"59 miles to do to cross the equator! This is my 5th time crossing that magical line and it is always special having the GPS just flip over from North to South, no fanfare or special signs, it doesn't care so much. For me this kind of marks the end of phase one in the race - start line to the equator. Phase two starts immediately and takes us down to the south.    

It's a little slow today it seems, more upwind work as I get into the weather systems south of the equator. The doldrums were non existent this time across which is lucky. Normally it is a slow painful crossing with many black clouds to negotiate, thunder and lightning storms and big wind holes that can last hours. Most of the fleet crossed without stopping I would imagine. I'm very tired today as I had a long night on deck watching for ships and monitoring the autopilot. Three ships came directly from the south, head on and very close. It's a little intimidating to have a large ship playing chicken with a small sailboat. About midnight the autopilot decided to tack the boat while I was asleep and I was rudely awakened with the boat totally on its side going sideways on the opposite tack. It took me about an hour to get it all back on track again and luckily no damage. I guess the pilot needs some attention so I think I will call him  Joshua,after that famous Canadian Joshua Slocum who was the first singlehander to go around the world." 
Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada) in his daily message.
 

Loïck Peyron (Foncia) explained this afternoon why he was so slowed down this morning and how Sébastien Josse got by him.  
“This morning, I ended up stuck beneath a squall for three – four hours. There wasn’t a breath of air and I was manoeuvring in every direction to try to get out of it all. In a multihull, with the speed the boats move, you can better deal with this type of phenomenon, but in a monohull you’re rather compelled to endure it. When I was beneath my squall, I saw Jojo (Sébastien Josse) just off from me and he didn’t seemed to have slowed up much at all! We’re hitting a buffer zone and as I was leading the way, I was the first to land in the sh*t! It’s no surprise though, I’d be preparing for it for several days. This isn’t the important thing: you mustn’t be distracted by the rankings and the changes in hierarchy as things really only get serious further down the track."

 

“My goal is now to complete this round the world voyage safely with a boat that is in good condition. At the same time, I haven’t lost any of my competitive spirit and shall be setting myself goals from time to time.” Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada) by e-mail.
 

Sam Davies, in 13th place, 283 miles from the leader, is currently sailing at the latitude of Espirito Santo.  If you're not sure where that is, take a look at the video Sam has just sent.  She offers us a geography lesson from the South Atlantic.  Just click on videos in the media section.  

 

Leeds Metropolitan University is in the process of conducting a study into the use of energy by the human body and they are taking advantage of Dee Caffari's experience on Aviva to obtain the relevant data.  Over a fourteen day period in the Atlantic and the southern oceans, she is taking 5 urine samples, which will later be analysed to calculate energy expenditure.  This will enable scientists in the future to calculate precise energy requirements during such a race and better adapt Dee's diet to these needs.

 

Remember you can catch up on the day's news stories and enjoy the highlights of the Vendée Globe as seen by the sailors by viewing the daily round-up video available online in English each evening.  Just click on videos in the media section.