No ^%$^%$^%$ wind

Sam Davies reports from mid-Atlantic on the Artemis Transat

Firstly I have to say that I feel really sad for Vincent Riou and PRB. Keel failure is a sailor's worst nightmare and almost impossible to predict. Thankfully, it happened when Vincent was not far from help, and the conditions allowed him to assess the situation and abandon his boat whilst he still had a choice and whilst physically possible. I hope that he and his team successfully salvage PRB and get her to safety as soon as possible. If anyone looked in a good shape to win this race, it was Vincent, who has sailed well and controlled the lead from the start. He doesn't deserve this set-back.

Onboard Roxy things are not great as I am stuck in NO WIND! It is so frustrating. It seems that whenever there is a no-wind patch to cross I get stuck for longer than everyone else and all the hard work it has taken to get ahead is lost as the fleet catch me up.

I've got the Code 0 up and I am trying to catch every little zephyr of air. The swell is huge, even though there is no wind, so the sails are batting around madly which doesn't help. The main crashes across so violently that I am worried it is going to break something.

This doesn't do much for my nerves. The usual healthy porridge has been replaced by a nervous eating session and I have demolished half a pack of Cheddars! They have made me feel better though.

It's funny to think that whilst I am complaining about having no wind right now, in 24 hours it is likely I will be complaining of too much wind! I have just done a check over of ROXY in preparation for the storm that we are expecting to hit the fleet in the next few hours and everything seems fine.

Sam