Mike Golding remains in third - Transat ECOVER B2B

by Lucy Harwood on 2 Dec 2007 Mike Golding remains in a solid third place over the third day of the Transat ECOVER B2B, from Bahia, Brasil to Brittany, as the leading pack tack up the north eastern-most corner of Brasil.On the 1300hrs (GMT) poll.

Golding confirmed that he, along with Generali (Yann Elies), has struck a particular strategy which saw the pair move through the fleet last night and early this morning.

The racing remains very close, of inshore regatta intensity, and the British solo skipper admitted he has had very little sleeps since the start on Thursday morning.

This afternoon, after snatching a brief 20minutes shuteye, he was in good spirits, explaining that last night's meal was been sacrificed when the high speed ballast tank leaked, flooding the engine bay. With water covering the engine battery he made the split section to start the engine and the bilge pump.

While the water was evacuated quickly and the problem solved Mike's dinner complete with the bowl was washed out of the cockpit.

'The engine bay was half under water. The high speed ballast had pressurised and blown back into the bilge pump system and was fire-hosing into the engine. The engine battery was under water. I thought I'd just try and get it running. I got it running, bilge bumped it out, figured out what the problem was, cleared up, went back to my freeze dried meal and it, along with the bowl, away!

'And all that time when this was going on I was overtaking boats, so it was quite an extraordinary.

'But it has been good. Generali and I just seemed to find a way of running out boats for the conditions that was just right. I don't think it was down to pressure or configuration but I just think we were on a bit of a roll. At one point we were within 50 metres of Foncia. It was very shifty.

'At the moment I am heading out to the right and I think gaining a bit of leverage. Right now I have pulled out a bit of separation on Generali and Foncia. Personally I think I am looking good on Generali.

'I am pushed out to the right a bit, half way between Foncia and Generali. But the Finots (Generali and BritAir) are going well, and I keep thinking we are going to hose them when the wind goes light and they just keep going. Anyway for us we seem to be going well reaching. Upwind I thought we would have been quicker on the old boat, but really we have not been losing too much.'

www.mikegolding.com