Jean Luc van den Heede currently sailing his 85ft aluminium cutter Adrien on a westabout solo non-stop global record attempt, has left Cape Horn in his wake and is now six days ahead of schedule. His aim is to beat the current record of 151 days, 19 hours and 54 minutes, held by Philippe Monnet.

Speaking from the boat yesterday from a position of 55°48’S / 99°53’W van den Heede said: “It was a tough night for Adrien. Another low-pressure area, which was deeper than the previous one passed over me last night with some fairly violent winds (40-45 knots) and above all some very rough seas.

“I’m now on the other side of the front, and I’m taking advantage of it to edge up to the fifties. Gradually, my confidence is building, and the memory of losing my mast last time is disappearing as the miles go by. see news story here Not even reducing the sails as much as possible can stop Adrien from slamming down when the seas are heavy, unless I turn back!

“The Nordic Mast, that I check regularly doesn’t appear to be under any strain and is behaving correctly. The BSI stays don’t seem to be stretching in spite of the huge strain, each time Adrien hits the waves.

In short, for the moment, everything is going well, but I’m keeping an eye open and am acting extremely cautiously.”

For van den Heede to break the global record he will have to cross the Ushant finish line before 07hrs.16mins.01sec on 7 April 2003.