Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) has a 61.2 mile lead over Vincent Riou (PRB) this morning. Mike Golding (Ecover), 3rd, is 113.6 miles from pole position. Vincent Riou and Mike Golding passed Cape Horn last night and so there are now three skippers that have left the Southern Ocean behind them. Jean is 220 miles south-west of the Falkland Islands and 3,700 miles from the Equator.

There are now two more skippers past Cape Horn this morning, on the home straight to Les Sables d’Olonne. Vincent Riou (PRB) rounded the cape yesterday night, 3 January, at 2045 GMT. In so doing Vincent took 57 days 08 hours and 43 minutes to round this third cape, 15 hours 30 minutes after Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle). Mike Golding (Ecover) passed this same longitude of Cabo de Hornos in the early hours of the morning, at 0115 GMT.

The English skipper took 57 days 13 hours and 13 minutes of racing, 20 hours more than the leader and just 4h30 more than Vincent Riou. The three of them are now sailing in the Atlantic and the gaps between the three protagonists have melted away since this time yesterday.

With a lead of 190.6 miles at yesterday’s 0400 GMT ranking, this morning Vincent Riou is just 61.2 miles back. Jean hit a vast zone of light winds into which Vincent Riou and Mike Golding have also fallen in turn, Jean losing the most ground. A positive point for Jean is that he has been able to stop the haemorrhage since 1900 hours last when Vincent had got to within just 59.5 miles behind him.

It is clearly a new start at the entry to the Atlantic. Jean is just 38 miles south of the Isla de los Estados, Vincent is 44.9 miles south-east of Cape San Pio (Tierra del Fuego) and Mike is 13 miles south-west of Cape Horn.

Further back Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) is right in the middle of an icefield. Yesterday morning he reported the presence of two big blocks of ice along with another two at 1900 GMT. In a message from the boat positioned at 51°31 75′ South and 178° 58 85′ and 49′ East Humphreys said: “One is the size of Wembley Stadium.”

The tailend of the fleet has been suffering low speeds. Anne Liardet (Roxy) and Patrice Carpentier (VM Matériaux) are sailing upwind in a 15 knot easterly while Raphaël Dinelli (Akena Vérandas) and Karen Leibovici (Benefic) are caught up in the clutches of a vast high pressure ridge under Tasmania. A total of 5,400 miles separate Jean Le Cam from Leibovici this morning, a whole Pacific Ocean apart.

Positions

1 Bonduelle Jean Le Cam 55 17.12′ S 63 13.60′ W

2 PRB Vincent Riou 55 32.00′ S 65 32.52′ W 61.2 miles to the leader

3 Ecover Mike Golding 56 02.20′ S 66 53.36′ W 113.6 miles to the leader

4 VMI Sébastien Josse 54 53.40′ S 93 43.00′ W 1021. miles to the leader

5 Temenos Dominique Wavre 54 20.20′ S 103 54.00′ W 1369.2 miles to the leader

6 Virbac-Paprec Jean-Pierre Dick 53 09.40′ S 123 17.68′ W 2026.2 miles to the leader

7 Skandia Nick Moloney 47 08.28′ S 144 30.60′ W 2902.7 miles to the leader

8 Arcelor Dunkerque Joé Seeten 51 20.84′ S 164 38.56′ W 3464.6 miles to the leader

9 Ocean Planet Bruce Schwab 49 21.96′ S 175 10.40′ W 3875.6 miles to the leader

10 Hellomoto Conrad Humphreys 51 19.92′ S 177 50.40′ W 3905.1 miles to the leader

11 Max Havelaar / Best Western Benoît Parnaudeau 55 18.52′ S 173 09.36′ E 4141.2 miles to the leader

12 VM Matériaux Patrice Carpentier 47 06.36′ S 164 12.42′ E 4639.1 miles to the leader

13 ROXY Anne Liardet 46 55.44′ S 160 19.36′ E 4788.4 miles to the leader

14 AKENA Vérandas Raphaël Dinelli 49 10.52′ S 142 29.32′ E 5316.2 miles to the leader

15 Benefic Karen Leibovici 48 28.44′ S 139 01.92′ E 5452.6 miles to the leader

Retired

Pro-Form Marc Thiercelin

Sill Véolia Roland Jourdain

Hugo Boss Alex Thomson

UUDS Hervé Laurent