A short message from Vaughan Marsh Fleet Operations Manager JSASTC
I have had a few phone calls in the last 24hrs so I thought a very short message to put to bed any worries may  have had would be worthwhile.
I am sure you have all read that the yachts are getting a bit of a hard time down there in the Southern Ocean. Challenger has been in 85 knot winds causing an interesting time with sewing sails back together. Adventure had a bit of an incident with a following wave that put them sideways and because of this they lost some of their safety equipment, (we have a huge amount of safety equipment on board and although I would rather there were no losses, it does not effect the overall safety of the yacht or its crew).

This does mean the Army cannot send its usual length blog’s, however we hope to get reduced blog’s from them just bear with us.  The RAF have also been in some rough seas and very strong winds. The yachts and the crews are made of stronger stuff than the Southern Ocean can throw at them. The crews have all pulled together well as a team and all the messages I receive from the yachts (we are in contact daily) are very positive. At times the elements have pushed both the yachts and the crews to dig deep into their reserves of energy and determination.

All the Skippers are very proud of the teams they have around them and have nothing but praise for them. All is well on the yachts and discussions of big waves and scary moments will, I am sure by now, have returned to talk about porridge for breakfast and what is the first thing they are going to eat on arrival in OZ. 9 days to go seems to be the best guess at the moment but please don’t hold me to that. To quote one of the crew “they are living the dream”