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B&Q is building a lead that may be needed to absorb the losses at the Doldrums as Ellen sails B&Q fast northwards to the Equator, 270 miles further up the race track. Ellen's fast growing advance, standing at 1 day and 5 hours this morning, is principally down to Joyon having a terrible time at this point in his circumnavigation - although things improved quickly for him after this point. Looking back at his VMG distances [VMG is distance sailed towards the finish, not through the water] - he only made 162 miles on Day 60 and just 130 miles on day 61 compared to Ellen who sailed 388 miles VMG yesterday.

But Ellen may well have to sacrifice her lead as she negotiates the Doldrums tomorrow, she is already thinking about her offering to Neptune at the Equator: 'I haven't decided yet what to give to Neptune but it will be the most precious thing I have to give to get us home.' Overnight average wind speeds ranged between 13-19 knots and continued to turn further into the south, working Ellen hard in keeping B&Q moving at optimum speed as the breeze increased from midnight onwards. With the present wind angle and sea conditions, B&Q can carry full main and genoa up to 15 knots, changing down to Solent jib when the breeze starts to tip over the 15 knot mark, then 1 reef in the mainsail as it edges towards 20 knots. Sailing with the wind coming from a more southerly direction will provide a more stable ride compared to the uncomfortable reaching conditions of yesterday.

B&Q should reach the equator in the early hours of tomorrow morning, aiming for a crossing at 29-30 degrees west. Joyon, who got stuck close to the coast of Brazil in his approach to the Equator, crossed much further west at 32 degrees west. He was fortunate to sail IDEC straight through, even picking up the north-east Trade Winds south of the Equator. The pressure is on Ellen to get across the Equator and to the Doldrums, currently positioned at 1-3 degrees north, as soon as possible. Latest satellite imagery is showing the Doldrums activity increasing after 1800gmt tomorrow.

Big areas of squalls in the doldrums will keep Ellen on full alert. With the airflow moving more vertically than horizontally as the SE and NE Trades come together, this can produce a suction effect resulting in either no wind or more often than not violent rain squalls with strong gusts of wind that can have a catastrophic result if a skipper is caught unawares. The main Doldrum activity appears to be west of 30 degrees west stretching over a 180 mile area north-south. Ellen will be aiming to pass through the narrowest band of Dodrum activity between 30-28 degrees west, although Commanders' still expect this band to be around 120 miles across. Today the breeze is expected to stay in the 15-20 knot range before starting to back towards the east as B&Q gets close to the Equator.

The outlook north of the equatoor is showing NE and ENE Trade Winds filling in around 3-4 degrees north increasing steadily as Ellen's pushes northwards. The key objective for Ellen once back in the Northern Hemisphere will be not to get pushed west of 35 degrees west as winds will be much lighter from 12 degrees north. A low moving north towards the Azores will provide some fast sailing conditions early next week but a huge high pressure sitting to the west of Scotland will prove critical to B&Q's route to the finish depending on which way it moves. That is all to come, for now Ellen's immediate concern is to get to through the Doldrums with some of her advantage in tact.