Davies should pass through the Azores tonight and has a 107 miles deficit on Guillemot, who admitted that the stress and tiredness is taking a toll on him at the moment and he is just trying to sail sensibly and safely, not pushing too hard.

While Guillemot is being pushed onwards in strong SW’ly winds, with big seas, up to seven to eight metres as a big low pressure sweeps across in front of him in the North Atlantic, he is at least assured of a speedy, if demanding few days to the finish, riding the depression. Davies said this morning that she is making the most of the adrenalin sailing while she can, for she be caught by the formation of another high pressure system. Friday is her considered finishing day, but she certainly wants to be home for Valentine’s Day.

Davies is making 15.3 knots this afternoon compared with the 16.3 of Guillemot who is reckoned to have 10 knots more wind.

The British skipper admitted this morning she would love to take part in this summer’s 40^th jubilee Figaro solo, alongside the two skippers who have already finished, Desjoyeaux and Le Cléac’h.

If Guillemot finishes third the podium will effectively comprise two Farr sister-ships, the Finot Conq designed Brit Air and the VPLP-Verdier designed Safran. Prize money is Euros 150,000 for first, 90,000 for second and 60,000 each for the two third places. 

In fifth Brian Thompson sees a further two ‘parking lots’, anticyclones, where he and Dee Caffari could be forced closer together before they finish in Les Sables d’Olonne.

Having settled with a new solution to his problems with his over-stressed keel ram hydraulics and no longer in the bone jarring, crashing upwind on the tradewinds, fifth placed Thompson has the Juan K designed more powered up again and has been gaining miles again on Caffari. The yellow Owen-Clarke design is now measured to be 81 miles behind Bahrain Team Pindar while Caffari is now moving quicker since she was making around six knots earlier today.

Back in the northern hemisphere Steve White has moved almost seamlessly into the NE’ly trades on Toe in the Water and is making 11 knots. His Doldrums crossing has been almost pain free, save a short spell under a big cloud yesterday:

“ Cor, crikey, I had the world’s biggest clouds yesterday and sailed round and round in circles for about half, three-quarters of an hour, and then eventually it disappeared.....” he told the radio broadcast this morning.

Some 360 miles to the east of Rio de Janeiro, Rich Wilson, USA, on Great American III has light, disorganized easterlies at the moment and is making 6-10 knots, but he has another day’s sailing to get more ordered, stronger trade winds.

In their third day of strong winds and big seas produced by a deep low in the South Atlantic, it is tough for Norbert Sedlacek and Raphael Dinelli. With gusts to 55 knots, the saving grace for them is that they are making decent speeds north, fast reaching in the SE’lies. The Austrian skipper has reported some minor damage over past day: his autopilot display is a not working, a halyard clutch broken, a block broken and generator base broken. And he got hit by boom twice and according to his report appears to be none the worse for it.

Brian Thompson, GBR, (Bahrain Team Pindar):  “It is a busy Sunday morning and I have just been through a cold front and so I am just tidying up afterwards, stacking everything, packing spinnakers, doing a little bit of work to my alternator, and so another busy Sunday.

Yesterday I did a big change to my keel arrangement. Before I was just using both sides of the port ram, and the outboard side was starting to leak through the sensor, which was the problem with the starboard ram. And so I have swapped them around and now I am working with just the inside ones and the outboard ones are just full of air. So I am basically using one ram at a time. On part tack I am just using the starboard ram to pull the keel over, and touch wood, that seems OK because the connections are much clearer and so I only have to six connection to worry about leaking.”

“ When it was bumping and slamming all the time I had to limit the cant to about ten degrees or something like that, so now I am definitely able to use more now.”

“I have not got a lot of weather at the moment, just what I have through the Iridium  phone, Dee lost a lot in the Doldrums and now she has come back evened things up because I was not that fast on that reach. Hopefully now I will extend away again but then I will be going through the next Azores high, which will be closer to the Azores, and then there will be another low pushing us through towards the Bay of Biscay and then there is a high there which will stop us. So we have been through one, reach to another and another in the Bay of Biscay, there are plenty of parking spots for Dee and I.

Marc is going to get straight through with this low that he is on and will be quite quick. Sam maybe will or might get stopped by one of the highs, for sure Dee and I will have a good race in to the finish. It makes things more interesting and challenging, if it weren’t challenging enough already.”

Steve White, GBR (Toe in the Water): “It is good to be back. Nearly home. Well that is how feels, anyway. Cor, crikey, I had the world’s biggest clouds yesterday and sailed round and round in circles for about half, three-quarters of an hour, and then eventually it disappeared and here we are – north east trades – and an hour later, cross the Equator and….done.

The wheels did kind of fall off after dark, it had been nice and steady before that. The gusts were useful, predictable and quite nice, but then it started to go weird and down to five knots and things like that. We had two days of Doldrums but it was comparatively, well extremely painless really. And so half past three I was all done and dusted, boat settled down, in bed, equator crossed and everything. I video-ed the GPS changing from south to north, only because on the way down I tried and the blooming video camera would not work. It said ‘eject the battery’ ‘eject the tape’ and all that and by the time I had it working it was too late, so I have taped it this time even through it was dark.

I had to toast Neptune. I have these little aircraft bottles of wine, and so gave some over the side to Neptune, some over the boat and some down me.”

Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas): I have had a tricky few days with some strong gusts in squalls, with confused seas, but things are starting to improve.  Until yesterday evening, I was under ORC jib with 3 reefs in the mainsail, as there were crossed seas with the seas and wind hitting us on the beam.  So to carry out manoeuvres and change the headsails, I put on the dry suit. Even if it’s not very cold, it’s nicer to stay dry... I’m a bit tired, as I had a lot of manoeuvres in the night and over the past few days.  The boat was being shaken around and me too.  Fortunately, the wind eased off quite suddenly and the seas have started to calm.” 

Sam Davies, GBR, Roxy: “There’s 35 knots of wind and Roxy is sailing just above 20 knots. Conditions are great and the sea isn’t too difficult.  I have stacked everything in the stern, rather like in southern ocean mode.  The seas are really nice with some white horses and 30 knots of wind.  Today and tomorrow are going to be the final days of high speeds and adrenalin, so I’m trying to take advantage while I can, but I don’t want to get carried away either.  I try telling myself that even if Roxy sails quickly, she’s a bit tired and I must avoid pushing her too hard.  Yesterday I went through all the sails except the storm jib.  I went from light airs mode with the weight in the bow to downwind mode.  So there was a lot of work to do inside as well as out on deck.  I’m looking forward to finishing and sailing into the harbour in Les Sables, but I’m not certain about my ETA.  I thinks some of the estimates from Météo France are optimistic.  I’d tend to go for Friday.  The high will be catching up with me after Cape Finisterre, so it will depend on how things go: Thursday evening or Friday morning, but the most important thing is to finish before St. Valentine’s Day!  If I could do the Figaro this summer, I’d be very happy.  It’s a dream, but it will depend on Roxy.  We can’t do everything and nothing has yet been decided.” 

Marc Guillemot, Safran: “I’m still half asleep as the phone just woke me up.  I haven’t been able to get much sleep recently.  There’s all the stress and tiredness at the moment.  The wind is up to 34 knots and the seas are quite rough.  Last night, I was just a mile and a half from the island of Corvo in the Azores.  The wind has been building since then.  I no longer have any mast track left at second reef.   I was sailing under reduced sail as the wind has been getting up.  The sail came down without any problem, but I noticed that the repair I carried out off Auckland Island had broken again.  It’s not a real problem as I’ve been under reduced sail anyway for the past couple of nights.  I’m proceeding with caution, because what counts now is finishing in Les Sables d'Olonne.  The waves are in the right direction, but it is likely to be a bit rougher when the wind veers NW’ly.  I’ll just go a little more slowly.  In fact, it may not be a bad thing, as tomorrow looks very stormy in the Bay of Biscay.  I’m a bit behind where I thought I might be.  I’m pleased to be avoiding the worst of the storm that’s coming up.”