Fewer than 10 nautical miles separated the Volvo Ocean Race fleet yesterday as the crews looked for every edge they could to find a bit of speed.
Puma Ocean Racing held a one-mile lead over Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand, and Chris Nicholson, the Camper skipper, said his team were making tiny tweaks to their dagger boards, water ballast tanks, sheeting angles and weight distribution below deck in a bid to gain speed.
"We're actually just subtly changing all of those things as the wind speed increases," he said. "It's all the kind of things you do in a dinghy, only on a larger scale.
"They are millimetre changes. We need to adjust things enough to see a difference, and then look at the instruments and go by feel as to whether it's good or bad. In the last six hours even I'm pretty pleased that we've made some inroads."
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were in fifth place, and Ian Walker, the skipper, said his team were having trouble keeping up with the fleet, despite coming in on winning form having won the first stage of Leg 3 and the in-port race.
"Right now it is a drag race across the southern tip of Sri Lanka with every boat sailing within one or two degrees of each other and nobody having yet tacked," Walker said.
"Sadly, it is a drag race which we are struggling to compete in.
"We are trying every possible trim or sail configuration to try and match the boats around us but we are yet to find fifth gear."
Ken Read, the Puma skipper, said it was his team's early move to the north of the course that was paying dividends, but he wasn't taking his lead for granted.
"Everyone is spread out and there appears to be very little speed difference between the fleet at this point,'' he said.
"Seeing what we see right now, this race will restart about 10 times in the Malacca Strait, a notoriously fickle place to sail. Things look good now, but it is early days. There is a lot to come our way on this leg, that is for sure."
The fleet's speed was slowly increasing yesterday as they escaped the 200 nautical mile wind shadow cast by Sri Lanka and revelled in freshening monsoon winds that will tend north-northeast in the next 24 hours.
Gonzalo Infante, the Volvo Ocean Race meteorologist, said the wind would build to 15 to 20 knots as it clocked left and pack plenty of squalls. "The conditions will be more favourable for the boats further north," he said.
BRIEF SCORES
England 353 and 313-8 dec
(B Stokes 112, A Cook 88; M Morkel 3-70, K Rabada 3-85)
(J Bairstow 63, T Westley 59, J Root 50; K Maharaj 3-50)
South Africa 175 and 252
(T Bavuma 52; T Roland-Jones 5-57, J Anderson 3-25)
(D Elgar 136; M Ali 4-45, T Roland-Jones 3-72)
Result: England won by 239 runs
England lead four-match series 2-1
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
England v West Indies
England squad for the first Test Cook, Stoneman, Westley, Root (captain), Malan, Stokes, Bairstow, Moeen, Roland-Jones, Broad, Anderson, Woakes, Crane
Fixtures
1st Test Aug 17-21, Edgbaston
2nd Test Aug 25-29, Headingley
3rd Test Sep 7-11, Lord's
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.6-litre turbo
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Power: 165hp
Torque: 240Nm
Price: From Dh89,000 (Enjoy), Dh99,900 (Innovation)
On sale: Now
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
More on animal trafficking
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
