Pip Hare (Britain), skipper, Pip Hare Ocean Racing (IMOCA)

All good. It’s the last slog until we finally find some downwind stuff, which I’m quite looking forward to. I was hoping for a bit spinnaker action before now. 

(Are you in T-shirts  yet?)

I’m actually naturally quite a cold person, so I’m still in my base layer although I’ve got a merino wool top on and that’s proving a bit warm in sail changes, so I think I’m going to go to just a long sleeve T-shirt and thermal leggings and you’re not going to see me in shorts and T-shirt until well south of the Canaries. 

(Is it a relief?)

Yes, it is. Yesterday, the air just became noticeably drier. It’s been so grey and so damp and then yesterday we just had fast, dry air and the temperature is on its way up. It’s still really cloudy but you feel like you’re going in the right direction. 

(How do you feel about your position?)

I think we’re in a nice little pack here. It’s been quite consistently that we’ve had people to position ourselves against, because obvioulsly with the newer generation boats, it’s like see them at the start and then adios, bye! But we’ve got quite a nice little group and the fact that everyone is squeezing back together again just gies you more and more opportunities. 

(You must be really pleased with how the race is going after having to call in a new co-skipper in with three weeks to the start and still working on the budget?)

I think if you’d tried to write a melodrama about getting ready for a race you would’ve thought my journey over the last month was a bit far-fetched. The push to get here has been so huge, but you know, everything is so much simpler when you’re on the water, it really is. There are less things  to juggle, you’ve got a finite environment to deal with, what you need to do is actually fairly straightforward. 

My number one objective is to get to Brazil so that tick off that part of the Vendée Globe qualification. It’s far from just a passage for me as well, because I think it’s really exciting to be lining up with the other boats and have them around and see what we can do and know that this is only the start for me, this is only going to get better, I’m learning about the boat, I’m making improvemnts to the boat, I’m looking at a new sail wardrobe next year. At the moment, I’m performing with the worst set up I could have - and still loving it!