Once again, it is the sailor bringing up the rear of the fleet, who has covered the greatest distance in 24 hours.  Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (Groupe Maisonneuve), who restarted the race a week after the official start covered 326.9 nautical miles towards the finish over the past 24 hours. Still in 26th place, he is currently sailing to the north of the Cape Verde Islands around 146 miles behind Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada).

 

Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore) has decided to head for the Brazilian port of Salvador da Bahia, following damage to his spreaders.  He has reduced speed and is attempting to avoid putting any additional strain on the rig.  This evening he sent the following message to the race directors.

"I'm heading for Bahia. That should allow me to continue with the wind on the beam and stay on the port tack. I'm trying to sail heeled over (keel down) to stop the spreaders from banging into the mast tube. I tried to get hold of them, but with the sea state, it's moving around too much and I almost had my head cut off. So I just hope they don't destroy the mast before I reach calm waters and that the mast will remain standing."

 

You can watch Dee Caffari (Aviva) cross the Equator in her latest video.  She offers a gift to Neptune and toasts him with some champagne.  Just click on 'videos' in the media section.

 

"The St. Helena high is much further west than usual. It is completely blocking our route, but in the next few days, it should move back eastwards. That is exactly what we want, as we should then  be able to return to downwind sailing." Sébastien Josse (BT)

 

Currently to the north-west of the Cape Verde Islands, Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada) is in 25th place 1401 miles from the leader.  Here is his daily message:

"Hot hot hot. 34 C inside the cabin so I will be quick today. As I sit here dripping with sweat, the trade winds are weak again today so a little slower progress. All is well and I have been able to make some headway with the charging system and I think we at least have a chance to fix the wind generator. I have to wait for a calm day to go out on the back of the boat to try the repair."

 

"Hi there, I crossed the Equator at 10H40 UTC.  Offered a gift to Neptune, some vanilla cream, a nice glass of water (mineral water) and the southern hemisphere welcomed me with a big squall with 25 knots winds and heavy rain to wash off the Veranda and its owner.  Goodbye to the northern hemisphere.  See you in  a few weeks!"
Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas)