26o52S 9o07E

Downwind sailing is definitely, to use one of David's catchphrases, 'the way forward'! From the small pluses to the huge advantages, there is no comparison when it comes to comfort and speed. The bread rises perfectly, people have no excuse not to wash their socks regularly and getting dressed takes just a few seconds - which means more sleep! We have been steaming north-west out into the Atlantic for approaching three and a half days now and have already covered 650nm. We have been very, very lucky with the weather. When the fleet left Cape Town on the Atlantic leg to France in the 2000 race, they got stuck for days in a sickening windless hole just outside the city and the race finish had to be postponed.

Our long journey north is broken into several stages and the first of these, the Tropic of Capricorn, is just a short hop away, where the crew will be treated to a special treat of a gin and tonic complete with a slice of real lime and a cocktail umbrella (pink of course!). The freezing temperatures of the Southern Ocean are a 'still fresh but thankfully past' nightmare and things are looking good. And without the distraction of simply trying to survive intact in the face of all that weather, there is renewed vigour amongst the crew when it comes to racing. The competition could not be closer; as we travel at ten knots through the perfect starry night towards another fantastic dawn, we are flanked by Team Stelmar and VAIO on the port beam and bow respectively, with Spirit of Sark on the port quarter and Barclays Adventurer dead astern. The ghostly shapes of lit-up spinnakers are all around on our high-speed runway heading straight to Boston!

In the immediate term, however, there is rising concern regarding tactics. Those boats out to the west - SAIC La Jolla and Samsung - have seen considerable gains (they were 17 and 4 miles ahead on the last scheds), whilst those of us who came out east to avoid the high-pressure with its accompanying light winds (which should arrive tomorrow) have lost some ground. So there are important decisions about routing to be made. David is in and out of bed like a man possessed. As we try, with varying degrees of success, to sleep in our rolling bunks, the regular noises which rouse us are the all too familiar screams of 'get it down now!', shortly followed by the whoosh and wet flutter of yet another kite being rugby tackled onto the deck in the nick of time. Leg One memories come flooding back.

Our two new BP Crew, Gabi Froes (a lawyer from Rio) and Matt Cannon (a Marketing Analyst in Marine from Hemel Hempstead) seem to be enjoying themselves and are doing brilliantly at picking everything up at top speed. In my humble opinion they have been allocated a great leg. The war of attrition against mountainous seas might be over for the time being but there is definitely a battle raging out here and it is already a fierce one!