Vigilance the order of the day...

"After gently picking up speed after Saint Pierre and Miquelon, we are now working like slaves!” announces Class 40 President Jacques Fournier aboard Esprit Large - Talmont Saint-Hilaire. The reason for this is a WNW'ly breeze blowing at 20-25 knots which has enabled the whole fleet to accelerate, despite the sailing being rather laborious. It's like the grand tilling of the sea. The sheets are taken up to relieve the kicking of our fine vessel. The harnesses and the safety lines are within arms' reach. The deck is perfect, permanently washed by the surf and sometimes beneath the water".

The submarine and at times wild surfs can sometimes lead to breakage, as Christophe Bullens aboard An Ocean of Smiles bears witness: "During a gybe last night (around 0200 UT) a 35 knot gust took the crew by surprise and the boat broached. The spinnaker went under the boat causing us to come to a standstill and ripping out the bowsprit". During the manoeuvre to recuperate the spinnaker, one of the crew, Benjamin Dauchot, cut a finger on his right hand. Similarly, if we are to believe Giovanni Soldini's website, the crew of Telecom Italia has also been victim of a broken bowsprit, which would explain, in part, the change of leader in the Class 40 fleet. Indeed, the Italian boat lost the lead in the ranking at around 2300 UT this morning, to the benefit of Oliver Krauss and his men.

However, the deficits remain small. Less than 3 miles separate the first four at the 0500 UT ranking this morning: Mistral Loisir - Pôle Santé Elior, Pogo Structures, Telecom Italia and Novedia Group - SET Environnement. All of them are displaying averages of more than 12 knots with, as a result, a total of 300 miles in their wake over the past 24 hours.

This is almost as good as Crêpes Whaou! - 331 miles – which is now less than 1,200 miles from the finish with a lead of nearly 400 miles on his pursuers. It remains that, despite its very comfortable position, Franck-Yves' crew know that they must remain vigilant. They will have to be careful not to encounter an obstacle such as Laiterie de Saint Malo did yesterday, Sunday. The latter are this morning attempting to make a small rudder with the gear they have onboard, in order to make the coast