Four weeks into the Barcelona World Race and we are only just escaping the clutches of the South Atlantic and heading east into the Indian Ocean.
It has been slow progress around the St Helena high pressure and each mile of progress has been paid for heavily with hours spent wallowing becalmed.
This will be my fourth experience of the Southern Ocean as part of a round the world voyage, however, I am not sure the know-how I have gathered previously will be a great deal of help this time.
The presence of ice has forced the race organisers to move the ice gates further north to keep us away from the high risk areas and, in turn, this has greatly altered the weather patterns we will encounter.
Traditionally when pitching further south, we would hook into a low pressure system and ride it south, gybing as the front passed over us.
Now we are forced to exit this fertile low pressure area and fight our way north to make the gate, leaving us exposed to the high pressure areas with light winds and potentially upwind sailing conditions.
I do not think I have ever before sailed upwind in the Southern Ocean (heading in this direction anyway) but having checked the weather forecast, upwind conditions are most definitely on the menu.
Typically you expect everyone to ride the train along the south and, provided all is well onboard, those in front speed away from the rest of the pack but with the weather creating stop start conditions it will present us with a concertina effect.
So sailing is going to mirror air travel a little here. You may well have pre-booked your seat, checked in online and breezed through security but if the flight is delayed or your bag is the last one out on the conveyor belt at baggage reclaim, you may not be the first one to reach your destination!
What it will give boats in the chasing pack is an opportunity to close the gap on rivals which could make for interesting viewing for you and stressful sailing for us.
We spent an extended period of time in the South Atlantic and, apart from periods of frustration with lack of progress, we were dismayed to see just how much rubbish there was floating around us.
Old fishing pots, plastic crates, bottles and netting were everywhere and we were saddened to see this beautiful environment polluted to such an extent. Our plea from the sea is that you find a bin and recycle!
Another reason to be concerned at the level of rubbish is that this area is a true haven for wildlife and we can only imagine the devastating impact the debris has on them. We passed close to the volcanic Tristan and Gough islands, whose existence would be news to many people.
As we approached these land masses the volume of wildlife grew as ocean birds soared around us and dolphins visited in the huge ocean swell. As the sky turns grey in colour, I can smell the Southern Ocean. We are so nearly there!
