Daily Logs

Tucanon - Welcome to Bora Bora

A great number of people watched the start of the Tahiti Pearl regatta practice race on the afternoon of the 12th May, despite the pouring rain.There was very little wind and spinnakers were collapsing, one was twistedand it rained heavily.I don't believe that any of the WARC boats took part in the practice race.We didn't want to risk losing our berth so chose to watch rather thancompete. I don't know why other WARC boats hadn't taken part, perhaps forthe same reason as us, perhaps because of the rain, perhaps because therewas no wind or perhaps a combination of all of those reasons.When we were in Tahiti, the guide who showed us around the island told usthat they had two seasons in the Society islands, the wet season and thevery wet season. We are beginning to understand what she meant. read more...

Tucanon - Hot boat, burnt feet, Faaroa

During Saturday afternoon Dick and I took the rib from our anchorage in Baie D'Avea, to find Marae Anini, round from Point Tiva. This was the first marae that we had seen where the walls had been constructed from slabs of volcanic rock rather than boulders. The location to me was just perfect with a flat terrace, below the walled building where rooms could be discerned, edged by a supporting wall built from boulders. Beyond the terrace was the lagoon, with a reef providing a natural terrace and then a further reef making yet another terrace. It all appeared very symbolic to me. To the south of the marae is Araara Pass, perfect for the access of canoes and other small craft. It was from here that the Maoris made their journey by canoe, to New Zealand.People were practicing surfing in the. read more...

Asolare - Leg 4, Day 17 to Marquesas.

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }Tuesday 25th March 2008 After yesterday’s roll call on SSB radio at 1200hrs local time, it was amazing to work out that there were five yachts within 20 miles of each other after 2700 miles of Pacific Ocean! We clearly like each other’s company! More interesting to note is that we have not seen any of them since we left The Galapagos Islands. At that time we had 356 miles only to go and now at 1230Hrs GMT we have just 210 miles. We should therefore be in Hiva Oa early tomorrow morning, local time, as expected. No “yacht” photo today but a tranquil evening shot of Pink Flamingos roosting for the night on one foot on the Isabella Island in the Galapagos. I certainly would like to return to the Galapagos Islands as they are truly an. read more...

Asolare - Leg 4, Day 16 to the Marquesas.

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }Monday 24th March 2008Mr Amel, your perfect yacht has developed TWO faults – the wind speed indicator reads zero and the wind direction shows that we must be sailing backwards! Could it be something to do with the fact that we are closer to land as the attached photo shows! At 1355 UTC today we have just 389miles to go to Hiva Oa and expect to arrive there on Wednesday afternoon. The winds are still very light but have now increased to around 12 knots so we have put up our Parasailor again. With this wind there is little chance of getting the wing cords caught in the rigging – hopefully. I well remember when, during the ARC 2004, Sallyanne went up the mast in mid-Atlantic to free the wing cords from the rigging. I know I was more relieved to see her. read more...

Crazy Horse - Pearl Regatta

Yesterday we sailed around the lagoon in the 3rd race in this regatta. We must have tacked 50 times. Wow! were we ever tired. We finally found the finish line and came in 12th overall for the day. The first day we came in 2nd. We just beat out Ocean Jasper but it was close. The 2nd day we didn't finish the race in time and they closed down the race 5 minutes before we arrived. After all the sweating and work was I ever frustrated. Oh well." WE are only doing it for the FUN!"That night we just turned in early we were so tired. Last night we went to the costume party and had a great time. Matt dressed up as a cowboy. Bill and I dressed up as ourselves. Voyageur dressed up in their Scotish outfits. David was in his kilt and Susan dressed as a highland cow. They looked great. The family from. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 91 -The Agony & The Ecstasy

16 May 2010Agony is taking part in a race. Ecstasy is going to the après sail, in other words.... the parties! David and I are not cut out to be round the cans racers. We have neither the skill, the patience nor the nerve. With fifty boats tightly packed together with a spinnaker start off the town of Uturoa, the first venue of the Tahiti Pearl Regatta it was a nerve wracking experience. Craft of all kinds were bearing down on us from all directions. Many crews had chartered boats especially, and not feeling as precious about their craft as we were. There was the merest zephyr of a breeze which meant that the boats remained in very close proximity to each other for quite some time. Half an hour into the race and the unmistakeable sound, a sickening crunch of keel on coral, thankfully not. read more...

Southern Princess - That Tears It!

Easter Monday                                    10:17S 133:10WThis is a rally NOT a race! I keep telling my self this however when Storyteller gets ahead it seems to concentrate the mind a little. A week ago Storyteller took off on a different tack and for a period flew it's A Sail. A stands for asymmetrical and they are also know as a MPS (Multi purpose sail) or a Gennacker (being a cross between a genoa and a spinnaker). In other words they are a light weight sail made from spinnaker type material and instead of being flown from a pole, they are tacked down to the yacht right forward. Anyway they ended up crossing in front of us and then I made a tactical blue and they ended up even further ahead. Listening to discussion on the radio net we I formed the opinion that they had not. read more...

Lady Kay - Three quarters of the way

Hi allThree quarter of the way there today hopefully. Some large boats arriving later today. Wind has slowed down, but seas are still quite bouncy. You need to brace yourself when carrying out any activity e.g. making bread. Still working on banana recipes and now pumpkin recipes as well as we have just cut into the enormous pumpkin we bought in Galapagos. Luckily it is a really good one.Cheers for nowJackie, Kerry & MichaelBracing baking_1_1. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Saturday, 15th MAY 2010   ( Presently in Tahaa )  06.00hrs up and about again in paradise on earth. The race today is around the island of " Tahaa" inside the lagoon, the wind is light and the starting area is very close to where we were moored for the night.08.33hrs our start, a port fetch this time ( as all the other starts were down wind) and the course is clockwise around the Island. The channel is wide in most places, about a half mile, but it gets very narrow in some sections, and tacking could be tricky and the distance is approx 17 miles. Like the other days, we started in the last bunch of boats, so had to crawel our way through the fleet, for us, the two boats we really want to beat are "Ocean Jasper " and " Crazy Horse", our American. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World with the World ARC 2010

Friday, 14th May 2010 ( presently in Bora Bora ) Up, bright and early again, but , we had a lot of rain over night again. After a light breakfast, we raised anchor and set off for the race area. Today's race is from Bora Bora to Tahaa, a distance of 22 miles.08.30hrs our start, and our group were last off again, so we had all these slower boats to pass before getting clear air.The weather was beautiful as usual, but the wind was light, so we sailed NW out the Pass and kept going, while everyone else gybed and went south towards our next destination, but in the long run, it paid big benefits and when we gybed, we had clear air and sailed past the whole fleet very quickly. When we cleared the SW corner of the reef, we were looking good and trucking along nicely, the wind was now. read more...

Graptolite - 2025 Miles Out

08:59.93S 122:24.69W Easter Monday 11:00 UTCSeeing the lights of a fishing boat dead ahead last night came as a surprise. It was my first sighting of any other boat, or even aircraft, since leaving Puerto Ayora. They didn't seem to want to talk on the radio. It can get lonesome on night watch here.According to the patchy figures we get on the daily SSB radio net, we seem to have caught up with the tail-end of the fleet that set out from Puerto Ayora two and a half days before us. Unfortunately, there are also a few boats that set off after us that are now ahead but as they're real racing yachts it's not too embarrassing.We watched the DVD of 'Master & Commander, Far Side of the World' during a rain shower earlier. There are some good scenes set in the Galapagos Islands that we can. read more...

Crazy Horse - May 15th

Crazy Horse is here anchored off the island of Tahaa. There is a lagoon or waterway that goes around the entire island. This lagoon is where we will conduct the third day of the race. We are supposed to tour around the entire island before completing this day's race. That can be a challenge to sail for any boat in a narrow channel around in a circle. Well, what isn't a challenge for the boat and crew of Crazy Horse lately. We have had some good luck at times too.I will be glad when we can finish this regatta and can tour the island of Tahaa and Bora Bora. I would love to see the Vanilla Plantation on Tahaa. Perhaps we can stop in Bora Bora and go to the Yacht Club there and give them one of our MYC pennants. Will let you know what happens next.Rosemary, Bill and Matt. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - log

Monday 24th MarchDAY OFF?Maybe it because were are heatheners, but Easter was not celebrated in any shape or form yesterday not even painting a few from our egg mountain which numbered about 130 when we left the Galapagos, but as it's a Bank Holiday today, we are giving ourselves the day off, no watches, no cooking or cleaning, just let the boat sail itself, relax, eat chocolate and drink wine all day!Well maybe not! Just the usual routine: JB & Lindsey topping up the batteries, Malcy doing jobs, JB making blueberry muffins, I made a Spanish omelette and Barry didn't catch any fish! More instructions from Talulah Ruby regarding their action against K8 and more correspondence flying backwards and forwards, but no word from the defendants!So on Quasar time ( -8 GMT) of 23:30 this. read more...

Cleone - Leg 4 Day 15 - NSTR

OK, so what's this NSTR, then? Answers on a post-card, but actually it means Nothing Significant To Report! We've had another great day's sailing, and, noon UK time to noon UK time, we've covered another 164 miles, taking us 158 miles closer to Hiva Oa.   Someone asked Elizabeth what she did to fill her time, and didn't she get bored?  And Norfy and I have been asked the same thing often enough.  And the answer from us all is a resounding No!  We hand steer the boat most of the time,  probably unlike most other boats (except Andante at the moment, because her autopilot is broken).  Apart from the obvious fact that it saves power there are good reasons for this.  First is that a person on the helm is much more in touch with their surroundings and with the boat.  For instance, we've. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World with World ARC 2010

Thursday, 13th May 2010   (Presently in Raiatea, Tahiti)06.00hrs Skipper got into emails and the blog, the daily penance, but it does give time alone before the rest get out of the scratchers, and start serving things like breakfast and tea, and generally take over your day, but its all great discipline, and we are enjoying the whole experience, even the small things like, leaking diesel, leaking water,frayed ropes, and frayed nerves,,... who would want to be without this bless! 07.30hrs We discussed race tactics before we left the dock, this is the first race of the "Pearl Regatta" and starts in Raiatea and ends in Bora Bora, a distance of 27 miles, some of which is inside the lagoons.   08.30hrs The race began, and the wind was from. read more...

Crazy Horse - Sailing back to Tahaa

We have a little more wind today. It has been a pleasant day of sailing with winds at varying speeds but much more than yesterday. We are about 3 miles from the finish line. We hope to have a little rest tonight before the start again tomorrow at 8:30am.We had Tim Murphy from Cruising World, Editor-at-Large was sailing with us today. He is a pleasant fellow and a great sailor to have on-board. We had lots of good conversation on board today. It is nice to have another person sailing along with us for a change.The wind is up and lots of good excitment until we reach the finish line. Wonder if they will serenade us with drums again today as we cross the line. I will try to contain myself and not start dancing as I did yesterday.Rosemary, Bill, Matt and Tim aboard Crazy Horse. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - sunday dinner!

Monday 24th March 1200hrs.Spinnaker all day again yesterday,then doing the sensible thing and taking it down before dark to goosewing throughout the night. We see both Storyteller and Southern Princess in the distance, heading south behind us. We’re running dead downwind and maintaining a COG of 265’. The wind becomes light early morning with a very rolly sea. The wind strengthens from 9am on to 16-17 knots, maintaining a boat speed of 8-9 knots. We pass some orange buoys and assume they are long line fishing lines, albeit a long way out!. Seeing a few more birds now, but still no fish! However, due to some skillful planning by one of the crew,we enjoy a roast beef dinner yesterday and full English this morning - so no moans yet!Considering putting the spinnaker back up this. read more...

Crazy Horse - May 13

Today was the first race in the Tahiti Pearl Rally. It was a frustrating day but we managed to finish the race even though there was not much wind down to the wire. There were drums playing as we crossed the finish line and I think they were as happy as we were to see us finally finish. They even called off the race later because of the lateness and no wind. Of course after the race we had a huge rainstorm with high winds. By that time we were thankfully anchored. There was a big party on a motu with tons of food and dancers and fire dancing. We just took the water taxi back to the boat and are exhausted after a full day of sailing, sun, sunburn, and frustration.Lots of our friends from the World ARC are doing this rally. It was good to see such a large showing of them and lots of other. read more...

Lady Ev.VI - Cruising in den Gesellschaftsinseln franz. Polynesiens.

Cruising Tahiti - Bora Bora26. 04. 2010Nach-trotz Evas Befürchtungen- zwar sehr langer aber angenehmer Anreise wurden wir in Papeete von Corinna und Thomas am Flughafen mit dem typischen polynesichen Blumenkranz empfangen - und ab ging`s mit dem Leihwagen ins erfrischende Hotel.27.04.Ausschlafen und Abhängen im Hotel mit schwimmen und schnorcheln. Allerdings auch großes Einkaufen.28.04.Immer noch im Hotel! Briefing im Hafen, Kennenlernen veschiedener ARC -Mitglieder. Großer ARC Umzug zur Mairie von Papeete, wo eine nette Party stattfand mit polynesicher Folklore. Corinna zumindest kam voll auf ihre Kosten (Tanz mit dem Häuptling, von Thomas flink auf Zelluloid gebannt)während Dieter im Taumel der Begeisterung seine brandneue und teure Sonnenbrille gut verstaute.29.04.Eigentlich als. read more...

Kasuje - daily log Monday 24th March

Hi All I hope you have enjoyed Easter and haven't eaten all the Easter Eggs in one sitting!! I can't remember an Easter with no chocolate, I must be having withdrawal symptoms. However, I have promised myself a large bar of chocolate as soon as I can find one, along with a glass of champagne. (That is going in the fridge today so we can all celebrate crossing the Pacific Ocean). The winds picked up again last night and we are now flying along at 8 to 9 knots. Our instruments tell us we should arrive at the Island of Hiva Oa in two and a half days. We are all getting excited about seeing land again. Having read some of the information about the Pacific Islands, I think we are in for a treat as they look quite spectacular.  The boat is a hive of activity this morning. Ruby is on cooking. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World with the World ARC 2010

WEDNESDAY  12 May   2010 .   ( Presently in " Raiatea"  Society Islands, Tahiti ) Gosh, It rained heavily all night, really very heavy stuff.We met some of our neighbours and Donal organised the port cabin for the two boys, " Snorre" and his cousin " Stian", both 17 years old and from " Ronja "  and of course they hail from Norway. They will stay on board with us for the next 4 days, and help us in the " Pearl Regatta " Once the lads settled in, we had a calamity with our French neighbours, when they were leaving the dock for the practice race. They tore chunks out of our teak toe rail and scored the starboard side of the hull in a couple of places. When they returned, they agreed to have an estimate done for the works and pay us the. read more...

Whitbread - Bother!

hi guys,hope you are well?we have blown our big pink gennaker...we are really going to miss it for the rest of the leg.it repairable , a seam has gone near the head of the sail but the leech and luff lines are in tact.luckily we were up on the bow ready to sock it to get the shaft brake on so it was down in seconds but it needs to go to a sail loft for repair.is there one in the marquesas?i doubt it, if not can we send it to a loft in tahiti by ferry from the marquesas , so it can be ready for when we get there and the boss arrives... he hasn't even sailed with it yet!!see you soon for a cold beerjeff. read more...

Ariane - Bora Bora

Liebe Segelfreunde Dies ist die letzte Insel der Gruppe der Gesellschaftsinseln. Welche gefiel Dir am besten? Dies werde ich häufig gefragt. Nun alle zeichnen sich durch eine traumhafte tropische üppige Vegetation aus. Ausserdem gibt es jede Menge durch die Riffe gut geschützter Buchten. Sucht man absolute Einsamkeit, eignen sich die Inseln Tahaa, Huahine und teilweise auch Raiatea. Sucht man die Nähe einer Stadt oder mindestens eines grösseren Dorfes, so ist man in Tahiti oder Moorea besser bedient. Eine weitere Gemeinsamkeit dieser Inselgruppe ist ein unverschämtes Preisniveau, das in Bora Bora seine schönsten Blüten treibt. Wäsche waschen und trocknen lassen ist z. B. so teuer, dass man fast neue Wäsche kaufen kann (allerdings nicht in Bora Bora). Ausser der prächtigen Landschaft. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 90 - Afloat again

11 May 2010Two days following David's accident I took down the dressing and did not like the look of it at all. The top third of the toe was white with no circulation. Just to be on the safe side I thought a second opinion would not go amiss so we took a taxi to the local hospital in Uturoa where we were dealt with quickly and efficiently. Although he will lose a lot of the skin tissue there was nothing more to do than what I had already done so that was a reassurance. It is going to be a long haul however. Fingers and toes are notoriously difficult to heal. Trouble is we are now reduced to one and half crew for the regatta! Being in a white sails only class it is just as well. Voyageur's launch was delayed another day, so for our fourth and hopefully our final night "on the hard" we. read more...

Kealoha 8 - K8 completes her longest ever trip- across the Pacific in 15 days !

Yes , we have finally arrived at the Hiva-Oa - in the Marquesas Islands after 15 days and 6 hours at sea - not bad when you consider we travelled 3,065 miles ( only 80 more then the rhumb line, averaging 7.9 knts ) and have arrived safely in one piece - ( well one of the spinnakers is still in one piece and Daniel is in one piece, albeit with a few mementos of the passage!) - with last minute jibes that an Americas cup team would be proud of we finally crossed the finish line at 1750 - local time So a big thanks to all for making it such a memorable and safe crossing, Jens & Adrian for their endless supply of kiwi humour and great food and not least great sailing skills. K8 in one piece, in fact in great shape, thanks not only to Oyster yachts but also to Adrian's skilled maintenance. read more...

Lady Kay - Going west

We're still going along steadily towards the Marquesas. 880 miles to go now so we're in the last third of the journey. The weather has been good to us so far and we are making good progress in strengthening trade winds. To celebrate Easter, Kerry has cleaned the decks and we are having a bottle of wine and bananas flambeed in orange juice, nutmeg and rum. Our picture shows the gennaker earning its keep as we go west.Jackie, Michael and Kerrykerry. read more...

Tucanon - Cooks Bay, Moorea,Society Islands,French Polynesia

The selection of fruit and vegetables in Carrefour was very disappointing and we had to leave Tahiti without obtaining everything we needed.As we left the pass, we saw surfers practicing their surfing skills. With just one wave breaking, they could let the sea lift them up and having surfed down they were able to move back, via the calm water to repeat the process until perfection had been attained.The sea bed at Cook's bay in Moorea was soft mud and we made four attempts to set the anchor in around 18metres. The bay is stunningly beautiful with rugged pinnacles, mainly enshrouded with dense green foliage. From our anchorage we could see at least three separate areas which were being actively farmed but all were on a hillside.A collection of thatched roofed huts, making up part of two. read more...

Ideal - Day 14 - We caught our first fish!

Day 14 (I think)We caught our first fish yesterday! We had completely given up hope when a stupid little mahimahi mistook our green and yellow squid lour for something tasty. The victory was bitter sweet though, as the complete lack of a decent fillet knife on the boat meant that we ended up butchering it more than we'd like. We got over it eventually and enjoyed the delicious white meat with a Greek marinade last night and as ceviche for lunch today.. read more...

Crazy Horse - May 12

This day has quite a significance in the life of Crazy Horse. Without CrazyHorse this wedding anniversary of mine would never have happened. Bill andI got married on this day 36 years ago in the chapel on the University ofMaryland campus. We met Nov. 20, 1968 at a bar and "disco" called CrazyHorse in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Without Crazy Horse two young peoplewould likely never have met coming from vastly different perspectives at atumultuous time in the history of the U.S. I was a college freshman greatlyopposed to the Vietnam War and Bill of all things was a machinist mate inthe U.S.Navy. Wow! Did we ever have some different political ideas. When wemet worlds collided and my life would never be the same again. All because Iwanted to get a legal beer for the first time with my. read more...

Kasuje - daily log Sunday 23rd march

Happy Easter Sunday to everyone. Another sleepy Sunday appears to be the order of the day, as we trundle along in the trade winds. Lots of conversation today over the remaining contents of our fridge and what can be created from the remnants. (Ready steady cook has got nothing on us.) I stay well away from these discussions, because for me, if it is not in Delia then it can't be done.We are all well although just starting to get a little restless for land. It has been 14 days now since we left the Galapagos and 12 days since we saw any other signs of human life. This is a big, big ocean!Today I thought for the non sailors amongst our readers that you may enjoy a description of the sleeping arrangements on Kasuje. They are somewhat different to the Royal Hilton but quite comfortable and. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the world with the World ARC 2010

Tuesday, 11th May 2010   (Presently in "Raiatea", Society Islands, French Polynesia ) What a beautiful night again to be at sea, except the wind has died away to 5 knots, so we are motoring along merrily at 6.5knots. It's great to sit on the aft end of the boat, and gaze at the millions of stars glittering up there, just wonderful. One motor launch passed within 20 meters of us, that's not funny in this area as these people are worse than the Irish for drink, and most traffic accidents here are drink related. 06.00hrs  We were abeam " Huahine" ( Wah he ne ).15 years ago, Aileen and the skipper chartered a yacht here from the " Moorings" yacht charter co. and sailed all these Islands, so it will be interesting to see what has changed, if anything!. read more...

Destiny - Bora Bora 11.5.2010

Wir haben die ?Perle der Südsee?erreicht. Eine Lagune im Farbenspiel vonaquamarin über türkis bis smaragdgrün, in der Mitte die drei grünen Spitzender nahezu 700 m hohen Berggipfel. Und alles umrahmt von kleinen undkleinsten Palmeninseln. Auf den größeren Inseln wurden Luxushotelserrichtet, die kleineren sind unbewohnt.Wir liegen vor dem berühmten Lokal Bloody Mary´s an einer Boje und habenzunächst eine Inselrundfahrt gemacht. Im Februar dieses Jahres ging überdie Insel 24 Stunden lang ein Tropensturm nieder, der insbesondere diewestliche Küste der Hauptinsel stark in Mitleidenschaft gezogen hat. DieHütten und Häuser, die hier standen, haben Sturm und Wasser bis zu 100 mweit bis an die Berghänge geschwemmt. Das unbefestigte Ufer wurdeabgetragen und wird in Resten jetzt nur noch von den. read more...

Crazy Horse - Raiatea

The island of Raiatea is known by many for their sacred grounds calledTaputapuatea. We visited these grounds yesterday while circumnavigating thisisland via auto. They are the largest sacred grounds the we have seen so farand in the old days Raiatea was the religious center of all the SocietyIslands. They performed their religious rituals and sacrifices on thesesites. They spent much blood , sweat , and tears creating and restoringthis site I am sure.Bill, Matt and I were astonished at some of the beautiful bays and flowersand plants and trees all over the island. Agriculture is a big part of theireconomy along with tourism. Matt is going to write his adventure with Boband Maggiethrough the botanical gardens with his own personal guide-Ihope! Tahaa and Raiatea produce a large portion of. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - ice maker!

Sunday23.03.08 1.30pmWe fly the spinnaker until just before sunset , then goosewing the sails for the night shift. The wind drops in the night but we manage to maintain a reasonably steady 7 -8 knots. The wind stays E/SE , 13-15 knots.  Stewy gets the shock of his life when he goes for a shower and stands on another flying fish.( Still no other fish arrivals by the way!!!)As our ice has long gone , we’ve been using ice cube bags which make just enough for our sundowners each evening – but they have now run out – things are looking bleak………. We are therefore delighted to discover that our experiment with freezing small plastic bottles water has worked a treat and we now have huge chunks of ice for the drinks! We are going to survive the voyage after all! Especially as we have. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World, with the World ARC

MONDAY  10th   MAY 2010     (  presently about to leave Tahitifor Raiatea and the Pearl Regatta )   Donal and Skipper got out of the bunks early, as wehad a lot to do before leaving, It was nice and cool around 06.00hrs, We checked the boat over, admired her from the quaywall, must say, " the Holy Mary blue antifouling " is a bit..........wedunno   07.30hrs  Laurent, the shipping agent, came onboard to let us know that " NautiSport" ( the Raymarine agents in Tahiti) hadgot thepart for our Chart Plotter, except, they orderedthe wrong part.   God , what arseholes......bloody hell , what next! Eventually, it was agreed that they would order theright part from Australia straight away and have it by the end of theweek and. read more...

Cleone - Leg 4 Day 14 - News in Brief

"Booby Victory" Claim - Sesational Result in Beer Trial - Russian Twist in Red Lion Mystery - "Less than 1000 to go" says Cleone Unsubstantiated claims indicate that Bernard has finally conceeded defeat in the Booby War.  Bernard the Booby has not been seen on Cleone's foredeck for over 24 hours.  Our correspondant has seen at first hand the new secret weapon claimed as "instrumental" in driving Bernard away - it looks much like a long-handled brush mounted on Cleone's Pulpit, but no photos have yet been released.  Elizabeth's claim that it was her "hearts and minds" campaign that pursuaded Bernard that his rightful place was at home (Galapagos?), rather than fouling the foredeck of an innocent yacht, has yet to receive endorsement either from the Operational Commander or in Whitehall. read more...

Southern Princess - Gybe City & the MPS

09:51S 130:15W Didn't think I would be gybing backwards and forwards across the Pacific when we have so much water around us however our weather guru wants us to stay in the band 09:30S to 10:30S but the wind is not quite cooperating. Yesterday after the wind filled in we ran the MPS all day and made good mileage. The MPS is a bit of a handful with only three of us however the girls run around the cockpit, busy as one armed paper hangers, handling all the lines, while I loll around the foredeck pulling in loose spinnaker nylon into the yacht as the sail comes down Just on dusk last night we crossed tacks with 'Gray Lady' one of the yachts in our fleet who has not been reporting at the daily sched. On VHF they informed us their SSB was on the blink. This is a beautiful yacht built in New. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 89 - Anniversaire

9 May 2010It is a year to the day that we cast off from Yatlift. With a year into our journey we have still a year to go, so although at the halfway mark in timescale we have still many of thousands of sea miles to cover and my guess would be that it will be Australia before we see the halfway point of our adventure, in terms of distance.Yesterday, Voyageur had her two coats of antifoul applied which we hope will pass the Australian regulations. They are very strict and insist of documentation and evidence of such procedures on entry into their continent. Today is Sunday, no work going on so David will replace the bowthruster seal and I will polish her prop until it is gleaming. It is altogether my favourite job!Casualty!We stretched our sea legs by walking to the nearby Marina Apooiti. read more...

Graptolite - The Easter Tunny

08:56.03S 119:20.78W Easter Sunday, wee small hoursIn an attempt to attract something other than skipjacks, Colin has deployed some cruise-missile-like lures which cost a fortune in the Galapagos. They are obviously splendid bits of kit as they easily attract creatures big enough to have little problem in breaking the 130lb test line they are attached to. Colin is distraught as he has a bet on with Adrian from Kealoa 8 over who gets the biggest fish. Never mind, we have loads of canned tuna in the stores to fall back on.Some sightings of whales earlier. Big head, big dorsal fin, but yet to be identified. I hope they're not wearing a selection of our fishing lures.Heiki has got into the habit of doing a Titanic-style 'Kate Winslet' up at the front of the boat each sunset. Guess who gets. read more...

A Lady - " A LADY TRIP " Sailing araoud the World with the World ARC 2010

SUNDAY  9th May  2010     ( Presently in Tahiti,  South Pacific)   We had a late start, feeling the worst for wearafter last nights few scoops. However the Skipper got into the rib and polishedthe port side of the boat before the sun got too hot. It seemed much easier today, interesting enough,the vinegar purchased in Carrefour yesterday was 8% as opposes to the original bottle which was 4%, so perhaps thishelped make the job easier. when finished, " A  Lady " looked loke a newpenny again.   At lunch time , the Skipper had a long nap, whileDonal did some washing, he scrubbed the table matt's and hats, the hats getgrubby here fast from all the sun cream, so regular scrubbing isessential.  later , skipper cleaned the floor under. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 88 - Ashore at last!

7 May 2010I was up before the alarm had even gone off. An hour later we had the binoculars trained on the marina premises for any sign of life. Ten minutes later David was on the phone and we were given the go ahead for our entry into the slip. With only half a metre to spare under the keel I could see rocks visible adjacent to the boat. David negotiated the very narrow channel with consummate ease. Thank goodness for the bowthruster. What a relief after all that waiting, and we need not have worried one iota. Simon was as careful with our precious cargo as if it had been his own. "Ioranna", Polynesian for 'good morning' they all greeted us. Instantly we were made to feel welcome. In charge of the travel lift, he donned swimming trunks and mask and even went as far as to dive around. read more...

Asolare - Leg 4, Day 15

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }Easter Sunday 23rd March 2008 Another Gran Prix day I am going to miss! My son Simon, in the UK, faithfully DVD’s all Gran Prix races for me and sends them out by courier or friends later. Being a major fan of motor racing this is always something I look forward to immensely. As a thank you to Simon and as a tribute to his successes in motor racing, as a complete contrast, today’s photo is of Simon leading the field in his very modified Honda Civic! He actually won the UK Road Saloon Car Championship recently in the same car.Shortly after yesterday’s log submission when it became light, the Parasailor was limply collapsing too near the shrouds and cross trees for comfort, so we reluctantly took it down. As soon as we had finished. read more...

Crazy Horse - trip to Raiatea and Mother's day

Well, we arrived here last night at 8pm at the mooring which Jim had reserved for us. It was a little tense but we did it. Bill on the navigation and Matt and me as the lookouts. Good thing to have young eyes in those circumstances. All the lights just blurr into confusion for me. We made it through the pass and around the reef using all the GPS and radar and eyes we had. We are at anchor now with Ocean Jasper and Eowyn nearby.Today we hope to explore this island. It looks beautiful from our mooring. There is a marina in front of us. Palm trees surround us on our starboardside. We are in a lagoon with another island, Tahaa off the other side of the lagoon. There is no bridge connecting these islands together. But there are roads around these islands so you can travel around them and see. read more...

Whitbread - 'raping on deck

Good morning to all,In the last 24 hrs the winds have been much lighter and more variable with shifts of up to 30 degrees, which has made it more challenging. We still have managed to cover 204 miles so i'm happy with that, and with 1065 to go, spirits are high onboard. Soon be in the pub, with that cold beer !!!We had a gennaker wrap today and had to blow the halyard to get her down! It managed to twist 3 times so the sock (snuffer) was useless; it made everyone see what a good piece of kit the snuffer is though, as it took 4 of us to get the 2000 sq ft sail down the hatch! The gennaker is fine and back flying again giving us a boat speed of 10 kts in 11kt apparent.We still have 3 meat dinners left; a good job since of efforts at fishing have been unsuccessful. With our boat speed often. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Saturday, 8th May 2010 (Presently in Tahiti, South Pacific)06.00hrs A lot of noise around the place, including that baby screaming every morning on the catamaran beside us. We could almost smell the dirty nappy... ohhhhhhh Full of energy (the lamb last night) the skipper got into the rib and inflated the front section (the part that had the air leak) and which Christian repaired yesterday, and then set about cleaning the starboard side of the boat with neat vinegar. It worked perfectly, and 2 hours later, that side of the boat looked brilliant, plus the rib was still hard. Progress...................actually, now that I think of it, they used vinegar to clean the boat in Flamenco Bay, Panama, including the decks.Its amazing what one can do if. read more...

Chessie - WorldARC 2010/2011

Was bedeutet eigentlich? slack water? -- oder? poisson cru? schmeckt uns immer noch!Also der Landfall nach 3 Tagen Segeln von den Marquesas zu den Tuamotus war schon deutlich spannender als nach den drei Wochen von den Galapagos nach Hiva Oa. Die Marquesas sind hohe weithin gut sichtbare Inseln, dagegen bestehen die einzelnen Inseln der Tuamotu-Gruppe meist aus einer Gruppe von kleinen und ganz flachen Inseln innerhalb eines meist unterwasser liegenden Riffgürtels, welcher auch tagsüber nur an der sich brechenden See oder gar nicht zu sehen ist. Und meist gibt es 1 oder 2 relativ schmale Einfahrten in die "Inseln" mit, je nach Tide, ein- oder auslaufender Strömung, bei unserer ersten Insel angeblich mit bis zu 8 kn - wir fahren mit Maschine max 7 kn. Deshalb sollte man eben bei slack. read more...

Andante of Mersey - EQUADOR-GALAPAGOS AND NEXT TWO WEEKS

Our stay in Equador was uneventful except we went to meet our new crew, Joan, Diane and Mike in Guayaquill Ecu's 2nd largest city. Our 1st taxi driver could not find the airport! Then we spent a day sightseeing and a night in a  5star hotel - BLISS. Back on board, then a 5day windless crossing to the Galapagos Isles.  First to San Cristobal, sea lions everywhere, even sleeping on our stern in the morning. Day trip on large catarmaranto Kicker Rock, a huge structure rising over 1000ft from the sea. The rock had split forming a deep sea ravine. The skipper suggested we snorkel through the ravine and he would motor round the rock and pick us up on the other side. Into the water I went, the swell was huge in the ravine it was like swimming up Eastbank St bridge. Looking into the clear water. read more...

Ideal - Day 12

Day 12Well, we passed the half way mark two days ago. We're counting down the days until we reach the Marquesas (the Captain is anyway), though it still seems like a long way off. Zach successfully ascended the mast today to do some repairs on the spinnaker rigging and we're happy now to be sailing West again rather than South West.We are still fish-less, but certainly not starving. We have fresh chives now as our onions have begun to sprout and are continuing with the banana bread making business.After a week of 15-20+ knot winds, today's slightly calmer breeze is a welcome rest for the nerves. Currently we have a 15 knots of wind from the East and following seas. The sun is shining and the seas are calm. Now, if we could only attract some Tuna.... read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Friday, 7th MAY 2010Up early, as there are so many things still to be done. We had a light poached egg on toast for breakfast, phoned home and Aileen has arrived back in Ireland, safe and sound. The two children we have in Dublin were delighted to see their mother again, that's Leah and Stefan, and of course Johnny and Jamie. Leah's husband and new son. 09.00hrs Donal took off to town in an effort to make up his mind on his final route home, while the Skipper tried unsuccessfully to remove the sea stains on the hull of " A Lady", the blinkin stuff seems totally embedded. Meanwhile, along comes this guy on a bicycle and enquires if we wanted anything done on the boat, like varnishing, sail repairs, fixing leaks in ribs. Hold it right there................YES, we have a. read more...

Lady Kay - Kerry on essential work- tea making!

As we carry on Westwards essential work must go on. Here Kerry can be seen tending to the no1 priority on board: - making tea. the pity is that we have almost run out of English sourced tea. Tea bought out here tends to be weaker and not of such good quality.As banana eating is even more of a priority, we have introduced a competition to find the best recipe using as many bananas as possible. My first attempt yesterday was, if I say it myself rather good - a version of scotch pancakes/griddle scones, batter mixed with two chopped bananas, and eaten straight from the pan. Michael, Jackie and Kerrytea making. read more...

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