Watch Alex Thomson's Christmas message

Day 46

By the time this is printed we will be close to docking in Wellington, New Zealand. I know that the Barcelona World Race is meant to be nonstop, but we have had a few problems with the boat, which has meant a pitstop. It has been a trying Christmas.

Five days ago, our starboard rudder started to make an awful creaking noise. Our two rudder blades are held in cassettes, which are attached to the transom, or back of the boat. The starboard rudder was moving inside its cassette, which meant that the blade had worn away. I filmed the damage and sent it to my team so that they could advise us on what was wrong and how to fix it.

I also noticed the cassettes were moving on the transom attachment, which itself was moving on the boat. In 30 knots of wind I had to crawl into the steering compartment and cut open a hole in our aft water ballast tank to mend the attachment. Capey [Andrew Cape, my co-skipper] and I had discussed stopping in Wellington to fix the other problems but had decided to stop in a sheltered bay instead. This would not incur the 48-hour penalty that goes with an assisted stop. To be on the safe side my team mobilised; putting Christmas to one side, they travelled to Wellington, ready to assist.

However, a few days ago, while steaming along in a gale, the rudder moved a little too much and the boat went into a nasty crash gybe. One minute the boat was upright, the next it was at 90 degrees with part of the mast lying in the water. I was in the cockpit, struggling to hold on, while Capey was stuck inside. Luckily there was very little damage to the boat, apart from our fuel tank, which had sprung a leak and was pouring diesel all over the inside of the boat.

This incident decided our course of action; we could not afford for this to happen again. Not only did we lose mileage, it was dangerous and there was a possibility of losing our mast. The stop in Wellington was decided. It will give us a chance to sort out a few other problems, such as the cabin filling with carbon monoxide every time we charge our batteries.

We are now a little over halfway round the world and only half the boats are left in the race. Despite early setbacks we were moving up the ranks and were convinced that our boat, Hugo Boss, was fast. We had roared into fourth place by the Southern Ocean and although Capey and I were sleeping on average only two hours at a time, twice a day, we were enjoying the race.

The Southern Ocean is not a great place. Its all-consuming grey sky and monstrous waves reek of isolation and danger. But our pathway to the deep south involved us destroying the monohull world speed record, becoming the first 60-footer to cover more than 500 nautical miles in 24 hours. Our boat seemed to lap up the conditions, averaging 20.87 knots.

Meanwhile, the others began to fall. The leader, PRB, lost her mast, followed by Estrella Damm breaking her rudder. It was a surprise that these boats had broken so quickly in fairly benign conditions. However, it was even more surprising when Delta Dore’s mast broke and then ten days later Veolia Environnement’s did the same. We always knew that this would be a race of attrition but we were not even halfway through.

We were up to third but the air was bitterly cold and the threat of icebergs was ever present. The nearest meaningful inhabited land was more than 2,000 nautical miles away and never had I felt more isolated. It was about this time that my father suffered a heart attack and the feeling of helplessness was overwhelming. While he lay in an intensive care unit, I was careering round the depths of the world unable even to talk to him. There was nothing I could do but receive news and hope and pray he would be OK. Fortunately Dad is recovering well and I speak to him every day.

Heading back towards the north was a huge relief, not only to close on land but also to get a little respite from the freezing conditions. Our heater had broken and we were now sleeping in four layers of clothing, inside a thick sleeping-bag. But the race was on. After Veolia diverted to the Kerguelen Islands to fix her engine, we were up to second and gaining on first place. It wasn’t long until we were just 12 nautical miles behind the leader, Paprec Virbac 2.

For both of us, this is our first Christmas at sea. We don’t have a tree or any decorations and would love to be with our families. On Christmas Day it was windy and the boat needed constant attention but we opened a few presents and toasted our boat with a nip of Johnnie Walker. We were given a Santa suit and had fun with that in a brief period of sun; but soon enough the grey enveloped us again and it was back to work.