8o40S 15o56W

In the early hours of this morning, events threatened to see Friday 13th evolving into everything it is cracked up to be. For Cop's watch especially, things on deck were momentarily as hairy as a woolly mammoth. "This was the most scared that I have been so far," admitted BP Explorer crew Gabi. Already sweating in foulie bottoms below decks, which she wore as a safety measure whilst cooking breakfast in the heavily-rolling galley, she was summoned upstairs to help with a particularly difficult gybe. As if the pressures of being a first-timer at the porridge and fresh bread were not enough!

After six days solid with the same kite up, the wind had first increased yesterday at around 6pm. The 1.5oz kite was dropped and the flanker hoisted. The swell continued to build and it looked like a long night ahead for everyone - the helms steering with all their strength to keep the boat steady and avoid broaching, only the best trimmers controlling the kite and those in the snakepit adopting the traditional position for chapel watch - crouched in a prayer-like stance for long hours whilst holding onto the preventer, white-knuckled, ready at any minute to 'dump' it in response to the boom being dragged underwater as the yacht rolls to leeward. Failing to release the preventer means that the boom is pinned heavily beneath the waves and things are in danger of breaking under the load - which could pose a serious risk to crew.

During the first of Cop's night watches, the 6-10pm, the VHF crackled into life as Spirit of Sark called us up with a warning that they were about the gybe - so near were they that in the pitching darkness the encounter could otherwise have been rather too close for comfort as they lurched in front of us. Hardening up to avoid them, the on-watch looked on as the enemy headed into the gloom to the beam. And there they stayed for around the next six hours, neck and neck as usual!

As David explained yesterday, gybing the kite gets more complicated the higher the wind strength, and during the second of Cop's night watches, the 2-6am, things were getting so marginal that it became necessary to reduce sail and put a reef in the main in order to be able to execute the gybe more safely. The boat lurched like a light aircraft taking off in heavy winds, voices on deck frantically yelled commands and safety checks at full volume to be heard above the sound of rushing water and those of us struggling to sleep in our Turkish sauna had at least one ear open, half-expecting a call of 'all hands' if anything went wrong and we had to drop the kite. Thankfully all went well, but at breakfast those coming off deck looked truly 'pooped' - hopefully they will be tired enough to sleep through our own similar yells and struggles this morning!

At least we are going fast as we try to claw our way back up the pack once again! Currently in sixth, we are 23 miles from the leaders but within ten miles of all the other boats in front as we storm towards the Equator (about 800 miles or four days away). Here we are going to make sure that the BP Explorer Crew get a dousing they will never forget - after full-body wrap and head massage a la googah, mashed potato, porridge and more they are going to think that high-wind, adrenaline-fuelled gybes by starlight are a walk in the
park!