Séb Josse (BT), 3rd,: Good sailing conditions as he passes by Canaries. 22 knots of wind.  Remains cautious as needs to get her back on track occasionally.  Different pace from 2004, as boats are faster, good weather in this area and so many competitors close together.  Weather looks a bit complicated ahead, as trade winds will ease off and do not look very stable.  Today, lot of time out on deck checking pilots are working and making small adjustments. Sleeping OK on his "bean-bag".  For Doldrums, it does not look easy, but could change in a couple of days.  Not worried about Riou off to the west, as not the priority for him at the moment.

Marc Guillemot (Safran), 9th:   A bit stressful.  25-32 knots of wind and pilots under pressure, so remaining vigilant and often at the helm.  Risk of broaching - needs to act quickly in these conditions. So it's stress, stress, stress.  Inside it's unpleasant with smell of diesel. Hopes to air it out in couple of days.  Outside it's very wet at that speed. Under gennaker and mainsail - Boat speed around 21 knots.  Trying to avoid seeing leaders getting away, rather than catch up for moment.  As so many boats grouped together, pace is fast, but needs to think about boat too and avoid any serious mistakes.  After overcast weather of Madeira, cloudy today, but some blue sky.

Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore), 11th: Son's birthday today.  Pleased to have picked up speed again after a few gybes yesterday.  Does not want to push too hard at speeds like Generali, as that means a lot of strain on his boat with all the risks that implies.  How much can the boat take?  21 knots of wind and speed of 14-20 knots.  Feels a bit lost as not used to pushing that hard and wants to remain cautious.  A couple of mistakes in the first fews days, but worried that pace is too fast now and does not want to go at that speed.

Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2, 4th :  A lot of frightening experiences.  Slowed down in night.  Made a mistake as gennaker went overboard and difficult to recover - took an hour, and even considered cutting it away as under the boat.  Managed to hoist it again.  Tired after these manoeuvres.  Trying to recover.  Lost 20 miles with this problem, but reaction to incident was the right one.  Pleasant weather, but with occasional squalls

Sam Davies (Roxy), 15th:  Speed 16-20 knots and even reaching 22 knots.  20-25 knots of wind.  Marmite sandwich time!  Too fast today to leave her red socks outside.  Changed sail  - Gennaker replaced by solent.  Pleased with her current place and speed, particularly after experience last year in Transat Jacques Vabre.  Thinks she has found compromise between speed and care of boat.  Physically tiring after first few days, but men had same problem.

Dominique Wavre (Temenos 2), 16th, :  Passed Madeira this morning and pleasant conditions since Madeira with steady trade wind. 15-20 knots of wind and boat speed.  Lot of time at the helm.  Trying to get back, but for the moment wind is with the leaders, so difficult.  Still determined to catch up leaders. Doldrums will offer an opportunity.  For him, there was no other choice but to restart.  Best wishes to Bernard Stamm.

Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia), 22nd:   12-16 knots.  Lot of time at the helm. In a different weather system from others, so watching what they have done. Has already passed Sedlacek (3h this morning) and 3 or 4 boats just ahead to deal with now.  Still lots of gybes, while those in front do not have that problem.  They have better conditions, so only normal that they are sailing faster than him. Out of the question to push beyond what is reasonable.  Le Cam was a few hundred miles ahead of Riou at The Horn in 2004 and a long way to go.