Good morning,
After a rather shaky first half, we have enjoyed a much more productive second. We are all very pleased with our fleet position. It is hard to discourage enthusiasm and engagement, but when there are six people stood behind the helm cage referencing the Garmin plotter and discussing strategy, I feel like Unicef is doing a wheelie. Because we were not entered into Ocean Sprint 2, we had the luxury of choosing a more easterly course overnight.
Although we sailed a slightly further route, it positioned us nicely for the anticipated wind shift. Somehow, we now find ourselves battling for third position which is certainly unexpected.
My blog is slightly delayed this morning as we have been having some close quarter dueling with Punta del Este who just crossed within 100m of us which was very exciting. To avoid sailing in the disturbed wind behind them (or dirty air), and before the wind shifts even further to the south, we just put in a short tack. This tight racing is most enjoyable.
Please circulate to our extended supporter network that everything is well on board Unicef. Sorry for the lack of communication from the crew. We are experiencing a minor technical issue with our on board email service. Please assume that no personal emails have been sent or received, as when we reset our system it is likely that any emails in the ether will be lost. I understand that communication with loved ones is key at this time. We are working to resolve this issue.
Here we go.
Ian and Mike