Non-stop world race Log Three:Damian Foxhall, co-skipper with Jean-Pierre Dick on Paprec Virbac in the Barcelona World Race, says after two weeks at sea, the pair are under pressure to maintain their lead

Today is make or break. All our hard work could go up in smoke and our tactics and the next stage of the race really depend on whether we have made the right call in our choice for tackling the infamous doldrums region just north of the Equator.

Since passing through the Canaries one week ago today, we have managed to hold and even extend our lead. At one point, we had almost 100 miles on Vincent Riou and Seb Josse on PRB, who have stuck to us like limpets in second place, waiting for our first mistake to take advantage.

Our choice at Gran Canaria was either duck out to the west or hug the African coast and head south. The usually reliable trade winds were absent, with a low-pressure system in their place. We almost went west but in the end opted to tack southward. Either seemed to have been a fair call as Roland Jourdain and Jean-Luc Néllas on Veolia Environment picked up to third place by going west.

But we maintained our lead and that's what counts for us.

Until we reached the Cape Verde Islands and cutting between these saw our lead drop once again as we gybed eight times in a single night. We probably sailed a few extra miles here but ultimately we were able to open ground on PRB, though shaking them off completely is a tough challenge.

From the Cape Verdes, we've been locked into an intense race to get as far west as possible to get set up for the doldrums crossing. So far, this region has been relatively stable and while we expect the fleet to gain on us, we're hoping to get through quickly and pick up the new trade winds on the other side.

For the last three days before reaching the doldrums, we have been surfing downwind at speeds of more than 20 knots. Exhilarating sailing for sure but this has placed massive demands on both of us physically as the autopilot can't handle this angle so we're hand-steering constantly. My right arm is aching and my legs are cramped but at least we're able to maintain a three-hours-on, three-hours-off watch system.

We spent most of Saturday afternoon getting the boat set up for crossing the doldrums, where we must prepare for sudden changes that could see us get zero to 30 knots of wind in seconds. We're not bothering with spinnakers as there's too much at stake if we get caught out.

So far our only repair has been to a torn kite and we want to keep it this way.

Once we get through, hopefully today, we can head straight for the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha, our next scoring gate. After that, we welcome our "third helmsman" back for a long reach southward toward the Southern Ocean and get settled for the biggest challenge that lies ahead.

But we've slowed, from 17 knots to just seven, while the others are watching our progress so could yet sail around us. This could yet prove to be a 240-mile stage to restart the entire race at the Equator.