Race 5 - Day 19
Skipper Report
10 January

Probably our last milestone of the leg has passed now, as the nav pc ticked over to 99.9 miles to go earlier this afternoon. Having a smaller crew this leg could have made the past few weeks tough, but as we approach the finish, I'm sure this is the most relaxed and rested many of us have been this far into a leg. Everyone has stepped up and engaged with everything onboard and flourished in doing so.

Rob talked yesterday about the boost we have had from our Leg four crew, but having watched them from the start of the Level 4 training weeks, what has impressed me most is just how much the eight round the worlders have matured as sailors these past few weeks. The foundations have been there for some time, but something in this leg has brought the whole group up to a new high point. Robs' influence is surely part of it, and I think that we now have our winning combination of a tough and tight knit crew, and a skipper who will continue to support them and push them on to become better still. This sentiment has been echoed among the team too, and I've heard more than once that this is the leg they think where they've learnt the most. Richard Burchell and Francesca Krakatoa-Jones have had their helming epiphanies, and now join the core of ever-reliable helms onboard (Richard in particular strikes a very dignified figure at the helm, now he is keeping his head up - Fran still can't see over the helm cage when we're heeling right over). Gill Donald and Brian McNealey have come into their own as all-rounders, and started to take the lead during set up and evolutions. James Anderson and Nick Whittle continue to bounce off each other wonderfully when solving problems (and fixing kites, although we've mostly kept them out of work this leg). Nick eeked a final 60litres out of our dying watermaker, helping us to keep racing and avoid needing a resupply. James has begun to take ownership of the nav, taking weather observations each day and tracking our progress vs the fleet (even more challenging this leg, with the elapsed time component). Jonny Wallington and Thierry Meier have done a superb job of supporting their watches, and improving those around them. The only single area we could all improve is in our communications: I've just reminded one of the aforementioned RTWers of our helm orders, and immediately overheard it being relayed as an entirely different set of instructions...

It's far too hot and sticky down here to stay and write much more, but we're still pushing all the way to the finish line, with one eye on the late starters behind us. I would wish them luck - Unicef in particular have put in an extraordinary amount of work to be here and are only a couple of days from Airlie Beach - but it's far too close for that, and I'm not sure if they need it.

All the best,

Sam and Rob.