As seven boats are penalised for wrongly crossing the traffic separation scheme off Finisterre

Banque Populaire still ahead as there is compression across the fleet

Banque Populaire piling on the miles again as Golding takes a westerly option

Broken keel ram cannot be fixed without outside assistance

But the passage is lining up to be a quick one, as Alex Thomson turns boatbuilder

As the race leaders charge south to the Doldrums

Banque Populaire extends while PRB is on a charge as the boats approach the Cape Verdes

Compression at the front of the fleet as Banque Populaire eases ahead

As personal match races develop in the Vendee Globe

Vendee Globe leaders on to the rollercoaster south

As the west starts to come good for Banque Populaire and PRB

As MACIF continues to extend in the Vendee Globe

MACIF still leads but PRB is battling west to be first into some strong northerlies

Frontrunners approaching Lisbon as skippers attempt to figure out how best to deal with Wednesday's depression

Five OCS as Bertrand de Broc's IMOCA 60 is holed by his team's RIB

Denis Horeau shares his views on the solo non-stop around the world race

Brisk start for the Vendee Globe fleet

The grand tour concludes with Sam Davies' Saveol, Tanguy de LaMotte's Initiatives Coeur and the race favourite Banque Populaire

We take a more mathematical look at who might do well in the solo non-stop round the world race

The Golding and Thomson tour continues with the 2008 Finot designs and Jean le Cam's Synerciel

Mike Golding and Alex Thomson contemplate Bernard Stamm's Juan K-designed Cheminees Poujoulat and Javier Sanso's Acciona

Today Thomson and Golding contemplate Safran, her titanium keel and milled carbon fibre mast track

Alex Thomson and Mike Golding contemplate Maitre Coq, while Gamesa's skipper tells us of his boat and its interceptor

Mike Golding and Alex Thomson continue their insightful tour of the IMOCA 60 fleet

Mike Golding and Alex Thomson share their thoughts on the IMOCA fleet

2012-13 Vendee Globe presented in Paris

Set-back for Maitre Coq Vendee Globe campaign

Refit complete on Jeremie Beyou's new IMOCA 60