Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has entered the Southern Ocean, holding on to fifth place in the Velux Five Oceans race.
This region has been dubbed the 'Roaring Forties', 'Furious Fifties' and 'Screaming Sixties' by sailors – a reference to the wild and unpredictable weather found between 40 and 60 degrees latitude. Gale force winds and huge waves are caused by weather systems and currents that circle Antarctica. The Antarctic ice sheet produces very cold, dense air and even more treacherous is the Antarctic current which flows against these winds. This massive wall of water acts like a cold insulator, blocking warmer tropical waters. 'It's noticeably cooler and the south westerly wind is the cool one in the Southern Hemisphere. We were having surfs of up to 20 knots, which sounds quite alarming down below. Typing is not easy either, as with everything moving I hit the wrong key once in five times, so it takes a lot longer than normal,' he said.
The freezing water and high winds are not the only thing on his mind. After smashing his toe against the mainsail, he was forced to use the last of his whisky supply. 'It's taken four and a half weeks to consume four bottles, which seems pretty abstemious. I had not allowed for medicinal usage and when the time came to clean and dress the toe, I decided the manoeuvre deserved a tot... well, three tots in fact,' he admitted.