Wednesday 24 December 2008

VOR: ERICSSON 4 LEG THREE DAY 6 QFB: received 18.12.08 1050 GMT

Hi! We are now 330 miles from the scoring gate and all the boats are really close. We are trying hard to gain some miles on Telefónica Blue and keep our distance from the others. At the moment, we have 16-20 knots of wind and we are sailing in a fast up wind mode.

Life on board has not been easy. Down below it’s really warm and we are glad that we have fans in our bunks! On deck has been also very warm and if we are not wet because of the waves and the rains, once you put your gear on you start to get very sweaty... But, we all know that we are going to miss a lot this kind of weather on next leg to Qingdao!

Although this is one of the shortest legs during the race, our trip has not been not quick. We already have had a look in some of our food bags and prepared to have our Christmas dinner onboard, in case we have some delay in our previous ETA. Some of the guys are not happy, as from now we have a few less snacks and some meals have got smaller. We all hope that we get some good winds at the Malacca Strait and that we arrive in time to have a proper Christmas dinner!

Good winds
Joca Signorini

Also today saw Jules turn 40! He was his usual flamboyant and jolly self, happily sat at his nav desk in his pants (must be turning Brazilian!). Not sure what will happen with the approaching mid life crisis -I doubt the Harley Davidson and leather jacket will be enough for Jules after going round the world. I’m sure his mid-life will be more likely to involve a comfortable sofa and plenty of Coronation Street, a nice cup of tea and a fish finger sandwich.... Hold on a second - I think he is already having it.

Guy Salter - MCM

Volvo Ocean Race

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