A duel at the front as the fleet stretches, Equator today for the leaders

As the six competitors on the Arkéa Ultim Challenge-Brest contemplate the end of their first week of racing, the leaders are sailing directly south towards the Brazilian coast and the fleet is now really well stretched out.

The pacemaking duo Tom Laperche and Charles Caudrelier are still side-by-side at less than five miles apart with the second duo  Armel Le Cléac'h and Thomas Coville now more 280 miles behind and about 40 miles apart. And 570 miles away, Anthony Marchand is fifth and Éric Péron brings up the rear near the Cape Verdes.

After a week of regatta intensity the gaps have widened since the fleet emerged from for the passage of the depression Wednesday and Thursday and the leaders have dropped down into the traded winds. The fleet now extends over 780 miles from the north of Cape Verde to the north of Brazil. The leaders this morning have just over 200 miles to the Equator and should cross into the Southern Hemisphere later today. At 0700hrs this morning  Tom Laperche (SVR-Lazartigue) was leading the race by just 4.5 miles ahead of Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild)!

"There has been no significant weather phenomenon in terms of conditions in recent hours," reports Frédéric Lepeutrec, assistant race director. "The first four are heading south and are gradually getting into the trade winds, the elastic is stretching. They are contemplating the Doldrums which look relatively straightforward for them, quite simple to cross."

After being slowed periodically yesterday Armel Le Cléac'h (Maxi Banque Populaire XI) in third seems to back up to speed. His team did not report any difficulties or technical problems to the race management. And Maxi Banque Populaire XI and has averaged  27 knots in recent hours.

About forty miles away from Le Cléac'h,  Sodebo Ultim 3 continues to make good progress. In a video sent yesterday, Thomas Coville shared  "a moment of pleasure": the wind was filling back coming in and his ULTIM was back to lift off mode.

"That means that everything really comes back to life it all gets going again," Covile says with a smile on his face.

If "the elastic is stretching" between the two pairs at the head of the race, it will stretch even more for Anthony Marchand who is still heading to the West but has to face a windless zone which really slows his progress. This morning the skipper of Actual Ultim 3 was barely making 7 knots of speed. It also looks tricky for Éric Péron (Ultim Adagio).

"He must bypass the cetacean protection zone around the Cape Verde archipelago before crossing a windless zone which is a bit of a road block for him," outlines Lepeutrec.