Mixed fortunes for the British sailors taking part in the Mini Transat race, as they race south of the Canary Islands on their way to Brazil.

It has been a good few days for Ollie Bond, skipper of Artemis, who is lying 3rd in the production series class in his Pogo 2. As they pick up the tradewinds these pocket rockets are hammer down and some are clocking up 24-hour runs of 250 miles and more – an awful lot from a very little boat.

But it’s bad news for Andrew Wood (above), who decided today to abandon the race after problems with his autopilot. His pilot was new this year but a leaking seal has caused corrosion.

With no guarantee of getting a replacement part shipped within 24 hours, Wood make the hard decision to drop out rather than tag along at the rear of the fleet for the rest of the race.

Among the lighter, faster prototype Minis, the pace has been even hotter: 2nd placed Bertrand Delesne is chasing hard and has been averaging over 12 knots.