Day 6 Round up report - courtesy of HEINEKEN Cape to Rio Website

"Gerrie Heggie’s decision to sail north of the fleet has kept City of Cape Town in the lead on handicap after five days of racing in the Cape to Rio yacht race.In the last 24-hour run, the 41ft Lavranos completed 218,7 nautical miles, but the big mover in the South Atlantic was Ciao Bella, skippered by Mike Robinson, which managed 223,4nm to move up to fourth place on handicap. Robinson has his entire family on board, including sons Ricky, Brennan and Ryan who placed fourth overall at the Mirror Worlds, held in Australia earlier this month.The yacht that found the most gas over 24 hours, however, was Envirodiesel Me 2 Me, skippered by Derek Shuttleworth, which had a run of 230nm and is currently in ninth place.

Prodigy’s brief flirtation with the overall lead appears to be over, with the 54ft yacht slipping back to fifth place, but she is still on course to take line honours. After yesterday’s run, the Durban yacht, skippered by Chris Frost, was 2,285nm away from the finish. Lurking behind City of Cape Town is Xtra-Link, skippered by Dale Kushner, which has been the most consistent performer, the Leisure 42 having rarely been out of the top three since the race started on Saturday. “We are heading west with the South Atlantic high pulling back to the south,” reported Kushner. “We could possibly have made the move 12 hours earlier but wanted the integrity of the data. Last night had us sailing in 20 knots and it was still with us this morning, giving us nice averages. “The race is starting to look interesting with boats spread out. The current conditions will help the tail-enders a bit, bringing the race closer and making it more competitive"
Cape Storm is lying third, while the other maxi, Grand Filou II, is sixth on handicap and third overall behind City of Cape Town.“It’s was a nice feeling to have covered more mileage in 24 hours than a carbon fibre 54 footer with a swing keel,” commented Heggie after City of Cape Town’s epic run on Wednesday when she took over the lead from Prodigy.“Our boat is holding up well so far, touch-wood. But there is still some way to go. All on board want to win this race ... The Cape to Rio has a lot of meaning.”Heggie and his crew, who have constantly been going for maximum sale area, were disappointed with the start to the race. “It was a pity that we didn’t have a big blowout out of Cape Town to allow us to build the miles up quicker in the first couple of days,” he said.Yachtport SA meanwhile reported a night of huge seas in 35 knot winds in which they lost their heavy spinnaker. “It wrapped around the forestay, then ripped and finally shredded,” reported skipper Dave Herman. “The crew is exhausted but moral is high and we are in good spirits.”