Daily Logs

Mystique - Log 1 - Day 1 to 5

Good afternoon everyone and best wishes to all our fellow ARC+ 2021 participants. We are Mystique a 46’ Oceanis consisting of a crew of five retired British and one serving Canadian firefighters. What possibly could go wrong??Firstly, apologise to our followers for the delayed blog whilst we determined if anyone on board could actually read or write. So after four days of intense debate, we resorted to lifting heavy weights and sticking pens up our noses to determine who should write the blog. Unfortunately I lost and have become the designated author for the boat.So as I am sure many of us in the rally have found out, preparations prior to leaving are never straight forward. For Mystique, a last minute reminder of the reason why BOAT means Bring Out Another Thousand,. A blown turbo. read more...

Morgane of Sark - log Morgane of sark

Good night! It’s 5:45 in the morning and Elvira and Mila are on watch. The speed has gone out of the boat as the wind decreased to 5-7 knots.But, we are still sailing… at a speed over groundbetween 3 and 5 knots at this moment. The sailes do “clatter” however (klapperen in Dutch) at times. Quite noisy sometimes. Not much pressure in the sails at the moment. We are still “Milking maids” (Melkmeiden in Dutch). Funny, how we are common to use the internet for these quick correct translations. ;-). Now, just guessing the words in English.But, I mean the main on port site and the jib with boom on the starboardside. We also have the cutter jib. So, all the sails are up.It was a beautiful night. And less cold than the nights before. We actually had to take out some warmer sweaters before. I had. read more...

Gian - Log Start -12 days – Provisioning

Besides the weather, food is an important factor when crossing the Atlantic. You probably always buy too much, but you don't want to "starve". The biggest challenge comes when the many boxes from the supermarket are delivered to the jetty and the stowage on the yacht is due. On the one hand, space is limited - on the other hand, you have to find everything - even in rough seas. Some experience in this task helps a lot. Written by Wolfgang . read more...

Morgane of Sark - log update Morgane of Sark

Hi there,It’s Wednesday evening and life is good at the Morgane of Sark. Wind and sea state are comfortable and we are satisfied with our progress. We sailed 500 miles. At this moment between 7,5 and 10 knots of wind and a boat speed between 5 and 6,5 knots. The stars are beautiful. Tomorrow we expect less wind and a bit of swell, so when daylight comes again, we might hoist a gennaker. We had a nice diner and sundown together. Just before we left, we bought a crockpot express. With no experience in using the machine, we already produced two nice meals. Tonight we threw sweet patatoes, onions, carrots, cole and spinach in the machine with some herbs and water and some tikka masala sauce and it turned out delicious. Unfortunately, we can’t get in contact with other boats on the SSB Radio.. read more...

High Cotton - Half Way!

Hello Onlookers!We’ve done it! Half way to Mindelo and everyone is in high spirits this morning. Our auto-helm is showing some signs of exhaustion so we have been hand steering for the past 24 hours. We have found some wind that others seem to have not today, clipping along at 7 knots while vessels on the journey have their motors on or sail at disappointing speeds. We hope the wind stays for awhile before easing tomorrow.And hope to fix auto pilot today and sort out some water maker issues.Always something.image1. read more...

Morgane of Sark - Log update morgane of Sark

Days are actually passing rather quickly. We have a crew of 4. Well, 5. Evy is our sailing dog. She is doing great. There is almost all the time someone in a bed, where she can cuddle up to. She sees the entire boat as her “puppy bench”. She turned 5 last Monday. But no big party… ;-). Every couple of hours we play a bit with her. She has her own toilet, a grass tile in the shower. Let me introduce our crew:Herco, the only male aboard and our skipper. Father in this family. Elvira, First mate and the mom in this crew.Mila, our Medical student of 23Merel, our recent bachelor graduate of 22.Joining this ARC + is a family adventure. Next log I tell you more about our ocean life.Xxx Crew Morgane of Sark. read more...

Cajuna - J+3 sur la route de Mindelo

Nuit mouvementée… Nous avons eu quelques soucis avec notre SPI en fin de journée hier. Nous avons dû stopper pour remettre en ordre de marche mais comme il faisait une nuit bien noire avec une mer agitée nous avons terminé ce matin. Le SPI n’a pas apprécié. Nous verrons ça à MINDELO. Sinon tout le monde va bien à bord, la mer s’est calmée, c’est reposant !Ce matin nous avons croisé des petits dauphins puis des poissons volants. Nous avons aussi trouvé un poulpe sur pont, un suicidaire…A+. read more...

Morgane of Sark - for the log

Hi there,Here a note from the Morgane of Sark. We are not sure if these notes are received, but we keep you posted anyway.It’s Wednesday today and we have adjusted to the Ocean life. All is going smoothly. Wind and waves have gone down a bit and it’s comfortable sailing at the moment. Wind is about 10 knots NE. We are sailing with a full main, a half gib on the boom and a cutter gib. With a speed anywhere between 5 and 7 knots. Xxx crew Morgane of Sark. read more...

Gian - Log Start-13 Days- Preparations

6 months ago we started with our Jeanneau Odyssey 54DS "Gian" in Punat/Croatia. This trip took us via Sicily, Sardinia, Menorca, Mallorca, Ibiza, Formentera, Malaga, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura to Las Palmas, where we arrived in mid-October. We are moored at jetty "S". Now we -Petra and Wolfgang- are waiting for our crew. On 16.11. Rainer (Switzerland), Andreas (Germany) and Miika (Finland) will arrive. By then, all repairs, extensions and maintenance work should be completed. The customs formalities were handled very quickly and without any problems, as was the WCC security check with Roger. The first videos are posted on Youtube (ARC 2021) and also the Gian homepage is up to date ( www.sv-gian.com ).The start number (67) is mounted and actually it could start !Written by Wolfgang. read more...

CoKeMa - Monday 8th November - Day 2

Everyone had their first night watch last night. Crazy how within just a few hours all the boats that started this journey together dispersed, and we were left with three boats on our radar.Navillus 3 made a night time appearance while Ita was on watch. Tony took the graveyard shift, and Fred (ever the early riser) took over before the crack of dawn. For the first few nights Orla will be accompanying somebody on watch until all the ropes (literally!) and watch outs have been learned.The sea was pretty rough overnight and for most of the day Monday, calming a bit towards the evening.As it calmed, Ita and Orla did some arts and crafts. Each visitor to the boat gets a Polaroid taken of them and they get added to the window sill in cabin. Each Polaroid gets decorated - so pompoms, glitter. read more...

Maiko - SY Maiko - Day 3i

Øystein and Terje had a wet first night with waves up to 4meters and up to 32 knots of wind in guests. The spray from the waves activated Øystein’s life jacket and detached one of our solar pannels. Luckily, Øystein caught it In time before it went into the water and the waves and the winds have now calmed down a bit. They say that a well fed crew is a happy crew, so we try to enjoy good food, adapt to a slower pace, watch dolphins and relax as much as we can when we are not on shift. 573 nautical miles left to Mindelo.-Linnimage1image2. read more...

Arabella - The story of the one that got away

Today around 2pm we lost a huge Marlin. Spooled our 600m reel in no time whilst tail walking and jumping. We thought we may have caught our food rations for the entire crossing but sadly not to be. Another story about the one that got away!. read more...

Morgane of Sark - for the log

Hi, here a note from the Morgane of Sark.The first 48 have passed and we are getting the rhythm of the ocean life. First 36 hours we were a bit uncomfortable. Not much sleep, and quite some waves. But, by now we are adjusted and comfortable again. Slowly starting to actually enjoy the sail. Xxx Crew Morgane of Sark. read more...

Chula - Log1 - Start +40hrs

Our boat Chula is a 1981 Vagabond 47, Joe and I (also called Jo!) have owned her for 14 years and carried out all the work needed for a 40year old boat ourselves. The most recent being a full deck replacement and a new engine. It's a considerable accomplishment for us to have even made it to the start let alone being on our way and sailing the ARC! We are sailing the ARC plus with our family, Lowenna (9) and Rowan (7) plus an additional crew member, Tim, who came recommended through the ARC family Whatsapp group.It felt like such a relief when we left the marina berth in Las Palmas. We have been there for almost a month and we're itching to get sailing again after our final jobs in preparation for the Crossing. However just getting off the berth was tricky! We were next to the hammerhead. read more...

High Cotton - 48 hours in!

Hello all,Nearly 48 hours in and we are cookin! Sea state was quite heavy day 1–we were grateful to have some pre-made meals. With heavy winds our boat has been plowing ahead, positioning us with some of the highest ranked boats in the fleet! If the wind keeps er will likely put on a good showing.Take care,HC. read more...

Arabella - Parasailor and Dolphins

After 24hours of strong winds we finally got a little breather this evening and decided to launch the parasail. As if on queue the Dolphins arrived and did magnificent jumps, entertaining our 3 daughters and ourselves tremendously. What a perfect evening!. read more...

Cajuna - J+1 : de belles vagues

Les premières heures du rallye nous ont vu en tête mais comme ça secouait beaucoup on a fait petit bras la nuit, moralité on est loin de la tête mais rien n’est joué, je n’ai pas encore pu utiliser mon arme secrète… on se contente de ceci (cf photo), joli quand même !Sinon tout va bien à bord, sauf bleurpie mais ça s’améliore …A+Cajunaimage1. read more...

Arabella - Tricky news to start

We lost our port engine reverse gear last night. We tried everything till late to try get it back but it looks mechanical. Nothing we can do about it now. Guess we need to go forwards now and not backwards. Good luck everyone. See you in Cape Verde.  . read more...

CoKeMa - Sunday 7th November, The Excitement

At last, the long anticipated first day of ARC+ 2021 has arrived.Preparation to leave Las Palmas R Dock began early. That said, most of the hard preparation work for CoKeMa was completed over the past few weeks - thanks to Fred's thorough and attentive nature.A few last minute errands, like collecting fresh bread & croissants that had been pre-ordered, emptying all the rubbish & recycling, changing courtesy flags, and going through CoKeMa's safety procedures were completed.Each member of the crew made sure to have their last, long, hot shower at dock - it's going to have to last us a while!Ita did a mountain of food preparation last week, meaning our dinner for this evening (Colombian chicken) is already defrosting on the counter, ready to be consumed. We took the time to stow. read more...

Maiko - T-1!

It’s our last night in Las Palmas and the crew is getting ready for our largest adventure so far! Still some tidying and cleaning to be done, but over all we belive we are ready…. read more...

Cajuna - J-1 avant départ

75 bateaux qui doivent sortir du port entre 11h00 et 12h30 : Ca va être chaud ! Départ à 13h00. Mais avant ça, un premier succès pour Samuel (cf photo). A+. read more...

Cesarina - CESARINA- Just testing!

It's the day before the ARC+ departs and, typically, I still have five thousand jobs to do. First, though, coffee! And a quick test email to check that this works... Hope you're having a good weekend, and not as crazy busy as we are! Emma. read more...

Carissa Oceanlady - OCEAN LADIES and s/y Carissa in Las Palmas after exciting journey!

P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;} Team Ocean Ladies arrived in Las Palmas on 24th of October at 8.45 pm, just as planned, although it wasn’t the easiest journey from Helsinki!Journey started from Helsinki at the end of August, and everything was going as planned. Fun sailing with lovely ladies! Fourth leg started from La Coruna and the next stop was supposed to be Porto, but everything changed already during the first nightas Carissa met orcas at 11 pm. Report from that night: “We were sailing peacefully, when at 11 pm the helmslady and skipper Raija felt a strong push against boat’s rudder. At the same time first mate Paula saw an orca next to our boat along with a lot of bubbles and whirling around.We lost steerability and the helm rolled around uncontrollably. The orca attack that. read more...

Cajuna - Initialisation du blog

Blog de CAJUNA,Equipage : Aurélia, François, Patrick, SamuelCapitaine : Daniel.J-4 avant départ pour Mindelo, Cap Vert.. read more...

Gertha 5 - Lagos

Here we are in Lagos.My 4th rally.The small group of boats made a very good mix, this rally will be the most memorable of all I have done.Great sailing and a great social life, incredibly good value.. read more...

Gertha 5 - Portsmouth

One day to go.Emergency run to shops last night, it is a sign of the mad times we live in, basicly no beer or water for sale in the shops.Wind looks a little light tomorrow, so may anchor in the bay and wait for wind, most likely the forecast is wrong.Think we will head southwest and start looking for land in 4 days.Simon. read more...

Buganvilia - Azores a Portugal - Cruce completo!

Luego de unos días disfrutando de Azores, zarpamos a Portugal. Como dice el capitán, no hay que relajarse, aún queda bajar la montaña. A veces esa parte puede ser la más difícil, en este caso así fue.Todos los días sin sol, mucha ola, mucho frío y vientos cruzados de entre 17 y 25 nudos. Las olas golpean y entran. La escora del bote hace casi imposible hacer algún tipo de vida a bordo.Así es como pasamos los 5 días y 850 mn que navegamos desde las Azores a Lagos, Portugal. El que estaba de turno era el único que salía al cockpit, hacía andar el bote, aguantaba las olas y el frío.¡Ya estábamos cansados y queríamos llegar! Los turnos se hacían cada día más cuesta arriba y cocinar era digno de un circo.Cuando ya estábamos más cerca del continente el viento subió a más de 28 nudos, la lluvia. read more...

Buganvilia - (BERMUDA-AZORES) Día 9 y 10 - Hace Frío

Día muy muy frío. Primera capa, pantalón impermeable, doble polerón, parca, botas, esa es la tenida que no nos hemos sacado durante esta travesía. Las sopitas Campbell, esas de Andy Warhol han apañado con todo. Ya se empieza a sentir el cansancio de las dormidas entrecortadas pero queda poco para llegar a tierra.Los delfines nos siguen viniendo a saludar, pareciera que son los mismos que nos están escoltando hasta Azores y nos dicen que vamos bien.Respecto al agua, estuvimos 3 días a pura agua salada, usando agua mineral para tomar, hacer el café y lavarnos los dientes. Luego de eso empezamos a racionar el agua del estanque del bote. Cada dos días estamos llenando un bidón con agua dulce del estanque para lavarnos los dientes, cocinar y lo que sea estrictamente necesario hacer con agua. read more...

Buganvilia - (BERMUDA-AZORES) Día 7 y 8 - La Mitad

Y hemos llegado a la mitad de la singladura!Cuando todos ya estábamos en cubierta luego de una noche con viento cambiante y olas molestosas, nos comimos un rico smoothie bowl de frutas caribeñas hecho por mi y luego cumplimos nuestra tradición de tirarnos un “chapuzón de media singladura” y en este caso en medio del Océano Atlántico.Justo salió un rayito de sol. Bajamos escalera, amarramos un cabo a la popa, nos pusimos shampoo y a bañarse! El mar estaba muy rico y como siempre el mar, fue renovador, refrescante, energético. Todos quedamos felices. Luego pusimos el gennaker aprovechando que estaban perfectas las condiciones. Que lindo es navegar con gennaker. Hoy nos vinieron a saludar delfines dos veces!!! Jugaron en la proa su buen rato. Los había esperado tanto!!! Y como si fuera poco. read more...

Buganvilia - (BERMUDA-AZORES) Día 5 y 6 - Poca Agua

Los últimos días han sido buenos. Ya adaptados al ritmo del barco. Todos con buen ánimo y disposición para ayudar en lo que sea necesario. ¡Vamos camino a Europa!Los días han sido variados dentro de ellos mismos. Horas de buen viento y horas de poco viento. Momentos con buena corriente a favor en que hemos alcanzado hasta 10 nudos de velocidad y otros momentos con olas para todos lados, de esas bien molestas. Los días han sido más bien fríos, hemos pasado mucho frío día y noche. La humedad también se ha apoderado de cada rincón en el barco y nuestra ropa. Todo está mojado y salado permanentemente y apenas sale un poco el sol hacemos el intento de secar lo que podamos. Y hablando de agua salada, el día 5 lamentamos la noticia de que tuvimos una gran pérdida de agua dulce de nuestros. read more...

Buganvilia - (BERMUDA-AZORES) Día 1 y 2 - Mahi y tormenta

A un par de horas de zarpar desde Bermuda, pescamos un mahi mahi!! Fue un buen comienzo. Partimos con buen viento a la cuadra y perfecta velocidad rumbo al este para darle tiempo a la tormenta Ana para que pase. Lo bueno es que la tormenta rápidamente comenzó a disiparse.El segundo día a la mar partió con un sol radiante. Nuestro Perro usó el mahi mahi que pescó el día anterior para lucirse con unos sushi deliciosos. Anduvimos todo el día a una velocidad cercana a los 8 nudos con viento de aleta que nos llevó un poco más al norte de lo que buscábamos pero resultó ser una buena estrategia ya que ahora se avecina un fuerte viento de jeta (proa) en que tendremos que ceñir y nos podremos dejar caer un poco. En la noche subió harto el viento y me desperté en la centrifugadora que es la cama. read more...

Buganvilia - Día 5 - Mahi Mahi y Bermudas

Al amanecer del miércoles 12 de mayo, luego de una noche de poco y nada viento, al capitán le picó un Mahi Mahi. Junto con el Perro lo sacaron, lo filetearon y el resto fue un día de puro banquete de Mahi. Lo hice al horno mientras el perro se motivó con un puré de papas muy rico para acompañarlo.Al medio día el viento subió un poco y le metimos gennaker. Son las 14:15 hrs y nos quedan solo 160 millas para llegar, no queda nada! Hoy jueves 13 de mayo. El viento subió a media noche y pudimos abrir velas. Y subió con todo! Se cumplió el pronóstico de un frente frío que iba a entrar por el norte. Durante el día llegaron a haber rachas de 31 nudos y el mar muy revuelto, con olas grandes pero perfecto para darnos el último empujoncito y llegar a Bermudas. Timoneamos harto, 2 rizos a la mayor. read more...

Buganvilia - Día 4 - La Calma

Martes 11 de mayo. La tercera noche fue otra noche sin luna pero con estrellas. Mi turno de 2 am a 4 am lo disfruté mirando las algas fosforescentes que iluminan la espuma (o estela) que va dejando Buganvilia. Fue una noche con viento cambiando harto de dirección lo cual nos mantuvo a todos en sus respectivos turnos bastante activos. Al amanecer Juani y Perro tiraron las cañas. Al Perro le pico una barracuda pero la dejó ir, estamos en busca del tuna fish!! Más tarde casi pica un mahi mahi pero no cayó en la trampa. No perdemos la fé, la pesca se trata de paciencia. Mientras tanto no nos podemos quejar con la comida porque hemos comido bien rico!Es un día maravilloso, con sol,una que otra nube y el color del mar es azulino intenso. Durante la tarde el viento empezó a bajar y se fue más a. read more...

Buganvilia - Dia3 - Mitad de camino a Bermudas

Lunes 10 de mayo. Segunda noche a la mar. Una noche oscura aunque pudimos ver las estrellas fugaces más impresionantes. Emocionantes.Ya vamos bien adaptados, moviéndonos más, comiendo más, teniendo buenas conversas, a ratos escuchando el paso de Buganvilia por las olas, a ratos escuchando buena música. Hemos estado haciendo turnos de 2 horas y han funcionado bien. Como dice nuestro gran tripulante Yellow Dog - “Vamos bien. Vamos perfecto”-.Han caído un par de pescaditos voladores en la cubierta.Llevamos 374 mn de 860 mn que son hasta Bermudas. Hoy se viene el chapuzón a media singladura!! ¡¡Feliz día mamá!!¡Con todo Buga!La contramaestre.From @sailingbuganvilia. read more...

Buganvilia - Día 2 - vamos bien

Ya pasamos las primeras 24 horas con 185 mn navegadas. Muy felices de haber zarpado vamos acostumbrándonos al movimiento del bote y a los turnos con su sueño entrecortado. Hemos mantenido una buena velocidad de 8 nudos promedio con viento a la cuadra. Ayer nos tocó un viento fuerte arrachado por un rato corto pero la tripulación reaccionó perfecto justo a tiempo. Vamos bien.Los queremos.Cata.@sailingbuganvilia. read more...

Buganvilia - Día 0 - La noche antes de zarpar

Probando nuestro log la noche antes de zarpar desde Sint Maarten a Bermudas, nuestra primera parada. Ya con todo listo y desvelados por la ansiedad de partir. Por esta vía esperamos poder ir contando como van transcurriendo nuestros días a bordo de Buganvilia mientras cruzamos el océano atlántico. Mañana partimos a las 12 hrs estando a bordo el capitán Juani, la contramaestre Cata y nuestro nuevo tripulante Perro Amarillo.  ¡Buenas noches! Mañana será un gran día. Abrazo a nuestros buganvilievers. Sailing Buganvilia.. read more...

Big Bear - FINAL preparations........

Excitement starting to bubble on Big Bear as we prepare for the off on Saturday!Testing all the systems and undertaking all the training sessions has been our top priority. 2 crew birthdays before departure so further fun expected before we leave St M.Lots more to follow...........Jonathan. read more...