“Like sleeping in a car competing in the Paris-Dakar” – Martin Keruzore tells us more about life on board.

A battle is taking place in big sea conditions – likened this morning by Martin Keruzore, the Onboard Reporter on Dongfeng, to racing in the Paris-Dakar rally – and watched by majestic albatrosses swooping low over the boats’ wakes. Read what he has to say here.

The sky is clouding over, there’s a swell coming on and suddenly our wake is transformed into a playground for the albatrosses as they lark around in the smoke kicked up by the VO65 Dongfeng. They’re majestic, skimming over the crests of the waves under their own speed, without a single flap of their wings; true gliders. You could admire them for hours in a bid to fathom out their technique.

The wind has punched back in today as it clashes against the southerly swell, making the sea particularly choppy and bone-crunching. Life down below is also pretty lively and somewhat reminiscent of a big carbon shaker that’s in operation 24/7. And yet the resulting cocktail is far from refined. The party rolls on at night too and Charles Caudrelier describes it as like trying to sleep in a car competing in the Paris-Dakar, minus the sand but with extra moisture.

Everything becomes muggy and wet with the ambient humidity; the ceiling dripping and our noses too. Indeed, the temperatures have really plummeted over the past few hours and gloves are becoming a necessity up top if you want to stand a chance of quickly regaining the use of your fingers to prepare yourself a good hot meal once your watch is over.