35o41S 21o46E

With any luck, if the Gods are with us, we have about 24 hours to go. That said there is a good chance that the favourable winds that should carry us to within sight of Cape Town might die as we approach, leaving us wallowing in a windless sea. The good news is that we have caught up with Spirit of Sark once more and can see them on the horizon about five miles away.

Imagine It. Done. is some 15 miles ahead of us. It is all getting very exciting. All around us are quite large waves, which mean that we are rolling around a lot making steering and controlling (trimming) the kite very difficult. The helms have to fight the wheel and there are some spectacular boom dips, which send the snake pit crew lurching for the winches to protect us if it escalates into a broach. The important thing for us is to not look necessarily at how to go even faster but to make sure we don't do something wrong and damage something thus throwing away all we've done in the last weeks. Through all this, David and the watch leaders are the epitome of total calm and laugh and joke with the rest of the crew whenever they can. Yeah right! I'm sure anyone reading this is not going to fall for a tale as tall as the poo in a bucket one of a few days ago. They are less than calm because they know that when there is only five miles separating us and second place and a further ten for first, a one knot difference in boat speed is a massive advantage and one cock up total disaster.

Another layer, if not most of our layers, has been removed and it's down to shorts and t-shirts on deck. The skies are clear but for a few wispy clouds and the sea, for the first time that I can recall, is a jade green rather than the deep blue we've seen for most of the voyage. I don't know why, it just is. There is, a last, some would say desperate, hunt for any goodies/treats before the end of the leg and such things become plentiful again and the market for trading disappears. This will be my last log for this leg and, as is customary, I'd just like to thank everyone for their support and complements regarding my often-rushed efforts. Stay tuned for Naomi's log tomorrow and the continued exploits of the BP Ocean Racing Team on the next leg - Cape Town to Boston.

John Stewart would like to add some birthday greetings to Maura and Kevin. Happy Birthday, I'm sure he'll be having a few beers in your honour tomorrow - we hope.

John Bass