Leg 2 Day 20 : 52 37S 116 01W

For a few brief moments today a gap appeared in the icy grey sky and the sun appeared and shone. Spirits were lifted on deck and the cold dark Southern Ocean was transformed, as if moving from a black and white image to one in glorious Technicolor. We were reminded how beautiful the ocean can be and how majestic BP Explorer can look as she surfs the waves under full sail. News came from below that we could have a shower if we wanted. Apparently the saloon cleared of the off watch as crew eager to wash after two and a half weeks at sea scurried to their Curver boxes for their towels and change of underwear. The winds had eased slightly and our angle of heel had become flatter which made for a less hazardous adventure in the heads/showers, however, by the time we came off watch the winds had built again and a simple operation a few moments earlier became a whole different story. As the yacht lifts and crashes over the waves you are essentially in a washing machine below. Some very careful bracing while also allowing for some suspension in the knees does allow the use the shower in rough conditions but it takes considerably longer. The really tricky bit is when you are all lathered up and a whole lot more slippery than normal. What would normally be a working method of wedging your butt on one wall while using a forearm on another is less effective as you slide a full 360 round the inside of the cubicle. You end up at a position gravity dictates until the next movement of the boat sends you spinning back again. Anyway we all survived and are now smelling fresh and clean and feeling a lot better for it. We are still in third place and wary that if we believe we can catch and overtake the leaders, which we do, then it would be just as easy for the rest of the fleet, a similar distance behind, to do the same to us. This makes for busy watches and a constant attention to trimming the yacht for optimum performance. As we pass Waypoint Alpha in the next 24 hours the crew know that we will soon be nearer to our destination than anywhere else, which is a huge relief after hearing of Team Stelmar having to turn back the way they came. It is also a stark reminder that we are now at least two weeks from anywhere! John Bass