Day four of the RORC Caribbean 600 and the crew of Region Guadeloupe and Beau Geste will, no doubt, be trying to catch up on lost sleep having finished late last night. Meanwhile the yachts still racing are eager to make good progress. The good news for them this morning is that normal service has resumed. A moderate easterly breeze has developed.
Karl Kwok's Beau Geste is currently leading overall but it will be some time before the yacht from Hong Kong will know if they can claim the double win and add a handicap win to their monohull line honours.
The two canting keel Cookson 50s have had a tremendous battle around the course and their private duel is still very close. However, it is highly unlikely that Lee Overlay Partners or Privateer will finish in time to challenge Beau Geste for the overall title.
In IRC Zero, Noonmark VI has had a great race and lead the class by some margin on corrected time. They are currently on route to Barbuda and are 142 miles from finishing. They need to cross the line by 20:39:47 (local time) tonight to take the overall lead. Amusing as it may sound, Noonmark VI's biggest rival at the moment is solo ocean rower, Charlie Pitcher who is currently within sight of Noonmark VI and leading the Atlantic Rowing Race.
In IRC One, several yachts still have a chance of winning the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy but they will need a significant increase in wind speed to challenge Beau Geste's overall lead.
Probably the yacht with the biggest chance of taking the overall prize is some 240 miles from finishing. Richard Bamford's Swan 38, Dolfijn have until 18:45:19 tomorrow to topple Beau Geste from the top of the rankings. The prize giving party is scheduled for 19:00 tomorrow. If Dolfijn complete the race before the prizegiving it will be the biggest reception since Terrell Owens record-breaking catch for the Buffalo Bills.
The results page on the RORC Caribbean web site is a good tool for gauging the progress of the fleet. You can track the yachts and read the messages that are coming in by accessing the Tracker Page or the Boat Blogs page on the official RORC Caribbean 600 web site.
