Race 2, Day 21: A Royal visitor for the teams as Equator crossing ceremonies take place

It’s been a fun 24 hours for the teams that have had the honour of crossing the Equator, with King Neptune making a royal appearance to welcome crews into the Southern Hemisphere.

Jamaica Get All Right, PSP Logistics, Qingdao, OneDLL, Henri Lloyd and Derry~Londonderry~Doire have now crossed the Equator and are making good speed towards Rio with an Ocean Sprint in sight, a 300 mile section of the course where two points are on offer for the fastest boat to cross.

Chris Hollis, skipper of PSP Logistics, describes the special ceremony visitor who paid the crew a visit yesterday.

“At 1200 UTC, King Neptune's personal messengers, called bears, paid us a visit to welcome us to his majesty’s watery realm, and request a meeting with the captain and crew of PSP Logistics.

“Permission was of course granted as a buzz of excitement spread throughout the crew in anticipation of a visit from the King himself! What an honour indeed. The time and place was set, and at precisely 1400 UTC King Neptune (round the world crew member Derek Brown) appeared on board, with two bears (Leg 1 and 3 crew member Ryan Horsnail and Leg 1 crew member Joe Pattison).

“The King welcomed us to his kingdom, and was especially impressed and jubilant that this meeting could happen at a very special place at the Equator. The King honoured me with the title of "Old Sea Dog", a title reserved for the captain. It is official, I am an old salty sea dog now and my hearty crew, pollywogs they are no more!”

On board Jamaica Get All Right, a tasty hot sauce concoction was served up and crew members had to kiss a dead flying fish to pay homage to King Neptune. They all passed the test.

Jamaica Get All Right is still leading the fleet 22 miles ahead of PSP Logistics, with Qingdao 21 miles being them in third place.

For more details of the Equator crossing ceremonies, read the Skippers’ reports here. You can keep an eye on the fleet’s progress here at the Official Race Viewer