25o12N 44o07W

As the wind shifted forwards at 6pm watch changeover yesterday, we dropped the flanker and those left on deck took a well-needed bath as the heavens opened. Below decks it is the same temperature as a steel-works, so fireman Rob tells us, so the wash was a refreshing treat. Not that this was how everyone saw it. Holger, on the helm, was determined to stay dry and had somehow managed to reach for his foulie jacket just in time, whilst those at the shrouds and on the winches got as soaked as they would have done on any Southern Ocean watch, albeit in considerably warmer water this time. But it just didn't seem fair, so before coming off deck Chris and Rich poured two bottles of water down Holger's neck. Herr Doktor was not impressed!

Now, we are slipping through the early hours with the genoa up after a brief spell with the yankee and staysail, and the breeze is fading. Rain gave way to a wash of watercolour sunset before the full moon lit our path towards Boston. A net of bright stars emerging between fleeting white clouds promises a lovely dawn when we hope to discover that this dying wind has not lost us any ground to those following in our wake. Very light winds are expected over the next couple of days and it seems likely that we will lose some miles to those boats out to the east - fingers crossed that any reshuffling in their favour leaves plenty of scope for us to recover the lead in the final week.

The distance seems to have been eaten up so quickly - yesterday we again reached for the cocktail umbrellas and a couple of fresh limes to put the finishing touches to our G&Ts - poured in celebration of crossing the Tropic of Cancer in second place. So that's another of our objectives for the leg marked with a tick and something to feel very proud of. The only one left now unmarked on the wall is 'Win the Leg'. We have 1,600 miles left in which to achieve this and work continues around the clock to seize every opportunity to maximise boat speed. One of the most important objectives in the short term must be to keep our thoughts in the here and now. With emails coming thick and fast requesting decisions and information for the finish at Portsmouth, this can sometimes be harder than you might think. The conversation on deck is now less about the trading currency of a cereal bar versus sour jelly worms (priceless by the way), and more about what we will all do when we get back, what it is going to feel like racing up the Solent and what a party it is going to be!

But we do, after all, have around 5,000 miles of racing before us, valuable points for three of the seven legs left up for grabs and several weeks of sailing during which anything could happen. So it is a case of fixing our eye firmly on the ball. It's all about that feeling once you reach the end of a race; the beer tastes so much sweeter if you feel that you have done everything possible, given every ounce of your concentration and effort to get the best possible result. Do that and I am sure that Boston, La Rochelle and Portsmouth will be days that are hard to beat!