Once again the good ship Valkyrie escorts us fearsome Vikings/yachtsmen to Valhalla/the Nab Tower and back in an epic competition the likes of which they will one day write long and tedious poems about in dead languages like Welsh.

This year we have an additional advantage besides playing Wagner extremely loudly to put the wind up the competition as we cross the start line. Valkyrie's hull was cleaned last week and she's gliding through the water like a graceful Viking cetacean wearing a Speedo LZR swimsuit.

Your sponsorship helps us: the more you pledge, the higher our position in the final rankings. But more importantly, this is in aid of the St. Wilfrid's Hospice who need to raise £4m every year - a frankly insane amount of money - to provide specialist palliative care that is so important to so many people