Too much to say in such a short period of time so will have to keep it
brief I’m afraid.

I approached this leg with much trepidation and it turns out rightly so.
That said, there have been many incredible distractions that I am enjoying
being back at sea.

In no particular order…

The send off from Albany was exceptional.  Albany itself is a little place
with welcoming and generous locals.  We left the marina to much fanfare and land support from complete strangers who took pride in wishing us on our way.  That was special.  As the parade of sail kicked off with 12 boats
aligned, Dad popped by for a visit barrel rolling and looping his way up
and down the precession line.  Stunning!   If that wasn’t enough he hopped into his other plane with Karen and circled above as 12 boats jostled for position on the start line and headed around and then out of the bay for Sydney.

Mission Performance stuck with its recent record and took the lead from the off.  There is something so intense and magical about race starts and this time even more so as I gain and I lead the bow team. I felt pretty proud of myself when I noted an incorrectly tied sheet and a faulty trip line before the kite hoist.  I had Kyro’s words whirring in my mind as I set out leaving him on terra firma.  Thats really where my pride on the bow stops!

Aside from mother duty on the first day, watches have been relatively calm (apart from 1) with somewhere between one and three evolutions.  Usually they have happened in quick succession and this afternoon we were definitely ready for our gnocci lunch.  It is great to see Janine and Tim
embracing life on the bow, now I have to deliver for them imparting my
knowledge and creating a successful, slick team.  We’re not there yet!

Last night we were wrestling with the yankee at watch change and it took all of us to try to stop it going overboard.  Not a great end to an
otherwise successful (slow) sail change.

I don’t think I have introduced you to Rich yet.  He is joining mission
Performance for this leg armed with multiple cameras and microphones.  He is tasked with creating a multi-part documentary series following the crews through this epic adventure.  He has been on GB, Garmin and Ichorcoal so far and now its our turn.  Unfortunately I am one of his victims with regular pauses for interviews and filming.  Oh how wonderful it will be when the world sees my soon-to-be-busy eyebrows and unbrushed teeth, not to mention the birds nest on the back of the head.

Given vanity unexpectedly featured quite highly in the last leg it is
probably worth giving you an update on my hair strategy for this leg.  I
had a blow dry in Albany and decided not to wash my hair again before race start.  Risky coming into the leg with 5 day old hair.  The theory being
that the hair dresser gets it far silkier / smoother than I ever can which
may make for less matting.  I have also adopted a 4 plait ‘medusa’ set up.
It seems to be working well.  All those that see me on television will
question my mental health.

Anyway, best dash back to watch.  Soon to start the ocean crawl.  Making
good speed at the moment but high pressure ahead suggests it may not last.

Also no nightmares yet…

Here’s to being in first place and day 4 on my chocolate advent calender!

Love xx