Slomo shot of Carlo working the foredeck, going to weather in windy conditions on port tack. Other boats astern as they're leaving Cape Town. Bouwe, the next day, talks about the spectacle of leaving Cape Town. Talks about other boats, points them out. Abby, below, does something with a rod. Sunset shot from the first day of the boat sailing on starboard with reefed main on starboard tack. Below, Annie, below on the next morning, talks about everyone being pretty tired, it's been upwind, nearly 40 knots. Now it's dropping. She talks about the other boats. Hard, shifty conditions. Capey grinding in the pit. Carlo and Annie on the foredeck. Louis on the helm. Dongfeng sailing to leeward and abeam on port tack, about a quarter mile away. Shot of Dongfeng behind them, on their starboard quarter. Shot of MAPFRE dead ahead of them, a half mile away. Abby studying Dongfeng through binoculars. Bouwe, sitting in the cockpit, talks about how they've been sailing the boat better and better, and it's good that they're now keeping up with MAPFRE and Dongfeng. "Because they've showed some heels to us in previous legs." Drone shots of Brunel sailing in light winds, including a low-altitude shot and a shot with Dongfeng a half mile away to leeward of Brunel.Drone shots of Scallywag in the foreground, sailing slowly on port tack, with TTToP a few hundred yards ahead of them. Ben, on the weather rail: "Trying to chase down these guys, getting 0.1 of a mile when we can. It's been very close." Shot of TTToP ahead of them. Annemieke, in the cockpit: "We're gonna take over that boat. And [she glances ahead and to leeward] the other boat? And then we're gonna be number... what is it? Five. Fifth. That's the plan. And we're getting closer. We're 0.4 miles from Turn the Tide on Plastic. So it's gonna be a battle today. Twenty-one days of racing, and it comes down to the last day." Drone shot looking down on Scallywag passing below. Ben: "We're all on the exact same playing field, all one-design boats. All have the same speed, so it's easier said than done." Drone shot from ahead of TTToP looking back to show them in the foreground, Scallywag in the background.Drone shot of two boats a few miles away to weather sailing on port tack: TTToP on the right and Scallywag a few hundred yards behind them. Drone pulls back to show AkzoNobel below, ahead and to leeward of the other boats. Shot from amidships on the weather rail showing Akzo's crew with the other two boats behind them and to weather. Jules sits on the weather rail with his arms crossed. Jules: "Got a pretty close race on at the moment with the last 270 miles to Cape Town." He talks about how they have a ridge of high pressure ahead of them that they keep banging into, which brings them back to the other boats. Nicolai steers. Brad talks about the tricky conditions, constant adjustments. Simeon scowls at the boats astern of them. Emily, in the companionway: "It's 6 a.m., just finished a 4-hour watch, 2 to 6. It's one of the longest 4 hours I've had on this trip. We're pretty close to both Turn the Tide and Scallywag, and less then a day from Cape Town, so it's pretty tense." Very low-altitude drone shot of AkzoNobel sailing to weather in light conditions. Jules talks about how they'll probably finish in the middle of the night. "There'll probably be a massive park-up close to the finish line." Last place will probably be decided 300 meters from the finish. "We'll have to get our rabbits' feet, 4-leaf clover, dice, and other such paraphernalia out and give them a shake." Shot of Scallywag and TTToP to weather and behind them.Pascal, at the nav station, talks about the last 100 miles to Cape Town. Standing in the cabin hatch, Stu talks about one time coming into Cape Town having a breakdown at the end that almost cost them a position. He sprays fresh water from a drinking bottle onto his face. Stu: "That is beautiful." Slomo shots of the cockpit: Carolijn trimming a line, Pascal (?) looking thoughtful, taking a line off the pit winch. Loud wind audio; mast cam view of two crew working on the bow in the spray. Looks like changing down to the J2, maybe? Bow cam shot, looking aft, of the new sail unfurling. Crew pulling the old sail, bagged, off the bow. Stern cam view, looking forward, with reefed (double-reefed?) main and crew at the mast. Grinding. Charles on the helm. Spray.Vestas sails in 20 knots of wind on starboard tack. Spray. Crew on the foredeck; only one I can identify is Tony. Looks like they're getting ready for a headsail change; J1 is up, so maybe they're going to the J0 or FR0? Or maybe going down to the J2? Wind appeared to be building for them over the morning of 2017-11-24, so maybe they're switching down? SiFi at the nav station talks about how they have maybe 8 hours to go, and expect the wind to build from the 22 knots they have now up to 30 knots due to the "Cape Doctor". SiFi: "It's gonna be tough on the boat, tough on the people. But it's the last day, so we can push." SiFi makes a model with a small box to illustrate the effect of Table Mountain on the wind. Shot of hoisting the new sail (J2?), then lowering the J1 with the J2 not yet unfurled. So maybe they switch down to J3-only in the foretriangle during the sail change, rather than unfurling the J2 outside the J1, then lowering the J1?Drone shot follows an albatross in the foreground with TTToP sailing on port tack in about 10 knots of wind in the background. Dee, in the cockpit, explains that they're a few miles north of 40 degrees south, and some of the crew wants to go south to get in the Southern Ocean officially, others want to get to Cape Town. Temperature has dropped, and they've seen albatrosses.Below, Joan talks in Spanish. He then translates: They have a pretty steady breeze, and a reach with increasing wind, so they estimate finishing in Cape Town Friday afternoon or evening, 1700 or 1800 UTC.In the cockpit, Charles talks in French. Below, Stu talks about how obviously they're pretty disappointed to have fallen behind from the controlling position, but hard work has gotten them back into it. "Got a real race on our hands with Vestas, who are just a few miles behind us. And MAPFRE, a decent chunk ahead but certainly not out of touch." Charles talks about Table Mountain, and its effect on the wind. Carolijn, below: "When everything's against us is when we get the best out of ourselves and push really hard. Marie: "As Pascal [said], we have to be faster and lower." Stu: "We have to remain positive and keep chipping away." Slomo shots of the cockpit, washing machine. Daryl laughing at the pedestal, on the bow. Wake. Below, a loud sound of a sheet being eased. Stu: "A minor wind check; nothing to be concerned about." mast cam view of the deck, spray.In the cockpit, Tony trims the main and talks about how the winds are lightening, that they got up to 32 knots of boatspeed in the strongest winds. Now down to 20s, and 18 at the moment. Now the wind is expected to lighten further and lift them, then they'll gybe, and with luck get to Cape Town Friday night or Saturday morning. Shifting the stack forward. Washing machine.Slomo shot of a dark albatross gliding in their wake. Emily, below, getting out of her bunk: "It's cold." Jules, at the nav station, talks about how they're still riding the front, but have high pressure a few days ahead. Simeon repairs some piece of gear, hands it to someone, and talks about the upcoming winds and strategy. "In general we've been sailing the boat well." Nicho, on the stern: "Number one challenge is how we're gonna get ahead of some of the boats ahead of us." Talks about how boats can get stuck in the approach to Cape Town. Slomo of spray coming into the cockpit.Wake. There's a bird visible; doesn't look big enough for an albatross. Liz looks out and comments (I think) on the cold. Below, Nicolas talks about wanting to finish the race quickly and see his new daughter. mast cam view looking down. Below, Henry mixes a food packet. Henry: "Just making the mac and cheese, mate; just coming off watch." Sam: "So what's the rundown?" Henry explains they're getting east as fast as possible, trying to stay with the front, after which Dee and Nicolas will need to decide whether to go north or south. Nicolas, at the nav station, says he needs a coin to decide. Dee, in her bunk, jokes: "It's a big week for Nico, coming into Cape Town." Henry explains that Nico was on MAPFRE in the last edition of the race as they finished in Cape Town, when SCA overtook them when they became becalmed and they came in last for the leg. On the stern, Liz points out an albatross. Liz: "There's the real Wisdom! Pretty cool."