It’s really a big relief to have made it into port! I'm not sure if I enjoyed it! It was very hard. A couple of nights ago we had a lot of wind. The motion was very violent and it was very physical. Not surprising I guess when you head into the Bay of Biscay in December. I’ve learned a lot about the boat certainly. I’ve basically spent the past 3 months sailing on the boat as we started off by delivering the boat across the Atlantic from Massachusetts for the TJV. I’ve done 14,000 miles since October 6th! That’s a lot of sailing and I’m really tired.

It just wouldn't let up. For the past 4 days I've have 30 - 40 and then 28-30 knots today. At 40 knots the boat banks really hard and just bangs constantly. I'm bruised and battered because of the movement of the boat. You feel so weak. The boat is very jerky. There's always lots of motion and action....

Naval frigate, HMS Northumberland has lent its support to the rescue of Dee Caffari following the dismasting of Aviva yesterday morning. The Naval Frigate learnt of Caffari’s difficulties from Falmouth coast guard whilst en-route back from the Mediterranean for Christmas leave. The Commanding Officer, Martin Simpson, sent a message directly to Caffari onboard Aviva that they were 85 nautical miles away and able to make a small alteration course to offer assistance until a tug arrives today...

Aviva GBR 111 Position awaiting Tow in Atlantic British Warship Northumberland on stand by It has been 30 hours since Aviva was dismasted and I am still bobbing around in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The good news is that the weather has improved. The sky has cleared the rain has stopped and the wind has abated. The swell is still at large and the relentless rolling onboard Aviva is uncomfortable to say the least.

Finally out of the Azores doldrums, we have been rocketing across toward the coast with a position report average speed of 13.75 knots for the last time segment, and periodic sprints to 19 knots. Went through the inventory from reacher and full main to solent to 1st reef to staysail to 2nd reef, nearly into 3rd reef in order to gain options on heading higher as the low comes across...

Hello from Spirit of Canada A tough sailing day today with winds shifting in direction and strength, going from 12 knots up to 25 knots. So I have been spending a lot of time on deck putting in reefs and taking them out...

Day Ninteen Report @ 2233hrs UT Aviva GBR 111 Position 41 19.6N 14 28.5W COG 065 SOG 12.1 A wet, windy and wild day sailing today. Covering the miles at these speeds is great and makes the reality of finishing much greater. It has definitely been a race of all sorts and has tested me to the limit both mentally and physically

Hello from Spirit of Canada 16 December 2007 More downwind sailing with full mainsail and Code O. There is between 12 and 15 knots of wind and we are almost making a direct course for the finish line. My prediction is for my finish sometime late Wednesday...

Day Eighteen Report @ 2217hrs UT Aviva GBR 111 Position 38 31.7N 20 46.7W COG 067 SOG 16.8 The wind arrived, the waves picked up and we were off. Surfing at speeds of up to 20 knots it was a relief. ..

Hello! It is a cold black night out here. I've got 2 pairs of socks on, hat gloves, the works! It's freezing! Especially as we're going upwind in 20 knots of wind - that adds a reasonable wind chill factor!..

Hello from Spirit of Canada 15 December 15, 2007 The wind is back! Finally we have some decent wind, albeit from the south it is a welcome change from that heinous area behind us that held us for so many hours. I’m sailing a direct course to the finish line at speed so it feels great...

Day Seventeen Report @ 2310hrs UT Aviva GBR 111 Position 36 40.8N 25 23.1W COG 063 SOG 6.8 After finally finding some breeze and closing a little distance to the finish line for once I was becalmed once more. As the sun set the wind died and I was left wallowing in the swell...

Hello from Spirit of Canada 14 December 2007 Overall it’s been a good sailing day but still not a lot of wind. On average about 8 knots of wind from the southeast so we are going off the wind for a change....

Day Sixteen Report @ 2309hrs UT Aviva GBR 111 Position 35 08.6N 27 16.9W COG 042 SOG 8.1 Finally, we are moving and as the day has developed the movement has even been in the right direction...

Mike Golding and ECOVER 3 finally arrived safely in Tenerife at around 0400hrs this morning, ending a very frustrating and disappointing spell for Mike. After retiring from the Transat ECOVER B to B race from Brazil to Brittany due to the combined effects of various engine and electrical problems, Mike has had a tough time battling mixed conditions with barely working pilots and limited instrumentation. The ECOVER 3 shore team have been in Tenerife for two days preparing for the boat’s arrival and will now work quickly to get the boat back into safe condition to deliver her back to mainland Europe ready for the planned winter refit. “The last few days especially have been very, very frustrating. I am disappointed not to be in Port la Foret up with the leaders, but completing the passage like this is not good at all. We have a lot of work to do.” Mike commented yesterday.

Hello from Spirit of Canada – 13th Dec 2007 The slow sailing persists in this high pressure zone and it looks it will be around for a while. I didn’t make much progress overnight last night and this morning the sea was rolling glass....

Hello from Roxy! We're surfing along at speeds between 12 and 15 knots, with a blue sky, fluffy clouds and 18 knots of wind. The night was difficult for me, strategy-wise!..

Reasons to get there: 1. To see my cheri 2. To beat Yannik Bestaven 3. To get ROXY into refit as quickly as possible 4. To be able to go to sleep for 12 hours non stop. In my bed!

Hello from Roxy! We're surfing along at speeds between 12 and 15 knots, with a blue sky, fluffy clouds and 18 knots of wind.

Last posmaxsea report showing our 4 hour average of 0.86 knots says it all. Flat becalmed for ~10 hours, slatting, rolled up solent to save the fabric. Venus' reflection at dawn was perfect in the mirror calm. All is well aboard otherwise. Rich