Cape Horn ahoy

New record time to the Horn, as Groupama 3 cruises back into the Atlantic

Franck Cammas and the crew of Groupama 3 passed the longitude of Cape Horn at 1830 GMT this evening (4 March), holding a slender lead of 8 hours 55 minutes or 175 miles over the Jules Verne Trophy record holder, Orange 2 . Her total elapsed time since leaving Ushant stands at 32d 04h 34'.

Conditions as the beginning of this final stage of her round the world lap - the ascent of the Atlantic back to Ushant - is set to be complicated thanks to an area of high pressure that is blocking the direct route north.

With 7000 miles still to sail, Bruno Peyron and his crew took over 18 days to climb the Atlantic. She made good progress to the Equator, which she managed in 8 days 5 hours and 36 minutes, but struggled in the North Atlantic taking another 9 days 11 hours and 15 minutes before she was able to re-cross the start line. In theory boat for boat Cammas' trimaran should be the faster on this stretch of the round the world race course.