We're finally in the Southern Hemisphere! I can't believe we are crossing this line for the third time in this race. It looks like we going around in all directions at the same time, west-east and north-south!

The last couple of days have been great, the kind that makes it worth the sacrifice of sailing these boats in 15-20 knots of wind, totally wet 24 hours a day. It is a good chance to recharge and prepare for the Southern Ocean. We have been able to stabilise the distance to our closest competitors, Ericsson 3 and Puma, but the Dragon is playing a different card choosing to sail to the east - we’ll see how this goes.

The atmosphere onboard is great in these conditions. Joca Signorini and I have been trying to keep the Carnival mood going, imagining the parties throughout Brazil and telling our friends all our stories and laughing with our impressions of the narrators at Carnival balls. I wonder if our media friends will tell us who won in the different cities? I wonder if my ‘Protegidos da Princesa’, which I supported on the runway for two years in a row 25 years ago, won in Florianópolis? Or if Mocidade won in Rio?

Well, that’s it from Ericsson 4. All the best and enjoy the last days of party there."

Horacio Carabelli - Trimmer