"It's starting to feel like the South", said Vincent Riou today during the video conference, echoing what Jean-Pierre Dick noted this morning. But if the leaders are starting to take out warmer gear and seeing the horizon getting cloudier and cloudier, it's not the case for everyone, as Alex Thomson pointed out. Hugo Boss, like Veolia Environnement and Delta Dore, made important gains during the past 24 hours, but the leaders are back at full speed and won't be easy to catch...

"Going around the Saint Helena High has been slow, and to be honest we're quite impatient to encounter stronger winds", said Riou, still leading aboard PRB. "We caught a small front generating northerlies, and are still sailing under spinnaker, but we'll be glad to make progress under reefed main and staysail", he added.

According to the weather forecast, this will not happen before 24 to 48 hours, but Vincent and his co-skipper Sebastien Josse are naturally anxious to catch the "Southern train" and escape as soon as possible. A configuration which is not likely to please the boats at the back of the fleet, notably Mutua Madrilena (who lost some miles by temporarily heading west in search o f more pressure yesterday) and Estrella Damm.

Day 24 - December 4, 16:00 GMT - Position report with distance to leader

1. PRB - Vincent Riou / Sebastien Josse - 0.0
2. Paprec-Virbac 2 - Jean Pierre Dick / Damian Foxall - 31
3. Veolia Environnement - Roland Jourdain / Jean Luc Nelias - 178
4. Hugo Boss - Alex Thomson / Andrew Cape - 287
5. Delta Dore - Jeremie Beyou / Sidney Gavignet - 372
6. Temenos 2 - Dominique Wavre / Michele Paret- 532
7. Mutua Madrilena - Javier Sanso / Pachi Rivero - 782
8. Estrella Damm - Guillermo Altadill / Jonathan Mckee - 841
9. Educacion Sin Fronteras - Servane Escoffier / Albert Bargues - 1153

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