13o00S 9o42W

The last 24 hours have been quite exciting, enjoyable and rewarding. Our sail plan has remained the same and the wind has been quite constant, but for the occasional squall, so that is not the reason. While there have been some changes to the menu, the food is pretty much the same and so there is no real cause for celebration in that department. And, despite constant requests, Holger has not broken out the controlled drugs and allowed us to get high and loopy on the best the pharmaceutical industry has to offer - I repeat, despite constant requests. No, it's because the sailing is now so much better and we are constantly energised and boosted knowing that we are sailing well. We have been gybing the spinnaker in close to three minutes, a procedure that took in excess of twenty minutes in our early training days.

There is a genuine enthusiasm when we go on deck unlike some other legs, namely the southern ocean, where it was an obvious struggle. And as a crew we have gelled and bonded so that there is a shared energy lifting everyone rather than just individuals or small groups. We have purposefully surged through the pack of leading yachts to be in second place with the waypoint at the equator (it is important to mention which waypoint we are using as the positions may vary. At the time of writing we are second, or within one mile of second, with the waypoint being Boston as well). VAIO are just five miles away in 1st place, BG SPIRIT have made loads of ground and threaten us from the right and our constant companions on this leg so far, Spirit of Sark, we can see on the horizon behind us. A new nav light appeared on the horizon to our left overnight, that of Team Stelmar. With this company the stage is set for a battle royal and we are going to have to be an exceptional team to be sure to come out in front of this formidable pack.

Yesterday saw the liberation of a bottle of Gin, some tonic water and a shower of cocktail umbrellas (I'm not sure what the collective name for a group of cocktail umbrellas is so I made it up) in celebration of passing St Helena. There was much rejoicing and the off watch gathered in the sail locker for an impromptu party. I think the next celebration will be the equator where the rest of the crew will be taking delight in subjecting Giles, Gabi and Matt, all Equator virgins, to all kinds of horrors tempered with the subsequent downing of some bubbly no doubt.