The Race...Poles & Poms may yet race to finish

by Mireille Vatine on 22 Mar 2001 Following the incident that happened during the night of Sunday 18th to Monday 19th March, the Poles on
Warta-Polpharma continue to make progress towards Brazil from where they hope to be able to leave again, still in
the race, thus offering us a final duel with Team Legato. They were still 200 miles from the port of Fortaleza where
they are expected from tonight. Team Adventure is only a few miles from the Straits of Gibraltar... but it is difficult
guessing at what time the Giant will be entering the Mediterranean... they were polled this morning at 2.6 knots!
Team Legato is tacking into a headwind and is getting 'dangerously' close to Brazil, sailing only 200 miles off the
coast.

For Warta-Polpharma, the programme for the next few days is simple...'repair the boat as fast as possible in order to
get back in the race.' Once the boat is in shape again, the crew intends finishing this circumnavigation and reaching
Marseilles where they will be welcomed in style! Even more so if all goes well with the repairs, the Poles hope to put
to sea again just behind Team Legato and therefore finish The Race with a face off against Tony Bullimore. The
perspective of a new duel was all the crew needed to regain the good humour that has characterised them throughout
the event.

Team Adventure's ETA in Marseilles is still sometime between 23rd and 24th March. Jean-Yves Bernot confirmed
during today's radio chat session: 'Not a breath of wind, I hope we're not going to take too long... if we don't get
stuck for two days, we hope to be in Marseilles on 23rd in the evening!' Indeed, after the good speeds recorded
yesterday, they were progressively slowed down throughout the night and finally this morning, Cam Lewis and his
troops found themselves 'parked' in a lull and reduced to 2.6 knots!

Tony Bullimore and his boys were abeam the Martin Vaz islands, 400 miles south of Salvador de Bahia. They were
beating into a headwind at about 12 knots. Tony was also delighted at the thought of finishing The Race in
competition with Warta-Polpharma: 'It would be fantastic if they came back into the race just behind us, it would be
a real race back to Marseilles!'