Hello there everybody! Well, it's been another tricky day or so's sailing.
Our decision to go wide of mark Vinay in order to avoid a wind hole inshore didn't pay off and saw both Qingdao and Perseverance slip inside us, and head for the horizon.
This was a bit of a blow as we had managed to hold onto a top-three spot for almost the entirety of the race until then. However, we've scrapped, scraped, and clawed our way back into fourth (we think) with third place 20 or so miles away, we are back in the mix.
We do also have to keep checking over our shoulders, as the chasing boats have done a fantastic job of running us down! The wind thankfully has switched to the south after a brief and freezing cold wind hole last night, we are now in the sunshine with a crisp southerly wind blasting us at (compared to what we have been doing) unimaginable speeds towards Qingdao.
This has been a tough race, and as it was only ten days, it's hard to get that same sense of achievement that you get at the end of a long crossing, however, this has been a slog in the extreme, and the way the crew have handled themselves in the relentless conditions has been fantastic, and will stand us in good stead for the tougher challenge of the north Pacific crossing to come.
All the best from the crew, Mike, and myself!