Conrad Humphreys the british Skipper from Plymouth, racing the Class 40 "Cat Phones" was making good progress, great speeds and caught up some miles, but then disaster struck when he was dismasted yesterday afternoon, putting him out of the race. A bitterly disappointed Conrad has received some diesel from a passing ship and is now heading for the Portuguese mainland.

This race is an all round gruelling ultimate test for boats and skippers. The first part of the race battling the lows and headwinds until you pick up the tradewinds which for the last couple of years have been unsettled.

For the skippers, sea sickness, tiredness, not eating or drinking regular meals, rough weather, TSS schemes and other competitors makes it a very difficult race to manage single handed. Sir Robin still in 7th place gave up smoking a few days ago, because he ran out of cigarettes. A tot of whisky and a cigarette are his preferred celebration methods at sea.

The boats: keeping the boats damage free and the miles ticking off, without any stops to repair damage is the mission. There are some boats which are almost untouchable. Peyron now only has 1000 miles to go, whilst some of the pack are still running down the Portuguese coast battling headwinds. He still has a chance of beating the 7 days, 17 hours record set in 2006. As he nears the finish the boat will require constant trimming with squally an unsettled winds.

In this race you cannot rely on luck alone, as a skipper you need to be resourceful, be able to fix stuff and make the right decision at the right time. You must look after the boat at all times but squeeze those extra miles out of the boat to catch up or keep ahead when conditions allow. Most of theses skippers are used to single handed sailing, your mental state could be one of the largest battles, that and keeping the boat damage free.