Race 3 - Day 17
Skipper Report
17 November

Well there is no doubt about it, the wind filled in thick fast and behind us.

Last night was one of the blackest darkest nights I've ever sailed in, and together with winds touching 50 knots and big (I never manage to tell how big exactly) breaking seas, it made for very challenging helming and very little sleep for me.

We welcomed daylight with open arms at 4am; as the sun rose behind the thick cloud the atmosphere onboard gently eased, we put away our sails which had turned into a heap on the floor in the sail locker, and I got some sleep (yes!). We kept saying last night "well this is what we signed up for with the Southern Ocean!" but it doesn't necessarily make it easier. It constantly feels as if you are sailing right on the edge - it's mainly the waves that give that sensation as even with a very small sail set, the surfs up to 24 or 25 knots are crazy fast - it's more like flying than sailing. Once again, despite the wind, rain, darkness spray and big waves, there are big smiles all round; these Clipper Race crews are made of tough stuff!

Big shout out to my main team back at the helm in the last 24 hours - Simon Dubois, Iain ‘Cokey’ Coke Marek ‘Mo’ Omilian, Julio Mathieu, Phil ‘seamstress’ Whittaker and Jerome ‘the engineer’ Greenhalgh - who kept things steady and looked after all the helms keeping them on course and steady. It's a tough job at the back with what feels like a lot of responsibility and they took it in their stride.

Sailing with style - Nik