Leg 1 Day 29 :27' 11S 40' 30W

Not BP Explorer's finest hour... or rather 24. Hour by painful hour our fortunes have moved from bad to worse to the downright dangerous. There was admittedly one sunny interlude yesterday when the spinnaker tripped itself and floated free without warning. This unforseen and inconvenient spinnaker drop turned out to be a blessing in disguise - yes it meant lost miles as we slowed down, but in the process we found a hole in a seam which could so easily have led to a blown kite and a final nightmarish week below decks stitching. As it was, the repair took minutes thanks to our crack sewing circle (Goldie and Sasha). Apart from this good fortune, however, it has been a day which we would rather forget. The peels, drops, re-hoists and polings-out have been endless (we pole-out when the wind gets too strong for a spinnaker and we fly a headsail on either side of the boat, the yankee being kept out with the spinnaker pole). The work has been very, very tiring, with something seeming to happen at the end of every watch, the result of which being that precious opportunities to sleep leak away.

As night fell we entered a more dramatic and potentially dangerous phase. As the wind rose we dropped the 1.5 kite and had to temporarily pole out to sort out some twisted halyards. The wind shifted and we gybed, got the flanker on deck, and hoisted it inside its22m launching tube. As the kite breaks out, the tube normally trails harmlessly behind the yacht and is gathered in after the hoist. This time it appeared to bag up in the water, creating a large amount of drag and pulling the bowman off his feet. Back on the helm the boat powered up to nearly 11knots and there was a concerned ''the helm does not feel right''. The metres of thick, strong, white nylon then wrapped themselves around our rudder, massing themselves into an horrendous knot.

The feeling on the helm was akin to driving a car at night, at full speed, in the outside lane of the motorway. There are no brakes and no way of slowing down -suddenly your steering lock starts to go on and off..........

As the helm slowly locked up and the boat remained at full speed the situation became downright dangerous. The flanker had to be dropped and then the mainsail. With all sail down in the strong winds we were still making way and wallowing badly in the swell. In the torchlight 22m of thick nylon launching tube trailed, jammed under the rudder 2m underwater.After initial attempts to recover the launching tube failed, it became obvious that we would have to completely stop the boat, and perhaps send someone over the side for a closer look (i.e. the skipper). The back of the boat began to look like a dive site as ladders, boathook, torches of every shape and size and extra lines of all kinds were called for and handed over. But the launching tube would not budge, despite the fact that we had dragged enough of it back on board starboard side for a good six or seven people to heave on, tug-of-war style. After 45 minutes and as a midnight swim was looking more and more likely, we managed to free the other end of the tube.

This we dragged out on port side. Each free end was then attached to a winch with a section of rope, then winched in turn; one eventually began to give, although the tube still would not come free. Having secured both ends we cut the tube in two and winched the two halves separately - finally they were hauled into the cockpit to a relieved cheer all round and the tidy-up began.

Then it was back to the original goal - the flanker. We had been stopped in the water for at least an hour, so estimated that our minimum loss would be around ten miles. Time was of the essence - but it was not to be. In the heat of the moment of the re-hoist, and no doubt due to the fact that everyone was getting more and more exhausted, a staysail halyard which must and have become twisted at the top of the mast when we dropped all our sails was missed. This then fouled the spinnaker halyard during the hoist and the whole thing hand to come down again immediately and be sent below to the packing-station (which by this time was full of very worn spinnaker packers). With everything stowed we opted for tea and either a raw flapjack or, in some cases, a damp roll-up to calm our frayed nerves.

At 2a.m. we read that inevitably we had lost miles to everyone, but as we now await the morning's position reports there is an air of tension about the place. Things are not looking good. Whatever the result though we will fight on! It isn't over yet.

Skippers note: All of this was ''achieved'' without injury to the crew. Our primary goal of ''safe'' is maintained. The crew are tired but nothing a few hours sleep wont sort out, so that takes care of ''happy''. As for ''faster'' well we are working on it.

BP Explorer - Safe - Happy - Faster

Leg 1 Day 28 :24deg 28min S 42deg 14 W

The water finally pumped from the bilges and clothes strung out and drying around the yacht the conversation around the saloon table turns to Thursdays. It seems that every Thursday on this leg something has happened to BP Explorer. The first was the force 10 storm, one week later was a bad spinnaker day, the week after a foreguy broke and we lost places. This Thursday we were hit by a very strong gust front as a trough passed over us with everyone on deck battling to get back on course and avoid any damage thus ruining our chance to regain the lead. Next Thursday is the day before the first yacht's expected arrival in Buenos Aires we hope by then we've had all our bad luck and it goes without incident. The hard work on deck is paying off and we are holding our 4th place position and we were nibbling away at the miles between us and VAIO in third place. We were that is until the fleet positions this morning which showed that while trying to save our kites during the night we seem to have been going slower. A constant headache for the tacticians is how far to push it and when. In the quest for more speed or to protect the sails they may remain for as long as it took to get up before conditions change and it's brought down again and replaced with what was before.

Meanwhile, Barclays Adventurer have increased their lead and are 59 miles ahead of us in first place. Behind them is Samsung who we appear to be attached to with a piece of bungee as we seem to gain miles only to lose them the following day. After seeing Spirit of Sark on the horizon behind us on Friday night we are now 11 miles ahead of them and 15 miles in front of BG SPIRIT. We passed through an oilfield off the coast of Cabo Frio during the day yesterday and made sure we kept a safe distance from the huge oilrigs scattered around us. When we used our binoculars though we did see some of the crew on the rigs waving at us, one can only wonder what they might have thought when they saw a BP yacht passing by - were BP sailing their crews out to the rigs now in another step towards a greener company?

Or maybe this was a spying mission. The flames from the gas burners disappeared over the horizon during the night and we are now clear of obstacles and some 860 miles to the River plate and from there only 100 miles from the finish of leg one and that sweet, sweet beer.

Leg 1 Day 27 :Approachin Cabo Frio (just north of Rio)

It's been go, go, go on BP Explorer for the last 24 hours! A change, they say, is as good as a rest, but right now I am not sure that many of the crew would agree. A sofa, a hot bath, endless hours of mindless TV and pizza would, in short, be Heaven! But we will have to wait a little longer. As our watch came on deck yesterday afternoon, we were ready for an afternoon with the spinnaker up and all stops out to regain lost ground on Spirit of Sark and BG SPIRIT as we approached Cabo Frio (just north of Rio). In this area the weather looked set to change with the wind clocking around to the south and a possible lull in the process (which, we estimated, could take up to a day).

At around 2.30 (boat time), there we were, a light shower beginning but nothing untoward happening in the sky. Within less than ten minutes, it was spinnaker down (VERY quickly) and headsails up as the wind completed its predicted shift - not over the course of a day, but at lightning speed. Another five minutes and we were in the midst of a Force 7 - Gale 8! No boring lull for us. The reefs went in faster than you can say Jack Robinson, the yankee was changed and we surveyed the heaped-up sea - and our skipper's very stylish yellow helming goggles - with amazement. At one point in the maelstrom of wind and rain, we were also privy to a fleeting flypast by a bright-green fishing boat, its occupants all waving madly at us as we grappled with halyards and sheets. It's only a shame we did not manage to buy a bit of fresh fish for our supper!

David's goggles stayed on for the rest of the watch, but as for the rest of us, it is fair to say that shorts and T-shirts turned out to be a fashion mistake - total immersion was dolled out to one and all before we had time to change into foulies. Breathless and windswept, we finally found ourselves gulping down tea in unison on the rail, where our exertions were rewarded with a spectacular series of acrobatics courtesy of an energetic whale! Though in fine fettle considering our unforseen pasting, we prepared ourselves for the worst when the position reports came in; it was a mixed bag - there was now considerably more ocean between ourselves and BG SPIRIT, but Spirit of Sark had made miles on us during our stormy interval. At 2am this morning, however, after an exhausting 12 hours, we had clawed back our lead over the former foe. Fingers crossed that this is still the case when the next report comes in. As the leading packs close the coast, the question of whether or not it is necessary to tack out into the Atlantic again becomes a key one. Those who come in too close and then have to head out east again lose precious ground, whilst those who can maintain the course stand to make great gains. With just over 1,000 miles to go until the River Plate, it is all to play for and the tension is mounting.

Leg 1 Day 26 :130 miles off the coast of Brazil

We have now left the relatively predictable trade winds and are in more variable winds off of Brazil. The night watches are long as we are focusing hard on trimming and helming and they are also tiring as we are constantly changing and adjusting spinnakers. During the night the wind changed dramatically and we had to drop the flanker. On the way down it sustained a sizable rip and was hastily sent below where the sail repair team were woken to start a repair.

Meanwhile the 1.5 oz kite was hoisted only to find that that too had a tear and that had to be dropped immediately. For what was an agonisingly long time we had no sails up until we finally poled out the no1 Yankee. The position report confirmed our fears and we had lost valuable miles on Barclays Adventurer, Samsung and VAIO and the gap between us BG Spirit and Spirit of Sark had closed. When something like this happens often the off watch will stay on to help the on watch and make sure a procedure is finished and everything is ok before heading off to bed. The four hours off during the night can easily become two and everyone looks forward to getting in their bunks, however, the noise on deck can make sleeping without ear plugs quite difficult as all the hatches are open as it is so hot below. I guess nobody said this was going to be easy. The distance between us, BG Spirit and Spirit of Sark would be good on the last day of the leg but with over a week to go the pressure is on maintain and increase the gap. The good news is that with the variable winds comes the real opportunity to shine performance wise and we are confident that we will shine. It also opens up the game in that there are far more possibilities for an unfocussed team to make a mistake or a wrong routing decision and give us the window we need to improve our race position. Major Malhi took over the airwaves today as he hosted the chat show between yachts. Each yacht takes it in turn to host the chat show where positions are exchanged and time is given for informal chats to the skippers and crews who we have all become good friends over the years. It was also an opportunity for Laura Alexander to have a chat with her boyfriend who is a crewmember aboard Pindar.

Leg 1 Day 25 :15 57 S 36 27 W

This morning finds BP Explorer still charging down the coast of Brazil; an episode in our journey which is set to last some time - descending the Brazilian coast is the equivalent of sailing down past France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco and most of Mauritania - in all, over 2,000 miles. We have had a fantastically bright moon to guide us for the past few days and will enjoy a full one tonight, whilst beneath us we have Cadeia dos abrol hos - steep volcanic pinnacles on the seabed where the depth decreases from over 4,000 metres to just 23! Although we are now over two-thirds of the way to BA, we are trying to avoid discussing an ETA on board; there is little to be gained from thinking too far ahead, and certainly some more time would probably work in our favour right now. Kiting ever-more quickly downwind as we pass
south of Salvador, we are still locked into the same pecking order, with the three leaders having pulled away from us slightly overnight, and things with BG SPIRIT and Spirit of Sark remaining little changed. Undeterred we may be, but all of us realise that it will take days rather than hours to achieve any change in position. We keep our spirits up with inventiveness in the kitchen and take comfort in the knowledge that we have a superior TTS on board. Yesterday we had a breakfast which would have been deemed 'a marvellous spread' by any self-respecting member of the Famous Five off on adventure; chocolate birthday cake with blue icing to start, following by scrambled egg (powdered) and 'bacon' (soya) on freshly-baked brown bread, finished off with more chocolate cake. Here on BP Explorer, it is definitely a case of weight on the high side!

Leg 1 Day 24 :East of Salvador, Brazil

We are now riding on the back of the trade winds and heading southwest about 100 miles from the coast of Brazil. In contrast to the frenetic sail changes of the last few days we have hoisted the flanker and it has remained pulling
us along over the last 24 hours at some of the fastest speeds we've had. A hard-core tag team of wet footed trimmers stand mid-way along the deck (at the cap shrouds) watching for every curl in the sail. We are sailing BP Explorer to her optimum in these conditions and the worry of a broach is
always on the minds of the skipper and crew. The helms are fighting the swell, working extra hard at the wheel and nod knowingly at each other while clutching their aching shoulders. The rest of the crew are poised to leap into action should we enter a broach. Broaching, where the yacht turns out of control and on to its side, could spell disaster if we break something in our attempt to gain on the leaders and break away from BG Spirit and Sark.
We are holding on to 4th position, BG Spirit and Sark are constantly barking at our heels and we watching with interest as Barclays, Vaio and Samsung come in from the West under a better wind angle to join us closer to the coast. They are increasing their lead over us if only by a few miles a day and Vaio has now taken the lead over Samsung. To think that we had Vaio in our sights last week only for us to be becalmed just goes to show how one afternoon can alter the course of a five-week race. We have admirable competition both in front and behind and are looking for a combination of
unfavourable conditions befalling them and luck and focus staying with us before we can hope to improve our position in the fleet. Word that there are more images of other teams on the Challenge website is bringing out the David Bailey in us on our off watches. Determined not be outdone in any
arena we hope to even out the score with some more pictures of us doing our stuff. Amazing how the thought of being caught on camera gets people winching and hoisting with that little bit more gusto.

Leg 1 Day 23 :8' 52S 34' 05W

Well, it has been another encounter with frustrating winds throughout the night on BP Explorer. Having consistently chipped away at the lead of Samsung, VAIO and Barclays Adventurer over the past few days, and, at the same time, drawn away from (or at least held off) Spirit of Sark and BG SPIRIT, this morning we find ourselves faced with a less palatable position report. After a hard night's work of kites up and down, up and down, we have lost 12 miles to Spirit of Sark and 8 miles to BG SPIRIT.

The old adversaries are hot on our heels, we will continue to pull out all the stops to hold them off, but no doubt every shooting-star wish will centre around hopes for a steadier breeze to speed us quickly away from the prospect of that old three-boat race! At least we have plenty of shooting
stars to wish upon. Two nights ago our watch was granted the privilege of seeing one closer than any of us have ever seen one before. The sky was lit up literally as if by a flash of sheet lightning! It was so close that the dust burnt bright orange as it hurtled through the atmosphere - and left a
bright train in its wake which remained - a silver scar - in the heavens for quite some time. According to our pocket guide to the night sky, this was right on time for one of the busiest shooting-star seasons of the year. The display couldn't have been more on cue, we keep our fingers crossed and our
eyes cast upwards!