Ian Walker's Volvo Ocean Race blog: despite crew crawling on all fours, Abu Dhabi Racing is moving well In daylight you can brace yourself but at night there is little warning. Everyone is wearing helmets to protect the face and eyes, but for the helmsman it remains a battle to be able to see well enough to steer. Down below it is like being incarcerated in a run away train. Moving about below decks often involves crawling on all fours and always involves hanging on tight. It is impossible to predict the next movement of the boat as it bounces endlessly from one wave to the next. The temperature is rising quickly along with the humidity and smell as we head South at a rate of 500 miles a day. Nobody minds any this discomfort right now as we are closing in on Auckland fast and even more importantly gaining miles on most of our opposition to the West. The French team Groupama have sailed an exemplary leg so far and have a richly deserved lead. It looks like Puma's daring route to the North could reward them with 2nd place and we are optimistic that our position will unravel into a 3rd place over the next 2 days. This could be decisive but then with 3500 miles to go, including a Pacific doldrums crossing it is still relatively early days. Azzam is moving well right now and reveling in the more downwind conditions. Ian Walker 18.06N 153.11E