"Hi-tech yacht Prodigy ran out of breeze in the South Atlantic on Friday and according to navigator Wolf Seitz was not going anywhere in a hurry after seven days of racing in the 2011 Heineken Cape to Rio yacht race. But after yesterday’s 24-hour run, the 54ft maxi was still leading the race for line honours ahead of handicap leader City of Cape Town, skippered by Gerry Hegie, and the other maxi in the race, Grand Filou II. “We’ve run into a hole,” said Seitz, who has been on winning yachts in two previous Rio races. Prodigy, skippered by Durban’s Chris Frost, briefly held the lead on handicap but has now slipped back to eighth place and is only 27 nautical miles clear of City of Cape Town.
Hegie, meanwhile, continues to set the Cape to Rio alight by pushing the 41ft Lavranos to the limit. Only 25 and the youngest skipper in the fleet, his bold decision to sail further north of the fleet in search of more breeze has also proved to be the correct one so far.Ciao Bella, skippered by Mike Robinson from the North West province, has moved into second spot on handicap, ahead of Dale Kushner’s Xtra-Link.
Robinson and his family have been flying over the past few days with his three sons, Ricky, Brennan and Ryan playing a significant part in the boat’s success. Ciao Bella clocked a daily run of 232nm, the best of the 17-yacht fleet. Cape Storm, lying fourth on handicap, showed a 24-hour run of 227nm, City of Cape Town 198nm, Prodigy 206nm and Grand Filou II 182nm. Prodigy is presently 1,877nm from Rio, City of Cape Town, 1904nm and Grand Filou II 1,986nm"
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