This is soooooooooo INTENSE.  This is the first leg of the race that has for
its entirety actually felt like a race!!

Yesterday evening when we went up on deck for watch we had the pleasure of seeing both Garmin and GB. The latter being up close and personal as we stormed past them and waved with our spinnaker up (just before we had to drop it and fell back!).  We have since been in a sailboat sandwich and with the scoring gate and finish tantalisingly close the pressure is on.  This is a race NOT just receiving lat/long coordinates of the competition every six hours (we don’t have the race viewer you see).  With LMAX ahead we know that one of us will miss out on the highly coveted scoring gate points and the even more sought after podium place.  COME ON MISSSI.  THIS is our chance.

Believe it or not, today was my first spinnaker hoist as bow 1 (the start
doesn’t count because Gav and I did it together) and a refreshing change from endless racing headsail changes and storm sail hoists and reefs.  It went brilliantly well and I am chuffed as punch with the bow team.  Kyro would have even given me an ‘A’.

I have also bailed about 2 tonnes of water out of the bilges in the sail
locker which involved lugging many of the 10 mobile sails around.  Hard work and deserved of my three breakfasts (bacon sarnie, weetabix and cornflakes and coco pops, a special appearance for this leg).

We had thought that we may be in Sydney in 2 days but with this wind hole (yes, hard to believe after recent days) it may be late 13th or perhaps early 14th.

Everyone is making the most of being on the relative flat and level.

I’m so fricking excited I’m going to explode.  Christmas !!!!!  RACE!!!!
SYDNEY!!!! I haven’t worked this hard physically in a long time.  Caught a
glimpse of my biceps yesterday…The very fact I spotted them is telling.

A character that I’m struggling with but that’s soemthing for land once I
have a codename.

Lots of love.  Well done on your assignments mum xxxx