Race 4 - Day 1
Crew Diary - Albany, Western Australia, to Sydney
02 December

Henry Dale
Henry Dale
Team Unicef
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We finally made it into Albany after the final couple of days of beating into wind, which seems to have become our default arrival MO. The fatigue of four weeks at sea was washed away when I saw Mrs Dale waving at me from the quayside. I wasn't expecting to see her there so it was the best surprise in the world.

What a fabulous place Albany is! I could have done with another week there, but after four days on dry land we're sailing once more. Thanks for your hospitality Albany -- you truly were a great first landfall in Australia.

Those of you who follow us will know we broke our last skipper, who has gone into the depot for repairs. We wish him a successful 15,000 mile service. For Leg 4 we're sailing with new Skipper Martin Clough. We hope we've made him feel welcome. Martin has been spending a lot of time with us on deck getting to know our strengths and weaknesses, and coaching us where he can see it is needed.

We're also trying a new watch system consisting of two six hour watches during the day and three four hour watches overnight. This gives everyone the opportunity to get a decent chunk of sleep every day and automatically alternates sunset and sunrise between the two watches. Until now we have been doing straight four-on four-off all the way from London.

Everyone is fine. We welcome new crew members Marta, Ben, Murat, Jane, and Stephen, who have all slotted seamlessly into boat life. It's warm and sunny, and we're on our way to Sydney.

Until anon

Henry