After a spectacular start on Sunday, ARC 2006 competitors are now settling into the daily routine of life of onboard since leaving Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. After a light first night which saw headwinds for some, conditions are now excellent, with settled north-east trade winds expected through the remainder of the first week.

Yachts at the front of fleet are experiencing good sailing conditions at present which could make for a fast crossing for the 21st ARC. Capricorno, the Italian Maxi currently heads the fleet having had a 271nm run over the last 24 hours, followed by Sir Peter Ogden’s Swan 601 Spirit of Jethou and the new Swan 100 Fantasticaa.

Leading the RORC IRC Racing Division is George Vassilopoulos’ Farr 520 Brave who covered 225nm since 1200 (GMT) yesterday leaving them 2,327nm miles to the finish, with Dark & Steamy, Nick and Annie Haigh’s DK 46 hot on their heels.

In the multihulls division, the French Outremer 45 Sir Henri leads the way followed closely by Timaios III, Jan-Peter Mahlstedt’s Catana 582.