Nice sailing conditions out here

Things have certainly slowed down here on the il mostro with a little over 800 miles to go as we re-enter the Doldrums. The boat is ghosting along at speeds in the single digits, a very unusual situation for these high powered machines. It seems that the whole fleet has compressed and right now we seem to be connected by a web of rubber bands to E3 and E4 ahead and Green Dragon behind. With every position sched, the bands either pull apart or contract but ultimately we end up back with them just in sight on the horizon. In the back of our mind we know that the first boat to punch out of the doldrums will almost certainly win the leg. Very worrying times.

It's certainly been easier for me to do my job here on the boat in these lighter conditions, obviously much less visually dramatic shots, but the towering Doldrum clouds are spectacularly beautiful. And the guys are just calling me on deck because a big sort of Indian Ocean Seagull thing just landed on the stern pulpit (check out the picture).



Onboard the boat we have done pirate related news feeds to CBS in the US and TV3 in New Zealand, this pirate stuff is big time. It's funny but now that we are in pirate waters no-one is talking about it. A couple of days ago when we were 1500 miles away and doing 25 knots it seemed like the only game in town, now that we are in middle of pirate hunting grounds and doing 4.2 knots nothing...very strange.

I'm very much looking forward to Kochi. For me travelling to new places is probably the best part of the race and arriving at an unfamiliar city by sea is one of the best feelings you can ever have. The smells, the smiling faces, and the firm dry land, all topped off by that all important first beer. I have been hearing some great reports from my family who are already there and they are apparently having a great time scoping out the place. This is only adding to my anticipation.

I got some feedback that some of my words in an earlier blog on this leg may have been misinterpreted and I just wanted to let people know that absolutely no offense was meant. I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for anyone who is currently doing or has done this race in the past, be they media or racing crew. My sincere apologies.

Out,

-Rick