Wednesday 27 December 2017 12:57, UK
Dee Caffari is proud of how her young crew fared across the Southern Ocean during Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Team MAPFRE won Leg 3 from Cape Town to Melbourne, making it back-to-back leg wins for the Spanish vessel.
The leg was worth double points, with MAPFRE finishing top of the podium ahead of Dongfeng Race Team and Leg 1 winners Vestas 11th Hour Racing.
Turn the Tide on Plastic finished sixth, arriving in Melbourne on Boxing Day after the 6,500 nautical-mile sail.
For the majority of the crew it was their first taste of the notoriously treacherous Southern Ocean and Caffari feels they gave a good account of themselves.
"Yet again I have watched the sailors develop before my eyes," the Turn the Tide on Plastic skipper said.
"They have now seen waves and winds they had never experienced before and have been driving and dealing with the cold and wet really well.
"We have been on the pace with the fleet and have shown again the defiance of a team that never gives up. Our time will come, of that I am sure."
