Five red lights to our starboard and three green to our port kept us company throughout the night. The fleet are very close and only several miles are separating the first eight places.
Trimming is the name of the game and there is a constant rotation of crew poised on the bow to check both sides of the sails for any slight alteration. This part of the ocean, in contrast to the last leg, appears to be teaming with life though some we aren't readily able to identify.
As we went on watch at 10pm the sea started to sparkle with phosphorescence then gradually become more alive. As torches scanned the surface a soup of strange white creatures floated past. They were about 6-8 inches in length and looked like small cucumbers. Several suggestions were put forward as to what they were, partially inflated condoms or a lost container of glow-in-the-dark vibrators were probably incorrect.
Later that night the dolphins once more gave us a display of their swimming skills made all the more impressive as we could see them surfacing and diving leaving a green trail behind them - that ol' phosphorescence again, don't ya just love it?
As the sun rose the fleet positions showed we had gained on those ahead of us and got away from those behind though out position remained the same. At lunchtime the wind increased and we dropped the Genoa that has been up for the last 48 hours and replaced it with the no1 Yankee. While we were finishing the sail change we were reminded, if we needed to be, of the importance of clipping on as a huge shark sidled up beside the yacht as if expecting a stray titbit to come his way.
The rest of the afternoon has been spent trying to get every bit of speed out of BP Explorer while soaking up some rays in the glorious sunshine. Below deck Rob and Major have been dismantling the water maker trying to find the source of a leak in the high-pressure system. Their effort has been rewarded and it now looks to be fixed. Laura is anxiously
checking our ETA in Sydney as her own race starts the moment we dock. She needs to get a dress for her wedding day on the 18th and has no time to lose; an enterprising retailer may do well to meet us as we come in with tape measure and swatches in hand!
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