Telefonica Blue in rough conditions in the Southern Ocean, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro. Image copyright Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race.
by Simon Fisher (helmsman)
We have made some nice progress recently, it s now only 680 miles until we are rounding Cape Horn and it seems we have endured the worst of the weather and the waves.
I have to admit when I look at the computer screen I am a little envious of the Ericsson boats who have now rounded the Horn and will now be looking forward to heading north towards Rio. However, it is only another two days for us until we reach what will be an important milestone, and it looks as though we have seen the worst of the weather for this episode in the Southern Ocean. I am not going to risk saying it will be plain sailing though - I will be satisfied when we have turned the corner and not before!
Sadly any aspirations of catching the others as we closed on Cape Horn were not realised, in fact I cannot remember a race when I have been so far behind. However, I think we are all looking at the trip from the Cape to Rio as a new chapter for us and hopefully in the later stages of the race we may be able to redress some of the mistakes we made earlier on...
On board everyone continues to be in good spirits, spirits that are gradually improving as we close on the Cape. Everyone is anxious to get there though and the distance to waypoint is regularly checked by those on deck. The last few days have been something of a countdown for everyone; although the joke is still running that it’s another eight days to the horn!' I guess we will believe we are there when we see it!!
Volvo Ocean Race
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