Soon I will have made it across the Indian Ocean! It seems like a long time ago that I left Cape Town but in reality it is only two weeks.

I have had several low pressure systems to negotiate, with winds up to 50 knots at times. As planned I am sailing safely, as there is no longer the pressure of the race to push hard, and also to preserve and let heal my broken ribs. In between low pressure systems, there has been a little ridge of high pressure, lighter winds and a little bit of sunshine, and that is always a very welcome break to relax, check the boat, tidy up, wash, change and sometimes treat myself to a special meal or treat.

Luckily for me, Christmas day happened to be in one of these "lighter wind" days and so I could enjoy a little bit of festive life on board...It is a little  "evasion" away from the relentless pressure of sailing these machines at the best speed and course through the oceans. My friends, team and family had put some presents and decorations on board before the start so I even had presents to open! The best one was a USB stick with some hilarious home videos made by a good friend, and a christmas drawing hand made by Ruben. We managed a "family Skype" with Romain, Ruben and my parents and I all on Skype together which was great fun to see Ruben so happy and showing us his presents!

In the evening, I had christmas dinner "with" my best friend Miranda (Merron). We had ordered the same freeze-dried christmas dinner and we made a "date" to eat it at the same time whilst "chatting" on WhatsApp - the nearest thing to a sociable dinner that you can do out here in the ocean - each one of us on our boats, about 1000 nautical miles apart!

Since Christmas, I have had quite a quick run towards the Cape Leewin and should be passing this second "Cape" tomorrow. I have also passed Sebastien Destremeau and I am catching up with Ari and Alexia too. It is nice to be closer to the back end of the fleet, but I still have frustrating moments when I look at where the leaders are and see how far
ahead they are.

But my aventure has changed, I look at the positive side - I am living a unique experience in this race being the only boat to continue "hors course" I am no longer racing against the others, and by far my toughest competition is against myself - to heal the pain, learn to deal with the frustration, overcome the fear that lingers after my crash and rebuild the confidence in myself and my boat. Slowly, slowly we are getting there, and as I pass every mile we are still raising money to save kids lives and that fills me with pride.

Sam