50' 30S 125' 49E

It's chilly on deck but not as cold as it has been. Warmer air from the north is giving up it's moisture over the cold sea and the 360 degree view is very Turner as the sun tries to break through layers of gun smoke grey mist and cloud. We huddle on the rail or in the cockpit regaling stories of our childhood or our top ten favourite movies, the steam from our mouths stolen by the wind. Alaska Joe has enough material to get us around the World again if we need to and just when we think we've heard the last a new chapter in his life story is revealed. The wind is constant which does mean a break for the fore deck and snake pit crew, as there are less sail changes. We are back on course and have successfully negotiated the area of light winds and have improved our position from second to first. It's no time to jump up and down or to crack open the whiskey though. We are only six miles in front of Imagine It.Done and ten miles in front of Barclays Adventurer. There is also more unpredictable weather ahead and we may or may not be in the best position to deal with it and maintain our lead, that and the fact that there is still an awfully long way to go.

It has been a few days where the navigators on BP Explorer have been in the spotlight. David, Andrew and Stephen have all been agonising over tactics and the rest of us have seen the pressure showing on their faces. Stephen comments "It's difficult, just trying to keep us going and think ahead to position yourself". "The information we get is rarely complete and the position reports never seem to come in on time when you want to see what the other yachts in the fleet are doing" Errors can be costly and it's difficult sometimes not look to the navigators when you know everyone has been sailing the yacht as fast as we can and we still lose positions or drive into a wind hole and sit there for the day. I think we have a brilliant navigation team and I know that the rest of the team shares my opinion - there are certainly no takers when David asked if anyone would like to give them a break and take over for a bit. Stephen's final comment was "Don't sign up for this job if you don't like the stress".

Though much calmer than last week we are still caught out by the occasional rouge wave. Today, Naomi's carefully prepared cheesecake got airborne as we flew off a wave and it travelled across the galley. Rob, who was enjoying a cup of tea at the time, looked rather shocked as he looked down to see his boots well and truly splattered. We are not sure if all of it has been accounted for and I'm sure those on mother watch will be finding dollops of it in strange places for the next few days. Rob is recovering on deck and boasting of his bravery during the ordeal.

John Bass