Leg 2 Day 9 : 55°00'00.0"S 65°20'00.0"W

Two hours ago when we came on watch, the Straits de la Maire looked set to become a complete night-mare. Having gone to our beds with Me To You very much within reach and VAIO on the horizon, we emerged from the warmth of our pits to find the enemy all around us! 'Basically the Straights de la Maire have turned into one big parking lot for Challenge yachts,' declared David when I asked him for an update at 0200 local time. 'There are six yachts visible and all the rest are more or less within VHF range. It's a bit of a headache this windhole, depending on who you are of course.' The tide and the fickle winds have held everyone up. Having arrived in the Straights with the kite flying in a westerly breeze and caught up those in front, we promptly stopped and stuck fast in the frosty seas off Tierra del Fuego whilst others then caught us in the same way. Surrounded by mountains, seals, dolphins and a steel-grey and pink dawn, the air punctuated with seabirds of all kinds, our wonderful surroundings were strangely at odds with our frustration. It seemed ironic to pull in next to the Bay of Great Success, but in fact now it appears that this might be more apt than we previously hoped. Things change so fast. Just a watch ago we were pounding through big seas, fighting to get through the sail changes and reefs with hands which refused to work any more in the penetrating cold. Now, two hours into the new watch, we have a light wind and have narrowly avoided being caught by Team Stelmar (close enough for a chat... no doubt they smelt our early-morning flapjack feast too!), we have overhauled Me To You and are now rapidly hunting down VAIO. 'This is no time for tea! See that light over there,' says the skipper, 'that's third - let's go and get it!' Naomi Cudmore