and is looking forward to Cape Horn, over 4000 miles in the distance.

Day 58- January 7, 14:00 GMT - Position report with distance to leader

1. Paprec-Virbac 2 - Jean Pierre Dick / Damian Foxall - 0
2. Hugo Boss - Alex Thomson / Andrew Cape - 863
3. Temenos Ii - Dominique Wavre / Michele Paret- 2837
4. Mutua Madrilena - Javier Sanso / Pachi Rivero - 2944
5. Educacion Sin Fronteras ! - Servane Escoffier / Albert Bargues - 3311