This is my last blog of the race. I always felt like I would enjoy writing but never found a reason to start. This race if nothing else is excellent blog fodder and trying to get away from the usual 'position/crew happy/food delicious/kite blown/dolphins seen' subject matter is a good mental exercise.
They say 'write what you know' and I know that I lost my sunglasses over the side today. Disaster. I've had them since Portsmouth. Like Bernard Montisser, they were so at home in the ocean, that having circumnavigated, they decided to stay at sea not having to deal with the confusing complex life on shore. I for one am very happy to be finishing this race. It’s been fun (type 2/3 fun) and nice to have dear friend Tiger on board for the last one, but circumnavigations must end and I'm excited to spend time with my Nan and my dog and my friends and my surfboards.
In terms of the racing, until about 3 hours ago we were 10th, going round Virtual Mark Pearce we prioritised staying high on the wind and have made back some places. In terms of our battle with team Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam, it’s not looking very promising so far. This is because they are employing the incredibly effective move of 'covering' us. i.e. tacking where we tack and generally trying to stay with us as much as possible. As I write Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam has just tacked, 10 minutes after us. Now before you all say "imaginative!" "boring!" "race your own race!", don't, because it's a perfectly valid strategy that I would definitely be employing if the shoe were on the other foot. All we can hope to do is out sail them boat speed wise and hope that three other boats find the chutzpah/inspiration to get between us and them. The team is battling hard to make that hope a reality.
Finally, I shall be trying out some of my favourite blog styles from the other boats.
On deck snacks: dried mango
On deck chat: How can you come second in Biathlon when you have a gun?
Song of the day: Lullaby of London - the Pougues
Joss