Immediately upon this alarming realisation my parents, weather consulting friends and other experts were informed of the situation.

I am now able to monitor further movements around the keel and

have changed my course towards the E to stay within the Azores High Pressure and hopefully avoid harsher weather conditions from the North during the coming week.

I am going to sail extremely cautiously and reefed to minimise further pressure on the keel while I am doing my upmost to deliver Freedom and myself safely to shore.

Freedom and I, such as ships around us, are being monitored by three different Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centres (Germany, UK and the US) and the UK Centre calls us every four hours to ensure that we are alright.

With this tight-knit safety net, with my parents who are an incredible support through this and my friends who also keep my back clear, I am confident that we can find a way to continue this journey as safely as the circumstances permit.

I will not attempt a repair at the moment as some areas are too inaccessible and the sea state moves us around too much.

As of the currently obscure whys and hows of movement in the area, I refrain from guess work (please do the same) and wait until we have reached safety to investigate professionally and produce hard facts.

Thank you to all the people who have helped me through this so far, I really appreciate it.

I am going to keep you updated,

Helena