At 23:17 GMT on Wednesday 3 March, the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran’s position was 03°59’N, 28°56’W.

This longitude position confirms that the least bad point for crossing the Equator lies further west than the average of those positions recorded for previous Jules Verne Trophy attempts.

Olivier DE KERSAUSON and his crew are now having to deal with northerly winds coming from dead astern, which means more gibing (tacking before the wind) and therefore considerably more distance to be covered. Naturally, this reduces their point-to-point speed. But for how long we wonder.