Christmas cake goes faster than maxis

After the initial drama and colour of getting off the start line, the fleet very quickly began to split up once we cleared the Heads.

Even before nightfall the maxis at the front of the fleet had accelerated away down the coast out of sight.

All hands were on deck for the start but the crew very quickly split up into two watches, rotating duties over a three-hour split.

Winds of 22 to 27 knots shot us south initially, and several sail changes were needed to keep the boat at optimum speed.

Too much sail gave us extra speed, but one deck rail dragging through the water and the hull heeled over at a steep angle. Swapping headsails in a stiff breeze with the front of the boat crashing through the waves is an exciting manoeuvre, but nothing out of the ordinary for the Garmin crew, who have weathered much worse in the Southern Ocean.

A freeze-dried dinner of rice and curry was followed by some homemade Christmas cake that disappeared in seconds flat.

Then half the crew climbed into cramped bunks to get some sleep, while the other team clambered onto the darkening deck and clipped on their lifelines for the first watch in the dark.

Winds eased overnight and by morning, we had slowed but were still doing relatively well against the other Clipper boats, positioning ourself in the top third of the fleet.

With the wind shifting slightly astern, the debate starts now about whether to use our large spinnaker - it would give us more power downwind and improve speed, but would require us to change course slightly and add more miles.

While the skipper and tactician discuss the options, other crew start to prepare an enormous pot of porridge for breakfast. Sleepy sailors emerge from their bunks as the watches prepare for another handover.