Francis Joyon is working hard today to find the best sailing conditions for the final few days of his round the world voyage. The south-westerly wind has allowed him to remain on the Great Circle route, taking him directly towards Brest.

But after 55 days of sailing and with more than 25,000 miles on the clock, IDEC is showing the strain: the Frenchman is still worried about the rigging screw which has given him a problem and he will start to experience some gales soon, generated by a low-pressure area circulating in the North Atlantic.

With 1,100 miles to go to the finish, Joyon is now expected to arrive in Brest sometime on Saturday night.

He is sailing the 98ft trimaran in order beat Ellen MacArthur’s solo, non-stop, round-the-world record of 71 days which she made two years ago in her own trimaran B&Q which is 22ft LOA shorter than IDEC.