Leaving Sydney

The start of leg four - for most of us the 'dreaded leg'. We did the Southern Ocean and rounded Cape Horn and while it had its high-points, for the most part it was pretty miserable. With leg 2 in our minds it will come as no surprise that the thought of another 35-40 days of the same and probably worse does not get us leaping around the deck all excited. The start day began as usual with us all meeting up for a crew breakfast. The friends and family that came to visit us in Sydney were also there and it's a time when we say our farewells. Then it was all down to the boat, those final hugs and wishes of 'good luck' and 'safe sailing' to all the other crew we've met in training and since and then it's wait for our turn to slip our lines and head off for the start. It's difficult to describe how wonderful it is to see so many people waving and cheering us off but the shouts of 'I love you' really stir the emotions and though relatively hardened sailors now, for some holding back the tears is just as difficult as when we left Portsmouth.

We circle and manoeuvred BP Explorer trying to find the best start position and warmed ourselves up for when everything has to go just right. All the time our supporters circled and cheered. The hard core BP girls Sarah, Claire and Ruth clung on for dear life as their inflatable bounced and crashed over the waves. They didn't tire of waving and smiling and we didn't tire of seeing them and waving back. Soon the minutes were counting down and we roared towards the start line. There were yachts to our left and right as the start gun fired to signal the start of leg four. We were in an excellent position and crossed the line just after Team Stelmar. There was no time to savour the moment as we prepared the pole for a spinnaker hoist. The yachts behind us, Barclays Adventurer and Me To You, were flying the kites already and there was no time to lose. We overtook Team Stelmar to take the lead around the first mark and as I write this log we are holding our position - all in all we couldn't have asked for a better start on our voyage to Cape Town.

My Mum Brenda surprised me by flying to Sydney to meet me as I arrived and stayed to see me off, a massive challenge for her as she hates flying. I'm sure I can speak for everyone who's friends and family have visited on the stopovers so far when I say, thank you, you being there meant such a lot, I love you and don't worry about us on this leg. The more we do the more secure we feel about our abilities and what we are capable of achieving. We've grown as a crew and have learned to support and look after each other. With this crew I'm sure this leg will turn out not as one to be dreaded but one to be savoured.
John Bass