Nov 01, 2005 – 0400hrs UTC

0400hrs 01 Nov 2005 UTC 39’41”S 031’01”E Ref 507

An idea for the next competition – for anyone with imagination and a palette. Kids’ art class, perhaps? Create a painting or a drawing called ‘Albatross in the Storm’, any style, any medium and send me a small jpeg or a scan and we will provide an authentic Berrimilla souvenir to the one we like best. Here’s my image: On an A4 page in ‘landscape’ orientation draw an imaginary diagonal line from top left corner to bottom right. This represents the horizontal. I’m crouched at the forward end of the cockpit facing aft and about 2 metres away is Berrimilla’s pushpitThe railing around the deck at the stern of a yacht. – a sort of fence around the back of the boat with GPS aerials and other paraphernalia attached to it. There are photos on the website for the perfectionists. The backstay rises from the deck just inside it and disappears at the top and KevvoStainless steel self steering device, built by Kevin Fleming, used on Berrimilla and countless others and his vane are working away behind it. The boat is at the end of a roll to the right – so to my left as I face aft and the backstay and pushpitThe railing around the deck at the stern of a yacht. are oriented more or less vertically up the page. Subdued light, Turneresque clouds, perhaps a glimmer of sunshine from the right somewhere. It is blowing 60 knots from the right. Directly behind and above the pushpitThe railing around the deck at the stern of a yacht. and about 30 metres away is a serrated ridge of grey blue green wavetop with spray blowing off the top and white wind lines running down its face. This ridge slopes down from the left and merges with a towering mass of water on the right – a crest just beginning to break but with ice blue green translucence in the top edge and again, spray breaking away to the left. Above all this – so in the top right hand corner, is an albatross, head to wind, huge wings curved downwards – hovering immobile and serene on the wind. It is about 15 metres away and I can see its eye and beak clearly. The contrast between the fury and the stillness is profound.

That is what I remember – but it’s just to give you the flavour, not the actual picture. Make of it whatever your imagination provides. Leave out the bits of boat entirely, if that works better for you. If you want to do one, get it to us at berri@berrimilla.com by email by the time we get to Sydney. If the idea really does get into a kids’ art class, perhaps a bit of prejudging by the teachers might help – send us say the best 5, as judged by the class? IzzoIsabellaAlex's sister, Alex’s sister – a dental flossed version??