After a whole day reaching, the wind changed, leaving us beaten to windward and waiting for another change that we hope will happen on Saturday afternoon.
We are in second position now, and we are fighting to maintain this place in the fleet, as the pressure from behind us is huge. Abu Dhabi is defending their upwind position.
The team is quieter now, and very aware of the movements on the boats around us. It is very important now to carry all the weight upwind as we reach, so everyone is hiking and everything is stacked as upwind as possible. Very little movement as possible: from the watch to the bunk and from the bunk to the watch.
You can feel we are getting to the final stages of this leg, you can feel the tension in Iker. The results after 18 days of racing are coming, and it would be amazing to seal it on the podium. Anything can happen until someone crosses the finish line, but we are in a good position, and taking good care of it.
It is a fantastic end to the leg, being so close after this many miles. Everyone on board is very nervous, but in the end you get used to always living with the pressure.
The temperature has raised and we don’t need three layers to survive anymore. Goretex socks are not needed anymore and you can even see some brave ones sailing in their shorts and trainers.
We had an amazing moon shining over us the whole night, it felt almost as if it was daylight. The pleasures of sailing under the moon
#vamosMAPFRE
Fran