On their fourth day at sea, Steve Fossett and team aboard the giant catamaran PlayStation is averaging 17.25 kts of boat speed in 15-25 kts of north-easterly breeze as they head across the Atlantic. Their target is to beat the east-west TransAtlantic sailing record (Cadiz-Canaries-Bahamas) of 10 days, 14 hours 53 mins 44 seconds – the Christopher Columbus Route.

In order to avoid the light winds attached to a high pressure system, their course has taken them over 650 miles south of that taken by Bruno Peyron and Grant Dalton when the Frenchman and the New Zealander co-skippered the 110ft Club Med in June of 2000, setting the existing record.

To break Club Med’s existing record, Steve and crew will need to reach Columbus’ landfall – the island of San Salvador – by Tuesday at 14.44.24 GMT – an average of 14.66 kts for their remaining 2,330 miles to destination.