Arnaud Boissières is back up to speed, and back in good spirits, after a frustrating stretch becalmed in the Atlantic.
The skipper spent several hours going nowhere fast, stuck in the kind of windless patch that tests patience more than skill. Now the breeze has returned, and so has the boat's pace.
He is some 500 miles from Guadeloupe, with the trade winds expected to fill back in, helping him push harder and claw back a few places on the fleet ahead. The boat, he reports, is in fine shape despite the pétole.
There is still the matter of rounding the island to come. That final approach around Guadeloupe has a habit of producing fierce last-minute battles among the fleet, and this edition looks set to be no different.
For now, though, the mood aboard is upbeat. Wind in the sails changes everything out there, and Boissières clearly feels it.
