The Volvo ocean race fleet has left Miami for the seventh leg to Lisbon and is heading straight for a tropical storm.
Telefonica had a slim lead heading out into the North Atlantic, where the first major obstacle the fleet will face is tropical storm Alberto, the first of the hurricane season, lying off the east coast of the United States and holding winds of up to 45 knots at its centre.
Volvo ocean race meteorologist Gonzalo Infante said the key to early success depended on how well the teams use the storm.
"The fleet face a tricky first few hours of the race in light, unstable winds while trying to maximise the effects of the gulf stream,'' he said.
"The first boat to reach the lower part of tropical storm Alberto will stretch their lead but the big question facing the fleet is how close to the centre of the system to go. Winds are forecast to hit 45 knots, which are no good for anything apart from breaking boats. This storm needs to be treated with plenty of respect.''
Puma navigator Tom Addis said: "The storm is the source of pressure for us to get north and east on so it's important to try to feed into that pressure first,'' he said.
"You don't want to be the wrong side of that low because the current against wind in the gulf stream would give quite a heinous sea state. It looks like there will be plenty of good downwind in the next leg, a reasonably fast leg, which we always enjoy.''
The 3,590 nautical mile leg is looming as an important one.
After more than six months and thousands of miles of racing, Telefonica are the overall leaders with 165 points but Groupama are snapping at their heels, just seven points behind on 158, with Camper on 152 and current form team Puma on 151.
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