received 18.12.08 1537 GMT
I heard of the mishap of our friends on Delta Lloyd, and you don't have to tell me how they feel. Been there, seen it and done it. As soon as I saw the message, I reported to race headquarters, that we are on standby to assist, as I know as well what that means to hear for Delta Lloyd - that others are there for them. Of course, this is a yacht race, but it is oh so relative, when you are in trouble on this big ocean. But I hope that they can continue without assistance, Chuny (skipper Roberto Bermudez/ESP) will a grip on the situation, and will make the right calls.
Oh, yes, we are still in a boat race and a hot one to be first to the gate. We had a very similar situation in the last race, and managed to keep first by only a whisker, and it looks a very similar situation. Ericsson 4 is behind, but has a better angle to the gate, meaning that they can sail relatively faster. The other boats are also still in striking distance, so we are keeping a close eye on them as well.
We have been stubborn, and we stuck to our guns, separated from the fleet and went for the shift, and hopefully we will be rewarded full points for that. Another 260 miles to go, without any proper sleep possible. Lying in my bunk, I might doze away, but then very quickly I will check wind direction and wind speed. For Sifi (Simon Fisher – navigator) is the same, and I hope we can pull it off for his sake. Regarding Tom Addis: well, when we made the decision to go our way, I trusted him and what he saw developing, but when the shift finally came through, I was so happy. I told him: "if you weren’t a man, I would have kissed you”.
Cheers,
Bouwe Bekking - skipper
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