It's lunch time and the GPS says less than 500 miles to go, 280 to the Scillies. All of a sudden home seems very close and getting rapidly closer. After some 29,000 miles and 9 months around the world, in only a few days we'll be home. That's a mindblower if ever there was one. Life out here has become so nrmal for us that what we're doing doesn't seem extraordinary at all. We'll probably only appreciate what we've achieved after a few weeks at home and tried out "normal life" again.

Now, there's a thought, "normal life". A small adjustment lies ahead. Life onboard has been stressful at times, in the conditions we've been through - from raging storms to windless days of flat calm. It's a world where moods and emotions are magnified and things can easily blow out of proportion, without a norm, or outside perspective to gauge them against. You are never quite sure how much of what is going on is due to the enclosed environment or how much is for real - would you be feeling and behaving like this on a day back home?

Having said that, it is a safe, secure environment where life is uncomplicated and relatively controlled. We're with the same tight group of people who by now have shared the same experiences. We know each other and our foibles - what we're like in the morning, what winds us up, how our moods swing - and understand how to deal with them. A mutual understanding, trust and tolerance has built up; we've become a family. Also, the pressures of everyday life are pretty much removed: our lives are completely structured - when to sleep when to wake up, when to eat, even what to eat! The only individual decisions are when to eat your scoobie snack and what to wear (and that's limited!). Sail changes and race tactics are the result of group debate and plenty of dubious information. The real world, I remember being rather different. This could come as a shock to some of us! It's certainly true that at the end of each stopover we looked forward to stepping back onboard and our lives becoming uncomplicated again.
But these are exciting times and we're all looking forward to picking up life again at home, and all the challenges that come with it.

But enough of this, how about the race? After the chinese water torture of recent windless days, we've had a cracking week of wind from all directions and strengths requiring constant activity and manoeuvres galore. Just what we love. We're also settled near the front of the fleet, which helps! The racing is as tight as it has ever been, with 7 yachts in the middle of the fleet within 7 miles of each other. The finish promises to be nailbiting. And with any luck and a smidge of truth from the forecasts, there should be some breeze right up to the end.

It'll be wild when we see land for the first time and truck the few hundred miles up the Channel, clocking off the familiar landmarks: Bishops Rock, Lands End, Lizard Point, Start Point, Portland Bill, The Needles... They'll be big moments, charged with excitement and emotion, and the miles will disappear. All of a sudden we'll be rounding the corner and heading up Southampton Water - the end of an incredible year.

Sarah