SAILING VOLVO OCEAN RACE:In the first of his weekly diaries, Justin Slattery, who is competing on board Irish yacht Green Dragon, settles in for the long voyage ahead

IT'S ALL been going pretty well for us over the last few days - despite a shaky beginning. We lost control of our canting keel just 10 minutes before the start. The Process Logic Controller (PLC), which is the computer which controls it, suddenly crashed, so we had a bit on just to make the start line on time.

For those who don't know, the keels on these VO70 yachts are able to be swung under the boat from side to side to give greater speed and stability. They're still a relatively new concept and structural keel failures were a major factor in the last race. However, we were able to over-ride the computer manually and Tommy Braidwood got set to work on it for the next few hours.

Thankfully it's all okay now.

It was certainly wild out there for a time. We screamed out of Alicante with winds gusting up to 30 knots. We got a good soaking but it was great sailing. It was fantastic to be finally lined up against the seven other yachts and getting this race under way.

We've got a lot on - some of the campaigns have been sailing together for one or two years while we've only been a team for a few months - but so far, so good.

The Green Dragon guys are in great form. We were all pleased to get to Gibraltar in third place. We knew we had to make the most of the strong winds while we could. The breeze shut down just after we got into the Straits and Telefonica Black and Puma came right up to us. I could even chat with my great friend and old crewmate Sidney Gavignet on Puma, they were so close.

We're now off the coast of Morocco in sight of both Ericsson boats, Puma and Telefonica Black - chasing hard! The thrill of the start was a complete gear change from the emotion we all felt leaving the dock. It's hard saying goodbye to your family and I have to admit I had a lump in my throat waving goodbye to my wife and baby daughter Molly. I won't be there when she celebrates her first birthday this week. It was a great send off though. Thousands of people turned out to watch the start - even Royalty. King Juan Carlos walked along the pontoon and personally shook our hands to wish us well. I asked him if he would come to the Galway stopover. He said he was very keen as he had long wanted to visit Ireland so, you never know, we could see him there.

We were allowed a guest onboard for the start and despite the stormy weather one of our syndicate backers Tom Roche was game. After a hair raising hour or so, he had to get off. But we were going so fast and there was no way he could transfer to another boat - so he had to don a life jacket and jump in the drink in huge waves before he was picked up by our shore crew. Fair play to you Tom!

This will be the fourth time I will sail around the world. I completed my first Volvo race in 2002 and then won it two years ago on Abn Amro One, after breaking the round the world record with the adventurer Steve Fossett. And yet every time I come home, I vow never to go round again. But then we all do.

In the race village in Alicante there was a big screen playing videos of the last race. South African Mike Joubert is looking straight into the camera and as he gets swamped by a huge wave he says: "I am never, ever, doing this race again!" Guess who was the first person I saw when I arrived in Spain? Yep, Mike Joubert, this time sailing with Team Russia.

What lured me back this time was the chance to represent my own country. I've been involved in so many international campaigns and although I always have the Irish Tricolour displayed on my sailing jacket, it's usually another country's flag flying on the boat. I hope I can do Ireland proud.

As we head into the Atlantic, conditions are pleasant - shorts and T-shirt sailing. We're enjoying it while we can!