The excitement must be palpable aboard Banque Populaire V. the distance to the finish is 1150 miles, their advantage over Groupama is 1330 miles and increasing with every passing hour; sailing at over 30 knots of boat speed.
Here is the latest weather chart showing the cold front they are riding to the finish. They had to sail almost to New York to set up for this, but with a boat of this size, it is not hard to do. It is more about knowing when to slow down sailing these monsters.
This is a wonderful accomplishment, while yet uncompleted, it is almost certain they will set a new record. It must also be put in context; this is the largest, most powerful boat anywhere, much larger than Groupama. Clearly well prepared. The crew seemed to have no particular problems all the way around the world. The weather routers were nothing short of brilliant.
