At 02:10 GMT “Mutua Madrileña” passed the Gibraltar Straits. The Spanish entry is now back in the Mediterranean after a clean passage through the Straits that took approximately three and a half hours.
It wasn’t an altogether simple matter due to strong winds in the area,
gusts tipping 40 knots, as well as heavy cargo-ship traffic, typical to the
Straits. To avoid any unwelcome surprises, Pachi Rivero and “Bubi” Sansó
decided to both keep watch, with one driving and the other keeping an eye on
the radar for ship movement, giving instructions where necessary.
“We got through the Straits quickly”, said Spanish skipper
Pachi Rivero this morning. “We managed the boat well and avoided the ships,
although we did get quite close to some of them. We went towards the African
coast and then on to Marbella, to say hi to everyone down there”, joked the
Spaniard. The Spaniards passed the Spanish holiday spot at 07:00 local time
(GMT+1) this morning.
The wind gave “Mutua Madrileña” a bit of a break further ahead, blowing
24-25 knots. According to weather forecasts that’s likely to pick up over the
next few hours. It’s possible the crew could face force 7 winds (51-74 miles an
hour), gusts of force 9/10 (75-101 km/h) and a very unsettled and angry Alboran
Sea, the most Western part of the Med. It’s thought “Mutua Madrileña” will reach
Barcelona on Monday evening, according to Pachi Rivero.
14 days, 25
minutes betwenn Fernando de Noronha (Brazil) and Gibraltar
After passing Gibraltar, the race organisers released
“Mutua Madrileña”’s time for this eighth leg in the race between the Fernando
de Noronha (Brazil) archipelago and the Gibraltar Straits. It took “Bubi” and
Pachi 14 days and 25 minutes to complete. The average speed for the Spanish
entry was 8.32 knots. “Educación sin Fronteras” still need to cross this final
scoring gate for the final classifications to be made, but the Spaniards are
currently positioned second for the leg, with “Temenos 2” topping the list,
having completed the leg 15 hours more quickly.
Day 98 –
16:00 GMT
Position/Boat/Skippers
(Nationality)/Distance from Barcelona
1 Paprec Virbac 2, Dick (FRA)/Foxall (IRL), finished.
2 Hugo Boss, Thomson (GBR)/Cape (AUS), finished.
3
Temenos 2, Wavre (SUI)/Paret
(FRA), 277 miles
4 MUTUA MADRILEÑA, Rivero (ESP)/Sansó (ESP),
421 miles
5 EDUCACIÓN SIN FRONTERAS, Escoffier (FRA)/Bargués
(ESP), 1,821 miles
Veolia
Environnement, Jourdain (FRA)/Nélias (FRA), retired
Estrella Damm, Altadill
(ESP)/McKee (USA), retired
Delta Dore, Beyou
(FRA)/Gavignet (FRA), retired
PRB, Riou (FRA)/Josse (FRA), retired