After passing through an area of low pressure coming from Cuba which seriously disrupted the flow of the trade winds, the stern breeze is back, even if the sky is not too cooperative. Aboard his ailing trimaran, Thierry Duprey du Vorsent's morale is still high and this more sustained rhythm towards the finish is good news, especially as this easterly wind should accompany Gitana 12 all the way to Guadeloupe. 

“Last night was sublime: there were stars everywhere, a pure sky, a nice stern breeze and a stunning full moon!What's more, I was able to head straight for Guadeloupe… It was good for morale to make some progress. But this Wednesday morning, the scenario changed and there was rain, squalls, rough seas, thirty knots of wind, and cross seas, all of which made for a right old racket. There were low clouds practically all around and one torrential downpour after another. This is not great for the bow of Gitana 12 and it looks set to continue for 48 hours. I need to ease off the gas but I'm still in a race with Antoine Koch: it's a bit like the race of the walking wounded! We're exactly the same distance from the finish but he's a lot further north. Logic dictates that he should be able to go a bit faster than me in a stern wind with gennaker up, as I don't want to hoist this sail, but who knows: if it quietens down as is likely for the rounding of Guadeloupe before the finish, I should be more comfortable as he can't hoist all of his mainsail. The thought of finishing the Route du Rhum is giving me plenty of motivation and I should land at Pointe de la Vigie in the northwest of the island in a little over 48 hours, i.e. during the day on Friday. At the moment, I'm able to travel at between 14 and 17 knots due to the state of the sea, but once the waves die down, I shoud be able to speed up to 22 knots with the rear ballast full to lessen the strain on the bow.”