We are still out here with 6.5 miles to go.

Position: 52,9.58N , 4,4.97E

Speed: 12 knots, Course: 183 deg.

I just had my usual leg end chat to the crew and I thanked them for their tenacity. This leg has been a real test; a mental test. We got separated from the lead pack and could never catch up. The writing has been on the wall for a couple of days that we would not win the leg and in fact the best we could do was finish 4th. It looks like we will achieve 4th and we have to be happy with that. We ran low on food, diesel as no one predicted this leg to take this long. It is over now.

We have enjoyed a string of 2nds and 3rds and now we slipped from the podium for the first time since March. That’s ok. Brasil1 sailed a great leg and our congratulations go to them. Well done guys! We have lost 3 points of our lead over Brasil1 and that’s ok. We have two races left to go and we will be putting our best effort in as usual and I think we will come out of this just fine.

This will not be the usual arrival after 8 days of racing. We will not be celebrating and relaxing. Rather we will be working as fast as we can to prepare the boat for tomorrow mornings in-port race. We have to completely unload all the offshore gear, rafts, emergency rudder, survival suits, change some sails, clean the boat inside and out, clean the bottom, etc.

The shore team will obviously be working at full force to help us out with this.

So that’s a wrap as they say in Hollywood.

Paul Cayard

Pirates of the Caribbean