Tyco hangs on

With the slenderest of leads, Tyco heads the closest Ocean Race yet.

Despite settling firmly towards the back of the fleet, Knut Frostadt (who signs off his message as 'Skipper, djuice Patience Testing Programme') is feeling defiant:

The word 'patience' is not too familiar to anyone who loves speeding down waves faster than the competition, fighting night and day for inches of gains, and instantly get feedback on your own performance as a win or a loss. However, right now, patience is what our lives onboard djuice is all about.

Never in my life has my patience been tested harder. A small loss during the first days out of England has grown to a massive distance, even if we have been fighting like hell, day and night and most likely made very few mistakes the last days. We just missed the first train and our train just won't give us opportunities to go as fast at the moment. We simply have less wind than the leading pack. The big wall of no wind that could gave slowed them down, decided to let them through before us and instead sucked up every knot of wind around us.

Don't you ever think that we have accepted the loss. No massive high pressure ridge will stop us. No broken headboard car will stop us. No broken water maker and shortage of fresh water supply will stop us. No endless flow of negative position reports will ever stop us. There will be good news coming, and good news is best in the end.

So what is it like to be the skipper right now, looking the guys in the eyes every hour. Seeing the optimistic smile just barely covering the begging thoughts and dreams of better days to come, on everyone's face.


Page three - delight and frustration from Grant Dalton
Page four - 1600 position report