McKee extends

As singlehanded Mini Pavois frontrunners round Ushant

Positions at 1800GMT

	Protos
Pos	Skipper	Boat	Lat	Long	DTF
1	Mc Kee Jonathan	Team Mc Lube	N475473	W0045065	290.8
2	Mérigeaux Richard	Bon Pied bon œil	N475415	W0043859	298
3	Mumbru Jaume	Port de Barcelona	N475380	W0043625	299.5
4	Doin Pascal	ASNQ	N475209	W0043496	301.1
5	Munslow Ian	Ishtar	N474598	W0043275	305.6
6	Raison David	Rayon Liquide	N474315	W0043620	305.7
7	Mirabel Michel	Gwalarn IV	N474880	W0042589	308
8	Mac Carthy Cian	The Tom Crean	N474550	W0042853	308.2
9	Cornic Antoine	Groupe Affiches Parisiennes	N474426	W0042618	310.2
9	Tymen Erwan	POGO 2	N474083	W0043035	310.2
11	Sudrie Erwann	Gwen Ha Du	N474392	W0041966	314.1
12	Roux Frédéric	Pepito	N475985	W0035793	323.1
13	Valentin Thomas	Thomas Hawk	N475391	W0035858	323.5
14	Currier Adam	Sabita	N472916	W0041253	326.9
15	Huusela Ari	Eunet Finland	N472563	W0041492	328.3
16	Blin Raoul	Ozone	N471385	W0040894	339.9
17	Wright Donald	Russe Noire	N471438	W0040532	341
18	Duval Frédéric	Sojasun	N474320	W0032202	350
18	Coquelet Pascal	Tobedoo	N474464	W0032147	350
20	Defert Eric	Amiral de Bretagne	N460872	W0011005	474.8
21	Dixneuf Jérôme	Barberet Composites	N471546	W0022081	538.6
NC	Gown David	Square Peg	-	-
		Series
Pos	Skipper	Boat	Lat	Long	DTF
1	Maisonneuve Brieuc	Groupe SIM Travail Temporaire	N474946	W0042953	305.5
2	Abalain Erwan	Marion Noêl Conseil	N474888	W0042696	307.3
3	Rubio de Teran Lionel	Semelle de Vent	N474516	W0042853	308.4
4	Lecharpentier Bertrand	Wake Up	N474355	W0042310	312.3
5	Beauvais Rémi	Taquet Max	N474281	W0042291	312.8
6	Croisel Bruno	Landes Installations / Océan Bleu	N474543	W0041458	316.3
7	Guillerm Fabrice	Rault le Service Alimentaire	N473781	W0041945	317.7
8	Guillevic Pierre-Yves	Indigo	N474069	W0040782	322.5
9	Vrignault Tiphaine	Mitsubishi pour Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque	N473781	W0041045	322.6
10	Bourbonnais Benoit	Marine Equipement	N473336	W0041476	323
11	Poujol Cécile	Fifrelin	N473788	W0040401	326.2
12	Volk-Leonovitch Vincent	Goudurix 2	N474226	W0035373	330.3
13	Rafflegeau Flore	Aleph III	N473258	W0035353	335
14	Lavagna Eric	Barracuda Blues	N473188	W0034442	340.6
15	Botin Gonzalo	Don Vito	N474704	W0032283	348.5
NC	Lepere Thomas	Creac’h	-	-

In his first singlehanded offshore race in the Mini class American 49er and Soling Olympic medallist Jonathan McKee is putting in a blinder. As he approaches Ouessant (which he will round tonight) McKee has pulled out a 7 mile lead over his nearest rivals.

The moderate to strong westerlies of the last 24 hours have taken their poll on the fleet with several retirements - including two favourites: Armel Tripon and Frederic Duval.

The highly rated Tripon, who won the recent Course de Lions, on board his Moulin Roti has experienced pilot problems and has been forced to put into La Trinite-sur-Mer.

Meanwhile Frederic Duval, sailing Sojasun, the boat in which Yannick Bestaven won both legs of the Mini Transat in 2001, experienced problems with the boat's rig. Other boats have pulled out with autopilot or batten issues.

The main issue on competitors minds as they go into their second night at sea on their own is what lies in store for them as they cross the Channel. The course is such that it should minimise their exposure to shipping. However it will be the weather as they cross the Channel which the Met Office shipping forecast states will be "west or southwest, [force] 5-7, occasionally gale 8" that will be of concern.

These westerlies look to be established for the next few days and will provide a lively run down the coast to Portsmouth once the boats have rounded the Eddystone lighthouse off Plymouth Sound.