Leading - at least for now

SAILING: Damian Foxalland Jean-Pierre Dickon Paprec-Virbac are in overall lead of the two-handed, non-stop Barcelona World Race

Today we will be 50 days at sea and for the fourth consecutive week we hold the overall lead. We're well settled into our routine on board but the pressure remains intense. Since Christmas Day, when we reached the Cook Strait between New Zealand's North and South islands, we have dived back into the Southern Ocean.

Now we're back in the Furious 50s as we prepare for the next ice-gate and the final stage in this starkly beautiful part of the world before we reach Cape Horn.

We're in the lead, but this means little. We've effectively started a 10,000-mile race to the finish, which will be a survival test for us while Alex Thompson and Andrew Cape on Hugo Boss are in hot pursuit with a revamped boat.

Their 48-hour pit-stop into Wellington allowed us to build a 927-mile lead, just over two days, but already they're eating into this and yesterday took 150 miles off us with sustained boat-speeds of more than 20 knots.

Still, we are in good shape considering we haven't stopped and incurred time penalties.

Well, that's not strictly correct. We have had a mini pit-stop after we collided with an object last week that took a chunk of outer skin off our starboard rudder. Because these Open 60s have twin rudders, they're more susceptible to damage as they lack the protection of the keel.

We could have risked continuing in the race, and, chances are the rudder would have been okay - just. But we opted for a mini, unofficial stop to inspect the damage and the rest of the boat. It was an investment of sorts, sacrificing some of the lead for peace of mind.

I've covered the damaged area with a new skin to avoid water getting into the carbon fibre of the rudder and delaminating it, so it's fine now. I've also been halfway up the rig, but still, after 15,000 miles, have yet to complete a full climb and inspection! We're pretty happy it's okay, but it's something we need to address soon.

Overall, we've done well on the damage list. Just a blown out jammer (deck fitting) and various running repairs, mostly sails.

Nevertheless, in Formula One terms, Hugo Boss has had a full pit-stop and a retune; on board Paprec-Virbac, we're fighting to the finish.

Our routine is still three hours on watch and three hours off for rest. In between, gibing involves both of us preparing the boat and sails for a manoeuvre that is intensely physical and will be even more so in the freezing conditions of the Deep South. It may be a routine, but it's critical for us now.

We are able to sail at 100 per cent but, to maintain our lead, every move we make leads to intense discussions between JP and myself, especially as we dodge the progression of low-pressure systems rolling east. If we get it wrong, we could end up with 50 knots of wind and mountainous waves which will slow us.

We have around one week to get to Cape Horn. Our ideal scenario would be to build and maintain a 1,000-mile lead, which would leave us very happy for the final approach up the South Atlantic and then to Barcelona.

The last satellite report of the day has just arrived. Alex and Capey are charging now and are 755 miles astern as we slow ahead of the next weather system. They're to the north and yet make more gains, so the next 48 hours will be especially crucial.

Their pit-stop may have given us a boost and changed our perspective but our objective remains the same: we must still reach Barcelona before we can win this race.

In conversation with David Branigan