As the leaders of the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest, Tom Laperche (SVR Lazartigue) and Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild), head south in a steadily building trade wind, some 610 miles north of the Equator, we re-run the first days of this solo race around the world on the giant ULTIMs with the expert views of some of the routing teams who work round the clock to help define the course for their skippers. We have Pep Costa (SVR Lazartigue), Erwan Israel (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild), Yves Le Blevec (Actual Ultim 3) and David Lanier (ULTIM ADAGIO) who look back on this intense and exciting first week.

THE START OF THE RACE. "They were in a 'Figaro' type intense atmosphere"

Erwan Israel (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild): "We were really happy that it was so close, like a race. We had the impression that it was more like the Route du Rhum! What was interesting was that there were lots of plays to be made and we were all pushing each other, it was tight at the the front. On our side we are really happy, we never took any extreme options, we made conservative choices which paid off and we were never in a position to lose ground."

Pep Costa (SVR Lazartigue): "The weather has been complicated, tricky not a typical north Atlantic as there has been no trade winds and there was mostly a very big low pressure in the Atlantic located south of the Azores at the latitude between the Canary Islands and the Cape Verdes, so everything has been quite disrupted and so that is why the north Atlantic has been so disrupted. But at the end of the day these boats are super fast and so it is going well. There have been a lot of things to take car about, where he could have lost time, like the high pressure before the low pressure ronding Madeira. We could have lost quite a lot of ground there but we managed to do a nice strategy there and we got through the low very well with the boat at 100 per cent of its capacity. We got as south as possible, Tom is well rested and everything is good. Now tonight we gybe on a light winds zone before catching up with the trade winds which we are entering little by little."

Yves Le Blevec (Actual Ultim 3): "For us, everything is going well. It was a bit strange on land: we spent months, years preparing for this round the world and we fell into a bit of an unknown phase when the boats left. Anthony showed remarkable serenity. He didn't need transition time to get into it as was straight away at 100% of his potential. For three days, they all were in a 'Figaro' mode before groups were formed. But 'Antho' has already found the right rhythm."

David Lanier (ULTIM ADAGIO): "Eric doesn't have the same strategy as the others, nor the same speed. Our objective is to finish, to bring the boat back and to do the best with the boat's potential. Our idea is to always get as close as possible to the direct route. We crossed a first front near Cape Finisterre with a lot of uncertainty about the strength and direction of the wind. At Madeira where the leaders went West, we tried an option to the East and we did not do badly."

THE FIRST BIG FRONT, THE FIRST BIG CHALLENGE; "It all went to plan."

Israel: "There was very strong wind, storms, gusts. The idea was above all not to damage the boat, to choose the most conservative route while staying very fast. There was no other option. We had to get into the wind corridor between the high pressure in the West and the secondary depression. Then, we had a downwind before Madeira. There was no reason to go further north and head west! The first five generally took the same option even if some tried small things."

Costa: "We wanted to be as south in the front as possible as we knew that even a few miles would make a big difference, and we managed to do that. The further north you were, the deeper the low, the more aggressive the front and so we wanted to be as south as possible as we wanted to take care of the boat. And we saw a real difference. We passed 15-20 miles further south compared to the others and we saw only average 30-32 knots, with a few bigger gusts. It was super, super strong the sea was nasty. But everything was good, we are happy because the boat is at 100% and Tom is in good shape. The timing was good, we passed where we wanted to, it all went to plan."

Le Blevec: "There were tough conditions, a solid front, a massive depression with storms, squalls. It shook up the boats and everyone had their share of little problems, not very serious. They had a reasonable course everyone followed the same route. There was a more optimal and committed route but for strategic reasons, they preferred to be in contact with each other."

David Lanier (ULTIM ADAGIO): "Éric (Péron) had warned that he did not want to go onto winds of of 40 to 45 knots. We went with a southern strategy and there was 30, 35 knots of wind and 4 to 5 meters of waves. Only being at the fifth day of racing, it was important not to take any risks for the boat and to manage Éric's level of fatigue too. That worked and he is in good physical and mental shape."

WHAT'S NEXT? "We are looking at the southern Atlantic and it looks good."

Israel: "We have had better breeze up at the front and the wind is lighter behind. and that pays off for us and SVR-Lazartigue. I think it will stabilize in the next few hours. We have gybed, we are heading towards the Doldrums. We are going to cross the front again which is disintegrating downwind and then it's straight ahead, on the port tack. There are obviously small things on the boat but nothing that penalizes our speed. The boat is at 100% of its potential and Charles is at the right pace!"

Costa: "At last we are going to the deep trades, we are slowly approaching the Equator and looking ahead to the Southern Hemisphere, but first we have the Doldrums to pass by. We know there are always a bit tricky. We don't know where the others will cross but we think the others will have the same strategy. We are following the others all the time, especially Gitana who we are really, really close with. The entry to the South Atlantic looks good but will depend a bit on the exact timing, it looks lkike a smooth transition. We are looking all the way to Bonne Esperance (Cape of Good Hope), it looks fast. We will look at it in more detail as we get to the Doldrums but generally the South Atlantic looks good and fast. Tom is good and the boat is good. The boat is 100% and he is super happy. We all know how good Tom is and how good Jean Yves is, it is a great combination. We knew that if the boat is good and it is sailed well we should be in the match and here we are. We could no ask for more but this is only the beginning, there will be lots of tough moments ahead. But for me it is a great experience, learning from all these masters is incredible."

Yves Le Blevec: "These next days will be in the tropics, a manageable wind and the doldrums which don't look too uncomfortable. Then, with the routing cell, we will start to look at the entrance to the south to see the routing that we can find, consider different scenarios. 'Antho' must focus on maintaining his rhythm. Obviously, as a competitor, it wasn't easy to see the others escape just now and it's obviously a little painful. But we knew it was going to happen and, above all, 'Antho' is exactly where we expected it to be."

Lanier: "Of course, it's not easy for Eric to see the others escape. We talked about it in our messages this morning but it's part of the game, we try to make the most of the boat's potential. In the next few hours, we will have to cross a ridge with not much wind and catch the northeast trade winds which are not very strong before crossing the Doldrums. The first were far enough west to avoid the sluggish areas that we have on our direct route. With the speeds, the gaps should widen further. But our idea is to travel as little as possible while trying to avoid windless areas."

RACE UPDATE. The top duo have opened the gap

This Friday afternoon, the leading have opened a gap. Tom Laperche (SVR-Lazartigue) and Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild) are now more than 180 miles ahead of their nearest rivals They gybed early in the morning and are heading due south looking for the trade winds and to get closer to the doldrums. Yesterday afternoon, the two men were only around thirty miles ahead! Behind, the speeds of Armel Le Cléac'h (Maxi Banque Populaire XI) have been patchy, indicating he has had some problems perhaps. In the morning around 0600hrs he was around 5kts and heading NW and then this afternoon again he was as slow as 13kts but Banque Populaire XI is making 24.6 kts this afternoon, very much at the same kind of speeds as the pacemakers whilst he is racing in less breeze.