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'It was really nice to see people again after so long,' BULLIMORE said in a satellite phone call. 'The weather was perfect for a handover as we were drifting slowly, much as we had been doing all day.'

The wind died before daybreak and Daedalus sailed slowly toward the island, the crew enjoying the sunshine and relative calm after a few weeks of thunderous sailing through the Southern Ocean. With the handover complete and full sails hoisted, BULLIMORE and his team headed out into the Atlantic, another major milestone behind them, another ocean to cross ahead of them before they will finally be able to turn north and head to the finish in Qatar. At the 0700 hours GMT poll this morning Daedalus was over a hundred miles from Los Lobos sailing at 16 knots.

At the same 0700 GMT poll Doha 2006 was sliding past the Prince Edward Islands a hundred miles to the north. The islands are officially part of the Cape Province in South Africa and are steep sided with the peaks on Marion Island covered with snow year round. It is another fascinating piece of the planet that non-stop round-the-world sailors pass as they girdle the globe.

Doha 2006 is making steady progress as they reach towards the centre of the high pressure that dominates their weather pattern. The sun is shining through the thick fog as the boat romps along at 18 knots. In the next 24 hours they will have to alter course to the north to avoid running into the light winds in the high, but for now it is easy sailing as the big Qatari catamaran eats up the miles on their way back to Doha.