For those sailors who not only race around the globe, but also are to deal with the task of taking water samples to contribute in a huge research about the presence and state of marine biomass, it has been more than a shame to go across the Strait of Gibraltar in the middle of an oil slick. Imagine our faces when sailing across waters absolutely covered with floating tar, something of a shameful remembrance for many who lived it from a close distance in Galicia.

I wonder what might have happened if one of the boats had the water-maker seacocks open.

Let's sail and let's hope all the shit from the hull has gone before we need to put the water-maker to work.

Apart from that, we are happy to see ourselves pushing harder and harder forward, and getting step by step to the top positions of the fleet. That's the prize for the hard work done!

Cheers from TELEFONICA NEGRO
Mikel (Mikel Pasabant 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.