"Yesterday, I was very motivated and settled down to some work: making the coach roof and portholes watertight, tidying up the cockpit, taking photos and filming…Today was a dream day for sailing, except there isn't much wind. About an hour ago, I changed tack and I'm now heading east towards the gate, some 280 miles ahead. Dinelli is only a few miles ahead of me.  Maybe I shall benefit from a  better position – further south – but that's not the priority.  What really counts is sailing safely, and trying to keep up with the other sailors. There's a long way to go to Cape Horn and this is not a week-end's sailing. I let my attention drift and the keel ram got stuck. I managed to sort it out, but it just shows how careful we need to be.  Keep cool and pay attention."

Norbert Sedlacek, Nauticsport-Kapsch, in his night message

 

Today, Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) once again clocked up the greatest distance in the fleet over 24 hours.  Currently in 14th place, 560 miles from the leader, between yesterday evening and the latest rankings issued at 20h, he covered 408.9 miles towards the finish.

 

This morning Dominique Wavre (Temenos) announced that the wind had returned.  It was to strengthen and become steady during the afternoon, allowing him to achieve the best speeds in the fleet late this afternoon (averaging 18.1 knots over 4 hours), as he explained to his shore team:  "It’s pretty sporty. I’m getting shaken about every which way. It’s good to see the speedo climbing; it’s felt like a kind of revenge over the past 24 hours. I’m going to try to rest a little because in the cold conditions, you have to be careful that you don’t try too hard. I’m at the chart table at the moment with the duvet rolled around me and the pilot remote in my hand. The sun has begun to set so I’ll make the most of it to top up on calories again. I had a little ray of sunshine between two squalls during the afternoon. That only lasted quarter of an hour though, so there was only just enough time to get out the camera before the greyness took the upper hand again. The wind changes according to the passage of squalls. I had up to 28 knots and the rest of the time it varied between 20 and 25 knots. I am focussed on the trimming and I regularly go up top to ease or harden the sheets an umpteenth time."

 

"Heading now on an easterly course towards Marion and Prince Edward Island, but later tonight the wind will start to shift into the west and I will start to arc more SE before gybing tomorrow towards the Kerguelen Islands. I am happy to be slightly north of where the routing software is guiding me, to give me room to manoeuvre round a forecast low in 6 days, and to stay in 25-30 knot winds rather than 30-35. It seems faster in those conditions, although the weather routing always takes you south here and into the strongest possible winds – which is often slower due to the sea state,  as the software doesn't have to go on deck! Been followed by lots of tern sized birds for the last few days, and I got my Antarctic wildlife book out today. They are called Prions, and they are a grey colour with V shaped markings on the their wings. They seem to be my most loyal visitors at present. There are numerous types of Prions and even experts can have trouble telling them apart so, Prions will have to do.."

Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) in his daily message

 

Loïck Peyron (Gitana 80) had been putting off climbing his mast to sort out a masthead lashing problem for several days, but explained to his shore team today that he has now managed to do that thanks to some calmer weather.  "I canted Gitana Eighty over slightly so as to be more stable, and I hoisted myself up using the strength in my arms and a system of blocks on the halyards. These techniques come from mountaineers. I tried to wear as little clothing as possible, not solely to be light but also so as not to get too hot. After all it’s a fairly physical, tiring operation. However, I’m really delighted to have been able to make the most of this little calm spell to do it. It’s going to be essential for the next stage!”

 

"None of the files showed the flat calm this morning for a whole bunch of hours. Found myself at 1.7 knots desperately trying to go S for more wind, so headed SW, bizarre, but loss is really in going nowhere at all, not going nowhere in the wrong direction. Wasn't far enough to the east in the strong wind train of the last days to get to the corner where it wrapped around the high and gave the mid-pack group a chance to gybe south, so when I got a shift myself, went south east, but not enough, and lost a lot. In calm, switched pilot to fixed boat speed, then when the breeze finally came back, and with full main and reacher we were surging to 17/18 knots, pilot was wildly all over the place, why? Racking brain for solution.  Finally, the little molecule of a solution came into my tired brain (only 45 min sleep in last 20 hrs) - put it back on boat speed! Did, and what a difference it makes when the pilot is not trying to steer at 18 knots thinking its only going 4 knots, and when it can actually make a True Wind Angle calculation. Need a blackboard in the cockpit to write notes to myself."
Rich Wilson (Great American III) in his daily message