Elapsed Time: 81 days, 01 hours, 30 mins
Vendée Globe Fleet Leader: PRB (V. Riou FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 8th out of 13, level with Florianopolis & SE of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• HELLOMOTO has passed under the 5,000 mile barrier to the finish and moved up to 8th place after the retirement of Skandia, but as Conrad knows, the biggest dangers lie in the final stage of such a marathon race when both man and machine have been at sea for 80 plus days…

• However, the situation with the failed keel ram has stabilised, and Conrad is enjoying the tactical duel up the Atlantic with French skipper Joe Seeten as HELLOMOTO lies 210 miles behind Arcelor-Dunkerque

• This morning Conrad cooked up a high-protein breakfast of flying fish – and squid! He has also let his pasty legs see some sunshine and fresh air as he dons a pair of shorts for the first time in 2 months!

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:

“Joe Seeten and I have sort of switched sides. Things are looking a little clearer than yesterday, the weather models are showing tricky soft patches 800 miles ahead at around 17 degrees South and through that the Trades are quite established up to the Doldrums. The Doldrums are changing and widening, but we’re still heading for the same crossing point. So far so good…the keel’s okay it’s losing a bit of pressure, which is a little annoying more than anything else, I don’t know if it’s a signal of things wearing or the ram getting worse, but fingers crossed its nothing serious. Right now I’m losing a fraction of performance, may be only 1/4 knot of boat speed, but it will be more telling in the stronger reaching conditions of the Trades when the boat sails much quicker if the keel is canted right over. Joe doesn’t I think have any gennaker or solent headsails and so what with my handicap and his, it will probably even out but as I have all my sails, I hope we’ll have the edge.

“It’s almost Trade wind conditions here, we’ve got 14 knots of breeze from the south, it’s dying and going forward, I’m pretty much making course, I’m about to put the spinnaker staysail up, so it’s pretty cool. I have got my shorts on now and so my pasty legs have absorbed some sunshine for the first time in a couple of months! Oh, and this morning I cooked up my first breakfast of flying fish – and squid! The squid landed on deck and as it had already died I got my mallet out to bash it, which tenderises the flesh, and then cut it into rings and fried it in lemon juice!

“I’m glad to hear that Nick is safely ashore, he’s been incredibly positive about it all, and it’s so hard to put yourself in his shoes and know what he must be feeling. I just have to stay on top of things with boat maintenance, check and double check every part of the rigging, as something as small as a damaged winch or chafe on a sheet can lead to bigger problems if you don’t spot them in time. More dangers lie in the last 5,000 miles of a race like this, as the boat and the skipper are more fatigued.

“I can honestly say that the last 10 days has flown by. This leg is so tactical you’re spending every waking hour deciding where to position yourself, changing sails and watching the weather, you’re so busy you’re not thinking about the days. I know from experience the next 15 days will be the same, and then when you’re a week away from port it’s only then you really count down the days! At the moment I’m enjoying the sailing and the tactical battle with Joe Seeten. I think there’s a lot of mileage in that, Virbac is now under 1,000 miles ahead, which is amazing considering where they were a week ago. We’ve had a good run up the South Atlantic and I hope it continues!”

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