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By the end of the first leg from Southampton to Punta del Este, no one was any clearer. Before leaving it was said that Smith, whose Fortuna maxi had been converted from a sloop into a ketch, had grown tired of people ringing his phone and doing dog barking impersonations down the line, but the fears were well-founded when the new rig, which gave him more sail area than anyone else, went down with the first strong puff of wind. Smith was forced to retire from the race, and limped home where he found his phone still ringing…but this time, the message was to put a smile back on his face.

Dalton blasted down to the Doldrums, well ahead of everyone else, then sat becalmed and watched as the others caught up. The only boat not on his radar was Tokio, which had headed further south to find more wind. It proved an inspired tactical move by Dickson and Dalton had to get a wriggle on in the final straits, arriving in Punta just three hours ahead of the clever Dickson.