For your chance to keep in touch with the action during the forthcoming Route du Rhum race, tune in to the Discovery Channel on Sky TV. From 4 November the Discovery Channel will be broadcasting daily coverage of the race. Each night there’ll be pre-race features until the start on 9 November when the coverage will come direct from the race track. The five-minute daily packages will show first at 8.30pm in the UK and at 8.55pm across Europe [excluding Italy, France and Germany], Africa and the Middle East.

Discovery Channel will be chatting to Ellen and other skippers via video conference and satellite phone each day and will be interviewing the experts at the Team Kingfisher base in Cowes. The programme will also feature the latest images and audio sent back from boats via satellite from the four remote cameras situated on Kingfisher plus the two handheld cameras used to such good effect in the Vendée Globe last time.

Transmission times (GMT) – UK

Five-minute slots will run daily from 4 November as follows: Premier transmission 8.30pm repeated at 11.40pm, 1.50am, 8.55am, 11.55am, 3.55pm, 6.55pm

Weekends five-minute slots transmitted at 8.00pm

Sunday 10 November

7pm Ellen MacArthur – Taking on the World (1×60)

8pm Ellen MacArthur – Omnibus – the build up (1×30)

Each Saturday during race: Omnibus 9.30am (1 x 30) repeated 2.00pm

Each Sunday during race: Omnibus 9.30am (1 x 30) repeated 1.00pm

Transmission times (CET) – Europe (excluding France and Germany), Middle East, Africa

Five-minute slots will run daily from 4 November as follows Premier transmission 8.55pm repeated at 10.55pm, 12.55am, 3.55pm, 5.55pm

In addition, to the television coverage Ellen will continue to send back her daily log and latest photographic images that will be e-mailed out each day by the team in Cowes. Daily audio will be recorded, text messages sent with latest position of Kingfisher and the websites will be updated at regular times during the day.