Well, it hasn’t been an easy leg for us so far.

Position: 55,50.3N , 6,38.14E

Speed: 6 knots, Course: 348 deg.

At the start, we were planning on heading off on Starboard for a couple of hours to get a shift to the left. So we went after the left end of the line and got it. Only Ericsson got that bit more wrong that us. So we scrambled back to the right where Brasil 1 had already established a firm grip on first place.

Later in the evening the wind lifted and we played the coast line harder than our competitors and made some nice gains, eventually getting ourselves in to second place. We were feeling pretty good about things at that point.

This morning’s forecast (GRIB) was for the wind to got right to 000 (North) then going back left to 325. So when the wind went to 040 and the whole group tacked to starboard, we took up a position just on the left side of the fleet.

Well the right has been huge for the last four hours and we are now in last place. When we all tacked to starboard we were just half a mile to leeward of Brasil1. Now they are 6 miles out to windward of us. Brunel who was 2.2 miles downwind of us, sailed high and fast somehow and went right over the top of us. ABN2 was 2 miles behind us and went hard right and is now close to Brasil1. We don’t seem to be setting the world on fire with our speed in this light air either so that is making is tough.

The wind has just about died now and it looks from the sked like the guys inshore have more wind than we do. It is hard to tack as we are on the making board by 20 degrees.

Frustrating at the moment.

Paul Cayard

Pirates of the Caribbean