A different coloured tadpole in a pond of frogs

Lia Ditton waits her turn for the TV interviews

Ellen Macarthur, it is rumoured, has arrived in St. Malo.

The camera crew were informing me behind the set of a live cable-TV show last night.

An hour and half in and still awaiting my interview slot, it became apparent my entry had become a public curiosity. Was I going to be the next Ellen Macarthur? Mich Desjoyeux, Armel Le Cleac'h, Marc Guillemot... there was a famous trail to the stage, each declaring readiness and winning aspirations.

On the verge of falling asleep on the high-backed green leather sofa in 'Bar Cunningham's', the temporary site of the evenings media circus, the truth was a little daunting. With a campaign barely five weeks old [my company bought the boat 4 days before I set off on the 1000 mile qualifying passage], I could hardly be laying claim to a podium position. Keeping the boat speed up and reaching Guadeloupe with a reasonable time [as much as nerves, hardware and weather permit me to eek from the boat!] would be great- thanks very much! I wondered if the whole 'art side' of my entry in the 'Route du Rhum' would be received as a joke.

The journalist from the French national paper, 'Liberation' thought it was brilliant, likewise the yachting correspondent from 'Le Telegramme' but fellow skippers Servane Escoffier and Cecile Poujol [the other two young female entries] had openly expressed dismay.

Why would I want to cut my boat in half and turn it into a sculpture? Fortunately Loick Peyron and I enjoyed a conversation backstage and the was kind enough to translate the less audible questions. 'Je suis aussi une artiste...' A different coloured tadpole in a pond of frogs- I managed in the end to get my message across.

The Open 40 Dangerous When Wet lies right behind Nick Bubb's Class 40, which
is in line behind Ian Munslow's on the main strip. Juxtaposed, we present three
very different campaigns. Munslow's Boland Mills is a fully-funded, nothing-spared aggressive-looking racing machine. Nick Bubb's Kenmore Homes was finished in an impressive three and half week build and so lacks the finer paint work of Boland Mills.

And then there is mine- le quarante pieds Ouverts de la seule jeune femme anglaise.

Ex- Spirit of Canada, Ex- White Spirit, the newly named Dangerous When Wet is comparatively a ready made, but now with only keel, mast, and hull the same as when we bought her. While the majority of boats appear bereft of skipper and crew, the team of 'Dangerous When Wet' and I martyr on. The work list is long.

After a two hour epic yesterday, by the French military, on the procedure for rescue in the event of abandon-ship, I joined Gordon [Performance Rigging, Hamble UK] and Frank Gerber [UK Sails] onboard outside the break water. While I am immensely grateful to the volunteers who are at present assisting, it was a huge boost of confidence for me yesterday to have Flash and Frank see the boat in action. Designing a sail and manipulating rigging for it is one thing. Watching the loads come on and the practicalities of sheeting positions and deadend knots is an entirely different thing altogether and an enormous amount was learnt. What may appear at this point to be the luxury of fine tuning, is not the case at all. What chafes wears through and le Route du Rhum is all about going the distance.

As of today we are locked into the Bassein- the race to the start of the race is nearly over. The weekend dawns and with it the beginning of an epic adventure- an adventure in which weather router Bill Biewenga advises me to get clear out of Biscay by Thursday; next Thursday. Thursday brings with it the first front, a window of opportunity for the front runners with a closing door behind them.

As Pete Goss said to me, "Where you tack in the first front is critical. It will define your race."