"Cape Horn was everything I thought it was going to be, Kent recalled. "We summited Everest. These are hallowed waters. Countless wrecks lie on the bottom here, and countless lives have been lost trying to get around this windswept point of land. I feel honoured to have been there, to have seen this storied point and move on. I am incredibly lucky to be on a boat this safe, and on an adventure this grand." His leg was dogged with the usual problems that an unsponsored first time campaign goes through, the most potentially fatal one being when his forestay broke with the notorious headwinds and shorter seas of the South Atlantic still ahead of him. However, Kent’s response is that compared to the dismasting that his good friend and rival Derek Hatfield experienced, his life has not been that troubled.

As the first skipper to arrive at night in Salvador, the CENAB laid on a festive welcome with fireworks and samba music. Tim was greeted at the dockside by the other skippers and teams and also by Dayse, who tied the ’wishband’ around Tim’s wrist before handing over the magnum of Champagne Mumm, followed by the customary fruit bowl and caipirinha.

Tim Kent now has a relatively short hop up to Newport, RI before realising his dream of a solo circumnavigation, not only as an adventurer, but also as one of the few individuals to have their eyes on the overall podium in Around Alone. Kent’s unwavering optimism and sense of humour sets him apart as someone who has the courage to act out their dreams - and a good dose of old fashion stubbornness to boot : "I don’t let that side of me show very often, but when I want something badly enough I will not stop until I have it."

Meanwhile, 137 miles behind at today’s 14:00 GMT positions, Japanese skipper Kojiro Shiraishi on Spirit of yukoh is making better progress to the finish, and his ETA is for the evening of the 23rd March. "Of course before the bars close !" he remarked. "Whatever happens I will not be letting up and will be trying as hard as I can to get to the finish as soon as possible." Clinging on to Everest Horizontal all the way round, it was only in the last few days that Tim really shook him off his tail. Koji has sailed an incredible race in Leg 4 of Around Alone, proving the full potential of his Finot designed Open 40 in the very Southern Ocean conditions the boat was built to perform best in.

FIRST PODIUM FINISH FOR SPIRIT OF YUKOH

After 43 days at sea, Japanese skipper Kojiro Shiraishi on Open 40 Spirit of yukoh crossed the finish line in Salvador, Brazil at 15:02:17 GMT (12:02:17 local time) in 3rd place for leg 4 of Around Alone, and "in perfect time for lunch !" as the skipper joked himself. "Last 24 hours, very busy, no eat, no sleep !" Indeed, the weather was very squally with thunder and lightning, and Spirit of yukoh sailed into view just after a huge downpour had drifted off to sea. His boat looked spotless and Kojiro said there was not much work to do. "Just a leak in the keel area to fix," he smiled.

This was the first time Kojiro and Spirit of yukoh have finished on the podium and the pleasure was obvious on the skipper’s face. His Finot Open 40 has performed impressively in the Southern Ocean, tailing Tim Kent on the bigger Open 50 Everest Horizontal most of the way round. Koji may not speak much English, but he is one of those rare individuals whose rich body language tells a thousand stories. The passage from Tauranga, New Zealand had been relatively trouble-free for the Japanese skipper in comparison to the two 40 footers behind him, which bore the brunt of the worst conditions around Cape Horn. "The Southern Ocean was very good to me this time. Big high pressure made the sailing really nice. No storms. The last time I rounded Cape Horn I was 90 miles to the south and of course never saw a thing. This time it was very nice to see."

Kojiro said that the hardest part of the race to date was the second half of the leg from Cape Horn to Salvador. "There were a lot of headwinds and squalls making the sailing very difficult." However, when asked about how he coped with the heat he replied with a laugh : "Panama Canal much hotter !" Kojiro was welcomed by Dayse on the CENAB pontoon and did a great job of spraying the best part of a magnum of Champagne Mumm over the entire assembled crowd.

With the arrival of Spirit of yukoh only Alan Paris remains sailing. He is still over 700 miles from the finish and reported to have had an action packed day, negotiating squalls, lightning and two near misses with freighters in low visibility. "Since that morning excitement, it has been one squall after another for 36 hours, non stop, no breaks. Fifty degree wind shifts and winds from 5 - 28 knots. The latest and what looks like the clearing front has had fork lightening that was all around the boat. Nothing to frazzle your hair kind of lightening, as has happened before, but too close for comfort on a boat that freely admits to relying on its electronic toys !"

Then of course there is Derek Hatfield and Spirit of Canada still in Ushuaia. This next week will be a big one, as the large shipment of parts arrives tomorrow, along with an army of riggers, sailmakers and electronics experts, to be followed by the delivery of the new mast. Hatfield has confirmed that the hydraulic ram has been completely reinstalled and tested. "This is a huge relief as I thought that I may have done some damage to the keel bearings and keel box. There is no sign of any damage in the entire keel system." The lifelines and stanchions are being refitted today.