Camper navigator Will Oxley said decisions needed to be made around on just how far east they would sail before tacking to the north to clear the Brazilian coast for the last time at Recife.
"It's a critical decision," he said. "If you tack in your lane and you're pointing at Recife straight away you've probably gone too far. You've got to make sure you have enough in the bank to allow for the breeze to go right.
"If you come in too close to the shore you end up dealing with land and sea breezes which you don't really want to do, as well as negative residual current.
"Ultimately, we probably want to be a bit more east than what we are now, but the reality is that the conditions are so fickle at the moment that localised effects such as clouds are going to have more impact on us, so it's important we sail to make the most out of them.
"Our little duel with Abu Dhabi has kept us on our toes and by ratcheting up the intensity has probably resulted in us sailing that bit better. It's certainly nice to have put 20-odd miles on them over night."
Groupama helmsman/trimmer Charles Caudrelier said their hunt for better angles in the east had proved costly and left them trailing the fleet.
"We've been in better positions, it's true," he said. "It is a stressful time on board as we are still very, very far from the goal.
"We don't want to other guys to escape because soon there won't be as many tactical things to do."
