Slow night for B&Q, but finish in sight

by Team Ellen on 12 May 2006 After a slow night on the water B&Q have just over 100 miles to go on the final leg of the Asian Record Circuit 2006. With less than a day remaining, the crew's minds are thinking ahead to the finish and getting back to normality on land....


Latest email from onboard:

'We could be heading into our last night at sea - currently 107nm from our finish line at Singapore - we have just touched the breeze after a morning and early afternoon of drifting around. We have had a few bursts up to 10 knots putting us a little over 10 hrs away, although there is a lot of sailing to do before then. The winds here are so unpredictable that we could be hovering up the miles - or not going anywhere.

We almost need to do an America's Cup style man up the mast wind search - as it's very, very patchy - and leap frogging from one patch to the next is the fastest way through the calms - even if this means sailing well off course.

Of course it's still very, very hot onboard - around 35 degrees C, but there is an air of finality around the boat. As our thoughts turn from the arrival in Singapore, to the close down of the boat for shipping, and about what we will be doing in the first few weeks back home. For all of us it's going to be good to catch up with family and friends who have been following online from afar, dealing with the fact that we are so busy out here that we haven't been in touch so much. We will need to put that right!

The simplicity of life inside the project will come to an abrupt end - we won't be able to ask Tessa where we can get our washing done, or Kate what we are doing tomorrow, or Oli if he can glue a bit back on. We will have some independence back again, and importantly, we can get a cold drink out of the fridge! Just nipping out to the supermarket to top up food supplies, or buy a paper, have a quiet little drink with friends, these are the things that we all miss, both out here on the water, and when we are deeply embedded in a project like this. It was just the same when we were building B&Q in Sydney - we worked hard, and traveled on mass between boat and hotel. For now the end is in sight, and I'm sure we will miss our world out here, but we are also looking forward to our life on land once more...'