VOR: TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG FIVE DAY 6 QFB: received 19.02.09 0931 GMT

by Simon Fisher (strategist/helmsman)

Twenty-four hours on and you've guessed it - we are still reaching!! Still on port tack, the same as the day we started too! That in itself has its benefits however, as it means that all the stack has stayed pretty much in place for the best part of the week apart from a bit of carting it forward and aft to help the trim of the boat.

We are still blasting along with the big jib up, staysail and full main eating the miles up as we maintain speeds in the high teens! The cloudy grey sky finally gave way today too, so the day has been spent sailing under a blue sky in a vast expanse of bright blue ocean. The weather is also warming up day by day and today was somewhat reminiscent of summer, something that we've missed since arriving in Qingdao.

Despite the warm weather, things are still very wet on deck and, as a result, various fashion accessories have appeared today in order to provide some protection from the spray. Whilst the majority have stuck with the trusty old surf helmet and visor, David (David Vera) has mixed things up a little with a very fetching pair of safety goggles and Mike (Michael Pammenter) is sporting a pair of scuba goggles. The latter, whilst looking a little ridiculous, seem to be pretty effective although this was almost not the case as, whilst getting them out of his bag, Mike managed to stamp on them popping the lenses out. The repair job was happily taken on by Gabri (Gabriele Olivo – MCM) as, at the time, the light wasn't that great for photos!

So there we have it. The days are rolling by along with the miles and we are keeping ourselves entertained by stuff however slight. We are also now feeling a little more into the race as we have closed the gap to the Green Dragon to little over 100 miles however we still have our work cut out to make it back the head of the fleet. We are still pushing hard though, each time I drive I find myself in a personal battle up against the performance percentage number on the display.

When I see it reading 100, I strive for 101, 102 and so on pushing all the time to go one better and that little bit quicker...

Volvo Ocean Race