MacArthur's diary

Ellen is contending with windy conditions on day seven

In her latest email to BBC Sport Online, Ellen MacArthur says that the wind is making the race a lottery.

This morning we have got really light airs. We are making slow progress.

The sea is very flat, which is great for the boat, because the floats are not slamming in the waves and are not slowing the boat.

But we lost the wind last night and this morning we saw Bayer behind us.

Groupama is 70 miles to the north and making 15 knots, so quicker than us. They have probably got more wind in the north but the game is not over yet.

Yesterday morning we had no wind and Groupama overtook us by 40 miles, but finally we caught them up again in the night.

The conditions are not very stable, it's a bit like Russian roulette in this race.

In addition with the wind changing virtually every 10 minutes, we have got our work cut out keeping the boat going correctly.

So when we see another competitor coming up behind, it's a bit stressful.

Ellen.