3-way Fight for the Finish

"First across the line" is a great feeling, and Velvet Hammer (crowned) seems poised to collect it, along with an anticipated clean sweep of race honors. "Not so fast," say Saga (purple) and Rage (yellow), who started a day later but threaten to overtake the Hammer at the line.

Of course, having started later, to beat Velvet Hammer in elapsed time, they'd need to already be full day ahead, but we score the race on "corrected time," meaning that we multiply the elapsed time by a "time correction factor" generated by US Sailing based on predicted boat performance. Under this system, Rage and Saga have about 20% added to their elapsed times compared to Velvet Hammer and Lucky Duck, so the Hammer still nails it (sorry, we had to go there!).

Why yes, Lucky Duck, pictured in the upper right of our screen shot, is absolutely a threat. With a time correction factor 20% LESS than Rage and Saga, the Duck can finish six or eight hours behind and correct out to eight hours AHEAD after their seven or eight day passage. Lucky Duck remains poised to win the Ocean Navigator ORR 2 division and is only four hours out of snatching the overall Pacific Cup trophy from the velvety paws of the current leader. 

With a few hundred miles to go, it's entirely possible that the contests can deliver a suprise winner or two.