42o36S 42o02E

A battle is taking place out here at the moment, a royal battle between us and the two yachts in front of us, Spirit of Sark and Imagine It. Done. We are, in the main, looking forward but we still have to cover our rear from attack by Pindar and Team Stelmar who, if not in firing range, still have us in their long range sights. Every watch the trimmers at the shrouds check and re-check the trim and scan the horizon for a glimpse of our old enemy Spirit of Sark.

Analysis of the fleet positions show we are making gains on them and keeping our pursuers at bay but it is not enough, we want to see the whites of their eyes. We sailed into the predicted gale in the early hours of this morning and, with winds reaching 37 knots, the orange storm staysail and no 3 yankee were hoisted once more in anger. But, by midday today the winds have eased and the yellow staysail is back up. We are currently sailing in 20-24 knots and it's only a matter of time before we drop the three and go to the number two yankee. That said, there is still a lot of water coming over the deck and the occasional bone-shuddering crash as we leap some giant waves.

This log comes to you by Telaurus, a system whereby e-mails and voice calls are sent via the Iridium satellite system and is one of the many communications systems we have on BP Explorer. Unfortunately, today, the Telaurus e-mail system has gone down and we are left without e-mail for 3-6 hours. This would not normally present much of a problem however, we also use the same system to receive weather updates and fleet positions. That e-mail to auntie telling of her brave nephew's exploits on the high seas can wait but 3-6 hours is a long time in ocean yacht-racing and not knowing what the other yachts are doing or if a weather system is moving is quite frustrating. (All Telaurus systems are now back up and running! - Ed)

Thankfully it doesn't happen that often and all things considered it's pretty remarkable that we can be in the remotest and most inhospitable place on Earth and send that e-mail to auntie, indeed, we could even pick up the phone and call her. It is also a real treat when we receive e-mails of news from home or messages of support from our friends and family. So if you read this and haven't sent a message recently, go on, it'll make our day (This is specifically a hint to my little brother Stephen who hasn't e-mailed me in ages).

PS. Those following John Stewart's record attempt for the longest time without a shower will be interested to know that he is on day 31 (he basically hasn't had a shower since we left!) However he hasn't broken his record of 37 days yet.

John Bass