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"We're going for them" says Pepe Ribes from on board the boat. Position reports in confirm that "Telefónica" has clawed 35.8 miles closer to the leader and is now just 10.5 miles away from the podium

With under 1,000 miles to go to Lisbon (Portugal), the competition on this leg is still wide open and on board "Telefónica" the aim still stands firm: to reach the Portuguese podium. Things are looking good for now for the Spanish team that has moved in almost 36 miles closer to the leaders over the past 24 hours. The fleet continues to bunch closer together ahead of a light patch positioned opposite the Brazilian coast and at 13:00 "Telefónica" was just two miles away from "Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand" and 10.5 from "Groupama" from France. Pepe Ribes said confidently: "We're really going for it, we're going for them."

The entire fleet is pointing east now and "Telefónica" is making a comeback in the North Atlantic with the team clawing back 35.8 miles on the provisional frontrunner "Abu Dhabi" during the last 24 hour run. The great data doesn't stop there and at the height of the Azores the New Zealanders have been feeling the heat from the Spanish boat nipping at their heels. Franck Cammas, now in third is also aware that "Telefónica" is climbing back up and only ten miles lie between the two entries.

 "Puma" from the USA is in second and is 25.3 miles ahead of Iker Martínez and crew who are pushing hard and notching up some high speeds. The fractional spinnaker has been hoisted, one of the boats' more masterful sails.

Every report in has seen the fleet continue to be bunched together and high speeds have been the order of the day. Over the past 24 hours "Telefónica"'s average boat speed has been 21.8 knots, with the boat covering 524 miles in the last day's run. The team have seen a big change after the past few days: "The crew is happy because finally we've been able to sail the boat fast. The conditions are great with about 20 knots of breeze and we've got the fractional spinnaker up. There's a fair amount of water on deck, but it's not too cold. The waves are fairly even, so we are comfortable and can get some sleep below deck," said Fructuoso in his daily report.

Under 1,000 miles to go and a crucial traffic light situation up ahead

With this new situation ahead and with all eyes on the traffic light at Lisbon, which is set to bunch together the entire fleet yet again, Diego Fructuoso writes: "On 'Telefónica' we're pushing as hard as we can and it looks like we're finally making a comeback. We were in a very tricky position because, as Iker told me, we had a front moving in on us from behind which brought light conditions with it. Our options at getting a good result on the leg were put to one side as we set out to sail as fast as we could to get closer to the other boats. That's what we're doing now. We'll get a light patch again on the approach to Lisbon and if we're all close together anything could happen..." 

iPod to iPod

Between watches the crew can enjoy a brief, although not necessarily consistent period of rest in which sleeping is the activity of choice, but new technology has also made room for other pastimes: "iPods are being swapped between us all of the time. Some of the guys have downloaded TV series and when we can, we catch an episode to switch off a bit. We listen to lots of music and we also use other people's iPods for a change," said Fructuoso. The aim: to switch off for a while so that you get back to one hundred per cent for the next watch.

PROVISIONAL RANKINGS LEG 7

MIAMI (USA) - LISBON (PORTUGAL): 3,590 miles

Day 9 - 13:00 UTC - 29th May 2012

1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker), 817 miles to finish.

2. Puma Ocean Racing (Ken Read), +32 miles

3. Groupama sailing team (Franck Cammas), +46.8 miles

4. Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson), +55.2 miles

5. Team Telefónica (Iker Martínez), +57.3 miles

6. Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson), +70.8 miles