{"id":16707,"date":"2023-03-09T20:05:49","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T20:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globe40.com\/?p=16707"},"modified":"2023-03-10T06:50:41","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T06:50:41","slug":"amhas-moves-into-the-lead-in-a-stormy-azores-archipelago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globe40.com\/en\/amhas-moves-into-the-lead-in-a-stormy-azores-archipelago\/","title":{"rendered":"AMHAS MOVES INTO THE LEAD IN A STORMY AZORES ARCHIPELAGO"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PRESS RELEASE<\/h1>\n

AMHAS MOVES INTO THE LEAD IN A STORMY AZORES ARCHIPELAGO<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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AMHAS MOVES INTO THE LEAD IN A STORMY AZORES ARCHIPELAGO<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Anglo-American crew on AMHAS moved into the lead at the Azores gate to the west of the archipelago today at 19H19 UTC with a 51 milles lead over their closest rival, the Dutch team on SEC HAYAI. In this 8th and final leg of the GLOBE40, Craig Horsfield and Oliver Bond have covered nearly 2590 milles, with around 1270 milles to go to the finish in Lorient, Brittany. Like their fellow competitors, they\u2019re having to contend with some particularly difficult conditions with a front rolling through generating 40 knots of SSW\u2019ly wind, gusting to 55 and heavy seas with 6 to 7-metre waves. GRYPHON SOLO 2 posted up to 62 knots of wind<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0last night. AMHAS is ahead of the latest forecasts and could well cross the final finish line in this round the world epic on Tuesday 14 March.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

One final test before the finish <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Having set sail from the southernmost island in the Antilles, Grenada, on 24 February, the fleet initially headed northwards, picking off all the islands of the Caribbean arc whose names conjure up a sense of gentle tranquillity: St Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Martinique and Dominica. WHISKEY JACK even extended her time there with an unscheduled stop in Guadeloupe on Sunday 26 February for a rapid repair to one of her rudders. Alas, the pit stop cost the crew dearly the following week, which was punctuated by a zone of high pressure that was impressive in scale and duration. Indeed, the extensive area of calms stretched from the Moroccan coast to the Bahamas, or up to 400-miles wide, and spanned a period of time reminiscent of a remake of the doldrums. Ensnared for days in zero or very light airs, the skippers had no other option than to sit tight and wait for the wind to kick back in. They were soon back with a vengeance though, because by hooking onto the southern edge of a low-pressure system located in the North Atlantic, they could finally climb up to the latitude of the Azores archipelago, albeit at the mercy of some meaty winter depressions. Conditions over the past 24 hours have really put the machines and the sailors to the test, with more of the same due to be served up over the next 24 hours. Having already clocked up over 30,000 miles since the start of the event last June, it\u2019s all about striking a balance in the sprint for the finish.<\/em><\/p>\n

A week to celebrate the string of arrivals in Lorient <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Together with the teams from LORIENT GRAND LARGE and LORIENT AGGLOMERATION, the organisation is putting in place a comprehensive programme to round off the event in style with the focus on enabling the public to share what has been a truly unique round the world adventure, the prologue for which set sail from LORIENT LA BASE on 11 June 2022.<\/em><\/p>\n

The programme\u00a0step by step (local times):<\/em><\/p>\n