He is at 8 degrees north, on the fringes of the Doldrums’ belt. However, he is entering this system of notoriously unpredictable winds at 24 degrees West, indicating that his weather information is showing him a way through further to the East than the normal gateway at around 32 - 34 degrees West. For the next day or two Bernard will see his lead diminish as the rest of his class sails in breeze. The weather forecast for the next 24 hours, supplied to the Race Office by Raymarine, is showing a small low pressure system spinning off the coast of Africa, which may provide Pindar, Solidaires and Hexagon with some wind and therefore an opportunity to cut through the Doldrums even further to the East and gain significant miles on the leader.

The ridge of High pressure that extends from the African coast far out into the Atlantic Ocean, finally has the Class 2 yachts in its grip. The sun is shining, and the ocean has turned from a dark, chopped-up sea to endless, undulating turquoise swells, but when your mind is on getting to Cape Town it can be the most frustrating kind of sailing. Today it has been more a question of what to do with the wind you have as the high pressure still blocks their route. Alan Paris on BTC Velocity sent this note : "Well I finally have 4 knots of wind after only 2 knots or so. It has been variable in direction for the last 4 hours." Japanese skipper Kojiro Shiraishi on Spirit of yukoh - whose reports are now in ENglish online - is the furthest offshore, but this option isn’t paying : "The air has pockets of wind so I have been fritting about on deck and on sea trying to catch them. I’ve been going West then South repeating the process trying to catch unstable and weak winds."

It is a game of light air tactics as they sail down the Portugese coast at an average of 4 - 5 knots boatspeed. Leader Brad Van Liew on Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America has tacked back inshore today, where his main rival just 35m behind, Tim Kent, is finding enough breeze since the last position report to keep Everest Horizontal moving at 11 knots.

However, their weather forecast shows wind coming in from the NE at 15 - 20 knots, the first sign of the trades. The boat which catches these winds first will be able to push out a good lead before any of the others reach it - will it be Everest Horizontal or Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America ??

This morning the oldest skipper in the fleet, John Dennis, sailing Bayer Ascensia, celebrated his birthday. Despite clocking currently the slowest speed at 1.5 knots for the day, John is living his dream of sailing around the world. The significance of the day had him in a pensive mood and we appreciate his insights into the loneliness of long distance sailing : "I turn 58 today and I am beginning to realize that I should have lived my dream 25 years ago. My body is certainly let me know my age. When we set out on these adventures which we have dreamed of for so long, I don’t believe we appreciate the void we create in our lives and the lives of our loved ones. I miss very much my wife, Penny and my two children, Stephanie and Frank. I also miss the rest of my family. My hope is we will be stronger in the end despite the strain of the separation. Well tomorrow is another day and hopefully a good day for sailing."