Four of the seven-strong Volvo Ocean Race fleet were vying for the lead on Monday after the strategic gambles of sailing one side or the other of the Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic added new spice to the competition.
Despite having been held up for two hours to replace a broken rudder on Saturday, Chinese boat Dongfeng Race Team held a narrow advantage by early Monday morning but their decision to sail south around the islands soon cost them their sliver-thin lead.
The crews of Team Brunel and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing opted to go north around the Cape Verde Islands instead and were rewarded with extra wind which has left the Dutch as narrow pace-setters from the Emirati crew with Spain's MAPFRE close behind.
Dongfeng have dropped back to fourth, just ahead of Danish boat Team Vestas Wind with the women's crew of Team SCA (Sweden) still bringing up the rear.
Only four nautical miles separated the first four boats by 0900 GMT on Monday with Team SCA still only 55 miles adrift, a tiny margin bearing in mind that the Alicante-Cape Town first leg covers 6,487 miles in total.
Wouter Verbraak, navigator for Team Vestas Wind, summed up the dilemma the crews have faced in the last 24 hours.
"The Cape Verde Islands are like a magnet," he explained.
"You always get drawn towards them, they are tricky to handle and if you don't use the local winds you'll get burnt."
The next hurdle the fleet faces are the notorious – in sailing terms – Doldrums where the boats will lose what moderate winds they have and it will be a question of finding any gust to keep them moving.
The race will take nine months to complete, finishing in Gothenburg, Sweden on June 27, 2015.
The fleet covers 38,739 nautical miles and visit all the continents and 11 different countries.
