Gitana Eighty skipper Loick Peyron stays in control at the front with Brit Air skipper Armel having his final chance for attack. Sam Davies onboard Roxy drops back to 7th place but only 12 miles in distance to finish separates her from Cervin ENR in 5th, this race is far from over for the chasing group of Open 60s in The Artemis Transat.
For the Class 40 fleet, as the north-south spread decreases to under 80 miles in the approach to the ice gate, Groupe Partouche (7th), Custo Pol (8th), Prevoir Vie (9th) and Groupe Royer (10th) are separated by 16 miles. After reporting a broken headsail furler this afternoon, Alex Bennett in 6th is matching speed at 8 knots with Miranda Merron on 40 Degrees in 5th. Just 11 miles separate the two boats.
The race leader, Telecom Italia, has taken over the southern position in the fleet as the overnight position blackout descends. So far, Beluga Racer in 2nd and Mistral Loisirs - Pole Sante ELIOR in 3rd are keeping pace, trailing Giovanni Soldini by 54 miles. Boris Herrmann and Thierry Bouchard are still under 1 mile apart.
