We were very different people when back in October we left the shores of England bound for Argentina. That first leg saw us getting to know each other and BP Explorer and more importantly, ourselves. The light airs and glorious sunshine we are experiencing today give us time to reflect on the first leg. Just like a perfume or the smell of Play Doh reminds you of an ex-girlfriend or of long gone school days, the Atlantic Ocean stirs memories of that first few weeks at sea and all that has gone between. Soon we'll have gone full circle and it feels like we are re-visiting familiar ground but this time we are more prepared, more aware and are stronger individuals. I'm glad the Southern Ocean is behind us and sailing with the kite up and going 10 knots in the right direction just makes me miss it less. Olly said today that sailing in these conditions just reminds how bad the Southern Ocean was. The procedures are second nature now and living in this steel bathtub is becoming normal. We are getting used to the smells, the uninteresting food and the disturbed sleep. I am already getting the feeling that when I get home I'm going to miss it all so much. With the experience comes a better understanding of what we are doing and a confidence that we are doing our jobs well. On the first leg we were asking David much more and tentatively approaching tasks not really sure if they were the right things to do. Now we just up and do them knowing that they are right. The same sea, same weather and the same competition but it feels very different.

24 hours ago we were in fourth or fifth position last night we were in first having taken 23 miles out of the leaders. Team Stelmar, Spirit of Sark and Barclays Adventurer are all within sight and at 2am this morning Team Stelmar loomed beside us shrouded in a light mist like a ghost ship. We came to within shouting distance and David, not wanting to miss an opportunity, shouted at them!

They bore away and disappeared once more into the darkness the light from their steaming light illuminating their spinnaker looking like a small moon reflected in the still waters. Our lightweight kite fluttered in the scarce wind and we returned to trimming and tweaking.

When writing these logs I am always worried that they may be repeating the same old stuff over and over and as we start our journey home am I just repeating previous experiences in reverse. But I think this won't be the case. Although we are travelling a similar path, we will be looking at it in a different way and as such it isn't a journey there and back again but one journey, a play where the set is re-used but the actors are different and the performances more polished.