Daily Logs

Sookie - Leg 3 Day Five. TIRED AND EMOTIONAL

Struggling for enough wind all day and also the right direction our watch system went out the window last night and early this morning.  This coupled with a distinct lack of wind left everybody "tired and emotional" as the decision to finally fire up Yan Mar was taken.  However after a few attempts of engine on, sails down and engine on sails up we are finally and hopefully going to cover the last forty miles to Lagos under sail.  "Bo***cks" (not a swear word by the way) winds gone again Bye   Mumbles and co.. read more...

Scarlet Lady - Log Day 17 - Sail to Figueira da Foz

We set the alarm clock for 4.30am to get the boat ready for the 7am race start.  However, re-attaching the main sail took rather longer than we expected and we were a few minutes late joining the others at the start line.  We started the race under sail only but there was so little wind that we were all just bobbing on the sea not going anywhere.  After about 30 mins, Scott from Katerina suggested over the radio that we all motor sail until the wind picked up enough to sail.  We had a 75 mile passage ahead of us and would never get to Figueira da Foz if we didn't.  We all agreed that was a great idea and started our motors.    After about 5 hours, the wind picked up enough to sail but the wind strength was still not great,. read more...

Adagio - the good, the bad, the unexpected

Hi family, friends, and everyone,All of the Adagio crew are fine, and anxiously awaiting our arrival in Tortola. Lots of good things happening here: great people on other boats, and the rally organizers have been wonderful. Our week or so in Hampton was filled with fun activities and very valuable seminars (even though we were in hurricane mode for 4 days. Adagio is sailing extremely well, despite a few days of storms which have left us exhausted and wet. We are around the Florida keys area only quiet a bit east of them. Also great was a chance to shower last night. Not under ideal circumstances, but still, it was wonderful. While the majority of our time has been good on this passage, the wind, seas and storms have made it very difficult for us "virgin" offshore sailors. Trying to get a. read more...

Matilda - Safely in Mauritius

We arrived safely in Mauritius, luckily avoiding the cyclone, although it was a bit tense at times. The guy who does our weather says that it was the earliest recorded cyclone for the region since records began (the season doesn't usually start until well into November) - trust us to be a part of that sort of history making! Two boats were so concerned they fled to the nearby island of Rodrigues until it had safely passed. Today has been very squally so no doubt we are seeing the tail end of it, grateful we are watching it from the inside of a waterfront cafe.The Indian Ocean crossing passage has been the most enjoyable for us so far. The combination of wind together with interesting sailing conditions and then, to top it off, the formation of the cyclone, meant for no long boring. read more...

Ceilidh of Lorne - The Reality Distortion Field 29:54.66N 13:21.66 W

As we come to the end of the delivery trip, the crew have hijacked the blog from the skipper today as we don’t want our readers to be sucked into the reality distortion field that is Dave Sturrock! The eternal optimism of the skipper has always kept spirits high, but there has been quite a lot of burble along the way and while the crew were trusting in his ‘wise words’ at first, there was soon some scepticism among the ranks. Some of these now mistrusted phrases were:“The swell is going down!”“The wind will shift very soon”“The wind will drop off in the next few hours”“This snuff bag works really well”“The Canary Current will kick in soon!”And finally “Trust me, I know what I’m talking about”Well, we can safely say that the swell did not go down, the wind did not shift or drop off, the. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 24 Day 9 - Full Wardrobe

There is no point in having eleven sails if you don't use them.   And at some stage yesterday we managed to use all of our light-weight sails- we are hoping not to have to use any of the others at this stage!  At thebeginning of the day, we were under full plain sail - Genoa, Main and Mizzen alldrawing lustily.  The Guiana Current was with us, and at noon UK timewe posted our stunning total of one short of 180 miles run. But during the afternoon, the wind began to ease back.  Soon theMizzen Staysail was out of its bag and flying between the two masts. Next it was the turn of the new Spinnaker, and with its help we kept up ouraverage speed.  But the wind eased further, leaving us with a twenty knotswell and only ten knots of wind.  The probability of wrapping the preciousnew spinnaker. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 275 - Back in Beautiful Bequia

9 April 2011We weighed anchor shortly after breakfast. The wind had actually died to a light easterly breeze. How cool is that! We set Voyageur's main and genoa and under a sunny sky close reached across to Bequia, 21nm away. Ah, to be sailing again, it was wonderful. The sea approach to the main town of Port Elizabeth was glorious as the rocky headlands glided by on both sides, impossibly steep green hillsides towering above us. We are so very happy to be back here. Tony, a local boat boy helped us onto a mooring deep within Admiralty Bay, a crescent of white sand beaches, crystal clear water and giving great shelter from the trade winds. We could have anchored but for a cut rate price of forty EC Dollars a night it seemed like a good enough deal and really not such a bad thing to give. read more...

Meltemi - 19.11.2012 - Angekommen in Las Palmas - und bereits einen Fisch gefangen!

 Position: 28-07N / 015-25W, Puerto de la Luz, Las Palmas de Gran CanariaCOG - Course over Ground: 0,0 knSOG - Speed  over Ground: 0,0 kn   Ein kleiner Hinweis zur Vorstellung: Der deutsche Hochseesportverband HANSA e.V. ist seit 1925 erste Adresse, wenn es um Segelausbildung geht.Als Europas große Yachtschule bieten wir fuer unsere über 16.000 Mitglieder und Wassersportbegeisterte aus vielen Nationen Kurse fuer alle Segelscheine, Motorbootfuehrerscheine, Fernkurse, Segelferien, Trainings sowie Toerns in vielen Revieren weltweit.Der DHH betreibt seine Yachtschulen an der Ostsee, am Chiemsee und auf Elba/Italien.    www.dhh.de Die Segelyacht MELTEMI, eine Beneteau Oceanis 54, ist das Flaggschiff der DHH-Yachtschule Elba, kurz YSE.   Den. read more...

Scarlet Lady - Log Day 16 - Trip to Porto and sail repair

Today the Rally organised a trip to Taylors port wine lodge and the city of Porto.  The trip around the port wine lodge was fascinating and Steve & John enjoyed the port tasting at the end of the tour!  The city of Porto was also lovely.  Our guide, Katerina, was excellent and very knowledgeable.  However, after a hard day's sailing the day before and the late night due to the rescue of Usquabae of Fife, we were all shattered and were also concerned about the tear in our sail.     When we returned from the tour, we got the sail down and Steve took it over to Katerina, where Scott got out his sewing machine and did a fantastic repair.  The marina staff at Povoa de Varzim had found us a small piece of spare sail material, which. read more...

Irena - Azori-Lagos dan 4

Mesanica vsega. Motorja, jadrana in motojadranja. Veter se je stalno spreminjal in temu primerno smo se tudi prilagajali. Je pa prijetno toplo tako, da poèasi spet oblacimo oblacila s kratkimi rokavi. Tempo na barki je obicajen, straza, spanje, hrana. ceprav je zadnje bolj piclo, saj moj partner ni najbolj vesc kuhanja. Tako, da ostane ali nekaj na hitro iz vrecke, ali pa jaz skuham, ali pa sendvici. No, na tej turi od Tortole naprej nisem imel srece s kuhinjo, oziroam kuharji/kuharicami. Se dobro, da imama zvezek receptov moje soproge. Danes sem tudi ugotovil, da je zgnilo skoraj polovico pomaranc, ker sva (??) jih dala skupa v mrezo z jabolkami. To vedno odsvetujejo. Verjetno nisem bil dovolj pazljiv. Barka deluje po obicaju dobro, sedaj plovemo s hitrostjo 6 vozlov in do Lagosa. read more...

Comocean - By George, We Are sailing!

By George, We Are sailing! Author: Toby HynesThis fourth day on the way to Bermuda is shaping up to be a great one. While we motored relentlessly into the night, at about 11:00 we hit the WRI (Weather Reporting Company used by the World Cruising Club) and GRIB predicted West Winds. The winds are constant at about 14 knots through most of the morning. We have been holding fairly constant 7.5 plus knots at a 15 degree tilt. About 10:00, John Hoffman tapped my sleeping shoulder to suggest we throw in a reef. The West winds had grown to about 20 knots and the tilt closer to 25 degrees. We accomplished a very quick reefing with all participating in the exercise. Dinner last night was excellent. Joel had pre-cooked angle hair spaghetti and ground beef to be added to a marinara sauce. He spiced. read more...

Habits of Health - HOH Comments from the Crew

Comments from the crew:First of I would like to thank Dan for his journaling. This trip has been so incredible that there is no way that I could remember the whole amazing experience. I look forward to reminiscing time and time again though his blog. His journal was written for the ears and eyes of his sons 5th grade in class in Colorado to understand the science and experience of the sea and sailing. Though it appears that all audiences have enjoyed it.When Wayne and Lori asked if we would like to be part of the crew of the Carrib,1500 the answer immediately was "YES!!!" Saying "no thank you" would have been like saying "No" to life. Dr. A, Lori and Dan (The Trio) have already taken us mentally and physically to many places that we have never been and we suspected that this experience. read more...

Anastasia - Mauritius

20:09.6S 57:29.8E The wind picked up overnight and we arrived in Mauritius on Saturday at 13:00 local time, after 11 days and 5.5 hours at sea, averaging 209 miles per day overall. In the end we had plenty of time to clear customs and go out for Andrea's birthday dinner at the Labourdonnais hotel. Coming into the harbour was interesting, passing by the Taiwanese fishing fleet and the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior on the way in. 18 World ARC yachts are now in the small marina basin and it is quite a tight squeeze already. Three yachts diverted to Rodriguez Island because they were worried about cyclone Anais. Trompeta, the final yacht to come in before the storm, is due in tonight at around midnight.Click the link below to see Anastasia's latest photos from Mauritius:. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 24 Day 8 - Hooked

Volker tried but failed to light a cigarette today.   He had been told that Cleone was a non smoking boat, so sympathy for hisplight was not just zero, it was minus about 12 out of ten.   But wait, what about the others?  We thought the Skipper was bad, butsince Paul came on board he's been much worse.  And to cap it all, he madePaul bring out as big a stash as he could of the little white bags he craves somuch.  It then turns out that Paul is as hooked as the Skipper, and it isonly justice that they've finished this junk already.  It is notwidely published, but just about all the yachts on this rally are fitted withthe gear needed to prepare this horror, Cleone being no exception.  The twoof them brew up either furtively during the night, or openly in the day -they think that being in. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 24 Day 7 - Where are we?

We know where we are to within nine feet.   Well, that's a pretty bold statement, and it could do with a bit ofexamination!  Cleone's GPS tells us exactly where we are to 3 places ofdecimals, and it also tells us what our position error is - at the moment 11feet.  And if it's good enough for the GPS, it is good enough forme.  Moreover, we watch the "Miles to Go" figures and the "Cross-TrackError" carefully - we like to know exact answers.  But when we are at sea,we go for days without seeing another ship,and we are often hundreds if notthousands of miles from land.  So, for much of the time, pinpoint accuracyis irrelevant; but is it important?   Not so many years ago, in the late 1980s or so, very few ships, let alonecruising yachtsmen, had GPS.  They carried paper charts, and knew. read more...

Tucanon - Chilling out in Grenada

We stayed with Ian and Anna at their house on Sion Hill, Barbados until 6th April. There was a lot to talk about; a lot of catching up to do. Since we had last seen them, they had both retired full time, Anna had survived an aneurism and her elder daughter had become engaged.When we returned to the airport at the appointed hour, the car was not allowed to drive into the area; there had been a gas leak notified and the airport had been closed since 3pm. We were supposed to check in at 17.30 but none of the appropriate staff were present at the desks and nobody seemed to know what was happening. Luck was with us and at 6pm, the check-in desks were opened, we handed over our baggage and wandered through to the departure lounge. The fifty seat plane arrived and left on time. Grenada was just. read more...

BRIZO - 14 October 2012

We are just 267 miles from Mauritius, our chart plotter is predicting that we will arrive mid-afternoon Monday. Crew morale has skyrocketed as we have neared our destination and the prospect of returning to terra firma seems real. Actually what started as a very difficult ocean passage has turned out to be very pleasant during the last third of the leg and all crew have been performing well.Kathryn and Audrey have been spending a good portion of their recent days on schoolwork. Corinne has been assisted by two teachers aides: Steve on math drills and Karson on social studies. The girls each took exams yesterday and passed with very high marks. They still have some catching-up to do and the teaching staff hopes to get the girls back on schedule by the time we depart Reunion. We are. read more...

Escapade - Day 6-8 Great Sailing

In the past 3 days we have minimally needed engine assistance. We are currently flying the Parasailor with light winds coming from directly behind us. About an hour ago a little finch landed on the boat. We are over 300 miles from land. He has become quite curious and is in the middle of touring the entire boat at the moment. Yesterday we caught 2 more dolphin, so will eat fresh fish for dinner again. Pictured are Dietmar and Jim with their fish.IMG_4324 IMG_4319. read more...

Bardeau - sangria vs beer

Sitting in one's club in Las Palmas Marina attempting to persuade the nice lady to poor a sangria, but in true Basil Fawlty style everything is non non non....managed to extract a beerEl Skipper. read more...

Sookie - Leg 3 Day Four TUNA yes Walkround bed No!!

The weather today has been much the same as yesterday with light and variable winds.  Our ETA on the plotter gets to 24 hours and then stays there for six hours.  but this afternoon we caught an 11lb Tuna.  Quite hard to pull in and land due to the fact we were not going to stop for anything and we had the cruising chute flying due to the light following winds. As for having a lovely walk around be in the master suite forget it.  After wedging myself against the wall of my room OFF the bed I am now sleeping in the saloon when off watch as it is much more comfortable. Still 24 hours to go   Mumbles and crew   . read more...

Scarlet Lady - Log Day 15 - Scarlet Lady to the rescue

Not long after our arrival in Povoa de Varzim, there was a call on the radio from Usquabae of Fife.  They had suffered complete engine failure and were approximately 4 miles from the marina.  Steve heard the call and immediately offered to tow them in.  We had purchased a lot of rope in Plymouth before the rally for our sea anchor so he knew we had enough rope to do the job!  He, John and Andrew from the Rally team set off to tow them in whilst the rest of us watched from the Yacht Club.  It was very windy out there, so it wasn't an easy job.  However, within the hour, Scarlet Lady had safely dropped off Usquabae of Fife on a free alongside pontoon and returned to her own berth.  By this time, there was 30 knots of wind blowing Scarlet. read more...

Field Trip - Finally, some solid wind!

2:42 AM. We've been having a blast today. We are working hard to keep engine hours low. Currently about 40 percent less hours than our sister ship. Grin. Currently sailing between 8.5 and 9.5 kts in 13 - 15kts of wind. Beam reach. Fast point of sail for us, and we are really staying on top of our trim every minute. Most fun we've had the whole trip. Everyone likes fast...and for us this is great. If we get a little more wind, we'll keep Field Trip over 10kts easy. Keeping our fingers crossed....... read more...

Surprise - surprise

Motoring today with light wind. Nice last night with gentle full moon, bright venus and good sailing for the initial 4-5 hours, before wind left us.Great food and time to catch up on sleep. The air is noticably cooler than in Tortola as we go north. We will likely stop in Bermuda to fill the fuel and water tanks. Expected arrival there is now wednesday afternoon.CH. read more...

Anastasia - Indian Ocean - Day 11

19:43.3S 59:10.8E  2260 miles covered, 120 miles to go Hopefully this is our last day at sea, although it looks like being a long one.  We now have 10 to 12 knots of wind, which means we are travelling at about 5 knots in the direction we want.  Unfortunately at this speed we will not arrive until tomorrow evening.  It is annoying after averaging 215 miles a day to get to within 160 miles of Mauritius.  Let's hope the wind gets up. . read more...

Turbo's Tub - It's time to head out to deep water

We made it to Morehead City (our new rendezvous rather than Beaufort) by noon on Thursday and spent the day preparing for our big departure in the morning. The weather looks good and we will be traveling within VHF distance of another rally boat, T’ai Chi. We've done all the prep we can, and as Michael said today, it's time to just get out there and do it! We'll hit and pass the Gulf Stream tomorrow, and with any luck should be pulling up to Green Turtle Cay either late Monday or early Tuesday depending on weather. Thanks for following our story, and we'll catch up on the other side. We hope to get a few messages through to our incredible land support, Kevin, via sat phone and he will keep you posted on the blog. It's time to head out to deep water.  In a message from. read more...

Irena - Azori- Lagos dan 3

Ponoci je veter popustil tako, da smo jadrali s hitrostjo 4 do 5 vozlov. Zelja, da bi bili v Lagosu v petek popoldan tako postaja manj verjetna. Dopoldan smo pognali motor in vse do opoldneva motorili. Popoldan je zapihal zahodnik do 14 vozlov in sedaj jadrava samo z glavnim jadrom, saj je kar nekaj valov. Drugace pa nic novega. Postaja bolj toplo in tudi vreme je bolj prijetno. Nic dezja ze par dni kar je precejsnje olajsanje. Nic se nisva lovila, mogoèe danes, ker se tako in tako nic posebnega dogaja. Do Lagosa imava se 343 milj.. read more...

Moonstream - Baiona to Figueira

Starship Moonstream Baiona to Povoa  Sunday 17th June Yesterday evening we were entertained for supper and prize giving at the Monte Real Yacht Club, on a lovely verandah and lawn overlooking the bay of Baiona with all its islands – very pretty.  We were all set for a 10.30 start today.  However, the Director of Rally Portugal, Andrew Bishop,  informed us that another Low  was predicted for the following afternoon and that, if we wanted to avoid it, he was kindly suggesting we leave by 05.00!!!!  Another LOW!  For heavens sake!  Is this Neptune smitting his trident  once more?  This one with 20 to 25 knots of wind and on the nose, ie, in the opposite direction to our destination.  A mixture of cheering, groaning and much. read more...

Caryali - per la serie ? saranno famosi!!!!

Wow che sorpresa scoprire una bella foto  dedicata al Caryali sull'articolo dedicato all'ARC uscito sul quotidiano 'La Provincia di Las Palmas'. Polpetta e' entusiasta!!! Andate a vedere nella gallery: http://www.worldcruising.com/arc/gallery_boat.aspx?EIValue1=11086I lavori procedono bene. Oggi finalizzato la cambusa e montato le reti per frutta e verdura. Grandi prove anche per la macchina del pane… Speriamo di riuscire a trovare la giusta combinazione di dosi prima della partenza o l'equipaggio si lamenterà' della cambusiera.Carole. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 274 - My kingdom for a calm anchorage......

8 April 2011We went ashore and once again climbed the steep hill up and over to the other side to Salt Whistle Bay. It was here, more than thirty years ago that Undine and her Canadian husband came to build their paradise resort. The bridal couple were staying in one of the houses here, set amongst the mangroves and palms and we joined them, and also Jutta and Jochem for lunch. On our return to the pier we were dismayed to find our tender in a terrible mess. It had become trapped under the rusty steel supports, all the handles scratched, the cover covered in rust. The new outboard cover had been torn, the casing cracked and our bailer was missing. A lesson learned. Next time we will beach the boat! None of us slept that well last night. Yes, you've guessed it. It was so windy, gusts of. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 24 Day 7 - Power Reaching

Yesterday we made160 miles, today 169.   You can't beat sailing when it is like this.  The wind has been justforward of the beam, with Cleone settled in nicely on the starboard tack. The seas have built up and we have had occasional bursts of rain, with anincrease in windspeed leading the showers.  But unlike her lighterbretheren, Cleone revels in these conditions.  Left to her self, she slidessideways up the waves, flicks over the top and slides smoothly down the otherside.  Occasionally a shorter, steeper wave slaps against the side,but if he is quick, the helmsman can duck to avoid what little spray blows overthe cockpit side.  We have two reefs in the three plain sails - genoa, mainand mizzen - and this gives us six or seven knots of boat speed, and enoughpower to push through the. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 24 Day 6 - Back to Brazil?

It's a big place, Brazil.   We have just crossed the Equator, we are still off the coast of Brazil, andwe will still be off the coast of Brazil for some days yet.  We have noteven got close to the Amazon Delta.  From our chart, usingdividers and a pencil, a rough measurement of the coast-line ofBrazil shows it to be about 3500 miles long, taking no account of thewiggles and squiggles.  Since it is approximately square, thismakes Brazil a very large country indeed.  No wonder the Portuguesegave it independence so long ago - it must have been virtually impossible toprotect in those days, particularly with the Dutch, French, Spanish,British and all sorts of other pirates around.  As well as itsphysical size, it has a population of, apparently (I can't even check onWikipedia from here -. read more...

Crazy Horse - April 9

We have stayed here in Tobago Cays since Wed. Yesterday Jeannius and Ocean J joined us here in the anchorage. The Chessie crew came in a launch with their boat still anchored in Mayreau. Everyone went snorkeling in this beautiful reef area and saw an abundance of fish, coral, turtles and other sea life. It has been a relaxing place and one that the scenery will remain etched in my mind as I proceed back to the real world and work. One of the islands here was actually used in a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean where Jack is marooned on an island. It is the farthest one out called Petit Tabac. We have explored on land some of these islands (Petit Bateau and Baradel) and seen all kinds of shells. Of course this is a park and we are not permitted to remove any. Last night we went to. read more...

Helia - It takes a Family

This is our third day on the same tack and until now almost all of it at 60 degrees apparent. Fast, but living on a constant heel has its challenges…Our shift schedules have changed a bit after my wife Ginny and daughter Ellie (9) recovered from seasickness early on in the trip.Although Ginny and I are still keeping to the 3 hours on - 3 hours off, Ginny takes her watch in the cockpit and then immediately rests on the settee down below, especially between 6pm and when the moon rises each night providing better visibility/perspective.After skipping half of the planned dinners the first few days out due to upset stomachs after sundown, we now have a routine established that includes breakfast, snacks and then an early dinner at 4 pm.Ginny prepped all the meals before we left, so now during. read more...

Anastasia - Indian Ocean - Day 10

18:55.8S 062:02.8E 2090 miles covered, 270 miles to go Andrea was right. The new symbol on the spinnaker was a bad luck sign ). At 2am there was a gust of wind, only about 25 knots, but the spinnaker collapsed and re-filled with a bang, exploding into ribbons. When we got it down we found that some of the halyard block assembly came down with it, torn off by the power of the explosion (to see photos click this link: http://www.worldcruising.com/WORLDARC2012/gallery_boat.aspx). We are now reduced to using only white sails until we can get the spinnaker halyard fixed. Fortunately the wind has remained around 20 knots so we are making good progress with the regular sails, despite our course being downwind. The only annoyance is that we are now having to zig zag because we can only sail. read more...

Field Trip - Light wind sailing

Had a good day today. Light winds. Motoring and sailing. Got great performance with screecher and main. 5kts in 7kts true. Wind shifted so we ended up cranking the darn engines. Some pics from today as we played with video and photos.... [see boat gallery pages]. read more...

Moonstream - Camaret to Baiona

Starship Moonstream.Star Log Saturday, 16th June, 2012.Sorry for the radio silence for the last few days.  We now have time to bring everyone up-to-date.  Our last log entry was in Camaret after a very wet and lumpy crossing from Plymouth (we must have upset Neptune somehow).  We were one of only three boats to make the dash to Camaret on 3rd – 4th June, with Gertha and Murphy.  Ailsa tried to follow but developed engine trouble and had to be towed into L’Aberwrach.  All the other boats stayed holed-up in Falmouth, awaiting an improvement in the weather.Ken and Chris did not have a very “happy” crossing.  This, the delayed start to the rally and other commitments at home and in Portugal,  triggered their decision to come home. read more...

Purrr-fect - Leg 3 - Day 3 - Reflections on Time

Just past midnight and I am on the 11 pm to 2 am watch, so it is now day 3 "officially". Keeping track of time is simple on board since we just use the "Greenwich"/UTC time as a constant for all communication on radio nets etc. And even though we are moving east, we have decided to not change the "ship's clock" until we reach our new location. For the long passage between Bermuda and the Azores, there are 3 time zones (changing every 15 degrees of longitude) but we kept our clock on Bermuda time. So that meant that it started getting light with faint sunrise around 3 am! So the night watch wasn't much night. Sailing today was brisk and we are making good progress toward Portugal. Doldrums are predicted in several days so we hope to log lots of miles before the wind dies. When we are. read more...

Senta - ARC kids

Click the link below to see the ARC kids watching Clutch Powers: http://www.worldcruising.com/arc/gallery_boat.aspx?EIValue1=10827. read more...

Bardeau - Test

All but Claretta present on board discussing nature of food products and a 20 day menu. Real blogs to begin soon The skipper of good ship Bardeau. read more...

Brizo - BVI to Bermuda Day 4 - The cats gone missing

We tried to sail earlier today out of frustration but managed just3.8knots on VMG (towards Bermuda) so packed in after 30 minutes. So I put the outboard to bed for the next few months (Greasing etcetc.) as its off the tender on the pushpit. Fishing is off, Murray and I hadplanned to have a competition,  butas we are motoring I either don’t think fish can swim this fast or they aresuspicious of the supersonic Muppet (fake squid) we have on the end of the line!Last night I heard on the Long Range Radio (SSB) that one of theyachts had run into fishing nets and spent some time diving to cut them away – Idon’t fancy that at night and in well over 4km of water below you. Who puts netsout here anyway, days from anywhere even in a powered vessel, maybe they havejust floated from somewhere. read more...

Anastasia - Indian Ocean - Day 9

18:10.7S 066:24.6E 1840 miles covered, 520 miles to go Today the winds were light and so we decided to put up a spinnaker. Our first choice was the new asymmetric spinnaker we got in Australia, but which fell into the ocean at the start of the passage. Unfortunately when repairing the broken cable we found quite a lot of small holes in the sail which will require more repair tape than we have onboard, so that went back in the locker. Out came the much patched up old asymmetric. It went up cleanly but quite soon collapsed, at which point the snuffer snagged in the top of the sail and ripped some holes in it. Unable to snuff the sail we had to just dump it unceremoniously on the foredeck with everybody grabbing a piece as it came down. (We had a bit more of a plan than that, but things. read more...

Endo 2 - daily log 12.06.

Hallo an alle die Endo 2 ist auf dem Weg nach Norden. Da das Wetter sehr unbeständig ist, wird die Entscheidung ob wir unser Ziel Falmouth gleich erreichen oder erst eine Zwischenstation in La Coruna einlegen, ziemlich kurzfirstig fallen. Bisher sind wir gut geseglelt, doch heute haben wir die Maschine angeworfen, denn es ist Flaute. Nun haben wir endlich ordentlich Warmwasser - also war endlich duschen angesagt und die Batterien sind auch wieder voll geladen. Tja Olaf, es geht auch ohne Solardusche, wobei die Temperaturen hier auch kein Freiluftduschen empfehlen (vielleicht wenn man aus Skandinavien kommt) Somit verbringen wir den Tag mit Lesen, Schlafen und Meeresbeobachtungen - festzuhalten sind die Sichtung einer Schildkröte und mehrerer Delphine.Es geht uns also gut,. read more...

Seraphina - Monday night

Pre dawn dash was awarded with a splendid red sky as the sun rose. Sailing was motoring for 3 hours followed by 6 hours beating. Got into Povoa de Varzim very tired.Today visited Porto saw the city, toured Taylor's port facility and the samples. great lunch out in Porto.Tomorrow off to Figueira da Foz a 75nm hop down the coast (leg 3). Forecast is for light following winds - fingers crossed. Later in the week more head winds! Locals are complaining about the very unusual weather.Ian and Sally. read more...

Altair - Squalls, Thunderstorms, and a Mahi!

After a night of squalls and thunderstorms, we began fishing at day break. The pink lure wasn't working so we tried a green one.After hooking two that got away, we pulled in a nice one- meal male mahi...just enough for the four of us tonight. When it happened,Rick and Don were down below napping; Jody and I were in the cockpit. We had just taken out the reefs in the main and put out the genoa when the fishing reel zinged announcing a fish on the line. Rick and Don leapt into the cockpit form down below. Rick took the rod, while Don and I let out sails to slow the boat from its 8 knot cruising speed. Jody went below for the "fish booze." ("Fish booze" is the cheapest rot-gut whiskey we can find, stored in a container of the same name so as not to confuse it with Mt Gay rum).. read more...

Talulah Ruby II - Talulah at the Equator

This is our final long sailing leg on the worldARC,and it is going very well,we are headed straight for Tabago. The wind andcurrant have been in our favour,and we are nearly half way after 5 days.We havehad some squalls with heavy rain,but nothing to worry about.Yesterday a brownbird with a grey head and long black beak settled on the cockpit deck and stayedfor the night,he seemed totally happy about us all pulling ropes ,movingabout,eating etc.but has flown off this afternoon.At 5.30.this morning wecrossed back across the equator from south to north,so we know we are nearinghome.For Shayne and Jenny it is their first time,so as it was far too early tocelebrate,we are going to have a bottle of Fizz tonight.This is a tough life !!!We are still fighting fit and send our love. Paul Andy. read more...

La Boheme - 2 March 2009 - Drifting slowly towards Fortaleza

At the time of writing we are still 32 miles from Fortaleza (LAT 03.43S, LON 37.55W) and there is no way we can made it today. Our ETA is sometime tomorrow. We have emailed Amel regarding our engine problem and we are awaiting their response. We are unable to sail any further and we will wait in Fortaleza until our engine is fixed. This is not a very good news as we were really looking forward to the beautiful Caribbean, clear and clean water, white sandy beaches, swimming and the company of our ARC friends...and it looks like this will have to wait.Anna, Greg, Ben and GosiaLa Boheme. read more...

Lady Ev.VI - Daily Log, 7. April 2011, Tobago Cays

Noch 8 Tage Weltumsegelung!Die Ueberfahrt von Brazil nach Grenada war wirklich schrecklich!Wind von vorne und haeufig Platzregen, nach vielen schoenen Tagen war das wie Suedamerikas Rache fuer mein schlechtes Benehmen den brazil. Damen gegenueber. Erst wollte ich suedlich von Tobago durchfahren, dann kam der ernste Rat der erfahrenen Teilnehmer, wegen der aktuellen Kriminalitaet sollte man unbedingt noerdlich passieren. Haben wir gemacht!Aber dann die Erloesung und Belohnung fuer erlittene Pein: GRENADA!Wunderschoene Insel und eine super Marina. Nach dem zerstoererischen Hurrican IVAN ist viel, auch mit EU-Unterstuetzung, wieder aufgebaut worden; Kirchen haben wieder Daecher, Wracks sind aus der Lagune geschleppt worden, die Uferstraße ist wieder befahrbar.Nach Norden klariert man wieder. read more...

Ailsa - Povoa de Varzim. 41:22.3N 8:45.9W

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear !!!! We seem to be going from one disaster to another – We are having continuing trouble with water in the fuel which necessitates going below at 1/2 hourly to 1 hourly intervals when we are motoring or motor sailing to check the fuel filter, this means in practice stuffing your head into the engine compartment with the engine running and shining a torch onto the water/fuel separator to see if there is any or in our case how much water is in there. We motored yesterday from Bayona into a strong headwind and rough seas and had to stop 3 times so that Richard could empty the water from the filter and then bleed the engine. I eventually lost it big time when another boat on the rally (Katerina) radioed us to ask if we were OK as he could see us wallowing. read more...

Zingara - Via Inmarsat:

zingara, Azoren by by. . . bereits seit Sonntag segeln wir wieder, und wie. . . Bei tollstem wetter gehts nun mit 8 kts gen Lagos in Portugal. Genua ausgebaumt , Gross leicht durchgesetzt segeln wir am wind den winddrehungen folgend mit fixer Segelstellung dem Ziel entgegen. Hoffe, die windpfeile von Grib US sind zutreffend.Mehr dazu beim naechsten Report. Gruesse von bord, ernst, reinhard u wolfgang. read more...

Anastasia - Indian Ocean - Day 8

16:51.6S 070:08.1E  1600 miles covered, 750 miles to go The wind has moderated, but fortunately there is a good (1 - 2 knot) current behind us so we are still making good progress towards Mauritius.  We now need to average 7.8 knots to get there for Andrea's birthday. I am radio net controller today.  It is a challenge working out what people are saying now we are several hundred miles apart and the voices are increasingly obscured by background noise.  We are using a 6 megahertz band, which should be OK to transmit up to 600 miles, but the issue seems to be the limited power of some of the boat's radio transmitters.  Still, using a system of relays between boats with good radios we can still contact everybody.  This morning I had to use Zoe,. read more...

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