Davies fights home sickness and Guillemot for third spot

Time is simply dragging for some,but for many of the remaining Vendée Globe skippers their primary goal is getting home as quickly and safely as possible, such is the spread of the fleet.

The exceptions are Britain's Sam Davies in Roxy and Frenchman Marc Guillemot (Safran) who are locked in a battle for third place, but even Davies has admitted that she is looking forward to a long shower and home comforts. Davies has 2,100 miles to go to Les Sables d'Olonne in France and is 178 miles ahead of Guillemot.

Armel Le Cléac'h (Brit Air), looking secure in second with 841 miles to the finish, had a rough night working through the spicy Atlantic low pressure systems. In big seas and winds over 40 knots the Frenchman eased back, but was making 16-17 knots yesterday evening and might make home tomorrow.

The only sailor sitting pretty is Michel Desjoyeaux, who piloted Foncia to victory on Sunday, the only finisher so far.

Meanwhile running hard to stand still, the greater the success the greater could be the frustration for a British challenge for the America's Cup which is already being described as the best since 1934.

The short-term problems are simple. They are called Alinghi, BMW Oracle, Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand, in that order, over the next five days of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in New Zealand, culminating with a race against the Italian team Damiani. The effects of a Byzantine scoring system include the fact that Britain's Team Origin cannot fail to make the quarter-finals and if they were to be top dog after those five races they would have an automatic place in the challenger final. This, however, would cut down the amount of racing which they badly need.