"Since the start I've become more like a boar rather than a civilised being!  A boar, because I've grown a beard and worry about my machine and the weather, and am completely obsessed by my performance. The boar's only concern  is to be ahead of the pack and make sure he has enough to eat in the evening. Take advantage of these final sentences that remain understandable, before I become increasing inward looking.  This race is tough and takes over.  While it is a pleasure to share my feelings and experiences, I get the feeling that the further I go, the different the language we speak. 20 knots under spinnaker, is a bit too much.  Got to go now!" Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore).

 

The skipper of Cheminées Poujoulat is currently sailing downwind off the Canaries, and covered  277.9 miles over the past 24 hours. Pushed along by a steady trade wind, the Swiss sailor was pleased with the conditions he has been experiencing since Cape Finisterre. Ranked 24th, 1133 miles from the leader, of all of the fleet, he made the best progress today.

 

The skipper of Algimouss Spirit of Canada, sailing off Madeira, sent this message to the race directors this afternoon:
"All OK on board, trying hard to make some inroads to boats ahead. There are some squalls around that are threatening to upset the sailing routine and I must be vigilant to avoid breakages during the storms.  All the best, Derek" 
 

"Well I have to say it has been another difficult 24 hours on board. None of the weather models have borne any resemblance to reality. This makes planning anything very difficult, but worst of all it leaves the day wide open to worry and check and double check all the routing solutions. This is very time consuming and very unrewarding when you come away with no real answers, predictions or routes!  It also leads me to think that all my instruments were misreading, and giving false readouts!! This is not good especially when I am sailing downwind and each gybe (change in direction) takes about 40 mins and is VERY labour intensive. Anyway I think I have cracked it; rather than barrel west to get in line behind the others I have gybed back to the south. We shall have to see if it pans out over the next few days. I have some confidence in this particular model, so I will be keeping my fingers crossed! If things don’t materialise quite how I envisage, I can still head west after the Cape Verde islands which are now approx 100 miles south of me.

My beard is getting long enough not to be itchy now, so I will have to decide whether to keep and go full man of the sea, or whether to have a shave in the doldrums. Tough decision I hear you say!! Those are the kind of things that fill up the rest of my day – shall I have a cup of tea now, or in five minutes is another common one!!"

Jonny Malbon (Artemis) currently in 19th place, 467 miles from the leader

 

"Having gybed onto starboard to get a bit further West, I took the opportunity to climb up my mast to check everything was OK. It is easier for me on starboard tack and I think this the last time I'll be on this tack for a while!
A great view from up there! All was OK, so I whizzed back down to ground level.  Then as I was getting ready to gybe I saw a little sail on the horizon! Pindar!!  
So now we are sailing along, side by side (well, almost - I'm just in front for the moment actually!) with Brian. We had a quick chat, but I didn't want to stop him from his sail repair for too long! It's nice to sail in company for once - and funny to think in an ocean so huge that we can "bump" into each other like that!"  Sam Davies (Roxy) currently in twelfth place 267 miles from the leader.

The first intermediate record between Les Sables d’Olonne and the Equator, held by Jean Le Cam with a time of 10d 11h28’ in 2004 is not going to be broken. To better this, the leaders have until tonight (0h30 to be precise) to cross the Equator, which this morning is still some 500 miles ahead.  Covering this distance in 24 hours appears to be even more complicated, as there is the obstacle of the Doldrums blocking the way. The difficult weather conditions in the Bay of Biscay explain why this year's race is slower than the 2004 Vendée Globe.