SIMON WALKER and the crew of Toshiba Wave Warrior continue to lead the BT Global Challenge fleet after two days at sea, but only just. They were calculated to be one mile ahead of Chris Tibbs in Concert yesterday afternoon, halfway across the Bay of Biscay, almost exactly midway between Ushant and Cape Finisterre.

The change in the weather had more than a handful of crews working on the boats - the early gales, which saw many of the crew seasick, had abated and the wind veered into the north-west. The 14 boats were broad reaching, some with spinnakers but most with big headsails as the wind backed slightly in the morning. Concert reported the wind speed as 22 knots.

The next two boats are Richard Tudor with Nuclear Electric and Mike Golding's Group 4. These two skippers, veterans of the last race, are neck-and-neck. Tudor reported that Group 4 was clearly visible on the starboard quarter. His only complaint was that recipes for the dehydrated food were missing.

Food was the only real problem for the disabled crew of Time & Tide, bringing up the rear of the fleet. Cold porridge was considered unacceptable by the on deck watch, although like most crews they had to report that some lifejackets had inadvertently inflated for a variety of reasons.