It’s been a bit of a rubbish night… Compared with Jean Le Cam, I don’t seem to have done so well. I kept getting headed and he seemed to be lifted so I seem to have lost a bit to him.
But I am back on track now.
Looking ahead, it is not quite the rosy routing that it looked like yesterday, but it is still OK, it’s good. I can still see Armel really getting away after the next gate by a long way, but we need to wait and see on that one.
I am very near to the gate now, about 32 miles to the eastern mark. It won’t be a gybe as such, just a bear away but it will be good to change the sailplan and get going again. As soon as I bear away, I should be able to open up a few miles on Jean again.
It is always good to put a mark of the course behind you. They do become a big preoccupation, though. It was like this last night. You are working towards a mark which is 150 miles away and you are struggling because you are being headed and you are not getting to sleep because of that. That does not feel like a round the world race, but an offshore race. It is like not being able to get your head down on a Channel Race (editor's note: English offshore race). It is like racing an offshore points series rather than round the world, but it will still feel good to have it behind me and focus on the next one.
