Four days ahead of the record

As Joyon set to cross the Equator this afternoon 9.5 days after his departure

Position at 10:00am 1deg 18.00N 25deg 40.00W
Distance from start: 3291.97 nm
Speed/course: 15.35 Nds / 205°

Nine days into his attempt on the singlehanded round the world record and Francis Joyon on the 90ft trimaran is this morning lining up for crossing the Equator at roughly 1800 today.

Remarkably the Doldrums don't seem to have slowed him down at all. As a result Joyon will have taken 9.5 days to reach the Equator, covering the 3,250 miles at an average of 15 knots. By comparison, Jean-Luc van den Heede on his singlehanded lap of the opposite way to Joyon crossed the Equator on day 15 of his voyage. "It amuses me looking at the track of Sport Elec in 1997 [the same boat Joyon is sailing, but fully crewed on their record-breaking Jules Verne attempt]. I am still a day and a half ahead of them! As for Michel Desjoyeaux [the current record holder] he crossed the Equator on day 14 at sea - so I am four days ahead of him!"

"I am out in the sun again with the Doldrums behind me," said Joyon. "I slowed down a little, but I was never completely becalmed." In the end he crossed the Doldrums at around 22deg 40W, considerably further east than is normal. After 100-200 miles of Doldrums conditions Joyon through and out into the southeasterly trades.

At present he is heading southwest on a bearing of 210deg making 16 knots under mainsail and staysail. His next job is to work out how best to play the South Atlantic high.