If anybody ever asks me to go to New Caledonia they can forget it I am not going. Three weeks ago I didn’t even know where New Caledonia was, I haven’t even been within 100 miles of the place but I don’t like it and I never want to go. We have spent all day fighting to escape a huge cloud and no wind that spun up to leeward of New Caledonia today. I wouldn’t have felt so hard done by if we hadn’t had a conservative strategy of staying on Groupama and Puma’s line 100 miles offshore of the island.

Groupama and Puma sailed on by without missing a beat and we lost 100 miles at least! I guess it was all in the timing. It was tough to go further West off the island as that would have meant reaching down behind Camper and conceding fourth place – and it may not have actually helped as the cloud grew so far West. Had this blow not come hot on the heels of the three boats escaping to the West I wouldn’t have minded quite so much. Anyway there is no time for feeling sorry for ourselves we have a battle on with Sanya, we have to try and still catch Camper and we have a race to be ready for the next leg. The wind is building, we are nearly pointing at Auckland and there is just over 1100 miles to go – life isn’t too bad we’ll try and get there for the weekend.