"It is strange to be torn between wanting to go fast and catch up the others in front, and really needing to slow down to get the pilot calibrated in order to be able to go fast! It is really nice up here at these higher latitudes - quite warm and often sunny. The shrimps seem to think so to, there are countless millions of them, and every wave brings dozens onto the deck, and usually they leave again on the next one, but if not they can survive for ages under a bit of damp string, and they are big enough to pick up and throw back if you find them stranded! All the bad weather seems to be lurking around below our latitude at the moment, which is a welcome respite from the beatings we had in the Indian Ocean. I had a good look at the islands in the South Pacific earlier today, and I must admit I can see exactly why Bernard Moitessier decided to go around again and then stop there, they do look ideal and it would be a perfectly natural thing to do. Still, this is not the time and neither is this the ideal boat to go messing about near reefs - I will have to wait until my racing days are over and the kids have left home, not that I want either of those things to happen in a hurry! In some ways all of those adventures happened in a simpler time I'd have loved to have been around in, but I must admit an IMOCA 60 is more fun and arguably more fit for purpose than a thirty foot plywood trimaran!"
Steve White (Toe in the Water) in his daily message
 

One week after officially pulling out of the competition due to rudder damage, Sébastien Josse (BT) reached New Zealand and the safe waters of Viaduct Basin in Auckland yesterday January 5 at 23.45 GMT.
"Of course, it's great to see the guys from the team, and I really enjoy their welcome, but I can't help thinking that my former rivals in the race have now rounded Cape Horn and are now on the last stretch, headed for home. I was really anxiously waiting to be back in the Atlantic because I knew I could potentially make great gains there: I wanted that tactical battle. I was waiting for my time to come, and it's hard to be watching the game from the touchline. Looking at the bright side of things, we have a boat in one piece. I have spent a week taking notes on what can be optimised and made better for the 2009 season. I've learnt a lot once more, and at least proved that I was right up there with the best of the fleet, both in terms of speed and tactics. I'll be back on the water very soon... but right now, what I want is a haircut, a nice shower, a decent meal and a good night in a real bed!"
 

"It's really nothing new. La Fontaine used it to make people laugh. Sometimes you just have to accept that you need to go slowly to advance rapidly. Damned sailboats, which depend on the wind. When there is some, they advance and when there's none, they don't.. The only thing is it's always bizarre, when you're stopped with no wind to tell yourself that this is good for your progress, as one day there will be a favourable wind here. I get the feeling that down here this is going to be the case more than anywhere else in the course... Lets have a cool drink and take some deep breaths to get the neurones working."
Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) in his daily message
 

"Roxy is through the last gate and her bow is pointing directly at Cape Horn! Good thing number one! Yesterday I had lighter winds which enabled me to do a thorough check all over Roxy, inside, underwater and on deck, before our last run into the Horn. All seems well and Roxy and I are in good shape! Today started well, as the wind began to build and our speed crept once again above 15knots and the daggerboard began to sing again! I've been working on the sail trim and other settings to get max speed. Good thing number two! The third good thing today is that I'm really really hungry and just haven't stopped eating, which is good because I haven't been hungry for ages and now I know I am getting the energy I need. The fourth good thing (linked to the third) is that I managed to fiddle around with my 5 Euro lightweight toaster and get it to make toast. The fifth good thing is that whilst rummaging in "week 9" section of my food bag I found a present - a CD called "The Girls" - full of cheesy girly songs! So for the first time in the whole race (I normally listen to my i-pod) I put the music on full blast on the loudspeakers (inside and out)! So today, we have been getting very strange looks from the Albatrosses as Roxy hoons across the Southern Ocean at 17 knots blasting out tunes such as "Girls Just Wanna have Fun", "Smile", "I'm So Excited".....occasionally with a crazy blonde chick leaping around the deck -karaoke-style! Thank goodness it's only the albatrosses that can see and hear us!"
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message

While the weather conditions were very different (much tougher this time) and the decision to move the Ice Gates further north meant the distance to sail was longer, Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) took more or less the same time as Mike Golding in 2004 to cross the Pacific… Between the south of Tasmania and Cape Horn, the current leader took 16 days 05 hours and 40 minutes, while the British sailor was fifteen minutes quicker covering this stretch!
 

"We came a bit more north than the direct route in anticipation of a wind shift to the north. We're making a slowly arcing route toward the west end of the New Zealand ice gate. We sailed off the Campbell Plateau into deeper waters. Think I could see a difference, but the wind was also coming down at the same time. Now we're back up on another shallow plateau, the Bounty Platform, which has the Bounty Islands in the middle. These must be from Capt. William Bligh's Bounty, and the epic Mutiny. Spoke with Jonny as he headed north toward the lee of the South Island of New Zealand. He was in as good spirits as one could be having had to make his difficult decision. Received nice email from Sam Davies on Roxy, understanding that I'd lost my running mate, as she is also sailing far from the next boat, she sent "virtual' company. She is doing a spectacular job in this race, just awe inspiring. Michel is around Cape Horn. I'm speechless."
Rich Wilson (Great American III) in his daily message