2' 55S 22' 36W

Last night I went on deck at around 0130, half an hour before watch change at 0200. I had been awake for a while, feeling the large rolls of the yacht and listening to the slight tension and questioning in the helm's voices. We were sailing downwind with the 2.2oz kite and a reef in the main. The reef having gone in earlier in an effort to damp down the rolling caused by the rising wind. Boat speeds were often to be found at 18kts as the boat came down the back of waves.

The question in Olly and Holger's minds was that the wind was often to be found at 30kts (F7). Challenge yachts are really built to go upwind, they are relatively narrow and do not have a flat back section. The lack of surface area at the back means that the boats roll downwind, become hard to control, and eventually broach. During the broach the spinnaker flogs madly in the wind and is often torn or damaged. It's also dangerous and puts the crew at risk.

Set against this, was the fact that we were going very fast, and so was BG SPIRIT out to our left - and we had just overtaken VAIO who were 4 miles behind. Having said all that, the reason we had overtaken VAIO was because they had a poled out headsail and were all sitting down below trying to sew their flanker back together!

So as the guys struggled with the helm I sat by their side pondering the numbers and agonising over whether to take the spinnaker down, lose 1kt per hour, or leave it up and power along with BG. Of course the skipper of BG SPIRIT was thinking the reciprocal. Well Olly and Holger only had 30mins before the end of the watch and were becoming exhausted with it - I began to realise that I would have to take the helm to give them a break. As soon as the boys encouraged me to get on the wheel I began to feel apprehensive. It's one thing to spend 4 hours in a rising wind steering a yacht, your skill levels and reactions match the boat. The helm is literally 'in tune'. However the poor sap that is presented with what appears to be a madly out of control yacht at 0200 is in an entirely different position. There is no easing into it, you stand by the existing helm for a minute, and then when the boat comes upright and is momentarily on course he stands aside and the yacht is yours.

''Well I'm the skipper damn it, if I can't drive it who the hell can?'' was the thought I steeled myself with as I grabbed the wheel. As soon as Holger moved out the way and I had control, I knew it was a bad idea. It was pitch black, and I could not resolve the amount of helm to put on to counteract the corkscrewing motion of the following sea. I felt afraid - and the next thing the boat roared down a wave rolled to windward and went into a broach.

''EASE THE SHEET, EASE THE SHEET, EASE THE SHEET'' is screamed around the boat and organised panicking breaks out. There is no way I can control this boat, and I yell out in my most urgent voice ''GET IT DOWN, GET IT DOWN, GET IT DOWN''. The boat comes upright, accelerates down the next wave, and broaches again. One more time and there is not going to be a 2.2oz kite left to play with. ''OLLY FOR GOODNESS SAKE GET THIS ***** KITE DOWN NOW!''

'BANG' the guy is tripped and the kite flies away from the yacht ''Oh thank God for that'' I think, ''It's still in one piece''. It takes the whole watch to haul down the streaming spinnaker. Christian roars encouragement and fights like a mad thing ''2 - 6 Heave, 2-6 Heave''.

Fifteen minutes later we are sailing calmly along with a poled out No1 yankee, staysail and full main. Cups of tea are being handed around, and the question that everybody debates is ''What are the others doing? Will they have dropped the kites too or do they have super-helms that can control the yacht?'' What will the next schedules reveal? Potentially we are looking at a 1 mile per hour loss for every hour the kite is down. On the other hand the kite is lying safely on the cabin floor, being picked over by two diligent crewmembers. We live to fight another day.

Footnote: The 0742gmt schedules showed that speed within the lead boats remained relatively constant during the 4 hours we poled out the No1. As the sun rose we hoisted the kite again and are powering towards the equator.