Cat and Mouse

Visit Malta Puma continues to push hard against her nearest rivals, and has just been pipped to keeping her first place by the other Reflex 38 in the race, NUI Galway. These 2 Reflexes are sister-ships and have raced in the Solent against each other many times. They are very evenly matched and if raced well, it will be nip and tuck all the way!  They are both being tracked very carefully by Fujitsu, an Archambaud 40 who again is a very well known yacht to the Visit Malta Puma crew. In the 2010 edition of Round Ireland, Puma and Fujitsu were fighting all the way to the finish, with Puma just getting ahead on corrected time in the last couple of hours of the race, all very exciting stuff.

Meanwhile, the leading yachts on the water have passed the infamous Fastnet Rock and are now heading to the further most western tip of Ireland before turning North. The weather at the moment is sunny, and reasonably warm, with breeze coming in from the South South East, meaning the guys have freed up from beating earlier on in the day and now will be reaching along in great conditions. The wind is forecast to move Easterly after rounding Mizen Head which will mean the spinnakers may be able to go up and faster boat speeds achieved.  Puma has got some 30 miles to go before this, so they should be fighting the kites as dusk settles tonight.  

We have had no communication  today from Puma; they will be working very hard, especially knowing that NUI Galway are within sight and have taken the lead from them, never a better incentive to race hard! Keep going Puma!!