GYR Caspian Services - ARC Log - Preparation week

28:03.6N 015:20.9WAuthor: SandyWell, it is now a little under two hours to go before the start of the race and we haven't written a blog all week!! Sorry about that folks, but we've been busy sailing, drinking, sinking and having plenty of fun (not necessaarily in that order though!) There is definitely an air of excitement running through the marina as i type this. Fog horns are being let of atintervals, there are at least two bands playing (in true spanish style playing different tunes and creating a cacophony of noise).We are just finishing our last minute preparations before we head off. All unecessary items are being jetisoned over the side (we are keeping all the crew), we've had our final briefing from Ric which basically told us to slow down as this is a long distance race and we. read more...

GYR Caspian Services - ARC Log - Day 1

25:03.8N 016:59.6WAuthor: mostly RicAfter a week of intense preparation, it's a relief to finally start ARC 2008. I guess preparaing for the ARC should be no different to any other long passage, but as soon as you feel like you might make any progress someone drags you off to another happy hour or party of some kind. The last week has been a little bit fuzzy, but hopefully we've left with enough food, water and fuel on board to get us to St Lucia.The last 24 hours have been a mixture of extremes. Conditions at the start were glorious, and we were fast off the line, broad-reaching in about 15 knots of breeze. After a settled afternoon under full main and our largest running kite, we started to approach the acceleration zone around the south of Gran Canaria and saw the wind increase to. read more...

GYR Caspian Services - ARC Log - Day 2

22:24.3N 019:11.4WAuthors: Ric, then Sebastian and SandyAfter a fairly slow night reaching, we eventually found the NE trades the weather models have been showing around 3am this morning. We waited until it got light to change to our big, running kite and have been enjoying a constant 15-20 knots of wind all day. The boat is fairly powered up so it's great for everyone to improve their downwind helming. We're still heading SW, and it looks like we need to get south of 19N before we can gybe and head more west with reliable wind from behind us.Sebastian wants to share his thoughts on the last couple of days:"After the perfect start and a smooth gybe we were maybe a bit too confident so the wind and sea reminded us immediately of the Ric's appeal to be cautious: in 20 knots of wind we. read more...

GYR Caspian Services - ARC Log - Day 3

20:34.1N 021:34.1WAuthor: Ric, plus ChrisIf all sailing was like today has been, maybe it would catch on! We've had a steady 15 knots of wind from the NE all day, so we're running downwind with the a consistent 8-9 knots of boat speed. Proper trade winds stuff - white puffy clouds and scorching sunshine. Sleeping down below is made more difficult now by the sweltering temperatures during the day. There's no breeze down here - our boat is designed to keep the water out, so doesn't have any vents. It's also difficult to sleep through the deafening squeak of the spinnaker sheet, which is constantly being trimmed. Every few seconds there's a loud bang as the sheet, under enormous tension is eased. Then after a few calm seconds where the only sound is the Atlantic ocean screaming past the. read more...

GYR Caspian Services - ARC Log - Day 4

18:19.2N 025:01.1WAuthor: RicNobody has volunteered any creative writing for this evening's blog, so you're going to have to put up with my, less creative, ramblings. Perhaps the reason for the lack of contributions today is that our last 24 hours has seen us run over 215 nautical miles, and it's required everyone's full attention. Or it could be because the No.1 contributor, our naked German (or Swiss) friend Sebastian, is still a little dazed from the flying fish that clouted him in the head during a gybe in the dark early this morning.We managed to fly our full mainsail and largest running spinnaker all night last night in winds up to about 20 knots. Helming (steering) the boat in these conditions takes a lot of concentration and it's been good to see our more experienced drivers. read more...