Daily Logs

BRIZO - 17 Sept 2012

We are extending our stay in Bali by one day so that Lew can have blank pages added to his passport. He is making a day trip to Surabaya where there is a US consulate and the pages can be added while-you-wait. This seems to be an emerging problem for quite a few people on the Rally since some countries use entire pages in your passport to affix the visa documents. We have heard that South Africa requires that visitors must arrive with at least three blank pages in your passport: two for their use and one left over to make sure the next country you visit will let you in!None of us has ever been to Asia before so our visit to Bali has been very educational. The society and economy is very different from Western standards and has taken some adjustment. Locally produced products and services. read more...

Ceilidh of Lorne - Code Blue 38:01.11N 07:07.37E

We have had another 24 hours of warm sunny weather so the wind gods aredefinitely with Ceilidh at the moment, long may this continue.   I am also happy to report this morning that we are making our direct courseline to Ibiza which is 280M with a boat speed of 8knots and a true wind speed of12knots SSW.   Our day’s run was 163NM giving a total log of 481NM since Malta and leavinga further 270NM to reach Ibiza.   I am further delighted to report the code 0 Gennaker or “ Code Blue” as itis now known has been set since 09:00 this morning and is giving Ceilidh the Xfactor in boatspeed.   As reported yesterday we had an initial setback when furling this sail butfurther perseverance and improved technique allowed us to master the beast atleast in up to 12 knots of breeze.. read more...

Voyageur - Leg 2 - Log 12 Getting ready to go

2 June We are only just recovered and today, Saturday, is our last day in Faial. David and I went for a walk to the islands best beach of black lava sand, Porto Pim, straight after breakfast hoping to spend some time at the sea centre museum but it didn’t open until 2o’clock. With far too much to do today we sadly did not have the time to go back. So it was off to the supermarket for some last minute provisions. We cannot believe how cheap the food shopping is here so we will stock up and bring quite a few products home with us. The islands are famous for their excellent cheeses, Sao Jorge recommended as the finest. The afternoon was spent in the most important task of all, our own wall painting. They say it is bad luck to leave without leaving your mark on the breakwater. read more...

Moonstream - Dressed over all on arrival in Camaret

After a wet and bumpy crossing from Plymouth to Camaret Moonstream's crew needed to dress over all in a slightly different manner from the Admiralty dressing over all - please appreciate the necessity!   Caroline and all the crew . read more...

Windflower III - Cape-Bahia

Nach dem wunderschoenen Aufenthalt auf St.Helena segelten wir am 17.01 mit einer leichten Brise weiter Richtung Westen.Die frz.Lebensweisheit fuer das Ende eines guten Essens*pour la bonne bouche*welche wir in der Vorbereitung auf diesen langen Schlag in den Unterlagen der WorldARC gefunden hatten sollte sinngemaess fuer die Ueberquerung des Suedatlantiks gelten.Bei idealen Winden hatten wir tagsueber immer strahlenden Sonnenschein,und je weiter wir nach Westen kamen, steigende Luft-und Wassertemperaturen.(Wassertemperatur Kapstadt 16*C und Bahia 27*C)Und nachts hatten wir anfangs tolle Vollmondnaechte,die mit abnehmendem Mond in traumhafte Sternenhimmel uebergingen.Nur in der letzten Nacht gab es fuer uns eine Schrecksekinde,als ploetzlich ein heftiger Schlag die Windflower. read more...

Freedom Found - Log Day 13 Mon - Jubilee Monday !

Rocketing along at 6.5 Kts with surfing up to 9 kts Oh what fun! Lovely sunny day with near perfect weather has given us a record breaking distance day. 139 nm in last 24 hrs. Boat time change to Azores time now being -1 UTC, Traveling this speed really makes you appreciate time changes. It was starting to get light at 3am! So were now in the Eastern Atlantic having crossed the 40W longitude. Saw my first Sail fish jumped out of the water just next to the helm. Obviously wanted a closer look at us. As were using the sailing route we see very few (2) container ships but were always on lookout as they can be on you in minutes. mince and pasta last night. Trying to eat / cook up meats after fridge was accidentally turned off which defrosted all in freezer - oh dear! Mocca pot lost its. read more...

Anastasia - Bali Tour

Yesterday we went on a whirlwind tour of Bali, which included visits to a silversmith at Celuk a woodcarver at Mas Goa Gajah (elephant cave) temple a restaurant overlooking the volcano Mt Batur plantation gardens (where they showed how to make coffee from civet pooh) Holy Springs temple rice terraces Sangeh monkey forest. Andrea picked up a silver necklace at Celuk to add to her growing collection of necklaces from around the world.Karsten and Sheila (Gunvor XL) bought us a glitter ball from one of the craft shops by the rice terraces, so now Anastasia can be a true party boat.I got attacked by some monkeys (my fault) and bitten on the leg and shoulder, but fortunately only one drew blood and so far there is no sign of infection.  Woodcarver at work 10FE Ladies at Goa Gajah making. read more...

Ailsa - Still here !

The engine was fixed yesterday afternoon and we had planned to leave on this evenings tide but unfortunately the weather is against us again. There is a strong Southerly forecast against a spring tide and when we mentioned our plans to sail through the Chanel du Four to the senior lifeboatman who rescued us on Monday, his expression was enough to make us change our minds !!! He doesn’t speak much English and we are very poor French speakers but he certainly got his message across loud and clear. Our latest plan is to stay for a few days and possibly set off on Saturday. We are safely tied to a strong pontoon (which doesn’t show in the satellite photo as it obviously wasn’t built when the images were taken). We will enjoy the French hospitality.Shelley & Richard.. read more...

Ceilidh of Lorne - Smooth & Steady 37:26.69N 10:08.21E

This morning we have the best conditions since we left Kos on 25October.   The NW breeze backed overnight to give a F4 Southerly breeze now which isgiving a beam reach with a boat speed of around 7.5knots.   We are on a course of 285M which is also the lay line for Ibiza so let’shope the forecast continues to show S’ly winds for the next 2 days to letCeilidh continue to eat up the miles.   We are currently around 25NM offshore from the North coast of Tunisia andclose to abeam of the Isle de la Galite, the conditions are glorious with blueskies and no cloud cover.   Yesterday’s passage was a bit of a mixed bag, we cleared South ofPantelleria on a close hauled Westerly course and ended up being headed on bothNorth and Westerly tacks in only 7knots of breeze. The engine. read more...

Crazy Horse - March 21

Somehow we were all a bit too excited and preocuppied for me to remember to blog yesterday. Oh my, how could I do that? Well, we arrived in Grenada yesterday at around 6pm. It was a whirlwind of power getting here with Crazy Horse going for the barn yet again. The wind died and Bill just blasted on with the engine and amazingly we made it before dark. The captain was bellowing on about not caring about the engine hours at this point and the temp is fine! Of course Matt and I were looking at the temp gauge non-stop. But she made it and now on to the repairs I hope. Don't want to chance a repeat with that hose.Today I will bring all the tons of laundry to get washed and dried. We will clean out the bilges, get to customs, get to the bank and get some EC, and defrost the freezer and refrig.. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 22A Day 13 - It's Grim Down South

I am not convinced we are going to make the party.   No wonder the Skipper's a bit tense today.  Bruce, bless him, has sentout the crappiest forecast yet: not much wind and yet more not much wind. This makes only the Yanmar happy.  It's thrumming away at its best,slightly warm salt water being expelled from the smokeless (yah yah yah all youVolvo owners, what's your contribution to a cleaner environment then?)exhaust, revs steady on 1900rpm, temperature at 78o, oil pressure at7.8 Bar.  The speed through the water hovers above 5 knots, that over theground at about the magic 6.  There's around 200 miles to go, and the partystarts at 2000 tomorrow, Brazil Time, umpty ump hours plus or minus ofGMT.  Well given all that data, you can do the maths. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 264 - The Convoy Continues....

20 March 2011We have now less than 500nm from Grenada having had seventy two hours of fast sailing in steady winds and dare I say it, lovely weather. The convoy is making good progress too. Every morning at the beginning of the 9am SSB radio net, Graham of Eowyn gives the fleet an update of their position and progress. The fuel transfers were completed successfully, albeit in lumpy seas. They should soon benefit from the greatly improved sailing conditions that we are now experiencing. The saga of the anemometer continues.....A reply from B&G is not good. The repaired unit does not come under warranty. So our new unit which failed after five months was two months outside the warranty, and now just returned from repair having only lasted five miserable days will be yet another bill.. read more...

Anastasia - The Lombok Strait and arrival in Bali

8:44.4S 115:12.7E  The Lombok Strait is notorious for its strong currents. At this time of year some parts of the strait have currents of 4.5 knots flowing due south. Our plan of hugging the coast to keep as far north as possible before crossing the strait worked well and we managed to sail half way across without getting pushed too far off course. Then the wind died down to 6 knots an d we could no longer hold a course so we took down the sail and turned on the engine.  A couple of miles earlier we had passed Bronwyn (who have a seized engine) making a valiant effort to cross the strait under sail. Now, with no wind to sail with, they were faced with being pushed out and around the southern tip of Bali. They would have to use what wind they had to sail back out and clear. read more...

Ceilidh of Lorne - Champagne Sailing 36:28.21N 12:03.12E

We continued to make steady progress on our route going West from Malta. The night sky was clear with a 10 knot wind which veered from the SW to the NW around 05:00. We were still able to make a good course and Ceilidh felt well balanced as she moved forward effortlessly at 7knots. This sailing was in stark contrast to the previous leg and it has been inspiring to be onboard during such glorious sailing and weather. This morning we have a brilliant bright day with a temperature of around 27C, the wind has been a little variable but has started to freshen from the NW again as we head for Cape Bon on Tunisia. The Admiralty charts we are using are marked with precious Eastward and Westward courses which bring back memories of previous passages in this region. The GRIB forecast which we. read more...

Enterprise - A Short hop along the coast

50.09.150N 005.03.747W1730hrs 4 June 2012 The start to the Rally Portugal has had to be delayed due to the expected gales in the Bay further into the week. The consensus amongst the rally participants was that this was a good decision and one that we all would have made as individuals if we had been on our own. Strangely, I think that I would have set off had we been advised that the Rally was going ahead. This tells me something about my group behaviour! – A note to myself “remember to make up my your own mind in future – baaa!”. On land it can be a great advantage to meet challenges head on; to step up to the plate; to tilt at windmills... but this rarely results in your early demise. The sea is a cruel master and has no regard for how big your boat is, how well. read more...

Hanami II - Un voilier sur les rochers de la digue.

Horta, le 30 au matin, 35 noeuds de vent dans le port, de SW et soulevant une houle importante. Un bateau americain contourne l'extremite de la digue et se met face au vent pour affaler.Sur la digue tout le monde regarde car personne ne voudrait sortir par ce temps la! Nous sommes arrives la veille, juste a temps et les quelques bateaux de l'ARC qui etaient encore en mer s'en souviendront longtemps. Donc la voile commence a descendre et dans une saute de vent brusque part sur tibord liberant la bosse du 3 troisieme ris qui s'envole et passe sous le bateau pour alle se coincer ... dans l'helice.Plus de voile, plus de moteur, plus d'erre, seul a bord avec 35N de vent de face plus les rafales, le skipper a du etre depasse. Le bateau, emporte par le vent recule, taverse la. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Quasar V's log 28.1.09

Wednesday 28th January 2009   A SQUALL TOO FAR   Oh mygosh nothing happened last night with the spinnaker. She's still flying thismorning & we've sailed a respectable 175 miles in the last 24 hours.  Malcs mentioned the boat had screechedalong at 11 knots at one point with the combination of a gust of wind and a wavethat scooped us up and carried us along. But then the wind returned to a modest12 - 15 knots which warranted keeping the spinnaker up throughout thenight.   STOPPRESS STOP PRESS! I wrote the above paragraph at 0600 hrs this morning, when Icame off watch.  It is now 1100hrs.  The drama began at 0800ish.Ian was on watch up on deck, I was sleeping in the saloon with life jacket on inreadiness for emergency lowering of sails and such like - given the past weekstwilight. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 22A Day 12 - Blog Appreciation - The Scribe's Appreciation

A big thank you to all my readers.Rosie tells me they're rioting in Paris. This should help France's economic problems no end, and it's certainlysomething we need to know mid-Atlantic - the Skipper will sort it as soonas he's back on watch.  Anne (Hatts) tells me I'm getting my apostropheswrong - my son Will's a (Sub-)Editor; he'll die of shame.  Michael(C2) laughs ironically because he says he's lost more spinnakers than I'vehad hot dinners (true: and although the last was only in Weymouth Bay, he's beenOut Here Too, and that in the Dark Days of the Sextant and the Rapid (whata con - it takes for ever) Sight Reduction Tables when yachts were made ofwood and men were made of iron).  Mark the Auch sends recipes forhangovers - well cheers, chance. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Monday, 21st March 2011  This thing of doing two blogs in one day is becoming a habit, but not for long more. Skipper is hoping to have the statistics today from mailasail regarding the number of readers at present. and as we will reach Grenada tonight around 02.30hrs , we will have reached our final destination of the World A.R.C. Yes, we will have completed our trip around the world.  Kevin Dwyer sent an early email today reminding skipper of this impending "Final Act" so our last Blog of this most interesting circumnavigation of the World will officially be tomorrow. This marriage will be over.  No more "Buts"No more "Sheppards kicking their dogs" No more "Happy Bunnies" No more "Starlight dinners in the cockpit"  Since leaving the Royal Cork Y.C. Crosshaven, Co.. read more...

North Point - In Falmouth

Yesterday we came all the way to Falmouth rather than stopping off in Foweyas today’s forecast was poor. We motored to start with but half way the windpicked up and we had a really enjoyable sail. On the way we saw a whole schoolof porpoises swimming and jumping – very exciting! We are rafted next to CoralIV in Mylor yacht harbour where they welcomed us with an arrival drink. It is areally pretty place which looked lovely in yesterday’s sunshine. Unfortunatelywe can’t see much of it this morning as it is pouring down. We had bacon andeggs for breakfast to cheer John up. We think we might be moving into Falmouthitself this afternoon.. read more...

Ceilidh of Lorne - Ceilidh arrived at Malta

Just taking the opportunity to update our ARC Diary, further entries willbe posted in due course. Ceilidh was berthed alongside the pontoons at the Royal Malta Yacht Club inMsida at 05:30 local time on Tuesday 30 October.We had covered 685NM since departing Kos on the 25th with the last 150NM apretty hefty beat into a NW F6 which had seen 3 reefs in the main onceagain.Although the wind strength was manageable the west going swell of 4metreswas knocking our boatspeed and generally making life hard.In order that Neil could make his homeward flight from Malta at 11:30 onTuesday morning, we motor sailed to help maintain an average speed of around 7knots on this final beat.All of us were very relieved to have a rest as the boat had been very wetwith breaking seas finding their way inboard. read more...

Anastasia - Dolphins at night

9:2.0S 115:58.6E  50 miles to go Normally you can't see much of dolphins at night.  The odd snort and splash are the only clues that there are dolphins playing around the boat.  Last night was different. The Indian Ocean is noted for its bright phosphorescence.  It is the brightest we have seen so far, certainly.  The usual "star drive" that trails behind each hull has turned milky, with the phosphorescence from tiny animals making two long milky streaks behind us that are dotted with bright flashes from the bigger jellyfish. Imagine what happens when a dolphin comes to play around the hulls.  You still can't see the dolphin itself, what you can see is an envelope of phosphorescence around a dolphin shaped hole, with a long streamer stretching. read more...

Zingara - Zingara auf Reisen

Abschied von Horta, eine ganze Woche haben wir uns im schönen Horta gemeinsam mit etlichen  Langfahrern mindestens ein mal täglich in Peters Sportskaffee getroffen und das  brühmte Seglergarn gesponnen. Alle Wetterlagen konnten wir kennenlernen und so mußten wir auch ein  mißglücktes Einfahrtmanöver einer amerikanischen Jacht mit ansehen, die bei über 50  kts Wind gegen die Felsen einer Befestigung des neuen Kreuzfahrerhafens  geschleudert wurde. Beim Einlaufen Richtung Hafeneinfahrt hatte sich ein Tampen in der  Schraube verfangen, bevor noch irgend etwas unternommen werden konnte, war die Yacht auch  schon auf den Felsen gelandet. Nun aber zu unserer weiteren. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

MONDAY 21st MARCH  2011 Right now, it is a beautifull night as I type this blog, The Moon is full in the sky and not a cloud to be seen, the sea is flat, there is little or no wind, so we are motoring our way to Grenada, we expect to pass Tobago today around midday, leaving it ( and any pirates) to port. Its interesting to study the Islands around here with names such as " Pirates Bay " that says it all about the history of the place and the Carribbean in general stretching back hundreds of years, and to think that there are still pirates around today. WOW. If things, like the wind and current do not improve soon, then it looks as if it will be in the middle of the night tonight when we arrive in Grenada, and if things slow down even further, then it could be daybreak. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Quasar V's log for 27.1.09

Tuesday 27th January 2009 CATCHING UP SLOWLY We had an amazing run last night, with winds whipping up to an occasional frenzied 25-30 knots from the ESE.  Quasar creaked and groaned in the darkness, and yawed with the relentless bullying of an increasingly unsettled sea.  At times we were gliding along at 9.5 knots.  By 0400 hrs, the wind had ensconced itself in to a steady groove of 25 knots and so we had no choice but to lower the spinnaker (it's a lightweight sail) and rig the more robust Twistle rig.  At 0400 hrs the usual suspects were lurking around: Malcolm, Linds, Sam and me.  Sam and Malcolm went on the foredeck to wrestle with the spinnaker; given that I was due on watch at 0600 I didn't need a second invitation to return to my bunk, but as long as you guys can manage up on the. read more...

Ceilidh of Lorne - West to Malta

Just testing Ceilidh’s ARC blog link as we are on route to Las Palmas fromour home port of Kos.This morning (11:20 local time) sees Ceilidh 90 NM West of Malta with a WNWF4-5 which is making it difficult for us to make our planned track of 265M, weare currently making 250M.While the sailing conditions are pleasant and sunny, we still have tocontend with a swell running from the West which is slowing our progress.We mainly have had 1 reef in the main and full genoa hoisted, since 09:00we are motor sailing as we have crew arriving today in Malta ( KP &Jenney)and Neil has a flight home tomorrow morning to catch.Currently our eta looks like 02:00 on Tuesday morning.The fridge and the autohelm both decided to pack up this morning so we arehand steering only until we can get some. read more...

Wind Dancer - LOG 30: Take That Jules Verne

The Wind Dancer crew decided before departing Oz, it was necessary to go away from the coast, leave the boat for a few days and explore the outback. The team flew to Uluru (Ayers Rock) to view the infamous red center. We began by sampling a bit of Aussie cuisine and chose the kangaroo, which actually turned out to be quite tasty. Next on the list was a camel ride in the desert with Uluru in the background. This was a fantastic way to see the landscape and really how iron-filled the soil is. The colors of the sunburnt sand, the greenery of the desert shrubs and the blue of the nearly cloudless sky is almost good to be true. And to top the camel ride, we enjoyed and sunset viewing of the rock that evening, seeing it change colors from red to blue as the sun went down, and then found. read more...

Seraphina - On the move

Today just a short hop from Plymouth to Falmouth - currently Mylor Yacht Harbour awaiting a weather window for the cross Biscay leg. Very little wind to start - nice sail for the last half. Arrived in and we were told one of the Rally yachts was stuck with a fishing pot line around its rudder. Later we saw her being towed in by the lifeboat. Just thankful it was not us! Forecast is for rain tomorrow, strong winds Thursday & Friday - best guess off Saturday.Ian & Sally. read more...

Freedom Found - Log Day 10 - 12 - Fri -S un- What a difference!

Hi Guys Happy Jubilee - Well done Queeny yesterday 'Id blame the weather on Beryl! Flags are out on Freedom Found!!Sorry to have been quite last 2 days weather not conducive to typing!! After beetling down south we avoided most of TS Beryri but it was still quite rough. We did get some good pictures though. Were all looking after our bruises now. headed north east yesterday and were now back to the best route taking currents into account. A beautiful sailing day here at 41 W blue skys fluffy clouds and just enough wind to make an average 6 kts under full main & genoa. Nice after the calm of last night and rolly-polly seas. Marko is on the mend and served up a Jubilee special breakfast of bacon mushroom & cheese omelet. ETA Horta, Azores is late Sat or early Sun morning. Curently. read more...

A Lady - Skipper painting the wall in Horta, Faial, The Azores

 The message is ready to be sentwith the following file or link attachments:& BVI' to The Azores094Note: To protect against computer viruses, e-mail programs mayprevent sending or receiving certain types of file attachments.  Check youre-mail security settings to determine how attachments are handled. & BVI' to The Azores 094. read more...

Crazy Horse - March 20

Our position UTC 1435 10 32.N 58 10.WToday the winds came crashing to a halt. We are still attempting to sail with Joshua the larger A sail. There is only 9-11kts of wind from ESE to SE. Our speed over ground is 4-5 kts. We hope the wind will pick up so we don't have to turn on the engine. It is a bit of a point to try to end this last leg with the fewest engine hours we can manage. We also want to give the engine a break since you will remember we have a hose issue which keeps blowing apart in the engine cooling system. So if we can sail we will do it.Our previous lowest speed to sail was under 4 and we are getting pretty close. So we will give the wind a little more time to fill in.On Thursday and Friday we made 199 miles and 208 miles. There were no engine hours and we were feeling. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 22A Day 11 - Wine Whine

Look, just like in Government, every one makes mistakes.  Y'know I really did believe we could, well not spin it exactly, but convince John P and so on that even though he couldn't read it for himself (sorry John, even if you could've understood the syntax, old CP mates, blah-di-blah), the Pointy Heads of Porton Down did write 20 minutes to Armageddon (oh do shut up Tony.  You're not making history, you're part of it now - GB).  Sorry, wrong disc there, what was I saying?  Oh yes, this Rioja thing.  The Skipper has had more complaints than about anything else put out from this boat.  The Editor has advanced an unconvincing argument that he deliberately let this school-boy error through; he knows perfectly well how to spell Rioja; he only did it as a kind of pollling exercise.  Well I. read more...

North Point - Change of plan

We’re still in Plymouth but hoping to go to Fowey tomorrow and Falmouth on Tuesday where we will spend a few days. We are obviously disappointed not to be on our way but relieved not to be setting out in such horrible weather. You should still be able to watch us on the fleet viewer where you will see that a few boats have decided to go to France. Will keep up our spirits in the bar later. . read more...

Wind Dancer - LOG 31: Catch of the Day

With the forecast of little wind to get us from Darwin to Benua, Bali, we filled our tanks with diesel and prepared for the possible 950 nm motor. We started off with enough wind to get the white sails up, but unfortunately it was only strong enough to last the first few hours. With engine on, we pushed north west towards our destination. The upside to not sailing (if we are forced to choose an upside) the batteries stay nice and charged, the showers are really hot and it gives ample time to do boat maintenance. We gave dancer some good TLC and got her back to running a little more smoothly as well as nice and shinny. The second day out, motoring in the flattest of seas, we were passed by Gunvor who informed us on the VHF that they had a bit of luck fishing and had caught five tuna in. read more...

Poco Loco - 'New' racing yachts arriving in Las Palmas every day now.....

Our new neighbours here on 'The Wall' in Las Palmas must be looking forward to an exiting race  :-)Good thing they have 3 weeks left to clean up.....new competitors ariving in LP009. read more...

Arctic Queen - Split to Palma de Mallorca

Split to Palma de MallorcaOn October 12 at 17:38 we set sail into the sunset, from our base in Croatia, leaving stormy weather behind us.On our way to Palma we stopped in St Maria De Leuca, Crotone, Le Castella, San Vito, Cagliari, Carloforte and Porto Colom.Our trip to Palma de Mallorca went mainly without any strong headwinds, we managed to avoid them by having closely followed the weather forecast 3 times a day. However, we didn't have a chance to sail much since all the stronger winds were headwinds.Our passage was graced with two nice tunas and one mahi-mahi. Our chef has had them in our plates 20 minutes after we caught them. Priceless.Palma is a big nautical center so we will stay here for a few days and do some regular equipement checking.We are planing to sail off to Ibiza on. read more...

Seraphina - Change of plans

Due to the deep low forecasted of Cape Finisterre next Thursday the start has been postponed probably until the end of the week. May hop down coast to Falmouth tomorrow. Now likely to leave at end of the week. Due to time constraints Philip our crew has departed to visit his family."Paul Lewis"Huge disappointment Seraphina well prep'ed and ship shape for the seas. Off for a walk today.Ian and Sally. read more...

A Lady - LOG DAY 31 : Recovery Day.

MONDAY  4th JUNE 2012   Last Friday , our proposed sail in the Whalingskiff's was cancelled and we were dissapointed with that decision,however , there lots of these elegant " Gaff rigged" whaling skiff's out on Saturday, but no offers of a sail for us,, but none the less, we admired the view of themsailing on the bay,  There was 3 of us rafted to the quay wall,  "Sookie " inside us tied to the Quay, then ourselves and outside us we had " Emilija"   ( from Malahide)  They were all great gas and we had plenty of banter between us all, Then Saturday night, the wind got up big time andscreemed through the rigging making lots of noise,AND, And, and WE were all leaving at 06.30hrs onSunday morning, ahhhhh,  06.00hrs   SUNDAY . read more...

Cleone - Fw: CLEONE Leg 22A Day 4 - Team Beards

Apparently not received by some I'd be grateful if JDA, WRA, AGA and Alastair Wood could let me know whether or not your received this first time round as a check.  Too  many e-mails have gone astray of late! JamesCleone Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 1:37 PMSubject: CLEONE Leg 22A Day 4 - Team BeardsThe day dawned cloudily on our first spinnakerless morning. But Cleone did not seem to mind.  She sailed serenely on under full plain sail, with the Genoa poled out familiarly and the miles mounting steadily.  The Skipper, of course, was seen to let a tear or two fall into his morning cup of Earl Grey, but this was only to be expected.  What Scotsman (is he really? - Ed) likes to contemplate a four-figure bill in these straitened times?  Bruce is forecasting lighter winds today, but as. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 263 - Sailing into the sunshine.....

18 March 2011What a difference a day makes. Voyageur is tearing along at a rate of knots. We have had the most fantastic twenty four hours of fast exciting sailing, achieving a 200nm daily run! The day augured well. A liquid moon slowly slid down a western sky finally setting at 5am. Half an hour later a watery sun burst upon the horizon to the east. It was a beautiful sight. Dolphins arrive and perform their early morning aerobics show for us. We call to them and they respond in kind. They sing to us. Oh, it feels so good to be out here. The ocean blue once more, is reflected from a clear blue sky. It really feels and looks like we are heading into the Caribbean Sea. Five degrees north appears on the log sheet. It is like a magic number. We have literally sailed out into the sunshine. read more...

BRIZO - Tuesday 11 Sept 2012

It is early Tuesday morning, just beginning to get light and we are 143 NM from Bali. As reported previously we have not had much wind on this leg and have consequently motored most of the time. We have been experiencing light-to-moderate trade winds since yesterday afternoon and have been able to do some sailing and some motor-sailing. It was great to have the engine not running for a few hours and we hope for more of the same today.One thing which has been slowing our progress is the marine growth on the bottom of our hull. The anti-fouling paint which was applied last October in Portugal has mostly worn off and we have quite a growth of plant material which is likely slowing us down by one half knot or more. We are planning to have the boat hauled and painted in Capetown but in the. read more...

Peregrine - Las Palmas

Less than a month now before the start. Peregrine is sitting in the Las Palmas marina waiting for the ARC festivities to start, ready to go, apart from filling the water water and diesel tanks.The journey down from Falmouth was less than straightforward, with two full gales three calms and even the reliable trade winds reversed for us!  Still we made it in 13 days! Tom and myself are now enjoying the sunshine and relaxed marina life.. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Quasar V's log 26.1.09

Monday 26th January2009   FINESSING ONESVEHICLES   Even though the wind has been lightening instrength all morning, there appears to be a lethargy amongst the crew.  It?s really spinnaker weather again, butanother sail change?!  No one canbear to change the sails AGAIN.  Iwonder around the cabin and note that everyone?s energy is firmly fixed onfinessing their vehicles.  Ian hasfitted lights, a steering wheel and other such gadgetry on his green race car;Sam?s self propelled water bottle is starting to look more like a car, a sleeklooking bonnet having been fitted; Linds has been working solidly on her sailboat, measuring the rigging, fitting the masts etc.  Malcs is reading his book having tossedhis vehicle aside, disgusted at it?s inability to propel itself ? back to thedrawing board. read more...

Tucanon - Mayday fo Basia

Three times, during the first three days out of Recife, I spotted dolphins. On one occasion, the dolphins were small with pink bellies. On the two other occasions, the dolphins had white bellies and didn’t frolic out of the water very much at all.One of the white bellied pods had been swimming with us for 15minutes before Bev took over the watch, thus giving her the opportunity to spend the next twenty minutes with her movie camera, filming the beautiful creatures.By the afternoon of the fourth day at sea, we were sailing on a close reach and the only way to make any progress at all was to make passage directly towards the equator, rather than diagonally, NNW. During the night, a strop on the new North Sails mainsail came adrift and fell off and disappeared. The strop had been. read more...

Gertha 4 - Day One !!

Well, after the drama’s of the previous few days, I’d like to tell you that the day dawned warm and sunny. We set off on our little “jaunt” in shorts, T shirts and sporting rather attractive sunglasses. The truth however is rather disappointing. The Rally start has been postponed for the minute, due to a series of Low pressure systems heading down the Channel, and in particular a rather nasty one which looks like it’ll be making an appearance sometime on Thursday (ish) out in Biscay.So, as things stand we’re still holed up in Plymouth, but trying to find gaps in the weather to see if we perhaps hop across to Northern France and waiting for it all to blow through over there... We are however managing some rather complex passage planning and have decided. read more...

Hanami II - on quitte les Acores

Apres 6 jours a Horta, dont la moitie ou presquesous la pluie, nous quittons les Acores. Reveil a 7h30 pour liberer GWAWR a couple duquelnous etions. Un peu plus complique que prevu car un OVNI 435 francais c'etaitmis a couple de Hanami, ainsi qu'un autre bateau francais du Havre. A 8h nous quittons enfin le quai pour aller auponton carburant. La il faut attendre 9h que cela ouvre et prevoir de payer encash. 550 litres en cash cela necessite plusieurs retaits au distributeur leplus proche. Au poste gasoil il y a deja 3 bateaux a couple maisnou passerons le premiers. Pendant ce temps un bateau pavillon US vient semettre a couple de Hanami (nous sommes 5 maintenant), ils arrivent de Portsmouthet se sont bien fait secouer en faisant toute la traversee au pres.avec 2 bellesdepressions. Les. read more...

Matilda - All at Sea Again

After a couple of legs with wind, we have now reverted to norm, no wind and miserably watching the fuel tank being drained to the background noise of "Mr. Stinky", our engine. We now have 320 miles to go to Bali, which means we've covered about 600. They have certainly been 600 of the most frustrating miles we've had to sail so far - sails up, sails down, spinnaker up, motor on, motor off, sails back up again. It seems a lot of effort for very little return.To add to the fun, the sore throat that had been threatening to develop into something more in Darwin turned into a nasty full blown cold, giving me (Heather) a nasty aversion to being upright for more than 10 seconds, turning my nose into a tap and acquiring my own personal climate - a good deal warmer than the already hot and humid. read more...

Indulgence - Blog 7 - Porto Santo to Gran Canaria

Blog 7 - Porto Santo to Gran CanariaWith a weather system building that looked like it was going to close any passage out of Porto Santo for at least a week the three remaining crew  took the only window available and pushed off on the evening of 25th Oct. In spite, of having permission to stay on for the last leg of the trip from his real boss (the high priestess of his shrine to a mortgage), Stuart flew out from Maderia to, I believe, start preparing his own boat for the ARC ’13.  The other ‘Limey’ Andy (and boy can he suck limes through the neck of a Corona bottle) managed to secure a place on board ‘Rafiki’ for the ARC.  Consequently he was upgraded to a 47.3 for a shakedown to the Canaries.  I bet his new companions won’t frolic naked in the surf, in the early. read more...

Sookie - Azores Hops Horta to Teceira

After more than a week in Horta we are all desperate to get back to sea and progress to our last destination of Lagos in Portugal.  Day two in Horta Andy and I hired a couple of mopeds along with Des and Martin on board Emilija.  We toured the whole Island in torrential rain but the crazyness of the idea kept us all in high spirits.  What a bunch of eejets..  The views of the clouds we were in were "misty".  Andy went home after a couple of days and took over 24 hours to get there due to the bad weather in Horta.  We Myself Jay and Pip spent the rest of the week drinking recovering and repeating the process.  This is why we are desperate to leave.   Our intention was to leave at 6.00 am but the gale force winds and visibility made us wait all. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

SUNDAY  20th MARCH    ( Gladys Birthday )  00,00hrs  Distance travelled,...............................  1,687 n miles,              Distance to destination.............................380 n miles Gladys is skippers mother, and is a great age and still in good shape. Happy birthday Mum.  Back to the damaged " Basia", yesterday  morning, Arianne and Jennius transferred about 200L of fuel to Basia, thus ensuring that she will have enough diesel to reach Granada, they are making good progress under the circumstances' Trinadad is a closer place but on the advice of Graham from " Eowyn" ( who lives most of his time in Granada) Trinadad is to be avoided. Piracy is a big problem. read more...

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