With 1800 miles to go, Robin Knox-Johnson, on Saga Insurance, has come to terms with the fact that he will probably spend Christmas at sea. Knox Johnson has battled with broken battens and now faces a gale which seems to be tracking him. Having ascertained that the storm was lying south of his position, he moved north and the storm followed. The seas were very rough and at one time Saga Insurance did 27.6 knots.

The weather has been unkind to Knox-Johnson, throwing a high between him and Freemantle, moving east and likely to create strong easterly winds along the Australian west coast. Given that he will have light winds in his new course, it is likely that he will be in the port before the 28^th December, 2007.