The maxi-catamaran Orange is continuing to record a reasonable average speed on her second attempt at the Jules Verne Challenge. In less than optimum weather conditions, she’s clocked up 475 miles since midday yesterday, and is now 60 miles north-east of Madeira.

Bruno Peyron commented during today’s radio bulletin: “Our average speed has suffered a little and we have just got ourselves free of three hours of calm. We’re currently sailing in a very narrow corridor of wind and we’re passing one line of squalls after another. The wind goes from 6-7 knots to 35 knots with the sky that goes with it. I counted 23 sail changes in the last 24 hours and it is very damp!”

Over the next few days, Team Orange will be channelling down the two centres of low pressure, one over the southern Azores and the other over southern Portugal. “The objective, says Peyron, “is to avoid the zones of calms on the edges of both systems and put in gybe after gybe to remain in the narrow corridor of wind.”