We are very much in the closing stages of this race now and the western fleet has done a very good job of catching us back up. This has helped make the finish an exciting mixture of being outrageously tense, with Yacht Club Punta del Este and UNICEF only miles away (and everyone else not far behind) but also breathtakingly dull. With boat speeds peaking at 5 knots. our ETA to the finish line has been five hours now for the last eight, as our speed has slowly dropped to keep us nicely in that window as the wind eases on our approach to land. We are waiting for it to shift forwards as forecasted and allow us to sheet in and go a bit faster but currently it just sits blowing directly down the line we are trying to make to the finish. Oh well, 21nm and we can’t do what any sensible sailor would do faced with these conditions, turn our engine on! As you can probably gather it is a frustrating end to what has been an interesting North Pacific experience the crew as always have handled everything with good humour, courage and determination and it has been another privilege to lead this team.
All the best from the crew, Mike and myself