Race 1 - Day 27
Skipper Report
16 September

Phew - nearly four weeks now and we are getting pretty tired over here! Working hard to keep off Sanya Serenity Coast (good morning Wendo :) ) which is definitely putting us through our paces - fast boat, fast skipper, fast crew.

It's just wonderful to be flat again and we are shaking off our spinnaker cobwebs, working hard, along with the trusty Code 3 - any name suggestions supporters?!

Who would have thought that pumping the toilet with two feet firmly on the ground, sitting all of two bum cheeks on the Nav Station seat, and putting your clothes on standing up rather than rolling around on the floor (to name a few) would be such luxuries - and we are absolutely revelling in it. Well ... apart from the bottoms which were enjoying the sporadic rest one cheek at a time. Enough said in that department.

Yesterday was Shaz's (Sharon Elizabeth Crapnell's) birthday, the third of our voyage so far. The crew made her a sweet film, a montage of each crew member sending her a birthday message, which we watched together at sunset. It is just amazing that alongside the sailing, and the exhaustion that comes with a month at sea, that the crew still prioritize making someone's birthday special and could put together such a brilliant film in just about 24 hours. That's filming and editing on top of eat sleep sail clean repeat! We hope it was a birthday to remember for her ... blue skies, champagne sailing, flying fish (a bullseye in Iain Coke's face), whale spotting (!) and the beginning of the home stretch as we pass Rio de Janeiro.

Life is good here - just trying to savour the last few days of our adventure and the peace and quiet that comes from being at sea. We miss you all dearly.

Sailing with style - Nik