A much happier day here on Mission Performance today! After a small tear was made in the lightweight last night after yet another bad drill on board we repaired it overnight and peeled from the heavy weight to the lightweight this morning in our pursuit of Unicef (morning skipper Cloughy and team) and LMAX Exchange (Bonjour Skipper Olivier and team). We have passed over Dogger Bank, probably not named after the outdoor past time! This is a shallow bank in the North Sea to the west of Leeds and houses a lot of oil and gas platforms which we have to stay a minimum of 500 metres away from at all times. This hasn't affected our tactical decisions yet, but I am sure as we get closer to the Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS) where there is a larger concentration of platforms and wind farms for us to avoid and the International Rules for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (IRPCS) rules of how to cross a TSS (right angles or closest to that) we will be a little more restricted as to where we can go as we close on the finish line. Add to that the diminishing winds forecast as we close the finish line, leaves the positions really in the mix until we have crossed.

Unfortunately on Mission Performance today, inappropriate boat pants day has had to be postponed until Race 14. This is where we will all be wearing pants that you wouldn't usually wear on a 70-foot ocean racing boat! For the men on board this could mean many things, however a little borrowing from the opposite sex is probably the best and warmest option! Not to worry there will be pictures, I don't think they will be published on the Clipper Race website but they will certainly be on Facebook, I am sure! One of the Warriors, who will remain nameless asked if we could wear inappropriate pants over the finish line in Southend with our team t-shirts on?! I didn't think this would be a good idea as we would have no pictures published on the Clipper Race website. That and the fact I don't want my contract to be ended prematurely!

Tonight is a special night on Mission Performance. Steak night! With some custardy, fruity tart thing for pudding! So, this is hopefully my last blog of this race, with luck we will be getting in this morning/afternoon.

Until Race 14…

Mission Performance Warriors OFN.