Britain's Alex Thomson lead the eighth edition of the Vendee Globe solo non stop around the world race into the Southern Hemisphere when he crossed the Equator at 1905hrs UTC this Tuesday evening. The solo skipper of Hugo Boss sets a new reference time for the passage from Les Sables d'Olonne of 9 days 7 hours and 3 minutes. This betters the 2004 passage time of Jean Le Cam by 1 day and four hours.
For the seven front runners, the Doldrums are in their wake. But further back, there are races within the race. They still have the Doldrums to deal with and the fleet is likely to stretch out over the coming days.
Enda O Coineen (Kilcullen Voyager Team Ireland) in 27th place: "Upfront Alex Thomson seems to be pulling clear, I would love him to win. Back here, we're happily moving along on a more leisurely fashion. I think my detour around the Canaries did not help - together with sail problems. Also being away from the fleet, one possible explanation is that I have been sailing at slightly wider angles. The next big decision is to whether to take a course straight through the Islands (Cape Verde) or gybe and go more west where the wind angles and breeze could be a bit better - though since I will hit the island durning the day, the scenic route may be more interesting."