«This evening, we will have finished almost of the external work: port hull and starboard deck. There will remain the starboard hull and all the inside with a lot of stratification to do to ensure the joins.» Soizic Dubois, Maisonneuve team manager.
 

«The work goes on around the clock.  The conditions are quite good: no wind and dry weather with sunshine by day, although a bit too cold at night. Under the tarpaulins with fan heaters, we've managed to receate the conditions to bake the composites.» Malric Leborgne, engineer in composite structures. 

Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty's boat could be ready to set sail on Sunday evening.

 

«I've fallen into some calms! I thought everything would be fine, if we skirted by the edge of the high, but the wind died away! I've had to do a lot of gybes to get away from this area. I did several tacks yesterday afternoon. The wind shifted by 40° from one side to the other. The lads up at the front got away at good speed. I thought PRB and Brit Air would be in the same mess, but they got through. That's the way it is! What reassures me is that behind, they are not doing any better.  I think too, I haven't always made the right choice of sail. One thing for certain, I've left behind life on land. I've stopped thinking of the office and all the worries you may have ashore. I'm not missing that.  Now I have to set myself a pace.  Since the start I haven't spent much time at the helm and I'm missing that.  At the moment, I'm spending too much time dealing with video equipment adjustments and not enough on the weather. The wind got up again recently.  I've just gone through a few squalls. Got to go, as the wind is back again.» Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore) talking to his shore team.

 

"By the time I made it to the deep south I wanted to be within 100 miles of the leader.  I've already used up half of that and so I think it's time to get a move on.  It's a bit tricky at the moment, as the wind is still variable and I'm not completely used  to my sail plan. I'm afraid of broaching, but I must say my latest pilots are working miracles, immediately taking into account the slightest change in direction on the crest of a wave."

 

Sam Davies, Roxy: "Here is a nice picture of my lucky red socks "breathing" some fresh air under the full moon, after having been subjected to 48 hours non-stop inside ‘Le Chameau’ boots in the stormy weather!

Yes - I admit that I did not remove my boots or oilskins for 48 hours. It was too full-on to take the risk as I needed to be ready to go on deck at any moment.

So, yesterday I took advantage of the calmer, stable conditions to change socks, wash a bit, brush my hair... it was a treat! I also opened some good luck cards that people had put on board. It’s always good to boost your moral. For now, the red socks are banished to the cockpit until it rains enough for me to wash them. Seeing that I only have three pairs of red socks, I need to take care of them as I am sure I will need some luck again soon.

Yesterday evening I crossed tacks with Dee Caffari again, pretty close. We had a chat on the VHF and she told me that she has found photos hidden by her team around her boat; the Aviva boys obviously have "calendar" talent. Dee explained that the photos of them were taken nude, with strategically placed objects to hide certain areas of their bodies.

She was laughing so much, and we were both a bit sad that it wasn't daylight otherwise she would have tried to show them to me! Anyway, she promised me that she would show me after the race.

Last night I gybed to head south, and today’s strategy is to try to position myself to pass Madeira without suffering from wind-shadow.

A simple message from Jonny Malbon: "All good on board.  Suffering a little with a bad wind angle.  Will have to gybe again soon if it doesn’t improve,  Bit frustrating as I cat seem to get the boat feeling really good yet.  Would love to be closer to the action."

The Azores high (1035 hPa) is gradually moving north-eastwards and slowly subsiding, generating trade winds on the eastern edge. In the Bay of Biscay (Bernard Stamm), the 12-knot NW'ly will ease off during the day to less than ten knots. Off Portugal (Michel Desjoyeaux), the 17-22 knot N to NE'ly wind will drop to around ten knots. Around Madeira (Peyron, Dick, Josse…), the 18-23 knot E to NE'ly trade winds will be accompanied by short squalls. Around the Canaries (Boissières, Caffari…), the NE'ly wind is stronger, blowing at 22-27 knots with short squalls. This pattern of trade winds should remain in place on Friday with little change in strength or direction.