Joan, on deck: Passing the equator now. To the east of the leaders, which gives MAPFRE some leverage. Doldrums don't look very bad. The fleet doesn't have a large separation, so everyone will have pretty much the same opportunities. After the doldrums, typical tradewinds and sailing around the Bermuda High. With a low coming in that creates some opportunities. In lighter wind with MH0 partly rolled up, Xabi on the foredeck. Then Willy stands on the bow and gives hand signals to guide them through sargasso weed. Crew in the cockpit. Neti on a halyard putting a patch on the MH0 near the clew.Doldurms. Libby: Tomorrow we'll definitely be on the (something). Less than 24 hours of this rubbish. Instruments: 0.8 knots. Libby explains that the leaders will get into the new wind earlier, and will get away, but wait until May 7, and the bungee will come into action. They cross the equator, announced by Libby over the PA. Sunset. Trimming. Alex in the dusk: We crossed the equator just after lunchtime. Not that much has changed. Should be around 150 miles until we get into the tradewinds, and then we should be making pretty good speed to the finish line.Sailing under clouds. Rain dripping on TJ under the boam. Heavy rainfall, something brown in the water (Sargasso weed?). Stacey grinning in rain under the boam. TJ, on the bow, talks about the light conditions, wanting to go a little faster. Jena and Tony grinding. Skua overhead. Gybing the MH0 from port to starboard. Watching a whale to starboard. They sail through a big patch of sargasso. SiFi talks about it. SiFi, at the nav station, reads out the latest sched over the PA. They're in fourth, behind Dee, Brunel, and AkzoNobel. Mark: Just crossed the equator into the northern hemisphere. Talks about the sargasso weed. Accumulates on the foils. Just have to deal with it.Very high drone shot. Peter, shirtless below: Had a pretty good night last night. Can see the boats in front of us, Vestas and Dongfeng. Bouwe: How's the morning? Little clouds, a little rain. Shot of a gybe. Other boat to port. Nina: I have the craziest dreams offshore. I think it's because your sleep is broken up, all the gybing. They're really real. Sam asks Bouwe: When you're offshore, what do you dream about? Bouwe: Sex, with my wife. [To Capey: Isn't that true?] Capey, eating: I don't dream of sex with your wife. Nina: I had this really strange dream in the Southern Ocean. That the Volvo Ocean Race wasn't real; it was a coverup for a drug-smuggling operation... We're in an escape plane, and a missile is coming, and a tracker was in my bag... Sam asks Abby: How long is it until Neptune comes? Abby: Less than 24 hours. Bouwe: Three. Here, here, and here. (He demonstrates a triple reverse mohawk.) Abby: I dream about my kid. I think when you get so tired you start to hallucinate. She asks Bouwe what his dreams are about, and he repeats the "sex with my wife" line. Abby laughs. "That was honest." Low drone shot circling the boat under clouds. Abby, at night in black and white: We are either just passing or about to pass Turn the Tide on Plastic. Shot of them to port. Carlo: The other day I had a nightmare. I went to this fishing farm, where they were breeding salmon. I went inside and I was being chased by the fishermen that were working in there. But they had fish skin and it was melting. It was really strange. Peter on the helm. Carlo: Just lost a little bit on them. Louis: I've had many crazy dreams, but they're too crazy to share. Peter: I'm always pretty tired for some reason. Shot of Kyle sleeping below with the engine running.Drone shot of Brunel with setting sun behind her. Below, Kyle jokes about trying to wake up Carlo. He says he's already awake. "He's on deck. He's trimming the main." Carlo gets up. Kyle shows his watch: 10 minutes late. Kyle teases Carlo in the galley. Carlo: All day long... Kyle: You might not be able to hear him, but he's saying that he loves me. Drone shot from close ahead of Brunel. Abby: Today is Friday, and my wish for the weekend is that I be able to teleport off the yacht and spend the weekend at home. Nina: 10 knots more of boatspeed. Or a shower. Peter, on the helm: No-sail-change Sunday. Alberto: Some pancakes and ice cream would be nice. Bouwe: Back home it's another big day, in Denmark, for young kids, when they become 15 years old, it's a big thing for church. I hope they're having a good party. Kyle: I wish that King Neptune shows a bit of leniency toward Nina Curtis.... I think she's gonna be punished pretty badly, and I hope that she survives it. Drone shot. Nina: I'm a little bit nervous. King Neptune is tormenting me every day... Kyle told me how to use my own watch, and it has GPS, so I'm keeping track of how many degrees until we get to the equator. And I've only got 14 degrees until I meet Neptune for the first time. She does a high kick. "I"m coming at you King Neptune." Sam asks Capey to wear a mic, and he doesn't want to. Nina explains that Capey had a bad fall and landed on the foot brace in the cockpit sole. Bouwe explains that Capey was lucky. Things can happen in a matter of no time. Capey moves gingerly across the cockpit. Kyle checks the mast. Beautiful sunset clouds. Wake.Alberto, in the cockpit, explains that they had a very bad night, and lost a lot of distance on TTToP and Vestas. Bouwe, on the wheel: Turn the Tide and Vestas made a very nice move and gained 20 miles on everybody... Just keep trying, trying to improve, sail against numbers... And hope soon we can crack the sheet a little. Below, Louis talks about trying to improve. In the cockpit, Alberto: The secret to going faster is a good engine and a lot of fuel. But don't tell anyone; it's a secret. Awesome low-altittude drone shots, slomo, from in front with a competitor behind them. Kyle, below: Today is ANZAC day. Nina: A good day to catch up wiht friends and family, have a few drinks. (She waves.) Peter: It's our biggest wartime memorial we have every year. Obviously a long way from both NZ and Europe, but definitely thoughts with them. Shot from the stern as they prepare for a maneuver. Drone shot with competitor behind. Kyle: King Neptune is coming to the yacht to visit Nina. Alberto: Nina's the one who's very excited. Nina: Can't even deal. The torment, with the equator and King Neptune, it's started already. It's gonna be three or four days. They're too excited about it. I'm very nervous. Bouwe looking serious as night falls. Peter: She reckons we could sell the hair we're gonna get off her head. Or donate it, to kids. It's up to her to decide. Nina: I don't think anyone will want it anymore [after all this offshore yacht racing]. Someone calls down below for a peel. Abby: Too many. Crew comes up, they hoist the new sail. (MH0?) Slomo of sunset. Nina: I wanted to say to Caitlan, that I'm really sorry if I don't have any hair when I'm maid of honor at her wedding. Maybe if Caitlin also pays to King Neptune, maybe he'll take only half the hair, or an eyebrow... Sorry Caitlin. Night time shot of stars.Crew in shorts working the cockpit in the half light. Drone shots with big rain cloud behind Brunel. Capey at the nav station. "We've just crossed the equator. Our next obstacle is to get out of the doldrums." Solomons coming up. Disappointing evening with the westerly boats making huge gains on us. We didn't get the wind. Hoping it would be the other way around. It was a choice I made. At the Solomons there will be another shutdown and compression, and we'll make the most of that. Have to take the good with the bad. Forecast and history, and a bit of luck. A bit of a cloud lottery here, the way they build and move. There is a bit of luck. But there's also skill in placing yourself in the right place. Next 10 days likely to be slow. Bouwe on the helm. Shifting the stack on deck, below. Mastcam view of washing machine in the cockpit. Sailing through rain. Washing machine. Mastcam view forward. Capey, from below, calls up about a good sched. "We took 50 miles out of MAPFRE... Only gained 20 on Turn the Tide. [Kyle asks how far behind they are.] Must be 50."Bianca, in the pit, says it's pretty exciting that they're about to enter the Southern Hemisphere, and closer to New Zealand. We then see a mastcam shot of her dancing at the aft pedestal. Back in the pit, she says, "Nah; I'm not that excited."Drone shot of Scallywag against the late afternoon sun shimmer. Ben sits on the foredeck. "We've lost contact with all the boats we found the other night. And we're a fair few miles behind, which is a bit shit." Still in the doldrums, though, so there's always a possibility, he says. Talks about working hard and getting close, and then you "have a bit of a whoopsie"... Below, Alex eats and talks about the competition. Shot of the wind map. Alex talks about Libby's predictions, chances of making gains in the approach to Hong Kong harbor. "It's not bad, Thai green curry." Drone shot. On the helm, Ben talks about how King Neptune was a bit ill during the equator crossing in the Atlantic, so he's had a bit of a holiday, and is going to make an appearance here. Grant emerges from the cabin as Neptune. (Not gonna win any Best Costume Design Oscar for this one. It's a... sheet wrapped around him? And an unadorned boathook as a trident?) Looks like the victims are Annemieke, John, Alex, and Trystan. "Where are the children of the South?" Neptune sprinkles water on people. "Do you wanna be welcomed to the North?" They mumble "yes" in reply. Witty walks by with spray-on hair color and sprays them. Then he throws a disgusting bucket of something on them. Annemieke explains that Neptune has made sure they are safe in the Northern Hemisphere. Shot of the bow-tie pasta in the green slime on the cockpit sole. Alex, covered in goo, says, "No more bad juju. It's done. We're good... We're gonna clear every cloud now and win the race." Below, Grant and Witty at the chart table pull up the sched. Grant does musical accompaniment. Witty: "Sun Hung Kai leading." Grant: "Hey!" Alex, on deck: "Hopefully we can hold our position here. But it's still only 6 knots of wind, so... still some clouds around." Shot of the sunset. Alex: "...and you can go from a rooster to a feather duster in the space of a sched." Alex says there's 7 days to Hong Kong, and they're back in the fight again, so that's good. Sunset with John on the helm.Oy. Dee and Liz as Neptune prod Bernardo, who's in his bunk, with a trident. Dee: "Let's go, pollywog." On deck Bernardo seems legitimately groggy. He and Bleddyn are herded forward and strapped to the weather daggerboard. Liz: "We've got similar reasons for punishment. One, you're a little too beautiful. And two, we have public displays of nudity. Don't do that!" (poke, poke) She takes a pair of scissors. "What do you want: the eyebrows or the hair?" Bleddyn chooses hair. Bernardo takes the set-aside trident and prods at Liz; Dee intervenes and takes it. "I shall prod them from a distance." Liz cuts a reverse mohawk into Bleddyn, then Bernardo. They put red hair dye in their eyebrows. Bernardo: "Freddy? Come and dance for us. Come and dance for us." Frederico does a quick dance in the cockpit. Bernardo: "This is not fair." It's over, thank god.Kyle pours food into a container in the galley. Whiteboard on the bulkhead above reads: "B/FAST PORRIDGE OR CEREAL". Oh, crap. It's going in a container labeled "Not for eating." I honestly hate this bit. Abby works on a cardboard crown. On the stern pedestal, Sam grins, knowing what's coming. Kyle emerges from the cabin with crown and trident. King Neptune does the bit: "Sam Newton! You're here to be punished for your heinous crimes." They throw the gross food on him. Rome gives him a crosswise reverse Mohawk. Sam is a good sport about it.We see the position readout tick over from S hemisphere to N. [Oh god. Here it comes. Please may the hazing ritual be merely silly, rather than cringe-worthy. (J/k. I know it will be fine. Goofball Boat Mom and Her Trusty Wisdom-Voicing Sidekick don't do abusive hazing.)] Sitting on the stack forward in the morning light, Bernardo says it's done; off the bucket list. Bleddyn looks at him: "One part of it, mate." Brian, in the cockpit, talks about how they've stuck within 2 miles of MAPFRE all day and all night. Slomo shot of MAPFRE. Time lapse sequence from a camera mounted on the starboard side of the stern showing them approaching a big squall, rain falling on them. Brian talks about the big squall in front, and the satellite showing a light patch of wind. Slomo of people grinding in the rain. Dee talks about the pollywogs, and how Neptune doused them with a rain shower. "And strangulation!" as Liz throws a sheet around her neck and mock-tugs on it. Liz points forward: "Neptune is pretty angry. And prolonging it. And Neptune hates waiting." Bernardo grins at the camera. "I'm terrified!" Francesca, on the middle pedestal: "Save the eyebrows!"High drone shot of Brunel. More drone shots. Drone closeup of the cockpit, with Yann on the drone controls. Shots on deck of them going through a squall with rain and spray. Slomo of Carlo wiping water from his face in the pit. Slomo washing machine shots from the cockpit, the stern. Bouwe, below, explains that they're heading north toward the doldrums. Mentions that Neptune has a victim coming, because someone in the crew is a polliwog (or whatever it is they call them). Maybe that's Sam? Capey at the nav station. Bouwe describes the results of the latest sched. Boats ahead have less breeze now, so they should catch up soon. Lightning in the distance. Crew showering in a rain squall. Flopping with the J0 in no wind. Kyle, below, describes how they got stuck in a rain squall, then stuck in no breeze for an hour and a half. Drone shot circling them with no wind.Tony plays King Neptune. Jena gets her hair spray-painted pink; Martin gets a reverse mohawk.Ugo talks vlog-style in Spanish. Rob emerges as King Neptune, performs the ceremony. Tamara cuts her pigtails. Blair and Ugo get reverse mohawks.Kyle and Peter get their equator-crossing initiation. I think maybe Capey is playing Neptune? Not full-on cosplay, though. Shot of the three inductees on the bow in the spray.Below, Annemieke talks about Neptune. Alex talks about getting a "visit from a special person." Fish, in the cockpit: "I'm not too sure, but there might be a bit of brightness coming into our lives." Tom, below: "Anything's possible as far as I can see. And on this boat, anything really is possible." Ben, below: "Time will tell what punishment is in store for me, and for the other guys who haven't crossed the equator."Stu plays King Neptune. Carolijn assists as Jack is inducted.We see a chart plotter showing the equator crossing. Nick, below: "I've crossed the equator 7 or 8 times now." In the cockpit, Tony counts up how many times he's crossed the equator while Jena laughs. 15 times. Tony: "There's plenty around who've done it more than me." Tom, in his bunk below: "Only once. This will be my second time." Jena, on the aft pedestal: "This is my first time." Mark says this is his fifth. Discussion in the cockpit of how many times they'll cross in this race. Nick and Tom razz Martin about his upcoming initiation.Closeup of chart plotter: We see the equator crossing. We see Jack on the aft pedestal and Carolijn in the hatchway prepping King Neptune's trident.Sophie brings a wrapped present from below and leads the crew in singing 'Happy Birthday" to Joan. Joan talks at the nav station in Spanish. Rob talks at the nav station about the equator and King Neptune. Blair talks to Ugo about how they're both pollywogs. Ñeti talks in Spanish. Támara talks in Spanish.Edited-down version of the previous TTToP video, intercut with drone shots at the edits, to remove the talk about filming Annalise peeing, and tighten up the remainder a bit.Jack launches an ocean science buoy, talks about how they're 3 degrees north of the equator, which means he'll be subjected to the hazing ceremony shortly. At dusk, Jérémie talks with Marie and Charles in French. Jack talks in French about crossing the equator. On the helm, Daryl talks about how he's crossed the equator 16 times. Charles: "I think Stu has the real record."In the cockpit, Dee talks about the equator crossing ceremony. She wants it to be memorable, but she also wants it to be clean and tidy. So probably hair loss, she says. Dee: "It's quick, because I've got six of them to deal with. We've got a fleet to catch." Bianca, on the sheet: "Dee, what happened to you on your first crossing of the equator?" Dee: "I was on my own. And I was great." Dee [to Annalise, pulling her shorts up on the stern]: "We're filming you peeing." Bianca: "So technically you haven't been initiated by Neptune." Dee: "Not gonna happen. And any revolt will be punished 10 times worse. Just remember he's got the razor and scissors. Neptune does." Annalise talks about a girl at camp who got her eyebrows removed in a prank and they never grew back.Below, Nicolai and Brad eat out of food packets. They discuss their week. Nicolai: "Monday was my birthday." Intercut with shot of Brad hitting Nicolai with a pie in his face. Brad: "I thought that's what you do in Denmark." Nicolai: "Nah." Brad: "Not a tradition?" They go over the rest of the week with intercut shots of various things. End up talking about the upcoming week. Nicolai tells Brad Neptune is waiting for him. Brad, shirtless, lounges by the galley as Nicolai washes a utensil. Nicolai: "I've crossed the equator. He's not waiting for me; he's waiting for you."On deck as AkzoNobel surfs on port gybe, Brad, behind Nicolai's back, sprays whipped cream onto a plastic cake box lid. He says to Nicolai, "Here you go," and pushes the "pie" into Nicolai's face. With Simeon steering, the crew in the cockpit eats cake and sings "Happy Birthday" to Nicolai. Nicolai: "Best cake I ever had." Nicolai: "I was on a boat like this in the North Sea with Simeon." Emily: "Did he give you cake?" Nicolai: "It was more colder. It was more miserable, there was less fun and there was no cake. So I prefer this one over the last one." Washing machine shots of Nicolai getting doused. Nicolai back at the cake-eating: "My teammates are being really rough on me today. They put whipped cream in my face, which is not a smart move when you're about to go across the equator in one week." Brad: "I heard that's a Danish tradition though." Nicolai: "It's not a smart move." Brad, eating cake: "It's a Danish tradition." Nicolai: "It's not a smart move. When you're crossing the equator in one week, King Neptune's got a few things to sort out and you don't put whipped cream in my face; that's not a smart move."