British yachtsman Tony Bullimore who had to abort his latest solo circumnavigation attempt on 11 May following rig problems on his 102ft catamaran Doha, has been two weeks struggling to reach New Zealand. He is now just 165 miles from the East Cape in 6kts of breeze. Bullimore sent his latest log from the boat this morning?

Here l am within 165 miles of East Cape of NZ which l have to round to get into the channel that will take me into Hauraki Gulf where l am meeting the tow vessel that will assist me in getting into the harbour.

This has got to be one of the most frustrating sailing exercises l have ever been involved in. With the right winds and no problems with Doha’s rig, it would have taken me around three or four days to cover the course – not a couple of weeks!

At this moment, l am in a truly windless zone waiting for a breeze to fill in and get me moving. l am using the time to give the boat a clean up, sort out equipment, and get ready for the run into Auckland.

I have a job list already compiled and l have spoken to people on shore who can assist to get the boat repaired and ready for the high seas. I estimate it will take around a week to work through the job list, subject to getting the spare parts quickly.

I have just cooked up a freeze dried Sweet & Sour chicken with rice and vegetables, rounded off with apple pie and custard. I must say that the Back Country freeze dried food l got from New Zealand is excellent. It looks good, tastes good, and is very easy to prepare.

I keep thinking about where l would be down the course if Doha had not been struck so early with rigging damage, and l am still shattered by what has happened. However, l am not the first to have suffered these kind of problems and certainly won’t be the last. My aim is to get everything sorted as quickly as possible and get back on the fast track.