He is at 769 miles ahead of Roland Jourdain and, although Veolia Environnement has picked up speed again, he is still losing miles. It could be 800 by tomorrow.

Brian Thompson, who since weeks pre-start, always said he relished the miles up the Atlantic, is doing a great job, making 14.3 knots average between the rankings – four hours to 1830GMT – and 14.5 in the 1h speed gun. He is now 214 miles ahead of Dee and 260 miles behind Sam Davies who has slowed in the Doldrums to just over 6 knots.

For the moment, an air of calm reigns in Port Olona, but behind the scenes, the preparations are in full swing.  The most visible sign is the presence of delivery trucks around the tents in the village, as the exhibitors prepare their stands.

Outside broadcast vans have already appeared and in the nerve centre that is Race HQ, the organisers are hard at work.

With less than four days to go before the celebrations begin, it is the calm before the storm in Les Sables.

A sharp contrast to what can be expected to happen this weekend with the inauguration of the Village, and the arrival of crowds of journalists, shore teams and visitors in the port. Over the course of a few hours, with the atmosphere building, the town will once again bathe in the unique party atmosphere that we saw before the start.