Grant Dalton has stretched his lead in the round-the-world race to 18 miles, convinced now he made the right decision to head south as other yachts headed east.
Dalton's yacht, Amer Sports One, leads illbruck, which headed the fleet for most of the first three weeks of the race after it
began in Southampton on September 23.
Dalton snatched the lead after rounding Ilha de Trinidade and headed into the stronger winds of the South Atlantic which were more suited to his Frers-designed boat than the lighter airs north of the Equator.
Third-placed News Corp is 50 miles further south and further west, but may be in a position to pick up a "dream ride" to Cape Town.
Dalton, on his seventh round-the-world race, said the previous 36 hours in the South Atlantic had been a classic strategy.
"You have to go south, because that's where the pressure is most of the time. I've been here and seen it, I've read the book and seen the movie. And, to my cost, I have made the mistake before. Not this time."
Dalton said the world would know if he was right by tonight.
The first yacht is expected in Cape Town on Tuesday.
* Team New Zealand have pulled out of the Bermuda Gold Cup regatta because of the unrest around the world.
- AGENCIES
