"Out here in the Southern Ocean the lights are burning brighter on board Bahrain Team Pindar, as I have changed the alternator and the regulator on the charging system. Also have gone through every wire on the battery system and found some loose connections that may have caused the problems with the first alternator, which led to it failing after 50 days use. The alternator now installed is the original one, (that we replaced before the start for the brand new one), and it seems to be working OK. At the same time I am going to take apart the broken alternator and see if there is anything fixable in there, and at the least I will have some spare parts for the one currently installed. Never taken an alternator apart before so should be interesting, Happily whilst our global team were working on this project, our natural energy supplies from wind and solar were supplying enough power to keep the boat sailing down the course towards the New Zealand Ice Gate, which I passed through on New Years Eve at 163 30W. I now head for Ice Gate number 9. I had to minimise power consumption by switching off the computer and communications systems and most of the power went towards the autopilot. It is extremely foggy here and the solar panels are still putting in a little charge, but the wind generator is doing the majority of the work. As soon as there is any direct sunlight the solar panels put enough electricity to run the whole boat and more."
Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) in his daily message
 

Some very strange figures can currently be seen in the rankings in the column concerning the distance covered in 24 hours and the distance between the competitors. This is due to the method of calculation based around passing the East Pacific Gate. A competitor like Michel Desjoyeaux, who crossed the gate at its western tip finds himself ranked according to the next reference point, while the others were still ranked in relation to this gate.  
 

My New Year's Resolutions

Sail around the world
Take a photo of Cape Horn
Stop eating the Nutella out of the pot with my fingers
Do not fall asleep with the motor on charging the batteries
Sponge the bilges every day
Brush hair more than once a week
Eat more
But eat less chocolate
Cancel the above resolution as it is impossible
Catch up some miles on the leaders
Be nice to Chuck, the autopilot
Take no risks

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Sam Davies  (Roxy) in her daily message
 

"I could do with some sunshine though because I need to get out on deck and patch up my mainsail because it is falling apart. It needs to come down but to do that I need it to be sunny. I have been patching it for the whole of the Southern Ocean but the patches keep falling off so I am trying something different. All the layers are separating so I need to do something and hopefully I will be able to do it tomorrow because the forecast is for it to be easier and the winds to be lighter. Arnaud and I are in email contact and it is nice being so close. He told me had a lot of sunshine today whereas it has been really wet but I'm not sure if these lighter winds will allow me to gain a few miles. They are saying it is the worst weather the Vendée has ever had. I've had worst weather than when I've been down here before but I was in a boat which was designed for that sort of weather. It's very different when you are racing in an Open 60. But I am really enjoying this. I can't believe I am half way round the world in 50 days. It is really cool doing it this fast."
Dee Caffari (Aviva) in her daily message
 

"The winds are cooperating for now and I have 23 knots from the south west so I'm being pushed along smoothly towards land. The winds dropped to 13 knots over night and I even ventured to put the staysail up for a while which really helped me along. Now the wind is back in the low 20's so I have taken the staysail down as I don't want to take any chances on over-stressing the mast. Unfortunately, the synthetic rigging on the port side that is damaged is taking a beating as it winds itself up and then unwinds itself and flogs against the spreaders and mast in the process. I'm not sure how much will be usable by the time I reach land. I've been cleaning the inside of the boat and getting all the water out. A case of chocolate boost drink exploded in the rollover so I have liquid chocolate everywhere. It's getting warmer now and it is starting to smell. You get the picture. 
I've had a lot of sleep in the last day and the sun is shining this morning so my outlook on the whole situation has improved dramatically."
Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada) in his daily message
 

Three weeks after Gitana Eighty’s dismasting in the Indian Ocean, Loïck Peyron arrived in Perth at 0845 this morning (local time) after sailing over 2800 miles under jury rig. After customs formalities, Loïck Peyron was able to join up with Dominique Wavre and Mike Golding. It was an opportunity for the three sailors to share their thoughts and discuss the terms of the repatriation of their respective boats. In mid-January, Gitana Eighty, Temenos and Ecover are due to be loaded onto the same cargo ship bound for Europe. Once reassured, Loïck hopped onto a plane to return to France just four hours after reaching Australia.