Daily Logs

Calash - Day 15 – Sunday 5 December 2021

 Great steady progress over night.  A few squalls, but no significant challenges.  By morning we were still heading in the right direction looking at a record 24 hours passage.  Antoine the Autopilot decided to go rogue in the morning with a bit of directional wobble.  Master mariner Colin had to step in for a while to pass on his knowledge and experience of handling the wind/cross wave conditions.Antoine’s reason for his apparent lack of concentration became clear as there was a new entry for the poetry stakes; we think Antoine, on behalf of Calash the Sweden Yacht 45, had been using all his AI capability to produce this masterpiece:  Ode to a Sweden Yacht Oh, would I were a Sweden YachtA sailing on the seaFrom Las Palmas to Rodney BayA nautical life for me.. read more...

Into The Mystic - Starry, starry night

Star Date : Monday 6th DecemberNight watch - 0000 to 0400 hoursThis is the voyage of the sailing vessel Into The Mystic whose 18 (or 19) day mission is to explore new worlds and new civilisations and to boldly go where no man has gone before (well, sort of, I have just always wanted to write that :-)568 miles to St LuciaThe stars ? Oh, my wordWe are still on GMT on the boat - we haven’t been putting our clocks back so now sunrise is at 0935 and sunset at 2053 hours. There is no moon tonight (it rises at noon tomorrow) so the night is as black as pitch. Except for the heavens which have put on a stunning show tonight. The stars stretch from horizon to horizon, literally billions of them. Every so often there is a shooting star - shooting stars are one of those natural phenomena that you. read more...

Whirlwind - Log Day 15 - Under the moon

[Message du bord - Whirlwind] La nuit, je l'avoue, il m'arrive de ressentir quelque lassitude, d'aspirer à toucher terre. Ah, retrouver un vrai lit, large, moelleux, et surtout immobile, dormir une nuit entière sans régler d'heure de réveil pour le quart, boire une bonne bière fraîche et moussue quand il fait trop chaud et un ou deux verres de vin en dinant, et bien sûr retrouver ceux qui me sont chers.Mais le jour, une fois relativement reposé, je ne me lasse pas d'admirer ce splendide océan, ces eaux au bleu profond, ces vagues changeantes et écumantes, ces collines d'eau qui nous rattrapent, hautes et menaçantes, semblant prêtes à nous engloutir, pour au dernier moment changer d'avis et soulever notre bateau de 40 tonnes comme s'il était une simple barquette, nous dépassent. read more...

Tamanaco - nice shaped sail

Our sails are made in Denmark by Elvström.They are high performance 3D membrane shaped sails specially designed for furl-in mast, with vertical battens.Also on the picture you can see reinforcing carbon fiber strips laid in the direction of the effort, which help confer the sail optimal « 3D » shape.Gone are the days of the baggy Dacron white sails!. read more...

Tamanaco - Various anecdotes

Hello everyone!Our crew of five temporarily expanded to 6 yesterday when a flying fish invited himself to the party.We were downstairs and our new friend surprised us when gesticulating on the floor where he landed.He jumped through the rooftop window!We quickly dispatched him back to rhe sea, he was stunned.Risk taking.As we are now we’ll under the tropics, temperatures have risen beyond the point of comfort.It is very tempting to get some fresh aire through the window.Risky business, though as Rodrigue found out with a wave hit and two bucket worth of seawater made their way o to the kitchen, wetting everything.Who’s who?Life jackets are to be worn at night.They are marked individually with the Coppe’s family members.Valery is Bruno, Vincent is Éric, Rodrigue isCarolina and Tony is. read more...

Time Out - Day 15 - 1 de perdu, 10 de retrouvés?

Les évènements ne sont pas tendres avec le rédacteur de ce blog : rien à raconter sur la nuit (quelques grains sans pluie, le génois n’a été rentré une seule fois en prévision d’un grain qui ne valait pas tripette, c’était juste pour que l’équipe de quart trouve une justification à être restée éveillée), ni sur la journée, ou presque. Même pas de casse (ou presque)!On se laisse vivre. Petites vagues, vent, soleil, chaleur, tous les murs du cockpit on disparu, on bronze. Cake de légumes salade ce midi, poisson au four (le mahi-mahi de la veille), pommes de terre combawa, et cookies au chocolat préparés par Marianne ce soir. Aucun bateau en vue.On arrive à la fin de nos légumes frais. Mais nos provisions apparaissent dans les coffres à peines entamées, le congélateur est toujours plein, le. read more...

Emily Morgan - Day 15 - Flexi time

Sunday 5th December Noon position (Ship's Clock) 16 degrees 08 minutes North; 50 degrees 46 minutes West. Day's run 185.4 nm As we had now travelled 35 degrees westwards it was time for our third 25 hour day. These extra hours are needed to adjust our body clocks and to align the Ship's Clock more closely with the time of the local sunrise, noon and sunset. Without these regular adjustments we would be 4 hours out of synch by the time we arrived at our destination. The morning began with a clouded sunrise and a series of squalls visible on the radar. Using the radar as a weather forecast tool was novel to most of the crew and it had proved very useful. Squalls appeared as green patches with yellow and red centres on the dark radar screen and sometimes it was possible to plot a course to. read more...

Cajuna - J+16 : vent fort, mer forte

Le bon côté des choses, c’est que ça nous propulse vers l’arrivée. Les Caraïbes ça se mérite !Nous pensons arriver mardi, nous devrions être ric-rac car il faut arriver avant 15h UTC, 11h heure locale. Nous avons tout de même de beaux levés de soleil, mélange de grains et de soleil (et le soir il se couche et c’est beau ! Nda Pour les connaisseurs ).Tout va bien à bord,A+. read more...

Skyelark 2 - Sunday, December 5

Sunday, December 5With less than 500 nm to go, I find myself wondering what the takeaways from this adventure will be. Of course, it’s more than just checking a box on one’s bucket list, or a kind of endurance test. We want these unique experiences to prove somehow trasformative or transcendental. At least that’s the hope. I know ii will have something to do with the enormity and majesty of this ocean and its endless rolling seas, the silent, vast night sky with its starry reminder of an incomprehensible universe. But there’s also a keen human element in the honing of strangers into an efficent sailing cohort and a shared significat task to accomplish. My quesion is what of all this will remain? What might influence future decisions or life goals in my remaining years? I know that only. read more...

Khamsin - Khamsin Day 17

The double overhand slip loop (used for attaching cord to the arms of your spectacles) is our final knot of the day. Hopefully anyway. Maybe the hangman’s knot would be more appropriate haha… Song of the day: Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd. We are all counting down every mile now and St Lucia really isn’t arriving soon enough - it’s a very long 120 miles. Nobody really wants another night at sea but it surely looks inevitable - in the hope that at some time we’ll see land lights and more sailing vessels we are going to have two people on each watch and so are drawing lots for the watch times. One more night sky seeing Venus Saturn and Jupiter almost in alignment. Mad… Dreaming now of a huge plate of salad and chocolate! Nearly nearly nearly done it - wahey!!!. read more...

Maalu IV - Day 15 Supernatural Saturday

First I need to set the scene for night sailing whichis, essentially, 12  out of every 24 hours. The moon was bright and hadonly just started waning two weeks ago. Now, it has not only fully waned with nosign of any waxing but has also stopped being nocturnal. We are thereforedependent on star light, which is amazingly bright but significantly compromisedby the cloud cover. So, the upshot of all this is that we are sailing in apretty dark environment, using our instruments and keeping a sharp lookout forsqualls and other vessels. Last night started off as usual with Nicholas on thefirst watch but I couldn't sleep as the autohelm had started to complain aboutthe workload. This manifested as strange grating noises so we furled ourstay sail and reefed the genoa which was much. read more...

Calash - Day 14 – Saturday 4 December 2021

 Wind dropped slightly, seas less confused, sun shining equals pleasant sailing.  Trucking along west south west averaging about 7 knots – steady as she goes. It’ll be time for a gybe soon, but let’s not rush things. This is where the blog becomes somewhat sketchy as I search for something interesting and original to add. Cleaning, washing up, shaving, showering, reading, snoozing, sunbathing, yacht spotting, route mapping are all non-qualifying entries at this point! As is waffling; so I’ll sign off for a bit.  Only point of interest is that we have just passed 2000 nm, with about 1000 nm to go! 24 hour progress – 161 nm – cumulative 2023 nm  It was gybe time again. Ordered and steady, like we almost know what we’re doing.  Got full sails up on mainsail and jib. . read more...

Chula - Chula Log 07 - The last 1000

When our waypoint count down reached the last thousand NM there was a definite shift in atmosphere, the log book had a dedicated entry for the moment. Since then we've been trying to quantify the remaining distance by comparing it to previous passages, after all a passage of this scale is pretty hard to get your head around before you experience it for real. 800nm the distance from Las Palmas to Cape Verde (8 days)600nm our Biscay crossing (West Wales to A Coruna - 5 days)300nm Vigo, Galica to Cascais, Portugaland next will be 120nm West Wales to Scilly, 80nm Cardiff to Pembroke.The last thousand has had a distinctly different feel to it, the trade winds have established resulting in fewer sail changes and just the occasional gybe to keep on track. We have experimented with various sail. read more...

Misty Mhor - Mhor Macho-ness Sunday 5th December.

No sooner had yesterday’s blog entry been dispatched when a tide of macho driven confidence swept over Misty. After a mere 40 mins of a reduction in wind speed to around 16 knots the spinnaker was called for. All hands on deck for a 20 minute tussle with the Foredeck Frankenstein. Once out of the protection of it’s snuffler it lasted as long a political election promise, shredded by the first whiff of reality. So it’s back to our original sail plan, romping along at 7.5 knots in 18 knots of breeze. But we won’t be wearing the shreds of shame round our shoulders when we land.No; we will be boasting that we blew it out in the Atlantic Ocean. Now where did we put the sewing kit?Chorizo and tomato sandwiches followed for lunch as our galley wizard had made fresh bread buns for two days.. read more...

Minga - Día 14

A 1.000 millasYa han visto a dónde vamos? Miren el mapa y alejen la imagen para ver todo el Atlántico...ya estamos sobre Brasil y a 1.000 millas de nuestro destino!Dos semanas van ya y nos va quedando la última. Que ganas de llegar y meter los pies en la arena, de sumergirse en aguas cristalinas y ver pescaditos de colores, de salir a caminar por las calles de algún pueblo, de ver vegetación y tanto más! Pero tampoco queremos llegar tan rápido, cruzar el océano en velero no es algo de todos los días y queremos aprovecharlo al máximo! Para todo lo otro ya habrá tiempo.El día está soleado pero no caluroso, sopla el viento pero lo suficiente como para soltar un poco los rizos y dar más velas. La tripulación algo más descansada conversa alrededor de un sashimi de mahi mahi y para la tarde ya. read more...

Tilda - Crazy crossings

04.12.21Today has started with a night shift that had something magical. Stars in the sky, no moon, auto-pilot, a glass of rum and nice conversation with my crew mate. Two yachts behind us, one upwind 2 nm away, the other 4.5 nm downwind. Everything perfect till a voice in the night breaks idillium: “Mary Doll- Mary Doll calling the vessel in position xyz”. Ouch, it’s us. Mary Doll is calling ‘cause they are approaching us and there’s less than 1nm between them and Tilda. I reply via VHF and he explains me that they see our navigation lights but cannot see us on the AIS, so they’d like to know our exact position, speed and course. Then propose us to go more downwind to leave their route, but with the yankee this is the maximum we can do. Second and third call, so we decide to let them. read more...

EH01 - Latest news

One or two issues holding us back from our best performance but working on them. Really looking forward to arriving in St Lucia as the end of the race gets closer. It's also nice to be experiencing more typical trade weather, no wet gear so far tonight! We have had site of other yachts for the first time since turning west which was nice, we are not alone out here. All good on board though looking forward to some rum punch.Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.. read more...

Mary Doll - DAY 11 - Halfway

We celebrated passing the halfway point, measured by distance today. We went crazy and had non alcoholic gin and tonics to mark the occasion. No limes left, but we did have ice. We’re not savages! It did however prompt conversations about what drink each of us would like to have when we reach land. And in what quantities!The weather continues to be a bit bumpy but Mary Doll rides the waves with ease. Only very occasionally do we get splashes in the cockpit. So the odds of the three Smiths all getting a serious splash in one day were low. But they managed it. Derek needed a full change of clothes, Lewis was content to let the equatorial sun work its magic and Letitia can confirm that the Atlantic is indeed salty.Being the first of December, Lewis was able to open his advent calendar. No.. read more...

Mary Doll - DAY 11 - Halfway

We celebrated passing the halfway point, measured by distance today. We went crazy and had non alcoholic gin and tonics to mark the occasion. No limes left, but we did have ice. We’re not savages! It did however prompt conversations about what drink each of us would like to have when we reach land. And in what quantities!The weather continues to be a bit bumpy but Mary Doll rides the waves with ease. Only very occasionally do we get splashes in the cockpit. So the odds of the three Smiths all getting a serious splash in one day were low. But they managed it. Derek needed a full change of clothes, Lewis was content to let the equatorial sun work its magic and Letitia can confirm that the Atlantic is indeed salty.Being the first of December, Lewis was able to open his advent calendar. No.. read more...

Addictive Sailing - Addictive sailing Volcano video

https://youtu.be/SZFZyYrn7vQ-- Brieuc Maisonneuve+ 33 6 24 43 00 17www.addictive-sailing.com. read more...

Tamanaco - today’s hero is… Vincent!

Yesterday our Code Zero sail came loose at rhe top of the mast, due to a breakage of the exact same swivel part that caused our gennaker sail to come Down A week or so ago.So for the night we just unfurled the Genoa headsail and a little bit of main sail to balance the boat.Night was uneventful, sailing at around 6 knots.This morning, I order to gain speed we wanted to use the larger Code Zero again, which is approximately 40% more area vs the Genoa, thus allowing1-1.5 knot additional speed.We determined that we could use the sail the conventional way (vs. on it’s own curler), but first needed to ensure there wasn’t an entanglement at the top of the mast, where the 1/2 broken swivel was hanging from one of our two headsail halyards.I took my Sony camera with the 70-200mm zoom and. read more...

Time Out - Day 14 - A l’ouest, rien de nouveau

Encore une journée cool. Nuit cette fois-ci sans grain excessif, soleil la journée, vagues qui ont encore baissé (de l’ordre de 2 m), la routine se remet en place. Notre seul regret est que les couchers de soleil ont lieu derrière le génois (ou le code 0), difficile de les prendre en photo sans un périple risqué à l’avant du bateau!A tel point que l’on se demande ce que l’on va bien pouvoir raconter. Pas de bateau à l’horizon aujourd’hui, juste une trace sur le radar qui ne reste pas très longtemps… Et au moment où cette phrase est écrite, un magnifique poisson volant atterrit dans le carré! Le premier que nous voyons vivant, et que nous nous empressons de rejeter à l’eau (après l’avoir pris en photo, ses ailes ressemblent à celles d’une mouche, en bien plus gros).Ce qui nous permet de. read more...

Emily Morgan - Day 14 - Sextant session

Saturday 4th December Noon position (Ship's Clock) 18 degrees 02 minutes North; 47 degrees 55 minutes West Overnight the wind gradually decreased and the seas decreased. By early morning we were able to set the mizzen sail, unfurl the genoa to its fullest extent and shake the two reefs out of the mainsail. It was still blowing a Force 5 to 6 and too strong to hoist the spinnaker but we were making good speeds and averaging 7 knots. Unfortunately, it was in the wrong direction. We were now heading for Florida instead of St Lucia! This was a result of a combination of shifting winds and people helming for comfort rather than abiding with the prescribed course. The rolling motion overnight meant that the crew trying to sleep were being tossed like pancakes in their berths and when they came. read more...

Maalu IV - Day 14 Trade Wind Sailing as it should be!

What a difference! The wind has dropped to 15-20 knots,the sea is somewhat calmer and we have been able to relax into the sailing a bitmore. We have all developed rather an unusual posture formoving around Maalu IV; essentially a very wide base with bent knees to keep thecentre of gravity low and outstretched arm ready to latch onto the nearest grabrail or break a fall! It may not look pretty but it is reducing the acquisitionrate of new bruises. I am not sure which physique is best on a boat. I havea low centre of gravity but short arms whereas Jono at 6'1'' has a high centreof gravity but long arms. Judging from my bruises it is better to be tall andgangly however I am sure that a scientific study would answer this importantquestion. Moving around the galley is altogether. read more...

Morgane of Sark - we crossed the finish line!!

Whoop Whoop!We made it! Crossed the finish line at 16:53 local time.Yeah!!! Xxx crew Morgane of Sark. read more...

Sunrise - ARC2021 - Day #14 on the SUNRISE

Sailing at night has it's own difficulties. While the stars in the sky are beautiful and admireable, the sails are hard to see and wind as well as waves are mainly recognised by their effects, such as constant noises in all the cupboards with dishes and silverware in the rhythm of the seas, the increasing number of bruises on all crew members or the black mainsail halyard twisted around the mast by the warm wind of the night.Also helming turned out to be more difficult then expected, causing increased numbers of crashgybes in the trade winds. Indeed, helming based on instruments only is already a challenge in it's own, but helming based on a windex display mis-indicating the wind by several degrees is asking for a little more. Our skipper managed the issue quickly despite the lack of a. read more...

Cajuna - J+15 : les jours se suivent et se ressemble, ou presque !

Après le programme lavage, voici le rinçage !Trois petits grains nous ont rafraîchi les idées cette nuit, des trombes d’eau en l’espace de quelques minutes. Sympa.A part ça, nous n’avons toujours rien pécher mais vu l’état de la mer, je serais poisson je viendrais pas en surface. On a retrouvé un petit copain bateau, ça fait plaisir de voir une voile. Tout va bien à bord. A+PS : information importante, surtout pour nous, François s’est lavé à l’eau de mer !. read more...

Into The Mystic - Is it Saturday ?

4th Dec1749 hours814 nm to go 2355 nm already under our beltsThe fish catch total now stands at 11. Now I’m not saying that I don’t like Mahi Mahi, I do, but 10 of them……. Its reached the point where the Mahi go back into the ocean, we want another tuna, pretty please.I’m staring at a red circle on the chart plotter screen - it marks St Lucia. I’m willing the little boat symbol thingy on the screen (that’s us) to get its finger out and get us there, in comfort, as soon as possible, I’m saying ‘please’.There is still a sizeable swell which continues to biff the boat on the beam - trust me, it sucks. The winds at least are now down to more manageable velocities so that’s really good news. Thesun is shining, its very warm and all in all a lovely day. We encounter the odd squall; it all goes. read more...

Minga - Día 13, los vientos del comercio

Los primeros dos o tres días desde la largada tuvimos muy poco viento y ola, que fueron seguidos de 4 o 5 días de un viento y mar que pusieron a prueba a la Minga y su tripulación: no habíamos visto algo así antes, ni menos tan largo. Han sido días desafiantes y de mucha preocupación y pena: está ARC 2021 ha sido testigo de un muerto, dos veleros abandonados en altamar y bastantes otros veleros navegando con serios problemas. Nuestros pensamientos están con la familia de Max Delannoy y el resto de la tripulación del Agecanonix. El agotamiento tomó varios días en ceder al descanso y desde ayer que sentimos lo que nos habían descrito como los vientos del comercio, suaves brisas de 15 a 20 nudos por la popa con olas moderadas. El famoso y benigno viento del comercio empuja nuestras velas y. read more...

Morgane of Sark - yeah! land!!

The mountains of Grenada just popped up! “Land in zicht!” Yeah!!!! The last miles of our crossing are here. Still 34 miles to go. Doing around 6-6,5 knots with a wind speed of 14-16 knots. We guess another 5 hours, hopefully we can manage to get in by the last light of the day! Last night and this morning we had a lot of squals again, with pouring rain showers. But, who cares. We are almost there!Feeling euphoric and looking forward to arrive! Xxx crew Morgane of Sark. read more...

Walkabout - Land Ahoy!!!!

N11:58.6 W61:21.1After 15 days at sea, the call has gone out - Land Ahoy!!!!!It is a bit fuzzy in the distance, but it is there and we are closing in.A really frustrating morning with very little wind, just doing whatever we can to coax the boat along.Just over 30 miles to get through the finish line and into the marina.Think we can smell the rum punch from here!!. read more...

Khamsin - Khamsin Day 16

When Piers spotted a mysterious well wrapped package floating past we naturally assumed it was drugs. Much to the disappointment of some on board we could think of absolutely no way at all to salvage it. Just as well as we are fast (well relatively) approaching St Lucia. We are starting to see frequent cargo ships now - BUT STILL NO DOLPHINS! The strangest thing yesterday evening tho, a cargo ship, Jose Progress, came within two miles of us - sounds a big distance but at sea feels surprisingly close - and then proceeded to ‘mill around’ changing direction here and there. We called up via VHF to see what was going on (nosy) and the guy was really grumpy and wouldn’t talk to us. As it was high in the water and didn’t look laden our imaginations began to run riot, no doubt fuelled by weeks. read more...

Pleasure - Day 14 - movies, bread and minor crisis

Hello, All well on-board. At the time of writing, the distance to finish line is 712 NM. Sun is shining, we are sailing with the "wing-on-wing" setup (genoa and Code Zero). The course is set for Rodney bay / Saint Lucia.Since the last boat log, the crew has carried out a number of activities. For example, watching "Rambo 2" movie: Baking "boat bread" for breakfast and repairing the spinnaker pole. It's now up and running again. Yesterday, a minor crisis was diverted. Some crew members started to suspect that the common special stash for chocolate/candybars was not shared equally. The candy was simply gone. A bit embarrassing for the captain, because the stash was known to be in his cabin. Of course the captain denied all accusations. Luckily, one crew member whowas sleeping when the. read more...

Misty Mhor - Mhor Media Monitoring Saturday 4th Dec

Yesterday afternoon the wind eased a little, dropping to around 15 knots by 17.00. We had already shook out the 2nd reef from the main and continued westerly at around 6.5 knots.The sea was becoming quieter, with fewer foaming steep waves but the general swell was still running. Life was becoming easier on board. Gusts up to 23 knots still occurred but we were not seeing many squalls. The sunfelt very hot. Time to sit back and relax and listen to the radio? News Flash. Eaves dropping on Twitter’s Torment. It’s good that the boats kept an eye and especially an ear out for each other. It’s also surprising what you can overhear on the VHS radio.There are a couple of yachts reasonable close to us that we have been in communication with. The Scottish boat Broadsword who were good enough to. read more...

Calash - Day 13 – Friday 3 December 2021

 Friday, day 13, any significance?  No, not really.  The odd reference to squeaks on the boat sounding like Freddy Kruger torturing schoolgirls, but this shouldn’t be taken out of reference.  It was more of the same, with slightly reduced wind, but a same sea state and a few squalls (none that register on the squallometer though).  So we continue to bob along our route with the prospect of beer in St Lucia beginning to register in our minds.  Callum finally decided to take on the fishes and launched his rod line and expensive lure into yonder distance.  You might have to wait awhile before there is any follow up to this subplot.Other tasks included cake making to use up the last of our fresh fruit before it all abandons ship and other light, fairly meaningless faffing – yes, we have. read more...

Emily Morgan - Day 13 - Things that go thump in the night

Friday 3rd December Noon position (Ship's clock) 18 degrees 03 minutes North; 045 degrees 03 minutes WestWith the furling genoa reduced to match the two reefs in the main, the night's passage was less frenetic than previously. Although we still experienced some squalls with gusts of F9, the boat's motion was less intense. We sailed a course slightly off direct downwind to minimise the boat's motion. There was no moon but a star studded sky lit the ocean surface. The bow wave threw back a swathe of white lace sprinkled with glittering diamonds of phosphorescence. It was magical. The sudden onset of a squall sent flying all the objects on board that were not tied down, including people, and created a tremendous clatter. Glass jars and plastic tableware loose in cupboards, winch handles and. read more...

Into The Mystic - Food For Thought

As commented previously thanks to Jodi we have eaten really well onboard during our sojourn across the Atlantic.Today we go out bows firmly pointed towards St Lucia - no more flim-flamming around for us - one day pointing towards Florida and the next day Brazil. Its dead straight for the finish line which os currently some 900-odd miles away. To celebrate we indulged ourselves with a dinner of steak frites. As Henry commented : ‘I have never eaten cow so far from the nearest cow !’ - ho does have a point. Speaking of Henry. We share all our special food treats on this boat - we have large drawer full of them and lots of chocolate goodies in the fridge. It helps to ease the struggle of those night watches. Well, it seems we all share except for Henry. With shock and horror we discovered. read more...