Vendee sailor Arnaud Boissières has been making good progress towards Les Sables d’Olonne given the wind conditions he has had and is now under 300 miles making nine knots. His speeds have been generally good as he crossed a little high pressure area but he has still to reach the main high which is centred over Brittany. This will give him headwinds of around 10 knots. So we might be assured he will in by Sunday and possibly late Saturday.

Steve White has stayed in good wind pressure for the last 24 hours and continues to forge up the track at good speeds, making 11-14 knots during the night. In effect he has gained more than 100 miles on Cali in the last 24 hours and continues to gain.

And, Steve now has under 1000 miles to the finish, 647 miles behind Akena Vérandas.

Rich Wilson, 2000 miles behind, has been making steady progress in difficult conditions with the trade winds remarkably gusty, just underlining again how the American skipper has never really been blessed with any consistently settled conditions in the Atlantic.

Raphael Dinelli is 70 miles from Fernando de Noronha and is still making more than 9 knots while 530 miles behind Norbert Sedlacek is not much slower under double reefed main on Nauticsport-Kapsch.