Steve Fossett and crew aboard Cheyenne have stretched their lead over the 2002 Round The World Sailing record pace to 1,040 miles, and their relatively direct north-eastly course plotted through the South Atlantic means that they are once again over four days ahead of Orange’s 2002 track. Another interesting fact is that they only have to achieve an average speed of around 15-20kts to the finish line.

They do however have a tricky time ahead, with a low situated out to the east. The Trade Winds should give them a good run before they contemplate the North Atlantic High. Talking from the boat this morning skipper Steve Fossett said: “Today we have a difficult transition to cross a Low trough to the east. This will be very slow. So we will lose ground in the comparison to Orange for today. Then we will enter the Tradewinds tomorrow afternoon and have a good run to the Equator. The North Atlantic is forecast to be dominated by a large High Pressure system which extends far north. We will have to sail a lot of extra miles to get around and over the top of this High. It is likely to be the longest route that any of the previous record attempts have had to take.”

Their current position is 26 59.690 S 40 07.690 W, 394 miles east of Florianopolis in Brazil. To break the current world speed record of 64 days 08 hrs 37 mins 24 secs held by Bruno Peyron’s Orange I, Fossett and crew need to cross the Ushant/Lizard finish line before Sunday 11 April at 13h46 59 seconds.