Just over 20 miles separate the top four crews as Groupama continues to lead the Challenge Mondial, with Ellen MacArthur's Foncia-Kingfisher back in fourth place.

An area of low pressure on Saturday has slowed the leading boats, which are not expected to reach the Straits of Gibraltar until Sunday morning.

Gitana IX has closed to within 129.8 miles of the leading boat and is in fifth place.

It will effectively be like a race restart when the winds pick up late on Saturday.

Groupama captain Franck Cammas said: "We were forced to bear away and go a little bit South as the wind died sooner than expected.

"Now it has picked up a little bit again, but we're sailing upwind at a slow speed.

"Therefore our ETA for Gibraltar is not Saturday night anymore. We might only get there on Sunday morning. It should be very calm there."

Difficult finish

He added: "This morning, it has been like a new start in the race. It is the fourth time it happens since the start last Saturday. I hope that we'll lead at the next start and at the finish."

Earlier in the day, MacArthur summed up the situation.

"We are approaching the end of the race and we're going to have to negotiate these last 500 miles well, because it is going to be difficult in the Mediterranean with the winds which are not reliable," she said.

It is all set up a for an unpredictable finish.