Yacht 3COM
Date 12-JUL-1997

After weeks at sea could it be that we've had our last Friday night away from land, "A night on the town" beckons.

Lack of alcohol has turned Carol our legger to Solitaire no less. Malcom is complaining that without his customary 8 pints of Guiness he's losing wieght!. Thank goodness.
Kate is looking forward to her Pimms + lemonade on the pavement, as she feels that after our arrival champange, that's as far as she will be able to manage.
Bibby being a true Scot will settle of course for no less than a mature malt.
Gerrard a "Black Country" gent wants a beer and a curry.
Christian's tipple, our new Doc from Chile, is Llama milk, if not a G+T will suffice.
And as for me, as I've not been sick since the second day of the second Southern Ocean leg, (no mean feat, by any strech of the imagination I can assure you) then I shall play it safe and stick to water!........ but dont hold me to it.

It's not that port watch are a set of alcoholic hobo's its just..... well you know. So " Get 'em in"!!!!!

The Global Party awaits, lets hope we are all there to enjoy it. At the moment we are speeding along so there is every chance, certainly more so than a few days ago when things were looking very tight. If we have learnt nothing over the last 9 months than it's that in this game you can never take anything for granted, please keep your fingers crossed for us and the rest of the fleet. If chay has any other last minute advise other than "Trim, Trim,Trim," please let us have it.

With only 60 miles seperating 4th place and 13th, we look forward to seeing you all in what will be an exciting finish.

Best Wishes JT + Crew

PS. In view of our impending arrival in Soton, I thought you might like a few reflections. Below is a copy of my last rep to 3Com which I hope you may find interesting and of some use.

Leg 6, Week 2 rep to 3Com by Johnathon Townsend

- 1000 miles to go!

It does not seem that long ago that I headed up another report with the same title just outside of Boston. This time however, after no less than 34,000 miles at sea and 29 different crew members the good ship 3Com really has only a 1000 to do. The circumnavigation is nearly complete as Southampton is almost in sight!

For myself and most of my fellow core crewmembers it will be the end of a four year committment that perhaps all of us at one stage or another felt we would never be able to fulfil.

We have all had various adgenda's for taking part in "The challenge of a Lifetime" and on the whole it would be fair to say that these ambitions have been achieved. I wanted to see the Southern Ocean in all its glory and I was not disappointed, for some it was a change of lifestyle that was required and for others it was a chance to fine tune thier sailing skills. The list is almost endless across the fleet.

Collectivly as a crew, we have experienced more emotions than some people go through in a lifetime. Our highs have been extremely high and our lows have been very low indeed. Special occasions including birthdays, anniversary's, Christmas and New Year have all been spent at sea away from those we love and care about most.

We have suffered fatigue and in some cases pain, we have endured boredom and survived the frezzing cold, we have seen waves that tower above our mast and we have spent days of anguish in the "Mill Pond" of the Doldrums, we have had the pleasure of sailing with whales and dolphins, a truly wonderful sight and we have had the joy and elation, together with the glory that accompany our arrival in each port of call, we have been fortunate to arrive in such naturally beautiful ports as Rio and Cape Town, that in a strange way are matched by the magnificent new skylines of Sydney and Boston and in Wellington we had a whole nation behind us.

On the social side we have been made honourary members of various clubs and associations, we have been wined and dined in return for our tales of the sea and we have shared cocktails with such VIP's as government ministers, governers, ambassodors, members of royality and in New Zeland no less than the Prime Minister himself.

Media attention has been constant, which for most of us is a new experience. A few of us have written artcicles for the press, some for reward, others for pleasure. Photograghs, video's and TV pics have been taken in such amounts that it is unlikly that we will see even a tenth of our coverage.

None of our experiences however, would have been possible without the tremendous support we have had from home, from our respective spouse's, family + friends, employers and in some cases' employees. As we can not expect others to understand what we have gone through over the last 9mths or so, perhaps we too are blind to what support we have truly had and to what extent attention has been focused on us throughout our voyage. Hopefully our home coming will help us to begin to appriciate this. One of my friends told me, during a conversation we had whilst I was in port, that it was strange not being able to rush downstairs in the morning to check out our overnight progress on Ceefax. Come the end of the celebrations at the "Global" welcome home party on Friday it will be interesting to see who has withdrawel symptoms first, the crew or our loyal supporters?

Thoughout my reports I have tried to look at the Challenge from different perspectives, after all the hard facts about the race are readily available either by picking up the phone or as is now the case these days by simply pressing a button, I hope you have enjoyed reading them as much as I have writing them.

Many thanks yet again for everyones support.

Best Wishes JT + Crew

Yacht 3COM
Date 10-JUL-1997

Postcard from the 'Pond' which you may remember we have already crossed twice and I can tell you that it still looks exactly the same.

We've passed the site of the Titanic disaster, so that must be good news. Whether we passed it leading the fleet or in thirteenth position, I can't begin to recall. We hold the record for fluctuating between the dizzy heights of first and rock bottom all within the space of six hours. We're on the edge of a volcanic eruption here - every last emotion has to be packed into this final week and no one can predict what the crew will do next. A more defined eruption is the one on our watch leaders back. Caused not by the bad diet that led me to suffer the latter-day equivalent of scurvy on the last leg,(a severe vitamin c deficieny) but according to our heart surgeon, more a lack of personal hygiene, the offending carbunkle has now been tackled on the galley table.

My cabin resembles a creche (but more pungent) and the inhabitants are anticipating our arrival in Southampton with the same enthusiasm reserved for Father Christmas. Mr up until now Cool Ward could not sleep on the last off watch because he was too excited.... I wish I could say the same about my impending new 'life begins at 40' celebrations. Saturday 12th will mark this giant step for me and I'm rather looking forward to my personal roaring forties.... However, I cannot think of anywhere I would rather not be than here on the sardine can.

When I signed up for this challenge, we were due home in June and the leg too many that was Boston did not exist. My 40th would be on dry land surrounded by loved ones. Now look what's happened. My day will be determined by our poll performance and even so the lack of food will curtail a feast. Thank God for the bubbly hidden in my curver box and thanks to all who took part in the Great Cake Race to get my birthday cake, (baked by Ma) resplendent with 40 candles, on board. I'm hoping my birthday gift will be a hair wash. We're a bit leany, wet and cold at the moment but if the sun comes out, I'm dumping my head in a basin of babywash. I'll celebrate with a clean t- shirt and a fresh pair of paper knickers. I'll raise a glass to all absent friends and share one with you in Blighty next week.

We had a very close encounter with a whale yesterday heading on collision course with our bow, fortunately it diverted course or it would of been Vera Lynn for supper (whale meet again).Wardys chat show joke July 1997 .Also seen dolphins jellyfish + jumping tuna . Looking forewards to a lovely English summer? As the weathers wet and windy , but at least we are getting nearer. I am ending my bit now as I am due on deck this has taken ages to type
Love to everyone
Kathxxx

Yacht 3COM
Date 3-JUL-1997

Late Arrivals at the Worlds Greatest Global Party

'Stop all the clocks, pop the balloons
Put away the facepaints and deflate the bouncy castle
Silence the band and with muffled drum
Mourn the fact that the fleet hasn't come

They were my North, my South, my East, my West
And now they're all West ....'

Well, the invites are out, the preparations underway but the only thing to be missing at the World's Greatest Party at Ocean Village could well be the entire fleet.

Our elation at being at the front of the fleet is tempered by the complete lack of wind. During this watch our GPS was indicating an arrival date of the 29th September based on the current boat speed. So not only will Ocean Village be missing the fleet but Jane's 40th birthday party the following weekend might have to go ahead without her.

During the night the sodden lighteight spinnaker has hung limply in the damp air like recently washed linen on the line. The uncharacteristic lack of wind out here could cause a few other problems. Almost as critical as the likelihood of food rations is the impending tobacco shortage as the passage takes longer than expected. (We've just imposed water rations as the watermaker is currently on the blink). So what's new.

Nevertheless enjoying our position at the front and fighting to hold on to it.

Good luck to the two Brits left at Wimbledon.

Yacht 3COM
Date 2-JUL-1997

Postcard from an extremely good position in the North Atlantic... 3Com never looked better or felt better - capture the moment and relish it. Incase anyone at home missed it, the 1.50am poll on 2 July 1997 read 3Com in first place. After 30,000 miles of battle, this seemed deserved. As usual we celebrate in our own inimitable style. Bay watch's screams of delight got Port watch up and the entire crew checked and re-checked the computor screen result and danced in the galley. Our cynical birthday boy, who hours earlier had predicted doom and gloom, couldn't contain himself at the receipt of such a special gift.

In fact, it was a good day for Ward. I wished him a cheery Happy Birthday at 2am as he climbed out of his bunk for watch. He thanked me, but asked, somewhat coldly, if we could save the celebrations until later. Bunting and Balloons, Vanilla sponge with caramel topping and candles seemed to cajole him into the spirit and the deck resembled a mini street party. We popped a couple of bottles of bubbly, marvellling at the dictatorial US regime that even extends to Californian champagne. Before you remove the cork it states 'STOP - Warning' The messages continue around the foil ' This cork can cause serious injury' etc etc....They neglected to foresee that an overexcitable woman weilding the empty bottle and hurling it for disposal into the oceans was far more threatening. I missed a very nervous pair - Kieron and Ward - but managed to smash into the end of the boom causing a nasty dent. I am sure a Southern Ocean tale will explain the damage on our return to Southampton....

Philippe took up the challenge of demolishing the entire half of the remaining birthday cake and retired to his cabin before the need to vomit overtook him. We were reminded of soirees on the Rio leg and realised how long ago that seems. Now we're old hands, settling into the boat drill without blinking, in the happy knowledge that whatever hits us, we're homeward bound. It feels amazing.....One can take a perverse pleasure in every task. Even cleaning the heads can take on a nostalgic feel realising that this may be the last turn. The apprehensions of facing the real world that were almost paralysing the crews in Boston are now usurped by the images of the real world and facing new lives, or indeed, our old ones.

We have an enormous sense of home and maybe even an inkling of our achievement. It is difficult to assess what we have done as we only mix with others that have done the same. My 40th birthday looms on the 12th and for so long, I have imagined that by then I will have completed the challenge and sailed around the world. The sight of the Needles will mark the end of a very long journey. At last I can almost relax about being the only 'Mummy' in the fleet and know that Ellie, Jack and I have nearly made it - hopefully with only a few bruises between us and a lot of extraordinary memories.

However, no time to relax. The oceans always throw something unexpected at us. This may be our third Atlantic crossing, but we haven't seem it all yet. The new leggers are fitting in easily. Carol is finding it a comparative rest... and Christian is regaling us with up-dates on Di's romances at Great Ormond St. Eat your heart out 'Hello' magazine - this is where it's happening. The doc has not yet brought his cardiac surgery skills to the operating theatre that is our saloon table....quite the reverse. He snapped the needle unpicker after 6 inches of work and blamed poor quality tools.... Yes we were working on another blown spinnaker - so what's new. In fact, this kite appears to have been made of rice paper. No good for replacing the Jay cloths we forgot to take on this leg .... once again my paper knickers come to the rescue.

Yacht 3COM
Date 9-APR-1997

Approximately 200 miles to go and the racing is still on. Both GT and STC are North of us with STC claiming to have fallen into a hole. At the last pole GT were 20+miles ahead but definitely within range. The sun is shining, both watches are on deck and drying out their corporate gear for arrival in CT.

Our Physio has offered counselling in CT for any race crew members suffering from post Southern Ocean traumatic disorder. The only problem being that she appears to be a casualty herself.

No other news. Keep the beer cool. Hopefully see you tomorrow.

3Com

Yacht 3COM
Date 7-APR-1997

Well this game is certainly a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows. The first trap to fall into is to allow yourself to believe thatthe leg is all but over with 1,000+ miles to go. On Thursday 3rd Apr we were feeling quite pleased with ourselves, we had stretched our lead over Rover and Time + Tide to over 80 miles and had clawed back to within 20 miles of Global Teamwork. The former boats being to the south of us and Teamwork to the north. Then it all went pear- shaped, for a period of 13 hours our wind disappeared completely, in that period the log records hour runs of less than one mile. At times like this the mood on board becomes pretty desparate, some are philosophical others are tearing their hair out in frustration (to my great regret I always seem to find myself in the latter camp). During these periods we are all praying that the other yachts are experiencing the same conditions. On Thursday our praying didn't work.

At the end of the period the polls revealed that we had lost 45 miles to the two boats to the South of us and almost 70 to Teamwork to our north. After weeks of building our position half-mile by half-mile we had virtually lost the lot in 13 hours. At times like these it is very difficult to motivate yourself to keep pushing the boat - you have to keep supressing the thoughts of `whats the point'. We reassured ourselves that we had clung onto our position and all was not lost. Then yesterday morning the wind disappeared again and to make it worse we found ourselves plugging into 2.5 kts of current. 'Surely we can't have found our own hole in the wind again' we thought - we had, and the poll revealed that Rover and T+T had overtaken us. If the previous occasion had been desparate this was devastating.
These are the low points.

Twelve hours ago the wind picked up and a gale blew in from the south east, putting us onto a broad reach (wind almost following). Since then we have been pushing the boat as hard as possible, hanging on by our fingernails, and just a few minutes ago Mark recorded the fastest boat speed of our race so far - 18.2 knots. Its hairy but its paid off - we have retaken T+T and pulled back 13 miles on Rover and 8 on Teamwork in the last 6 hours, making both these boats within 7 miles of us. We are hoping that the next poll will show us in 7th position and that emotional high will make up for the despair earlier.

Of course there are still 600+ mileas to go and it could all happen again. Don't you just love ocean racing.

Will / 3Com

Yacht 3COM
Date 2-APR-1997

NORMAL SERVICE HAS BEEN RESUMED AFTER THE EASTER BREAK. WE'VE BEEN "CHOCKED OUT" + "MARZIPANED" WITH CADBURY'S CREAM EGGS AND EASTER BUNNY'S AND SIMNEL CAKE KINDLY PROVIDED BY OUR LOYAL SUPPORTERS, MOST DEFFINATELY OUR BEST BREAKFAST YET! MANY THANKS.

THINGS ARE RATHER COLD AT THE MOMENT AS FURTHER PROBLEMS WITH OUR BATTEREY CHARGING HAS MEANT LIMITED USE OF ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT AND OUR HEATERS IN ORDER TO ENSURE WE HAVE ENOUGH FUAL TO REACH CT. THE SOUTHERLY WINDS HAVE A STRONG BITE TO THEM, HOWEVER NOBODY IS COMPLAINING AS THEY ARE PUSHING US ALONG NICELY AT 10 KNTS, LONG MAY THEY CONTINUE.

THE SEWING CIRCLE CONTINUES WITH RENEWED VIGOUR AFTER OUR SUCCESS PATCHING UP OUR STAYSAIL. WE ARE NOW WORKING HARD ON OUR SPINNY'S.

MAIN TOPIC OF CONVERSATION AT MOMENT IS OUR INTERNAL SWEEP "THE GREAT CAPE TOWN WHEN WILL WE ARRIVE SWINDLE", WHICH EVERYBODY IS HAPPY TO LOSE AS LONG AS WE ARRIVE BEFORE THIER GUESS!.

NOTHING MUCH ELSE TO REPORT OTHER THAN OUR ABSENT MINDED APRIL FOOL, WILL, WHO AFTER SPENDING ALMOST A DAY TRYING TO FIND OUR LONG LOST LAST HANK FOUND IT IN HIS PORRIDGE AFTER ANOTHER CREW MEMBER RETRIEVED IT FROM HIS FOULIE POCKET!

JT + CREW

Yacht 3COM
Date 29-MAR-1997

Routines on board have continued much the same as over the last week. Wet and windy with the odd respite of some lighter (30K+?) winds for a few hours giving enough time to just about dry out before the next round with old Mike Tyson weather again. Philippe is still enjoying trying to make the yacht fly and scaring the s... out of whoever is riding shotgun in the cockpit with him, especialy in yesterday's 68K gust just before we took the No3 down.Nice to be in front of Rover, just hope we can do a good job of it this time and widen the gap a bit further. The chase is now on for Motorola. The staysail is still a large feature in the saloon as I still continue to sew the shreads together. I have an assortment of itinerent workers who come along and help in their spare moments from other duties. Since my back injury I suppose the sail repair has been a good thing as I do feel of some use, however it has at times felt like a prison sentance with me sewing mailbags. The end is now in sight and I think (if the winds are right) Monday should see the staysail hoisted, I would love to be on the haliard to do this, but I feel I won't be. I am sure though that I will be back, at least on the helm before Cape Town.
Regards, Malcolm and the crew of 3Com

Yacht 3COM
Date 26-MAR-1997

HERE COMES THE SUN, AND ITS ALRIGHT. WE HAVE THE BEATLES ON DECK AND WE ALL FEEL FINE! MAYBE WE ARE BEING LULLED BEFORE THE NEXT STORM, BUT AT LEAST ITS A WELCOME REST.

BLUEWATCH HAVE THE PLEASURE OF THE AFTERNOON SUN TODAY AND THOSE DECK JOBS THAT WEVE BEEN PUTTING OFF FOR FLATTER SEAS. MALCOM OUR INJURED WATCHLEADER HAS OF COURSE CHOSEN TODAY AS HIS COMEBACK DAY, VENTURING ON DECK FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A WEEK - VERY DASHING IN HIS SLIPPERS!
EVEN SKIPPY'S BEEN ON THE FOREDECK, ALTHOUGH HE WAS NOT VERY IMPRESSED WHEN THE ONLY WAVE OVER THE DECK HIT HIM FULL ON, WHILST YOURS TRUELY WAS ON THE HELM.
PHILIPPE HAS CALMED DOWN NOW AFTER HIS "EDDIE THE EAGLE" IMPRESSION LAST NIGHT, WHEN HE MANAGED TO GET THE WHOLE BOAT TOTALLY AIRBOURNE! BOTH NIKKI + KATE ARE SUNNING THEMSELEVES IN A DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO MATCH THIER SKIN TO COLOUR OF THIER VARIUOS BRUSIES AND PAUL IS THANKING HIS LUCKY STARS THAT ITS FLAT, AS TODAY IS STICH REMOVAL DAY.
AT PRESENT WE ARE ALL CRYING ROUND THE GALLEY TABLE AS OZZY DAVE OUR RESIDENT CORDON BLEAU CHOPS ONIONS FOR TONIGHTS GASTRONOMIC DELIGHT.
THE MIND BOGGLES!

AGAIN, PERHAPS A LITTLE PREMATURE THE CAPE TOWN TRAVEL GUIDE HAS JUST SURFACED. THE MOST PLEASING OBSERVATION TO DATE IS THAT BEER IS ONLY APP 40P, SORRY DAVE NOT MUCH WORK THE FIRST FEW DAYS IN PORT IM AFRAID, STILL A THINK WE MIGHT HAVE DESERVED A BEER OR TWO WITH OUR EFFORTS OVER THE LAST FEW STORMY WEEKS.

NEED TO REST NOW, ITS ALL GETTING TOO MUCH, SO THAT ALLL FOLKS!

JT 3COM

Yacht 3COM
Date 23-MAR-1997
Yacht Report

Postcard from storm-swept 3COM still in the middle of the Southern Ocean. It is difficult to imagine how storms can become almost routine, but here we are almost getting used to 60 knots of apparent wind and holding on for dear life. Each time, of course, each individual meets the next epic just a little more exhausted and eroded than the last time. You know that this challenge has been described as the Everest of Sailing. The major difference is becoming increasingly obvious. When you climb Everest, you're not in a race. Set off on an expedition to the North Pole and it is unlikely that you are lined up with competitive opposition. Put us through this Endurance Eternity and the need just to survive is not enough. The polls are always on your back.

Mixed emotions on board which for some include pure fear. Personally, I try and be realistic - if you're in it, you have no option but to deal with it. Nevertheless, I did hear myself singing numerous repetitions of ' For those in peril on the seas' as I clung on last night in one of the night watches from hell. Major spook of the last S O leg was when Mark at the helm got wiped out and thought that the flashes from the EPIRB (Emergency Beacon) were the lights of heaven....this time round Will was the victim. After being somewhat dazed when smashed between the mast and the boom, he recovered heroically to take the helm. After a few minutes, he hit what can only be described as a brick wall of ocean. There was a dramatic crash followed by seconds of silence as time seemed to stand still. Normal service resumed fairly swiftly with no injuries. The memory lingers.

One casualty that I can now report with a happy ending is Malc. We had a brief embargo on his antics on deck. He took a spectacular dive across the deck box as he was leaving the cockpit some four days ago. After some agonising screams and minutes we managed to transfer 14 stones worth of Thornley down into the doghouse. Lying prostate with most of the crew on hand to cushion his spine (it took a severe bashing) Dock administered pain killers and an elaborate splint and bandage wrap from head to toe. All hell was breaking loose at this point with winds gusting up to 50knts and if you recall, our poor imitation of the sinking of the Titanic. Calls for the No 3 headsail to be dropped met with a frantic search for spare sail ties - they'd all being comandeered to tie up Malcolm.... Poor Malc in his suffering was trying to wrench off a sail tie to pass to the foredeck crew ..... Not a lot gets in the way of 3COM. An hour or so later we'd manoeuvred the Thornley body to his bunk and I am afraid a period of 3 days confinement was enforced which didn't thrill him. Tacking proved a particular misery. Happily he is in fighting form again now though we'll keep him off the foredeck for a little while longer. At least until his Meldrew-like constant requests drive us all mad....

A few points of excitment : we had toast for breakfast - a first. We were passed by Aurora Australis - an expeditionary vessel returning from Heard Island, Antartica with 100 scientists and 25 crew. They were an heart-warming sight in the middle of nowhere. Welcomed their good wishes, somewhat marred by the fact that they were enjoying an on-deck BBQ. We could almost see the steak. Torture. Popsy revealed a copy of 'Hello' that she had managed to sneak on board - that made my day.... The queues for the one head now resemble a bad tail back on the M25 - really unpleasant. In fact, as I commented to Ward last night mid- storm, the whole blinking business is 'not entirely comfortable'. He said that I was the master of under- statement and that it was in fact ****** awful, and that was an understatement'.

As ever, Love to you and to Blighty JC Hot Lips 3Com

Yacht 3COM
Date 19-MAR-1997

Postcard from under the Aurora Australis. Quite magnificent. Takes us away from our little dramas. Playing a laser show of magnesium and green flashes with the entire sky as its stage. Watches today seem to have begun with a glorious red sunrise and ended in a golden sunset with skies of apricot and sky blue. Quite heavenly. So why under this majesty, we are creating our own little reinactment of the sinking of the Titanic, I'm not sure. You know I mentioned that we seemed to be outwitting the good ship 3 COM. I neglected to take into account that old foe of ours - the Wicked Witch of the plot - the Watermaker. With bilge alarms sounding and floor boards removed to reveal floods of gushing water, I thought we must of hit one of those icebergs we've been dodging without noticing. In a dramatic last scene, the water maker faced the final curtain with an over-acted explosive death number. We're all pumped out now, but back to those glory days that we grew to know so well for five weeks on the last Southern Ocean leg - Water rationing. Back to babywipes and cold sea salt washing-up. We'll smile on through.

Love to you and to Blighty JC HotLips 3COM

Yacht 3COM

Adrian Darling Dead Dull Postcard from near an Iceberg that we can't see, Southern Ocean. Actually, we're not dull, but the chat show was interminable stuff - especially as most reported 'lovely days' sailing in sunshine' and we are in a grand fog. You know the stuff - 'we're all fine over, roger, over over standing by ....' One bit of useful assistance from Courtaulds who advise that as cockroaches can't pass wind - feed them a mix of bicarb and sugar and they blow up. Wonder if they have any advice on farting cabin mates. Thrilled to report that Cockroach One appears a bit of a loner or perhaps my screams sent them all dashing. It usually causes skip to reach near coronary state...

Hair up-date - no probs. Brushing seems to be the answer. Plus a blissful innovation on board - thanks to Kieron. He's introduced the perfect dry suit shower. Can't understand why the rest of the crew haven't caught on as it's the best thing you can do with your clothes on. Wedge yourself on the shower floor and hose yourself down with liberal quantities of hot water and baby wash. As you're sealed from neck down it is rather a specific hygiene programme, but it feels brilliant.

The most interesting things about the crew today :- Dock - Bashed his nose and is now wearing a plaster - comical
Kieron - Leading the St. Patrick's Day Celebrations - hot toddies if we're lucky
Kate - created a feast of bacon and scrambled eggs - mega good start to the day
Ms Measures - Just done her first turn on the helm - Now part of the I remeber when I was helming in the Southern Ocean Club.
Malc - coming back to life from his damaged rib. His 'enjoying every minute' quote seems to have been temp. replaced by 'liking an odd moment'.
William - Now both our watch leaders are on 'light duties' only. I am sad to report that Will has sustained a serious injury. His little toe is inflammed. Dock has put him on anitbiotics to keep him quiet but they might do a lot of good for his numerous other ailments.
JT - Managed to get from his cabin to the galley in a record-breaking five minutes. We don't call him Linford Christie for nothing.
PG - Ceased Hot Bunking with Dock and turning into a bit of an insomniac.
Popsy - Hasn't fallen over for at least 24 hrs but has started baking a birthday cake for a cuddly lamb called Maisie. Need I say more. Eternally grateful to Richard Donkin for supplying Maisie in the first place and for knowing what an irritation it would prove....
Quilter - new nickname Jayne Torvill - as he skates around the deck in his white bootees.

You're saved from more as I'm due on deck and haven't put my mascara on yet.

Boat-wise - we seem to be out-witting this yacht a little. Tracking its little idiosyncrasies before they get us. Cracked D3 bottlescrew and Main head board bolt shear detected before they caused us trouble. We had the main up and down while still sailing 8 knots to the mark. Would you believe with a lightweight spinnaker in treacherous oceans. What can we possibly face next .......

Love to you as always and to Blighty.

JC HotLips The Good Ship 3 COM

Yacht 3COM
Date 15-MAR-1997
'After the storm'

Its now almost 24 hours since the storm abated and the fleet has taken stock of the damage and the yachts are licking their various wounds. We on 3Com came off relatively lightly (other boats having had ripped sails, SSB radio antennas snapped, radars damaged, and steering problems) our casualties were a lost jockey pole (part of spinnaker kit) which, torn from its lashings, came flying down the side deck like a harpoon towards Moby Dick, narrowly missing the helmsman, and a pot of water from the galley seeking and destroying our weatherfax PC keyboard.

Ironically, our biggest problem came when the wind eased and the call came for 'more sail'. Dropping the storm staysail, the full staysail was hoisted - serious chafe on the port halyard, not a problem we thought as we dropeed the sail, we'll use the starboard halyard. The staysail was sent aloft again and tightened - 'crack' and the starboard halyard had snapped. This time the sail came down on its own accord (quite quickly actually). So, frustratingly, just when we needed more sail we couldn't put it up. Finally in freezing cold conditions at the mast, Kieron and Jane re-ran our spare halyard and away we went but not before we had lost a good few miles.

Apart from cyclone Fergus a few days out of Wellington, the storm itself was the worst we've experienced so far. Huge seas with white foaming breaking wave tops, with great valleys between, building up over the 30 hour period of the storm. It was an energy sapping, sleep depriving and nerve edging experience for all of us. On the other hand it was reassuring to hear Mike Golding (Group 4) on the chat show, who has spent a bit of time in these parts, say that we shouldn't get many a lot worse.

Our next obstacle is ice - a number of boats have reported icebergs, a couple in our path - we are hoping to pass these in good visability during daylight hours. At this moment Kieron is busy plotting them on the chart. We will be especially vigilant over the coming days.

All for now - best luck to England at the Arms Park this afternoon.

Will/3Com

Yacht 3COM
Date 13-MAR-1997

Well here we are again enjoying the hospitality of the Southern Ocean. Much like the last bit really. Cold, wet, miserable and GREY. The sea is grey, the sky is grey, even the boat is grey. The only bit of colour is the storm staysail which seems to act like a red rag to a bull to the wind. In short, its all 'bin there, done that, lets get to Cape Town'. The crew has agreed that, after Southampton, the key ingredients to get us back on the water are: blue sky, at least 25 degrees, and the ice should be in the fridge not the ocean.

Last night saw a bit of a firework display. The Aurora Australis shimmered during the brief gaps in the cloud cover. One more for the grandchildren. Mind you we will probably have destroyed it with CFC's etc before they're big enough to spell it.

Jane was delighted to discover a cockroach crawling 6 inches from her nose on the underside of my bunk this morning. It seems this little chap (sorry ex-chap) and his friends stowed away as we left Sydney. This is most definitely one boat that needs fumigating before we head into the tropics. Life on board can be basic enough without sharing ones bunk with roaches.

Despite the above the crew continues in good humour, but DON'T even think about another waypoint.

Yours wishing we were in Cape Town.

3Com

Ref ICE WARNING

We confirm receipt of your Ice Report from Rig Seismic. BrrrrrrGrrrrr. Chay didn't say anything about sub zero temps, snow, icebergs, polar bears or crazy Seismic Rigs going south (Although we are VERY grateful to them for being there to provide us the info), he only mentioned wind and water (the trade wind kind) with sunshine and gin and tonics. We are currently looking through the latest edition of the Trades Desicptions Act and we'll let you know what we find, refunds are on our minds!!!!!!!. Rest assured we will skin our eyes and we also wish our mars bars were melting. Its pretty damn cold here at 51 South, let alone further South. Roll on when the GPS bearing starts reading greater than 270 and the wind stays SSW.

Regards
Kieron

FROM 3COM X 11-MAR-1997 08:24:55

Bore Da and croeso from a Welshman in the Southern Ocean. As you can see life aboard 3Com has reverted to a 45 degree angle once again. I and the other new leggers aboard are becoming accustomed to finding ourselves walking on the walls of the boat rather than the floor. I had always wondered why the fitted Wilton in my bedroom aboard was fixed to the walls rather than the floors. All aboard are very well even though they are nursing bumps and bruises from the constant pounding that we have been receiving for the last few days. From the elation of sneaking into second place very briefly we are once again playing a catch up game. The last few polls from Race HQ have shown that we are starting to claw back the miles from the leading pack of boats but of course only time will tell whether the more Northerly or Southerly route is the better. Certainly everyone aboard 3Com is determined to ensure that we get the best placing we possibly can in this leg.

Fast Billy Sadler and the rest of Baywatch are on duty at the moment with Doc Belbin performing culinary miracles in the galley whilst Hotlips Corfield is riding shotgun up on deck with Mark, whose immaculately trimmed goatee makes him look daily more like a baddy from an Arnold Shwarzenegger movie.

Malc (I love it, this rough stuff, me) the watch leader since Bibbs left us temporarily in Sydney continues to perform miracles on the foredeck up to his waist in water changing sails up and down as the wind seems to try to make up its mind how strong it wants to blow. Nikki (Popsy) Sketch has reverted to her normal colour having decided that the facial green that she was wearing for the first few days really did not suit her.

Oz (the intrepid Australian that joined the crew in Sydney) has proved a real bonus with his sailing skills and knowledge of boat design. We are just hoping that he can improve his cooking skills to the same level. The apple buns that he made today were so heavy that when we moved them to the windward rail the boat speed improved by more tha half a knot. Unfortunately though they had to be jetisoned as this is a contravention of rule 146 para 32 subsection a1.4 (1986) which specifically rules out the placing of any Australian foodstuffs on the outer rails of the boats in order to get speed advantage.

Well thats all from the good ship 3Com for now. From the Welshman who is looking forward to hearing that Wales have beaten England on the 15th March in the Arms Park (I had to give my ticket away because I was doing this race), Love and best wishes to all at home.

Paul G.

FROM 3COM
9-MAR-1997 10:07:25

Postcard from Iceberg territory. Many dark hours, cold and wet. If you were a mother, I would wish you a Happy Sunday. Nobody here has thought of doing so for me - and I am the mother on the boat... I really miss flowers. Anyhow, I am sure as sentimental-less as they are, all the bunch send special wishes to their mothers. (As do I, and thanks to E and J for remembering).

Not only are we flower-less and sentimental-less, but more seriously we are sugar-less. This is not part of the special Ryvita diet that the victuallers have placed us on, but an unintentional error. Money was handed over to Save the Kids for their left-overs, but sadly failed to get on board. Casualties include Will - for coffee and tea, Kieron for coffee, and the majority of us will find the enjoyment of our porridge severely impaired. Never mind - only five more weeks to go.

All settling in now. THe core crew with a certain resignation and varying degrees of acceptance. The leggers trying to find their feet with varying degrees of success... Popsie decided to take flight from port head to starboard head as fast as light. She did get some nasty bruising and a stiff neck, but is fully recovered. Dock somewhat over-enthusiastically went for a quick runner movement on tacking instructions and dipped in the ocean over the guard rail. He swiftly jumped back and does not intend to do it again. Paul, however, hasn't experienced problems with his legs - his entire body is water-logged. Port 2 man cabin has become the indoor swimming area. Gent has now learnt how to shut the hatch properly... To make the leggers feel at ease, Malcolm kindly took a dive at the guard rail on foredeck, but failed to make his way through the netting.

I'm going to tuck up now. Good news from the Poetry Book. July 15 - our approx return is another DH Lawrence. He's warmed to the theme this time with 'The Song of a Man who has come Through'. Roll on July...

Love to you and to Blighty
JC Hot Lips 3 COM

FROM 3COM
5-MAR-1997 22:04:32 Light airs - we could really have done with Piers Ackerman on the leeward rail. As the wind dropped, Great Oyster Bay on the East coast of Tassie became a parking lot for the whole fleet. Last night we could see the masthead lights of the entire fleet around us - weird. Total concentration throughout a starry night and we have now found ourselves at the front of the fleet. So spirits are high as we head for the last cape before the southern ocean.

Malcolm has once more been the recipient of incoming marine life, last night he was hit in the neck (again) by the mother of all flying fish - it weighed in at about 2 pounds and was, as usual, winch handled and eaten for breakfast.

Belinda at 3Com in Sydney was kind enough to give us some individually vacuum packed coffee bags on the morning of our departure - what a difference. This culinarily sophisticated crew are drinking coffee in large amounts for the first time in the race. Many thanks Belinda, but I don't think stocks will last until Cape Town.

Will / 3Com

FROM 3COM
5-MAR-1997 07:56:19

Adrian Darling The good ship 3Com hasn't looked better. Postcard from the east coast of Tasmania - still bemoaning the fact that we have to pass by all these tempting land masses when we'd much prefer to get off and have a stroll.... Rather a lovely day - sunny warm and calm, but not really the stuff that ocean racing is all about. We've had a bit of the storming and bashing to settle in the new recruits. Sadly my trusty poetry book that has been such a source of inspiration with its poem for each day rather failed on start date:- March 2 was a D H Lawrence -' The Ship of Death' which began ' Build then the Ship of Death for you must take the longest journey to oblivion' You can imagine this is very reassuring for any one of a nervous disposition. Confirmed by the reports that Laurie Smith calls our Southern Ocean destination, the sea of certain death. Don't worry, we can take whatever is thrown at us.

Fashion up-dates - Black patent deck shoes are going famously but many are making a strong statement with shorts and wellies. My paper pants have caught on, and it is rumoured that Ms Measures is now wearing them too.

The Heads - We have now fixed a modesty curtain hook, which means you don't trap the curtain with you in the loo. A great step forward. The sad news is that the starboard head has not recovered in time for this leg. (Paul Gent said 'Don't you mean in time for this log') You'll see the standard of leggers has not generally improved. Instead of two heads - we have one - which for a crew of 14 is incredibly convenient.

Food. Hardly dare mention it. But as most people have, both the victuallers have resigned. It's all come back to haunt us. Still MacDougalls and dessert delights - HELP. Left it a bit late to dash into Waitrose before the school run.

Watch changes. Philippe is now on Bluewatch and David 'Quilter' Price was briefly on Baywatch but apparently for his own safety - rumour has it that there is a black widow about - has been transfered to Bluewatch, joining Nikki 'Popsie' Sketch and Paul the Gent. Dock David, not to be confused with Skippy David or David Quilter has the honour of serving on Baywatch -nb no inter-watch rivalry - is there heck?

Magic moments already. Apart from the sheer joy of sailing with skippy - who is standing over my shoulder with his second helping of cheesecake - we saw an incredible rainbow and new dolphin bow display. Trailing smokey wakes under the stars. This whole experience is certainly much more appealing without the wretched nausea. Special note for Ellie and Jack - apart from masses of love - saw my first Shark. Well actually only a fin, but when it's only ten feet from the boat, that's enough.... As you may know it is much more dangerous in Sydney Harbour visited the Aquarium where exploding tanks cause mayhem and injury. Mark has just made me lose concentration by appearing in the new wellie and wickerble knickers garb. Must go as JT is doing the chat show and we need an interpreter.

Love to you and to Blighty.
JC Hot Lips 3COM

FROM 3COM
3-MAR-1997 05:39:10

Spectacular start in Sydney harbour - the biggest spectator fleet of the starts so far, sunshine and wind. Great photo opportunities as the fleet crushed for the crazily narrow and biased start line. Most of the fleet crossed within seconds of each other - 3Com, on starboard tack, inspected the paintwork of Group 4 and Pause to Remember (on port tack) resulting in our protest to the race committee. Remarkably the fleet threaded its way, without incident, through the mass of boats and yachts of all shapes and sizes to the harbour heads, where a number of yachts executed their penalty turns for infringements on the start line.

As the fleet turned south from the harbour heads the spinnakers started going up for the power reach south. A fabulous sight as Sydney faded into the distance. We were relieved that for the first time in the race so far the start was not to be dampened by miserable wet weather. We should not have been so smug ... within 12 hours we were in the midle of a squally downpour, with lashings of thunder and lightening and the Tasman Sea, that had not been particularly pleasant to us on the way over from NZ, was at it again.

We are now heading South with reasonable winds (not quite in the right direction) trying to keep in the Australian East Coast Current, which when we keep with it can boost us by upto 3 knots. (Its very fickle and at the moment seems to be going against us).

Spirits high on board - with five new crew members to initiate. A relatively calm start has been kind to our mal de mer sufferers and only one or two have had to miss their watches.

All the best
Will

Leg 3

Yacht 3COM
Date 10-FEB-1997 08:35:24

Dramatic start, with no damage done. Missed CU round one mark by the paintwork!!

Everyone sorry to leave NZ, with rousing cheers for Wellington's hospitality as we left the quay. Gusting 30-35 kts as we entered Cook Strait, accompanied by dolphins. Played tag with Motorola through the night and our current cat and mouse partner is Ocean Rover, both of us hard on the heels of CU.

Spirits on board high, with Malc's home made cooking a definite success. He cooked 98 meals during the stopover, which were put on the boat frozen into our makeshift freezer(storage cupboard filled with polystyrene and dry ice)

Regards to all from new joiners and leggers Jane W

Yacht 3COM
Date 12-FEB-1997 10:26:26

Good progress over the last 24 hours as the wind has freed us all. After a blustery night, sickies now up on deck and eating.

Remarkably to everyone's surprise and delight Ms Corfield is well into her first sea passage without being seasick or missing a watch. Congratulations Jane. (She is feeling quite smug about it).

Eagerly awaiting just a few degrees more of wind shift in order to fly the kite for the first time in the race since before Cape Horn.

The slow progress to windward at the beginning of this leg may mean we won't get to Oz in time for the dinner booked by our sponsor on Saturday night. If the high we're heading into doesn't collapse the kites completely, we may just do it - hold that table for the minute. Will/3Com

Yacht 3Com
Date 10-FEB-1997 08:35:24

Adrian Darling You know that feeling when everything you touch turns to gold? Well we haven't got it. Apologies for our silence, but it is surprising how facing defeat dulls creativity. Also we're running around like loonies trying to catch up. It is inexplicable. We are all working all the hours God gives us but the polls don't show the results. Thank goodness that all is not lost until the fat lady sings...

Crew morale is as ever high. Kipling is quoted liberally as we face defeat as we would victory. The trouble is that there are rather a lot of winners on this boat and they're not used to this experience. Another lesson to learn from this remarkable challenge where there are no losers.

Only a personal note, this leg is my major triumph. You may have heard that after sailing half way around the world, I have managed to survive the entire leg nausea-free. Long may that last. Apologies to all that it doesn't visibly seem to have effected our overall performance?? Indeed, Will says that we seemed to go better when I was vomiting...

I can report a few happy incidents. Will is delighted that he has achieved an enduring rolling hitch on his new shiny staysail sheet. Jane W gave Skip a touching Valentine's Day gift and a Jester's Hat which is very fetching. We all awoke to the luxury of a Fortnum and Mason Heart shaped chocolate which cheered those of us who hadn't received any messages. Will, the old romantic, received the same Valentine's card from his wife, Jane S, that she has sent for the last 14 years. I always knew that Jane was very controlled with the household budget.

We have four new refreshing faces on this leg. Kath Measures, now fully recovered from her throwing up into poly bag tricks, is here til Southampton. Jane W and Alex C coping womanfully as leggers and last but in no ways making the smallest impact bodily or vocally, Piers Akerman. Piers works for the Aussie equivalent of The Sun and luckily had never heard of Mr Blobby. Just as well, as considering the behaviour of most of the crew at the fabulous Wellington farewell party, we would be in for a few exposes.

Adrian darling, we missed your departure - are you returning?

Love to you and to Blighty, JC Hot Lips 3Com

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