I’m now in Cape Town. 

Leg 2 was hard, the ocean wasn’t particularly kind to us and our northern route followed a low pressure system which meant we were in pretty big sea for days. Upwind/ beam reach sailing makes everything hard below decks. Sleeping is challenging partly because the boat is so noisy and the grinders are inches from your head but also because you have a constant threat of falling from your bunk. When it’s the top bunk that’s a long way to fall.
Cooking is not easy either, I made bread every morning at 4 am and the loaves often ended up misshaped as gravity took hold during the cooking process.
Wedge shape cakes is another specialty of ours.

Other practicalities like dressing or using the bathroom are all very challenging when your floors aren’t horizontal and the walls aren’t vertical.

But ..


Helming in big seas is awesome, I often image 8-stone me pitched against the 2 x 8 foot tall, 20 stone (?) each rudders with me winning the battle. They kick and buck as the sea wants them to go one way and I want them to go in the opposite direction. They can kick back so hard that, on a few occasions, I have been thrown out of the helming station but the feeling of winning each battle and getting the boat on track is great.
Sliding/surfing down the big waves as gravity takes hold is amazing as well. As the boat peaks at the top of the waves and all you can see is a massive water slide down into the valley below, you know this 40 ton boat is going to be out of control for a few seconds before you are able to gain control at the bottom and get her back on track. My maximum speed so far is 17.9 knots but others have achieved 24 knots.

Sitting on deck waiting for trimming instructions or sail evolution's is not easy either. The sea often smacks you in the back when you are least expecting it and can carry you over the deck colliding with the various objection bolted to the down. We had a few injuries due to this. The cockpit fills up like a swimming pool and makes its way into the sleeping corridor.


One day, close to Cape Town, we saw a great white shark a few feet from the side of the boat which was exciting. A whale breached the surface several times behind the boat and sea birds often used the boat to hunt for the fish we may have disturbed.  We have seen albatrosses, petrels,  and boobies.


The middle of the ocean is a lonely place where few marine animals show themselves, there are no ships and even the birds are fewer in numbers.
It’s all amazing though.


Boat leaves Cape Town on Sunday and we have a 23-ish day crossing to Fremantle. The southern ocean is a desolate place with huge waves and cold temperatures, this is one of the biggest challenges of the race. Thought I might get off in Cape Town and fly but now I’ve decided to go on. The thought of disappointing the follows, particularly the children, is spurring me on.