Greetings fellow Pumans and other Volvo Race fans.

It is now about 24hrs since the start in Alicante and we find ourselves heading out through the Straits of Gibraltar. This is the gap between the southern tip of Spain and the northern tip of Morocco that marks the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean.
We are 300 miles into the 6500 mile leg to Cape Town. This might seem daunting to some but here on Il Mostro we feel prepared for the trip and after a wild night of hard running in 25/30 knots of wind followed by a day of lighter winds we are starting to settle into the routine of life onboard.

Last night I was very happy to have successfully transmitted some video and stills from the boat to Volvo Race Headquarters. The last week in Alicante gave us some nerve-wracking moments as we worked through last minute issue's with the communications equipment onboard Il Mostro and I would like to thank the guys from Livewire especially Alistair, for all their hard work and effort on our boat in very trying circumstances.

Saying goodbye to loved ones never gets any easier and I would have to say that the start of any Volvo leg is particularly tough - sometimes as sailors I think we would prefer to just slip out of town when no-one is watching... no such luck here.

By the time you've finished your fifth TV interview, made your last minute checks on the boat, met the King of Spain and dealt with last minute sponsor stuff you barely have time for the most important thing of all, which is spending some time with your family!

The families are really the unsung heroes of this race. We get to chase our dreams, blasting round the planet on these high tech surfboards while they put their lives on hold and wait for us at the next stopover where we show up (never on time) ready to be entertained.

Therefore a huge shout out to all Volvo partners, wives, kids, mums, dads, extended family members and friends - especially mine of course.

Thank you, and see you in Cape Town.

Rick Deppe - MCM

Visit www.volvooceanrace.org for all the latest news!

The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain, on 4 October 2008 with in-port racing, it will, for the first time, take in Cochin, India, Singapore and Qingdao, China before finishing in St Petersburg, Russia for the first time in the history of the race.

Spanning some 37,000 nautical miles, stopping at 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier yacht race for professional racing crews.