We are sitting in a secondary low pressure system for a couple of days now, which has developed between two high pressure systems. It is that low which is responsible for the winds which are blowing from roughly the direction we want to go: east. Thus our progress is slow. We are beating against the wind and only make small progress towards the finish.

On a positive note however we are not falling further behind. Although we have to reduce our sail area every time we get onto our broken rudder we are able to roughly maintain the distance to the boats ahead. It thus takes almost an hour to tack, hoist a sail and put in reef to the main sail. But the hard work seems to be paying off. We are still in striking distance to the boats in front.

We do our best to keep the spirit up on board. Nevertheless, everyone is getting very eager to finally arrive. It is the final stretch of this race but the three weeks at sea are taking their toll. Some of us have sustained smaller injuries. But most of that will probably be forgotten by the time we get there and toast to what we have experienced. And it is this prospect that gives us the power to keep going at this point even though it is tough.

Since yesterday it feels like the temperature has dropped again. Whether this is because we are a bit further north or if the wind has brought the cold air remains unknown. But it doesn’t really matter. Despite the rotation which allows us to spend less time on deck everyone was cold. And then it did not really matter whether it was hot tea, a soup or porridge. The only thing important was that it was hot. This allowed to at least warm one’s hands and throat. After that one felt warm for at least a few minutes. But it wasn’t until an hour later that we went back below deck, again cooled down by the breeze.

And this is pretty much how every watch looks like these days. During the day it is marginally warmer but still too cold to stay on deck for the entire time. That is unless we are doing manoeuvres. Especially when hoisting sails or reefing the main sail one gets warm. And thus tacking a lot has a further benefit. That is in addition to making the time pass faster if you have something to do. Leg for leg we are getting closer to the finish line and thus also to a warming shower.