At 1830 this evening Sam Manuard, the 32-year-old, was just 15 miles away from crossing the finish line of the first leg of the Mini Transat. Sailing his own-designed proto, 431- Tip Top Too, Manuard has spent the day working hard keeping his nearest rival Jonathan McKee off his transom.

With a continuing steady breeze and 8kts of boat speed as he heads towards the finish line in Lanzarote, Manuard looks set to win the first leg of the race, after a nine-day battle with McKee.

Positions

1 431 Samuel Manuard TIP TOP TOO – LE GRAU DU ROI PORT CAMARGUE proto

2 247 Jonathan Mc Kee TEAM MC LUBE proto

3 151 Armel Tripon MOULIN ROTY proto

4 265 Frédéric Duthil ALL MER proto

5 316 Pia L’Obry EXPATRIA.FR proto

6 393 Cian Mc Carthy THE TOM CREAN proto

7 139 François Cuinet REGLISSE proto

8 312 Pascal Doin ASNQ proto N295120 W0131331 0068.0 9 354 Bruno Garcia SALADINO proto

10 240 Alex Pella AQUATEC – SANTIVERI – TEXKNIT proto

11 347 Pierre Rolland EXTRADO proto