RACE 12 - DAY 11 SKIPPER REPORT

It’s great to report that Qingdao is only 25 miles away from the Finish Line. It’s been lovely to be racing amongst the fleet once again following a couple of races sailing on elapsed time.

The race has had many high and low points; from the frustration of going from first to the back of the fleet, through two agonising days in the first big wind shut down, and then watching Punta del Este and Unicef disappear from sight a day later as our breeze ran out once more. They went from being in sight to a 50 mile lead in the space of hours. The first stage of the race was very exciting and we had some good breeze. Spinnaker peels took place racing side by side with others from the start.

Following the wind holes we were in a position forced to the left side of Inagua Island and had to make the best of a bad situation. The team showed much resolve and we studied the forecasts to make the best of the current and wind from the left. We positioned ourselves further left still and we have a completely different angle coming into the finish. We still don’t know how it will end as what was looking like a great strategy is now questionable as we face our final shutdown of wind close to the south of the island. Some luck could be at play and we could make 6th place or it could all go very wrong in the last few hours.

The team have learnt and grown over the past races and it's a pleasure to be privileged to lead them. Everyone has contributed in many different ways and I will reiterate a quote that I don’t believe can be over used. I've learnt far more from the team in many different ways than they have from me. Collectively this is an amazing group of people who have come together to form Qingdao and it’s a very special thing that I'm very proud of.

We are all looking forward to getting into Bermuda and hopefully sampling some cold beers on arrival. They definitely deserve it and I'll have one too. Oh, go on then :)

We'll miss those leaving us here and welcome new returning and new crew back to the boat. What a race this has turned out to be. Exciting and tense as everything hangs in the balance.

We look forward to facing the challenges to come and of course enjoy the journey as once more we ask: “How can we make the boat go faster..?”