As the Volvo Ocean Race fleet carries on the slog south to the magic corner in which they will turn for the run into Cape Town, minds are wandering back to loved ones back on shore.

ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) sent in a very unusual but heart-warming QFB (quote from the boat) last night. A letter from Crusty (Mark Christensen) to his six year old daughter Maddy. It was an account of life onboard a Volvo Open 70 for the eyes of a child, which is not only revealing, but serves as a fabulous explanation for the not so nautically minded.

“Do you know that daddy sleeps in the middle of the day as well as at night? In fact daddy gets to sleep for four hours, about the same time as it is from breakfast until lunch time, every eight hours, about as long as you are at school.

“The only bad thing about being onboard the boat is that there is no shower or bath and so everyone is a bit stinky. Do you know what we use instead to wash ourselves? Wet wipes, the same thing mummy uses to wash Bonnie’s bottom!! We get about four each a day, not really enough to clean ourselves with.”

Onboard Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) Adrienne Cahalan told us in a radio interview today that she and the rest of the crew were missing friends and family but this is leading to a stronger bond within the team.

The ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) boys also seem to be bonding as a crew, especially as they have managed to overtake Brasil 1 and Ericsson (Neal McDonald) again, in terms of southern most boat (not nearest yacht to the finish) out of the three. Si Fi (Simon Fisher) explained how their meal times and watches are like clockwork now and not only are they doing well, but they are “having fun at the same time”.

“I guess it is a testament to what a good team we have developed into over the past few months that we can all co-exist in each others pockets and yet manage to still have a great time. The atmosphere is always laid back, and there is always someone with a good story to tell.”

On the track ABN AMRO ONE seems to have fallen into the area of lighter breeze directly to the south of them and are now heading back south west to catch the stronger breeze. As they fell into this, Ericsson, Brasil 1 and ABN AMRO TWO have reeled them in substantially.

ABN AMRO TWO is only 78 nautical miles to the north of ABN AMRO ONE and Brasil 1 only 87 nautical miles. Brasil 1 is the most easterly of the yachts, leaving the other two (Ericsson and ABN AMRO TWO) battling within a few miles of each other.

Ericsson is only five miles behind ABN AMRO TWO despite a very unlucky incident last night when a halyard broke leaving a sail dragging in the water, for the second time on this leg. Richard Mason gave us an update today, on the hard decision of when to turn left and why it’s a special day aboard Ericsson.

“We are about 300 - 400 miles away from starting our left hand turn to Cape Town. This is a crucial move as the earlier you turn the less the distance, but the catch is that you can end up in a lot less wind.

“Tim Powell enjoyed his 35th birthday today. He was surprised with a short video from his family wishing him all the best. Nice to get a message from home. Otherwise for Tim it was business as usual. Celebrations will have to wait until we get on the dock. “

It is also a special day onboard Sunergy and Friends as they crossed the equator around 13.30 GMT today. We are yet to be informed if King Neptune and his court have visited the yacht but it looks like they seem to be out of the doldrums at last, fingers crossed!

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