Skipper's log: Massimo Juris, skipper, Colombre XL (Class40)

"It is always nice when in the morning you do a check at the position on the tracker and discover you were the fastest boat of the fleet and you have recovered several miles on the leaders. Suddenly all the night’s doubts and tiredness vanishes in a bright new morning. Why then not checking earlier during the night and answer our questions sooner. The main reason is that often you don’t have any other option to the way you are sailing and  therefore you don’t want to know that it is not good and spoil with this thought the rest of an already tough night. The other reason is more esoteric. Looking at the other’s positions on the tracker while perfectly legal carries a stigma of unfairness. To use modern technologies to peak at what the others are doing far away from your boat seems contrary to the spirit of old time ocean racing when everybody was on his own. Well then avoiding watching the tracker and therefore committing a sin may catholicitly gain you a reward which can translate in a better position at the end of the tracker’s quarantine. So much for today, everything is fine on board of Colombre XL."