Slow going is the word.

Position: 32,34.83S , 47,11.37W

Speed: 11 knots, Course: 26 deg.

The fleet has had very light wind for the past 48 hours. We have gone through two transitions; one around a disintegrating low pressure cell and last night traversing a high pressure cell that moved across the course from west to east. The team onboard the Black Pearl have done a nice job of getting through both and maintained our second place position.

I thought we would have made bigger gains on ABN1 but they are doing a nice job up there.

Each of these transitions requires a huge amount of work for Jules and I.. Before the transition comes we work on all the possible realities. Is it coming earlier? If so, what will that mean to the optimal route we should take. Is it coming later? What if the whole wind field shifted east? Check the satellite pictures. Check the Chilean chart. Check the Brazilian chart. Verify the position of the feature on the GRIB. The uncertainty posed by any change requires thorough investigation.

So we work intensely for four hours together then give the crew guidelines and then we get some rest. It is now 11:56 UTC so I am up having my breakfast and getting ready to download the latest weather which comes at 1200. The weather comes every six hours at; 000, 0600, 1200 and 1800. The skeds come at 0400, 1000, 1600 and 2200. When the skeds come we get more

weather information by deducing what the other boats have from their performance over the past 6 hours as well as an instantaneous reading of what they had at the moment they were polled which is 5 minutes before each sked is issued. So there is basically always something to work on.

I went for the shower yesterday and new clothes. What a great feeling. The best part is to have clean hair. I can actually run my fingers through my hair now. Before it was as thick as one of those bristle door mats you have outside your front door. two weeks of salt water, etc.

The sailing has been intense but fairly easy for the last two days. The wind has never blown over 12 knots. The temperatures are beautiful.27 air and 25 sea temp. The nights have been spectacular. Clear skies with stars a bright as you can ever see. I love to just sit on deck in the middle of the night and take it all in. These are special days.very hard to come by.

It looks like it will be about three more days for us to do the last 600 miles.pretty slow given the speed of these boats. There will be at least one more transition and then possibly a park up in front of Rio depending on what time of day we get there. We will have to transition from whatever gradient wind we have to the local breeze (sea breeze or night breeze) in order to get into the Bay. You need a bit of luck there not to get caught out.

PC

Pirates of the Caribbean