By JULIE ASH
Most of the fleet have made it through the Doldrums and are closing in on the equator in the first leg of the round-the-world race.
illbruck, ASSA Abloy, News Corp, Tyco and Amer Sports One and Too have all cleared the Doldrums, with illbruck 350 miles from the
equator and about 600 miles to the next waypoint, the island of Fernando de Noronha off the Brazilian coast.
Team SEB and djuice are the only yachts left in the Doldrums.
Following two days of trade winds, the fleet struggled with rain, squalls and the ever-shifting winds through the Doldrums.
"If I come back in my next life as a pair of jeans I know what it will feel like to be put through a warm rinse cycle in the washing Machine," New Zealand's Jamie Gale said on illbruck.
"We didn't need the navigators to tell us that we had finally reached the Doldrums."
Inevitably, it was the frontrunners who suffered the most. illbruck had their lead cut from 17 miles to just 11.
ASSA Abloy, who have been in second place for a long time, now share the position with News Corp, who have rocketed through the fleet.
Grant Dalton's Amer Sports One have also gained 17 miles.
For Dalton, no sooner is one disaster over than another strikes.
Their second and only remaining spinnaker halyard lock gave up the struggle on Monday.
"It just simply gave in," navigator Roger Nilson said.
"The spinnaker was stuck at the top of the mast and we had to struggle downwind, with Jeff Brock at the masthead.
"For a while we could not even get him down."
Once that problem was sorted out, the whole game started again.
Running with the code 3 spinnaker up, the sail exploded.
"We now have a vulnerable gap in our sail wardrobe," Nilson said.
"Our onboard sail makers will be very busy with code 3, till it is ready to go again."
The fleet is expected in Cape Town in around two weeks.
