"So here we are in first place, with around 800 miles to go to the finish," says skipper of Nova Scotia, Rob McInally. "It will take a lot of work to maintain our position, especially as the wind can fill in from the south so the other boats get it first."

Liverpool 08 is hot on the heels of Nova Scotia with designs on relieving the Canadians of their pole position. "We could read the writing on the side of New York at a quarter of a mile this morning and Durban 2010 and Beyond are just behind with Nova Scotia on the horizon ahead. 47 miles to the Sunda Straight and Nova Scotia are getting bigger and New York is now almost two miles behind and getting smaller. The crew are finding it hard to sleep with anxiousness and excitement of taking the lead again before we get to the first gate. It's going to be close," says skipper Ben Galloway.

With the first boats now approaching the Sunda Straits and just 13 miles separating the leading four yachts, the frustrating conditions are set to continue. All the boats are reporting very light and, at times, no wind at all which is proving very trying for all the crews.

The very light southeasterly winds of 5 knots or less are set to continue for the next few days making it very difficult for the fleet to make any significant progress towards Singapore. As a result all of the boats are on the look out for any rain or squall clouds passing over head as these bring with them localised winds to push the boats along as well as rain which, in the intense heat, is very refreshing.

James Allen Head of Clipper Training explains: "Each time a cloud passes overhead the crew has to react quickly as the wind will suddenly shift direction and there will be an increase in wind strength requiring the sails to be changed in order to gain maximum benefit from the new breeze.

Unfortunately these squalls are generally short lived and can sometimes last as little as ten minutes, after which the wind will shift back to its original strength and direction, requiring yet another series of sail changes. The crews will all have to work hard if they are to optimise their boats performance in each squall."

Jamaica and Qingdao are making particularly slow progress and, having chosen a more westerly course, they are now positioned on the edge of a large wind hole, an area with even less wind. This will pass over them later today leaving them with no wind at all for a time.

The light winds are also causing problems for Race Director, Joff Bailey, as he starts to consider his options to ensure the fleet reaches Batam on schedule to muster for the coordinated arrival at the new Marina at Keppel Bay in Singapore on Saturday 19 January. The boats will be passing through a series of gates as they sail through the Sunda Straits and on to Batam. Any of these gates can be used to finish the race early if necessary. However Joff is keen to see the boats race into Batam. "It is all getting very close at the front. I just have to decide if we shorten the course but I would like this to be the first Clipper Race to actually race through this area," he says.

Joff will continue to monitor weather conditions and progress of the yachts from the Race Office in Singapore before making a decision.

POSITIONS AT 0600GMT 9 JANUARY 2008

1. Nova Scotia: Distance to Finish (DTF) 848 2. Liverpool 08: DTF 854 (Distance to Leader [DTL]: +6) 3. New York: DTF 857 (+9) 4. Durban 2010 and Beyond: DTF 861 (+13) 5. westernaustralia2011.com: DTF 894 (+46) 6. Hull & Humber: DTF 901 (+53) 7. Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper: DTF 902 (+54) 8. Uniquely Singapore: DTF 995 (+147) 9. Jamaica: DTF 1111 (+263) 10. Qingdao: DTF 1143 (+295)

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