MacArthur ahead of world record

Map: Ellen's route

Ellen MacArthur is eight hours ahead of record pace in her attempt to set a new solo fastest time around the world.

The 28-year-old Brit was on deck most of Sunday night in a bid to keep her her 75-foot trimaran B&Q moving in flat calm through the doldrums.

"Some sleep overnight but resting with the wind up and down is pretty hard work but we seem to be almost out of doldrums," she told her website.

Averaging 15 knots, she is on course to set a new record to the equator.

In the nine days since setting sail from Falmouth, Ellen has made a fantastic start in her record attempt.

B&Q stats: Length: 22.9m (75ft) Width: 16.2m (53ft) Weight: 8 tonnes Mast height: 30m (100ft) Sail area: Main - 160sq m: Genoa 106 sq m: Large gennaker 213 sq m

At one stage she forged almost 14 hours ahead of the pace set by Frenchman Francis Joyon last year when he broke the record in a time of of 72 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes and 22 seconds.

Ellen's 15-knot average speed was cut by the expected light winds of the doldrums - but she has managed to hang onto enough of her advantage to put her on course to reach the equator in record solo time.

With 200 miles to go, Ellen is on course to cross into the southern hemisphere at midnight on Monday.

If she does, it will be a new record solo time to the Equator taking up to 16 hours off Joyon's record - he did it in nine days, eight hours and 23 minutes.

For Ellen to beat this time, she must cross before 16:33:44 GMT on Tuesday.

Only five solo sailors have attempted a record circumnavigation on a multihull and only Joyon made it all the way round non-stop.

In 1989, France's Olivier de Kersauson stopped to make repairs in his 125-day trip, as did Philippe Monnet in 1987 and Alain Colas in 1974.

During the Golden Globe race of 1968-69, won by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in the monohull Suhaili, Nigel Tetley's multihull Victress sank 1100 miles from the finish, though as he had crossed his outbound track he had technically lapped the planet.