Pip has now been at sea over a week - and what a trying week it has been. Plagued by inconsistent breeze and a troublesome goose neck pin, life hasn’t been easy for Pip. However it hasn’t stopped her from enjoying every moment on the water.

The last 24hrs has been a reminder of how big all of this, the ocean, the boat, all of the elements that need to be in balance to successfully race this boat. The tiniest things can trip you up, for me it's a bolt.

This morning whilst performing one of the regular deck and rig checks, Pip noticed that a critical pin holding the boom onto the mast had worked it’s way loose and was close to failing.

After a 24hr postponement due to a storm forecast in the Atlantic, Pip set out yesterday on her first IMOCA race, the Bermudes 1000.

I am in Brest France, sitting on a beanbag at my computer waiting for the wind to arrive.