Still in the high pressure which is stagnating off Argentina, Groupama 3 is trying to make as much headway as possible to the North. In order to do this, Franck Cammas and his men are having to tack in line with every shift to exploit these transitions: seven tack changes have been made since Sunday afternoon. 

Very attentive to the slightest wind shift since this weekend, Franck Cammas and navigator Stan Honey are remaining concentrated to exploit these rotations. Right now it's very much like a virtual race against Orange 2 with five years separation, and the giant trimaran is rather at ease since she has been designed for these light to moderate headwinds. However, the crew of Groupama 3 is having to react very quickly all the same, which isn't always easy at night, beneath an overcast sky and a waning moon. As such they're zigzagging their way northward.

"In high pressure conditions such as these, there is always a discrepancy between the grib files and the actual situation on the water: at the moment, we've fallen into a zone of light winds, probably due to a big squall to our right... The breeze should pick up radically at sunset to pump out 30-40 knots of E'ly on our beam: as such we're going to have to reduce the sail area and even set the heavy airs jib! We've got some work on our hands because the wind isn't as steady as all that... However, we've recovered well from the fatigue we'd amassed in the Deep South" indicated Franck Cammas at the 1130 UTC radio link-up with Groupama's Race HQ in Paris. 

With the central hull just kissing the surface of the water, the helmsmen are taking it in turns to keep the giant trimaran making headway on a single leeward float and at around 0900 UTC, Groupama 3 had put in her final tack change of the day. Indeed the wind had clocked round to the N and was gradually shifting round to the NE early this afternoon: the average speed was increasing to in excess of twenty knots again and the separation between her and Orange 2 was beginning to stabilise at 325 miles...

"The boat is really light and highly responsive, which makes it easy to tack since we don't need to do any stacking (shifting of moveable ballast). Furthermore, Groupama 3 is less heavy than when she left Ushant and you can really feel the difference because we've consumed a good hundred kilos or so of diesel and food... It's the first time we've been on a beat since 31st January. We're back on a route taking us almost due North until Tuesday morning, at which point we'll have to put in some more tacks to reach the tradewinds, which are still some 700 miles ahead of our bows. The temperatures are already milder, with overcast skies, but we're still sporting our foulies on deck!"

Franck Cammas estimated that he couldn't have a deficit of more than a day on crossing the equator! As such the pressure's really on over this phase of the course. Indeed Orange 2 only began to slow as she approached the latitude of Rio de Janeiro, but then her climb up to Recife proved to be fairly laboured. In fact it's becoming an increasingly established fact that bagging the Jules Verne Trophy record is still uncertain and everything will depend on their progress off Brazil... 

   As a result the aim of Franck Cammas and his men is to progress northward as quickly as possible, but there's not really any alternative in terms of the general strategy: Groupama 3 will have to close on the coast of South America, without getting too close to the shores of Brazil, where some stormy lows generating variable winds are in the process of forming... Therefore the next phase will involve a great deal of activity in the cockpit of the giant trimaran as the crew will have to link together multiple manoeuvres. "Groupama 3 is exiting the anticyclone in winds of around twenty knots, which are increasing in strength as they begin to veer: this will enable her to bend her course round from this afternoon, whilst simultaneously picking up the pace. However, from Tuesday evening and through until Thursday, the crew will have to negotiate a stormy zone along the shores of Brazil..." explained Sylvain Mondon from Météo France.