Yesterday conditions were looking evil for the frontrunners in the Barcelona World Race with areas of high pressure blocking their path to the Southern Ocean to the southeast, south and southwest.

The South is looming. The leading boats in the Barcelona World Race are expected to reach 40°S, the border post of the ‘deep south’, on Wednesday.

Having ticked 'Bay of Bengal' off their list, the Volvo Ocean Race boats have now entered the Strait of Malacca between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Primed and in pole position for the Southern Ocean, Cheminees Poujoulat and Neutrogrena had started to make fast speeds this morning, but this afternoon both had slowed again slig

The Volvo Ocean Race boats have been making slow progress east across the Bay of Bengal.

Prior to the start Alex Thomson warned that one third of the Barcelon

After leading the Barcelona World Race since the first full day of racing, for most of 14 days and having recently extended their lead on the water to what the skippers estimated to be around 60 mi

Alex Thomson and Pepe Ribes, skippers of the IMOCA 60 Hugo Boss, which was leading the Barcelona World Race, their mast overboard last night at 21.02 GMT.