Mark Francois News

Royal Navy warship HMS Argyll has seized £21 million worth of cocaine after a 12-hour pursuit across the Caribbean, informs the Ministry of Defence. Sailors then transferred the cocaine to a US Coast Guard vessel. After receiving information that a suspicious-looking vessel had been spotted by a maritime patrol aircraft, HMS Argyll, which is on counter-narcotics operations in the region, deployed to intercept it. Argyll’s Lynx helicopter confirmed the vessel was acting in a way typical of being operated by drug smugglers, and her sea boats were sent across to capture the crew and contraband. Once on board, members of a US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment and Royal Navy sailors discovered nearly 600 kilos of cocaine wrapped in bin bags.

Close to the hypothetical half-way mark Francois Gabart (MACIF) and Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) lead the Vendée Globe 2012/13 race. After separating briefly on Saturday, Francois Gabart (MACIF) and Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) were back together on Sunday slanting towards the West Pacific gate, 650 miles away. Gabart is just 3.4 miles ahead and 25 miles south of Le Cléac’h. Their present speed in a northwest wind, averaging the fastest in the fleet, with Gabart making 20.5 knots over the last four hours.