The pair have been battling it out at the head of the 60ft monohull fleet for more than five days but by 0700GMT MacArthur's Kingfisher had opened up a 15-mile gap.

Golding, on Ecover, had enjoyed a one-mile lead just four hours earlier but gybed south, crossing MacArthur's path and losing ground.

The nearest challenger to MacArthur and Golding, who are southwest of the Azores, is Frenchman Joe Seeten on Arcelor-Dunkerque over 300 miles adrift.

In Class 2, for 50ft monohulls, Australian Nick Moloney, a team-mate of MacArthur's at Offshore Challenges, leads by 69 miles from France's Luc Coquelin.

Meanwhile, leading the 60ft multihull fleet is Swiss sailor Steve Ravussin, on TechnoMarine.

Fauconnier rescued

He is 250 miles ahead of closest rival Jean-Louis Roucayrol on Banque Populaire but only four miles ahead of Kingfisher.

Skipper Karine Fauconnier, on Sergio Tacchini, had to be rescued early on Sunday from her disabled yacht by another participant.

Fauconnier, 30, is in good health and on her way to the Portuguese islands of Madeira aboard the yacht Adecco Etoile Horizon.

On Friday, Fauconnier had told shore crew that the starboard float of her trimaran had punctured, leading her to dump the mast.

But Portuguese rescue helicopters could not be sent because Sergio Tacchini was out of range, and the sea was too rough.

The leaders still have over 1,700 miles left to sail and the leading monohulls are expected to reach the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe on 22 November.

If the estimated time of arrival is correct, the monohull record of 15 days 19 hours 23 minutes, set by Yves Parlier in 1994, would tumble.

The race began in the French port of St Malo on 9 November.