Day 24 :East of Salvador, Brazil

We are now riding on the back of the trade winds and heading southwest about 100 miles from the coast of Brazil. In contrast to the frenetic sail changes of the last few days we have hoisted the flanker and it has remained pulling
us along over the last 24 hours at some of the fastest speeds we've had. A hard-core tag team of wet footed trimmers stand mid-way along the deck (at the cap shrouds) watching for every curl in the sail. We are sailing BP Explorer to her optimum in these conditions and the worry of a broach is
always on the minds of the skipper and crew. The helms are fighting the swell, working extra hard at the wheel and nod knowingly at each other while clutching their aching shoulders. The rest of the crew are poised to leap into action should we enter a broach. Broaching, where the yacht turns out of control and on to its side, could spell disaster if we break something in our attempt to gain on the leaders and break away from BG Spirit and Sark.
We are holding on to 4th position, BG Spirit and Sark are constantly barking at our heels and we watching with interest as Barclays, Vaio and Samsung come in from the West under a better wind angle to join us closer to the coast. They are increasing their lead over us if only by a few miles a day and Vaio has now taken the lead over Samsung. To think that we had Vaio in our sights last week only for us to be becalmed just goes to show how one afternoon can alter the course of a five-week race. We have admirable competition both in front and behind and are looking for a combination of
unfavourable conditions befalling them and luck and focus staying with us before we can hope to improve our position in the fleet. Word that there are more images of other teams on the Challenge website is bringing out the David Bailey in us on our off watches. Determined not be outdone in any
arena we hope to even out the score with some more pictures of us doing our stuff. Amazing how the thought of being caught on camera gets people winching and hoisting with that little bit more gusto.