50'19S 136' 26E

First and foremost the crew all wish their mums Happy Mother's Day - believe us, we would definitely rather be lavishing you all with big bunches of roses and breakfast in bed than enduring the storm right now!

Hopefully John and I will be able to find as many different ways to describe stormy seas as there are variations in them. It may all sound similar - and there is a numbing sense of monotony about the weather - but the ocean never seems to look the same twice. Right now we are still beating into a Force 8-9, which is set to continue for another 24 hours before a calmer 36-hour period. It might even be subdued enough for a shower in the not-too-distant future! I am now wearing 24 items of clothing and the chill still gets through (although I am told it will get much, much colder); and the waves look and feel (when they stab you in the face) like iron filings, the spray ghosting in fast streaks up their backs before being blown up into the air where it mingles with the dashing circus of myriad tiny birds who seem at least to be enjoying the day!

Below decks, necks crane at the computers to get the most recent weather and try to second-guess exactly where the variable and probably light winds will be this time tomorrow. They lie sandwiched between two weather systems and most of the formerly southerly boats have traded in some of their advantage to come north in a bid to escape being slowed right down. It is mainly because of this that we now lie in second place, with just 11 miles to Barclays Adventurer at the last scheds. Hopefully we will have routed ourselves for the best possible negotiation of the changeable weather ahead. With Major's delicious ad-hoc rice pudding lining our bellies for the cold night ahead we can only ride out the storm, hang on tight and hope.

Naomi Cudmore