Amid heavy seas, the stop-start sailing of the last few days which promises to extend into the coming 48 hours is sparing neither the sailors nor their boats. The aim of all and sundry is to stay with the pace, reduce the sails to a minimum, protect the boat and, deafening racket permitting, grab forty winks to try to restore their alertness and clarity.
Loïck Peyron is still leading the way and having kept a close eye for a while on the rivals to his right, is now focusing primarily on those to his left who are moving up through the field, particularly Marc Guillemot, the skipper of Safran.

In the radio chat earlier today, Loïck Peyron offered us an insight into sailing in such inclement and highly chaotic conditions. “It's really hard work, as the boat's being slammed about badly and I'm putting everything into looking after her as best I can. You have to remain watchful at all times, looking out for the slightest hint of a risk. I've had real difficulty getting any rest when on auto pilot, as she's slapping around so noisily. Ironically, the aim at the moment is to keep the speed down in order to cope best with the severe conditions. But all's well generally; I'm making slow progress while managing to keep the others at bay…”