Halfway the distance between New Zealand and Cape Horn.

And there we go, early morning, braced square, Royals, middle staysails, outer jib and main course furled, rolling and rolling on following big seas and strong winds.

A look backwards while we hold the helm, a towering wave above the limited horizon that we can see on these high seas, the ship climbs upon it, then drops with its passing under her in a sort of surfing action. She loses her course, her main deck bulwarks dip in the sea. The wave roars away, the water drains from her decks, busy at the wheel the helmsman brings her back on track.

Not once, not twice, but today, hours of this kind of sailing. A day of heading East until the evening, when we brace a touch off square and set more sail as the course changes more to a southeasterly direction. Now all the Squares are taking the winds, Lower and Middle staysails are hoisted, together with all the head-rig. Just before that, counting our progress during the last 24 hours from 20:00h to 20:00h, we have sailed at a good speed at an average above 7.6kn, a total of 183 nautical miles, of which 179 in a straight line. From departure 2623 miles we left behind and 2361 still to face to reach the Horn. It was at 10:52h this morning when we passed the middle point between New Zealand and Cape Horn.

A position which before changing course after dinner has brought us just about 290 nautical miles from the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, the farthest location at sea from any coastline, Point Nemo. No regular marine or air traffic routes are within 400 kilometres from it. Such a remote area on the planet amidst the immense emptiness of the South Pacific, from which roughly 2688 km of oceanic waters stretch uninterrupted to Ducie Island atoll (Pitcairn area) to the north; Motu Nui (one of the Easter Islands) to the northeast; and Maher Island (part of Antarctica) to the south.