After passing Point Charlie, the 44-year old O'Rourke sailed further north than the rest of the fleet, and then took a wide swing south. His decision to do so paid off. However, the first serious reckoning looms at Point Alpha. By now the teams are about half-way to this imaginary point en route which marks the southern ice boundary.

The crews are now battling against winds of between 15 and 25 knots. "The weather has become a bit uncomfortable," explains German weather expert Meeno Schrader. "We had a classic low passing through with the wind changing to Northwest and at times even North. It is now steadying in its general direction of around 330 to 320 degrees. The middle wind is strong with stormy gusts," says Schrader from his base in Kiel.

Next Saturday will see the three maxi yachts Parsifal III (177 feet), Rambler (90 feet) and Bonbon (80 feet) starting off Newport to catch up with the fleet from behind. It remains to be seen whether the racers will be able to catch up with the leading Chieftain. At the end of the race, though, the corrected time based on the IRC handicap factor will be deciding on who will win the HSH Nordbank blue race.

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