which route?

So I don't currently have the view of the position of all the rally participants like you've seen if you've followed the link to the tracker near the top of the website. But everyone participating in this event has to make the decision of which route to take to get to Barbados most efficiently. The traditional route goes very near the Cape Verde islands before turning west. This is where the somewhat famous phrase, "south 'til the butter melts" comes from. The solution on the opposite side of this question is to go in the closest straight line distance between the two points, also known as a great circle route. This is worth looking up if you're not familiar with the term. The reason NOT to go in a straight line is that the winds are quite likely to be less dependable along the way. The trade winds blow east to west parallel to the equator in the lower latitudes but not above a certain threshold. There is a favorable current in these lower latitudes also. This more southern
route is the same route Columbus took. It's technically further but typically faster.
We're hoping to cheat just a little bit and cut the corner. We should have enough fuel to get us through the squirrelly areas and down to the trades where we will hopefully (fingers crossed) sail with very little engine propulsion for two weeks.
Of course, once out here you're at the mercy of whatever weather comes your way. Planning and hoping only get you so far...
I hear rumor (via text messages) that a couple participants are taking a bit more northern route and others are taking a bit more southern route. I believe S/V Tantrum and Edelweiss are taking a similar route to us. Certainly Tantrum is so far although we've lost sight of them behind us over the last few hours.