Position: 33 52.3 S 151 13.9 E
Moored Rushcutters Bay
Wind: Calm
Sea: calm Swell: nil
Weather: overcast, rain, mild
Days Run: 62 nm

Our plan for yesterday afternoon worked well. We continued close hauled to the SW breeze on the starboard tack which took Sylph well out to sea and into the East Australia current. At 1400 we got a significant wind shift into the SSE, to which we tacked. This allowed us to ease sheets slightly for a close reach into Sydney Heads, as saw our speed jump up to seven knots, and later eight to nine knots as the wind freshened. So from there we made excellent time, closing the gap considerably on our main rival, Currawong.

In the end we crossed the finish line at 21.53; 1 hour 41 minutes behind Currawong, and on PHS corrected time 1 hour 6 minutes behind. In the two handed division, on corrected time, we came seventh out of 15 boats with two retirements; and overall on PHS, we came 39^th out of 65 boats with five retirements. So, overall, we did a lot better than I was expecting this time yesterday. (We can only wonder what a difference having the new spinnaker might have made.)

Again, I think Chris and I have learnt quite a bit about getting the best out of Sylph when ocean racing. In particular, Chris has gained an appreciation of the importance of using wind shifts to strategic advantage and avoiding a beat to windward where at all possible, a lesson he put to very good effect in the return leg of this race.

Hopefully we will get the new spinnaker later this week and will have an opportunity to try it out in good time for the main race. The next event on the sailing calendar is the Sydney to Hobart Classic Regatta being sailed over this weekend. The regatta should be quite a spectacle with some of the race's classic boats lining up to compete in what I trust will be a fun and collegiate atmosphere.

All is well.