The course we are currently sailing is a killer, heaps of water over the deck, uncomfortable downstairs, where the guys have to crawl around to go from A to B, as otherwise they are getting airborne.

Gabry (Gabriele Olivo – MCM) is always great with preparing the warm dishes, but the appetite is not very big. Instead, we are drinking lots of protein shakes and eating power bars, biltong (dried meat), parmesan cheese and nuts. It is a very nice alternative to get calories in our bodies and in that sense it is good that we are not saving weight in this area. Thinking of the good old days, where by now you would have been 'starving' as there where hardly any extra’s.

As well, bringing the extra food has stopped people from bringing smokes onboard, as cigarettes were great contraband for trading in sweets..............and what happened when you had smokes onboard, people start lighting them up, even non-smokers and started puffing away...

We are sticking to our game plan, and sail to the imaginary point where we think the best passage will be in the doldrums.  It is very tempting to crack the sheets more, but we think we will pay the price at a later stage. Of course everything can happen in a leg where not a lot of doldrums crossings have been done, so there is not so much background information as, for example, in leg one, where you know you have to cross the doldrums somewhere between 27 -31 west.  So we feel strong the way we have to go, but still need a lucky passage to reel the leaders in.

Bouwe Bekking - skipper