Twice Eleven - Day 6 Settling in

For those of you who don't know all of us, our crew consists of David, Tamsin, Bob and Andrew. We've been trying to get to St Lucia for nearly a week now and we still have a very long way to go; our eta varies from mid December to mid January depending on the wind strength. Although the winds have been light and not necessarily from the right direction it has meant that we have had a very gentle start to the trip, which is great. Andrew remarked that it was just like sailing in the Solent at times. The highlights so far have been Bob's fishing (two very decent Mahi Mahi so far, which were delicious), seeing shooting stars and the milky way so clearly, hundreds of dolphins playing around us for about half an hour, sunshine, and bacon and egg sandwiches all round for breakfast when we. read more...

Twice Eleven - Day 8 Spinnaker up

The winds continue to be light and so we decided to be brave and get the Spinnaker up. We tried yesterday but just as we'd set it all up the wind picked up, so back to twin headsails. As we slowly head south the temperature has improved and shorts have been spotted on deck and even sun hats today. The rocky motion continues, but it's not too bad and improves considerably when the wind picks up. Bob is taking a rest from the fishing whilst he plays with the spinnaker, but is keen to catch a tuna during the trip (not sure the rest of the crew is keen to help land such a big fish). The other entertainment during the day, apart from hoisting sails and fishing, is listening to Black Adder or I'm Sorry Haven't a Clue whilst sipping a tonic (with ice and lemon, but unfortunately without gin).. read more...

Twice Eleven - Day 14 Half way

What civilised sailing - champagne and smoked salmon followed by a freshly caught dorado - life is tough in the mid atlantic. Fortunately the winds and waves had calmed down during the day so we were able to enjoy this feast in a gentle swell watching a beautiful sunset. However it wasn't looking promising first thing in the morning having experienced eight hours of 30 knots of wind together with a lumpy sea. Twice Eleven performed perfectly and looked after very well. We continue our daily routines of cleaning, deck checks and fruit and vegetable checks. After two weeks we still have carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, oranges, apples and lemons so scurvy is being kept at bay for the moment. With David's preparation of sewing leather on potential chafe points we have managed to avoid any chafe. read more...