Race 1 - Day 20
Crew Diary - London, UK to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
21 September

Hello world,

Day 20 started for me as a bit of a struggle with the 0330 wake up. This wasn't just because now it is Day 20 I'm a little tired but mainly because of the lean of the boat and my bunk being the top of this lean. For those of you at home either eagerly awaiting to join us for a later leg or those of you supporting us from the comfort of your homes then I challenge you to appreciate what this is like by trying the following. Lay on the floor face down next to your bed (if you can locate a high cabin or bunk bed even better). Then try to climb into your bed by only using your arms and one leg.

Make sure you wiggle the other leg about in a flaying action as you try to pull and roll into bed. Make sure you face plant the bed and then try rolling over up hill with inches between you and the bulk head (that's the ceiling to you land lovers). Once you have made the climb, get someone to regularly jolt you to the edge of the bed so you get the full experience. To get out of bed you need to perform a head first absail only without the usual ropes to hold you in and again add a flaying leg in for good measure and imagine just as you think you've nailed it, the boat lurches and where you thought the floor was is no longer! All this by now will either have you laughing or crying - if you're laughing then you should totally sign up for the Clipper Race!

After making it on deck however I was rewarded with the awesomeness of the night sky. I love sailing at night as there aren't many other places in the world apart from the sea that you get to witness a nights sky where your eyes hurt from the shear number of stars out there. The other joy from being on the 0400-0800 watch is that you get the sunrise which was another beauty and one enjoyed by all the watch who were on the rail with me.

Now we are upwind sailing there are less active jobs to do with the sails (unlike downwind spinnaker sailing) so most of the watch become the balancing team who sit on the rail to help make the boat go faster. This has meant time to reflect much more then any other time so far in this race. In some ways it is good to have this time to do some thinking and wondering but in others I prefer to be busy as it means the mind can't wonder to missing people at home. It is funny how the small things make the world a better place though and one of the things I look forward to on these night watches is the half time chocolate bar which is 111 calories of pure delight and brightens up the darkest of evenings, especially as we are still on the 'real' stuff i.e. dairy milk!

We received a message today from King Neptune to say that he will be visiting us tomorrow as we will be crossing the equator. Everyone needs to prepare an offering of entertainment for Neptune and we were warned not to wear our best clothes... Now I'm getting worried about what Neptune has in store for us... Here is hoping my offering is good enough for him! We should be crossing the equator in the next 60mins or so (it is now 0210UTC) but Neptune won't be with us until day light so we have a few more hours to worry about what he maybe plotting for us and if the funny smell on the starboard corridor has anything to do with it.

Lots of love to all, especially my family and friends supporting me on this adventure and all our Ledgenderry Supporters.

Ruth x