Wed 12:30hrs: There are few "offshore" races which have as much narrow channel sailing as the Aegean 600. And as those many islands of the Aegean Sea, which are used in the sinuous course, can experience brisk breezes up to Meltemi power, there's an element of snakes and ladders to this fascinating contest – too much wind one minute in an open channel, sudden calm the next in the lee of some cliff.
The Aegean 600 course
In fact, the only continuously steady aspect of the otherwise diverse show is the performance of the French FP 54 Daguet 5 (Frederic Puzin , which has led on the water (despite the presence of larger boats) more or less continuously since Sunday's start, and now has just 135 miles to sail while being 20 miles clear ahead of the next boat, the Volvo Open 70 Aiolos.
Steady Eddy: The French FP54 Daguet 5 has a clear lead on the water
On down the line in the weaving course past Kos and its many associated islands, the Royal Irish YC's Ker 46 Searcher (Pete Smyth) and the chartered Howth YC Xp44 Gazelle (Darren Wright) have been in and out of the frames in IRC classes 1 and 2 respectively, and at time of writing are both fourth.
