After another 24 hours of pretty much no wind at all I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that we’ll be last as we pass this first ice gate. To be honest it has been some of the most painful yachting I have done to date, watching the fleet get further and further ahead each sched as we sit becalmed in what is probably the biggest hole in the Southern Ocean.

Every time the wind has hinted at building we have been becalmed a couple of hours later. I think now we are on our way out though which gives us a little hope, the wind is finally building slowly although not nearly quick enough for my liking.

Over the past 24 hours we have had plenty of time to think of ways in which to escape this situation – unfortunately the plan which involved re-wiring the fleet 77 to work as a ‘time machine’ in order to tell the past me not to go this way didn’t quite work out despite knowing most of the lines from the Bill and Ted movies and having watched Back to the Future during the Melbourne stop over. It all comes down to patience in the end.

Fortunately for all on board the fat lady is a long way from singing at this stage, with about 3,000 miles to the Horn we are preparing for the big comeback. We know the big breeze is round the corner and we’ll be lapping it up when it finally arrives. A few of the boys have dug out their drysuits ready for a wet ride. The general consensus on board is that having had a pretty dry trip so far the second half of the Southern Ocean is going to more than make up for the lack of water over the deck so far.

Right now we are all saying bring it on as we plod along impatiently in 6 knots of breeze.