Alone at sea, looking for wind.
That was the predicament of Sydney to Hobart yacht race favourite Comanche which, at times on Saturday afternoon, struggled to make six knots as leader Wild Oats XI powered south at more than twice her speed.
"We are looking for a bit more breeze!" TeamComanche tweeted as the supermaxi slipped to 27 nautical miles behind the pace-setter in the open waters of Bass Strait.
From the air, photographer Daniel Forster described Comanche as being "stuck to the water".
After an inspiring start from Sydney Harbour on Friday, the new American boat owned by Jim Clark and Kristy Hinze-Clark lost its lead to Wild Oats XI on Saturday morning following a rough night off the NSW south coast.
A duel looked set between the two supermaxis, but Wild Oats XI which is chasing a record eighth line honours - gradually widened the gap throughout day two.
The pair remain the most likely to make the first appearance in Hobart late on Sunday, but well behind the race record set by Wild Oats XI in 2012.
The crew issued a confident comment as they passed the halfway mark of the 630-nautical mile race.
"Within reach ... but a lot of work to do before then. All about conditions at this stage," tweeted WildOatsXI.
From on board, navigator Juan Vila said the supermaxi would be assisted by northwest or northerly winds of up to 25 knots, due to stir late on Saturday.
Meteorologist Roger Badham said those winds should peak about 3am (AEDT) on Sunday.
"That will make for a fast downwind run," he said.
"After that, it will ease as the leaders close on Tasman Island."
Almost 50 nautical miles from the race leader, a hearty battle for third is being played out between Ragamuffin 100, Alive, Rio 100 and Ichi Ban.
Ragamuffin 100 revealed plans to stick to the Victorian coastline to cash in on a weather stream and it was a line taken by the main race pack.
Among the early frontrunners on handicap are 14-metre NSW entry ADA Celestial and state stablemate Wild Rose skippered by race veteran Roger Hickman.
The race field of 117 was reduced to 109 on Saturday with the shock withdrawal of Perpetual LOYAL.
The supermaxi was tussling for third place when it retired, citing damage to her hull at the bow.
Heading back to Sydney, crew member and Olympian Tom Slingsby was unable to shed much light on what happened.
"We were coming off some big waves but we also could have hit something during the night when we were falling off these waves," Slingsby said.
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