Daily Logs

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...

Crazy Horse - repaired and in the water!

Crazy Horse was sooo excited to get back into the water and finally fixed with the prop issues. We had it up to 3500rpms while we travelled the mile or so back to the city dock. Good news- no shaking and smooth ride. While we were travelling over to the Marine center on Wednesday to get hauled out we blew out our engine muffler. We had water pouring in and the bilge pumping it right out. Guess we were lucky this happened on our way over to get hauled out. They fixed that as well as the prop and the bottom is a nice clean blue color. Technimarine did a wonderful job of pulling us out and getting us fixed and painted and put back in the water by today- Friday. Our plans for today are to get reprovisioned, pass through customs and immigration, and reorganize ourselves. Tomorrow we hope to. read more...

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

THURSDAY 6th MAY  2010    (presently in Tahiti,South Pacific)It's amazing the things that happen at home and sometimes we here immediately and other times we don't ear anything for ages, but the latest was a fire in Crosshaven Boat Yard and Hugh Cassidy's portocabin was destroyed in the blaze. So what? one could ask, except my old engine was in the cabin. God what next, we will just have to wait and see... Another beautiful day here in Tahiti, and today there is a nice breeze blowing for a change, keeping things cool.We did some early boat work and later Mike arrived and took the skipper to "Nautisport" to get some bits and pieces, like a new anchor to replace the one we lost in the Galapagos, plus a 100m of anchor rope, shackles, charts, and some. read more...

Cleone - Leg 4 Day 13 - Songwriter's Block

I'm having trouble with the lyrics of two new songs. The first - bound to be a hit with someone like Gene Pitney - starts "My Booby Doesn't Lurve me Anymore".  The second - a revivalist Scottish Air - starts "My Booby Lies Over the Ocean", and has a wonderful chorus (also not quite right yet) which goes "Bring Back, Bring Back, oh Bring Back my Booby to me".  And neither of them seems quite right yet.  So any of you guys out there can send me helpful suggestions please.  You will get a credit, honest. But as you can see, things are not well on the Booby front.  We've all got fed up with the frightful mess on the foredeck, and the Skipper was not best pleased to be honked at and pecked when attending essential duties on the foredeck in the middle of the night.  So after all these days and. read more...

Southern Princess - You are Looking Flushed My Dear

Yesterday's monologue resulted in some email comments from near and far.  Storyteller was very prompt with the following: We have enjoyed you monologue so much that we thought it deserved an appropriate title. Here are some suggestions:Ship of StoolsGetting One's Own BackDon't Shout at Me!Colonic IrrigationPlumbing the DepthsPan PanYou are Looking Flushed My DearHardening of the FarteriesIt deserves to be published in a Sailing MagazineCheers, JohnPS we just lost a marlin 30 metres from the boat (thank God)! Helen Campbell comments: And you want me to come sailing with you! You have got to be joking. There is no way after reading that last log!Mind you I didn't understand any of it again except that you had to clean out a lot of your stuff from a pipe. Right? At least you had something. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 87 - A "Lady" in Waiting!

6 May 2010Another morning passed. I was now onto reading about a boat that was shipwrecked in the middle of the Pacific. Funnily enough.... we had just heard from Dominique, the yard manager, when phoning in for our morning update, that he is just about to set off to see what he can do for a yacht aground on a reef over at neighbouring Tahaa. We watched them set off with two very large sheets of fibreglass teetering precariously on the back of a rib. We were encouraged to hear that the big GF would be launched either this morning but if not, at the very least it would be this afternoon. We were definitely next on the list. Whoopee! The day wore on..... and on. At 2pm GF was launched to an awful lot of shouting. Oh dear! "It is the only way they can make themselves heard over the noise of. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - marlin

@page Section1 {size: 612.0pt 792.0pt; margin: 72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; } P.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman" } LI.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman" } DIV.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman" } A:link { COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } SPAN.MsoHyperlink { COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } A:visited { COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } SPAN.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } SPAN.EmailStyle17 { COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-style-type: personal-compose } DIV.Section1 { page: Section1 }Grey and dreich for most of the day yesterday, rainy and squally until clearing up. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 86 - A waiting game...

5 May 2010Another day passed, the kind of day when even going down three companionway steps to put the kettle on for a cup of tea is almost too much effort. Now I am beginning to understand the attraction in taking 10 years to sail around the world. We had not had a foot on dry land for six days and we were actually having a lovely time of it. But six days without a sail. We will have quite forgotten how. The Coquilles St Jacques came out of the freezer. David donned his chef's hat and made homemade gazpacho taken from a book we had recently read, one of those fluffy reads about a life style change setting up a restaurant business on an exotic island. It was scrummy and will definitely be his "signature" dish from now on. We lifted the anchor and picked up the now vacant yard mooring.. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 85 - Stating the obvious!

4 May 2010Well it didn't happen. I was up at 06.00am in spite of the alarm being set for 7. A huge rain squall hit us and I leapt up to close the hatches. We phoned the yard at 8am. (Their VHF is broken). It is our only means of communication with them as we cannot go ashore in the tender, also broken. They tell us that there are "problems" with the travel hoist and it appears there is now a backlog. Of course we see at least two other boats waiting with fenders at the ready. David tries to sound hopeful and says that they might not be in the queue. Perhaps, he suggests, they are the ones who sail with their fenders hanging out! Who is he kidding..... We are now into our second night here. All day has passed but some progress was made. At midday one yacht edged its way in to the travel. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - pics

Stewy's camera - pacific galaps 026Stewy's camera - pacific galaps 026. read more...

A Lady Trip - Sailing around the World

WEDNESDAY 5th May 2010 Presently in TAHITI )  Up early as usual, again a lot of rain during the night.08.00hrs two blokes came to clean the diesel tank, to remove the existing 400L and polish the inside of the tank.We had to dismantle half of the saloon to get at the tanks, but in the end it was worth all the effort, we could almost see ourselves in the tank when they were finished ( it took the whole morning ), and the stuff that came out was hard to believe. Its a wonder the engine worked at all. Donal went off and did some more provisioning while Aileen did a bit of local exploring. Shops in particular. Skipper got the Derick working again, even though "Cooney Marine" sent some wrong parts and so on, however skipper is not totally happy with the derick.. read more...

Asolare - Leg 4, Day 14. Pilot Whales!

Saturday 22nd March 2008 As expected the wind has almost died on us as we have only between 8 and 10 knots of true wind providing 4 to 5 Knots of apparent wind and about 4 knots of yacht speed. We do expect the wind to pick up very gradually over the next few hours so we are leaving our beloved Parasailor up for the time being. However, if the wind lulls a little we run the risk of the parasail wing cords getting caught in the rigging so we have lowered the sail a little so that the wing, if it collapses, will fall below the lowest spreaders and minimize a hang-up possibility. At 1328 hrs UTC (lunchtime in UK) it is still fully night time here but we have a full moon in an exceptionally clear sky and the magnificent Southern Cross star group to keep us company. The moon is immediately. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - log

Friday 22nd MarchA TALE OF TWO SAILS!Malcy appears to be a lot better today and the forward heads doesn't have a permanently engaged sign! You can tell immediately he is better by the way he gets up, grouses, looks out of the companionway, glances at the instruments and without any discussion or so much as looking at a weather forecast or anything else so unimportant, orders 'Spinnaker up!' This was a daily occurrence on the ARC and this particular disease (unlike his lavatorial affliction) seems to be incurable!Fortunately on the 2007 ARC and now, I am on watch before him and have looked at the weather forecast as well as having seen the conditions for the last 2 or 3 hours! For once he did have a point and it was marginal whether to stay dead downwind with the Twistle or bear off 20 or. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 84 - Huahine Haven

3 May 2010The three days and nights at anchor in the tranquillity of Huahine is just exactly what we needed. We had been feeling a little tired of late. Perhaps going around the world in fifteen months might have something to do with it! We were also suffering the marine version of "being grounded". With our newly repaired tender out of action due to a large gaping hole in one of the tubes we could not go ashore. We were confined to the boat. Fortunately we had been lucky enough to tour the whole of the island four years ago in company with John and Marian Morse so our enforced stay was not too much of a hardship. Far from it, we woke every morning to swim in water so clear we could see tropical fish swimming along the bottom. We devoured our books, we enjoyed the never ending stream of. read more...

Kealoha 8 - Happy easter all - what an eventful time we have been having .

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Voyageur - Log day 83 - Talking trash

2 May 2010This is a very important subject in today's environmentally sensitive world, and one which I am often asked about. What do you with all the garbage you collect after being weeks at sea. On the smaller islands in the Scottish Hebrides we have a policy never to take our trash ashore. They simply do not have the infrastructure to deal with it. So it is the same with many of the islands in French Polynesia, particularly the tiny motus of the Tuamotus. Yes, it is very hard to keep all your trash on board. For one thing there is a question of storage, not easy in a smaller boat with lots of crew, and you cannot possibly store three weeks of garbage on the boat, although some people believe that nothing should go overboard. And then there is the question of heat. In the heat of the. read more...

Ariane - Huahine, eine "unanständige" Insel

Liebe Freunde  Landschaftlich begeistert diese Insel unglaublich. Sie ist sehr gebirgig, tropisch üppig und farbig und sanft bebaut. Auf unserer Fahrt mit den Mietautos sehen wir plötzlich eine Basler Fahne wehen. Wie von einer Wespe gestochen fahren wir vor das Haus und reden die Bewohner in Baseldeutsch an. Peter und Sonja reisten seit 40 Jahren immer wieder nach Polynesien. Jetzt wohnen sie seit 4 Jahren fest an einem wunderschönen Ort auf Huahine. Schade, dass wir nicht mehr Zeit hatten, um diese nette Bekanntschaft zu vertiefen. Huahine heisst übrigens nichts anderes als "Vagina", ist also die weiblichste Insel der Gesellschaftsinseln... Wie alle anderen Inseln dieses Archipels ist diese Insel von einem Riff umgeben. Wenige Einfahrten ermöglichen den Zugang mit Schiffen.. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Log

Thursday 21st MarchLARGE DOLPHINS OR WHAT?A word about yesterday's 'whales' - I was in my cabin trying to sleep when I heard a commotion in the cockpit, so I looked up out of the aft hatch to see what I thought were 2 large dolphins surfacing right alongside, thought boring, what's everyone getting exited about and I went back to my bed! Alas I missed the show, but saw some of it on the video JB made!JB: At this juncture I am tres worried about the skipper's judgement. As you can see from the photograph above these are clearly whales and there was a pod of about 30 of them, some of which partook in a few gymnastic feats of the whale variety. Not only that, I was literally hyperventilating in the cockpit such was my state of sheer ecstacy at the sight of these beautiful animals displaying. read more...

Whitbread - cracking along

Cracking along nicely!!! We covered 214 miles yesterday and have 1251 miles remaining!!!. read more...

Ariane - Moorea

Hallo liebe Segelfreunde  Wir besuchten in Moorea die Hauptstadt Vaiare und überbrachten dort eine spezielle Fischerrute, die uns der Besitzer eines Hauses mit Gästezimmern in St. Lucia mitgegeben hatte. Er flog direkt nach Moorea und hatte bereits Uebergepäck. Der Deal war so, dass wir die Rute gegen ein Nachtessen einlösen durften. Wir machten im ruhigen Yachthafen fest, der durch das Riff perfekt geschützt war. Das Haus entpuppte sich als Villa mit tropischem Garten direkt am Meer, aber durch das Riff geschützt! Die einheimische hübsche Frau trug eine Spezialität auf, die wir aus anderen Orten Polynesiens bereits gut kannten: Mahi-Mahi. Das ist eine Dorade die roh an einer rezenten Sauce serviert wird. Sie war butterzart und himmlisch im Geschmack. Die beiden. read more...

Kasuje - daily log , Friday 21st March

Hi all,I cannot persuade any of the crew to write today's log, seems mutiny is about or just a general lethargy brought on by the continual tranquil ocean sailing. We are now well under the 1000 nm mark and are creaming along at about 8 knots to our destination. No excitement  just good food ,music and conversation, however we may have a small problem arising in that I caught Bruce reading  ''WHY DOES A WOMAN NEED A MAN'' maybe he is looking for inspiration or that it is just the inboard library wearing thin.We will keep on trucking and  I'll keep an eye on Bruce for any change. He has already shaved off his beard!!!!.............................. So to spark up the log I,ve posted a couple more unbelievable images from the Galapagos.DSC_0053Fur seal. They were nearly wiped out by the. read more...

Destiny - Auf der Vanille-Insel

Vanille-PlantageMittwoch, 5. Mai 2010Wir haben heute auf Huahine eine Inselrundfahrt gemacht. Huahine, "die Schöne", es ist wirklich so, die Insel ist außerordentlich gepflegt, nicht nur in den Gärten zur Seite der Straße. Auch am Straßenrand ist der Grasstreifen kurz gemäht, danach stets ein kleines Bächlein, in dem Blumen schwimmen mit kleinen lila Blüten. Selbst oben in den unbewohnten Bergen.Die Vulkane erheben sich hier bis 600 m aus dem Meer. Auf unserem Weg kommen wir an einer Vanillefarm vorbei. Kurz entschlossen halten wir an. Wir werden von der Familie freundlich begrüßt, die noch beim Mittagessen sitzt. Die beiden Töchter der Familie begleiten uns zur Farm zwei Grazien, jede sicher eine Tonne schwer.Die Vanillepflanzen werden in Gewächshäusern gezogen, wobei Wände und Dach der. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World with World ARC

The last blog was on Monday 26th and today as I sit here and look at this computer, I have decided to combine the last week into one blog, thus covering the 8 days since.Tuesday 27th April We did some early morning jogging, like at 06.00hrs and joined lots of others on the waterside promenade. Later we had the mechanics who serviced the engine and the generator, part of our problem was the dirty fuel we got in the Galapagos. We will have to drain the fuel tank, have it cleaned, and new diesel put on board. What a deal! Wednesday 28th April Donal drove Skipper and Aileen to the golf club, where they had a great game of golf. The last time we played was in Lanzarote and there Aileen hammered the skipper. Revenge is sweet and this time the skipper won by 8 shots. A. read more...

Cleone - Leg 4 Day 12 - Disappearing Beer

We've lost 12 tins of beer. A very serious situation has developed aboard Cleone, and since the matter is sub-judice, I am strictly limited in how much I can report.  The facts, however, are clear.  Inspecting the water locker, eagle-eyed Elizabeth noticed water sloshing around amongst the water bottles, and that the water appeared soapy.  Moreover, there was a tang of yeast in the atmosphere.  Realising that something serious was amiss, she did the only thing possible; she summoned the skipper.  Not one to dither in a crisis, the Skipper woke up immediately from his reverie by the chart-table and went to work on an investigation.  Tool kits, lobster pots (true, I promise), spare loo pumps, an aero-gen (why on earth does he carry all these things?) all went flying out of their lockers. . read more...

Tucanon - Fishing in Lagoon, Tahiti

We left the anchorage at Tahanea shortly after 7am to ensure that we would  be able to exit the pass during slack water. The wind was still blowing up to 22knots and the water through he pass looked as though it was boiling. The current didn't exceed 2.5 knots against us though the water fell as low as 4metres below the hull, at one stage. Once out of the lagoon and in safe water, we raised the parasailor. Quite typically, the strong winds that we have been experiencing while at anchor now departed and we once again struggled to maintain sufficient speed for us to arrive at Papeete, Tahiti during the morning of Tuesday 27th April.Leaving the atoll, large birds flew around our boat. They were very beautiful, so streamlined with brownish beige colored plumage and. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - ARGYLL WEATHER!

@page Section1 {size: 612.0pt 792.0pt; margin: 72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; } P.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman" } LI.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman" } DIV.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman" } A:link { COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } SPAN.MsoHyperlink { COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } A:visited { COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } SPAN.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } SPAN.EmailStyle17 { COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-style-type: personal-compose } DIV.Section1 { page: Section1 }Friday21.03.08. 1pmIt stays cloudy throughout the day until late afternoon when the sun. read more...

Crazy Horse - Lisa home, Tahiti haulout

The crew of Crazy Horse was sad to see Lisa take off today from Tahiti. I know Jayden and Erik will be oh so excited to see her back home and safe. But for us on Crazy Horse there is a big hole. We had a great time with her and I think she was glad to see Tahiti and Moorea, go snorkeling and meet our friends here on the ARC. Wish she could have stayed longer.When we returned to Papeete Brown-Eyed Girl was still here at the city dock on Sunday. Today they have left to re-fuel and then on to Moorea. There are still some ARC folks left at the Tania Marina. We saw A Lady pull in there yesterday while we were having lunch at the Pink Coconut with Lisa. Jeanius was getting fuel and food then going back to Moorea. Chessie and her crew were awaiting their own repairs on their rigging.We have. read more...

Southern Princess - Three and a half feet of kidney stones!

Ed Wildgoose who owns Mailasail and hosts our blog page once said that most of the blog entries have boring titles and that I should brush up my act which I have been trying to do lately. Does today's title intrigue? Yesterday during the afternoon, Lorraine announced she was going to make high tea again with girdle scones (yes Helen, Aunt Daisy calls them girdle not griddle!), Irene had the helm and I decided to go to the bathroom. Used the toilet and pushed the button! Horror it doesn't disappear, pushed the button again, no success, knew immediately what the problem was, three and a half feet of kidney stones. The exhaust pipe from the toilet to the skin fitting gets clogged with scale and like an artery around the heart gets smaller and smaller and eventually closes. The deposit in. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 82 - Peace, perfect peace

1 May 2010 I always think of the Society Islands as a mixture of the Marquesas and the Tuamotus. They have the high peaks and lush vegetation of the Marquesas combined with the fringing coral reef of the Tuamotus. Huahine is one of our favourites. David and I absolutely love this island. After Papeete it is an oasis of peace. We dropped anchor in almost the same spot as four years ago, where the turquoise water of the reef meets with the cobalt blue of deeper water. It was so clear we could see right to the bottom, sand interspersed with lumps of coral, colourful reef fish swimming around and about us. We plonked the anchor down straight into a patch of sand. This time around we did not have to share it with any other rally boat. We spent a long lazy afternoon reading in between cooling. read more...

Destiny - Gruesse von der Destiny

SternenhimmelSonntag, 2. Mai 2010Hallo Ihr Lieben alle,Wir haben gestern die wunderschöne Cook Bay in Moorea verlassen und uns nach einem Schnorchelstop am Riff auf den Weg nach Huahine gemacht. Die Fahrt dauert bei normalem Wind etwa 8 bis 10 Stunden und da wir nur bei Tageslicht in die Lagune einlaufen können, sind wir eben erst am Nachmittag gestartet, um am nächsten Vormitag am Ziel zu sein. Der Wind war zunächst mäßig, ist dann aber auf den Abend hin völlig eingeschlafen. Wir sind eben in den Inseln unter dem bewundern und mit Hilfe von Wolfgangs phantastischem elektronischem Sternfinder alles Wissenswerte über die Sterne erfahren.Gleich nach einem atemberaubenden Sonnenuntergang (ich habe zum ersten Mal den grünen Blitz gesehen ) leuchtet hell und klar die Venus als. read more...

Kasuje - daily Log Thur 20th March

Hello to everyone, We have had a major problem on board today!! The problem came in the form of who would write the daily log. We have all been at quite a loss of what we can write to keep you interested.  This was not a problem when crossing the Atlantic, as the weather was atrocious, with gale force winds, heavy rain, 5 meter high waves and lightening all making exciting stories. However, in the Pacific its different. Day after day we have had blues skies, calm winds of between 10 and 20 knots, low seas. So although it is nice sailing for us, for you at home it's probably less enthralling to read about.   So here is the attempt to keep you all interested! I went flipping crazy today, not because I was left the job of writing the log, but due to the fact it was my cooking day. I decided. read more...

Graptolite - In The Middle of Nowhere

08:25.06S 114:28.15W , Thursday 20th March, half-way between Galapagos and MarquesasWe are now over half-way across and it's all downhill from here. I was horrified to discover we had no champagne in the wine cellar for the celebration. It's not easy being the best part of 1,500 miles from an off-licence.Colin continues to fish even though we definitely don't want any tuna. All the bites today have immediately taken all the line and snapped it off. This is fine, as anything that can break 100lb test line like it was cotton thread is not something we want either ripping off the transom or snapping at us on deck. It's getting to be costly for tackle though.Heike continues to surprise us with her bikinis. It seem like it's a different one every day. Still, it adds a touch of glamour that. read more...

Ariane - Auszeichnung unserer Yacht ARIANE

Liebe Freunde,  Gestern Abend war die World ARC im Rathaus von Papeete zu einem Fest eingeladen. Das bereitgestellte Buffet befriedigte alle Gelüste. Eine einheimische Tanzgruppe lockerte den Abend auf. Zwei Jugendliche der Yacht Ronja unterhielten die Gäste mit Gitarre und Gesang.  Vor dem Essen wurden einige Yachten ausgezeichnet für die vergangene längste Etappe unserer Reise von den Galapagos zu den Marquesas. Es war sehr schön, dass für einmal nicht immer nur die schnellsten Yachten ausgezeichnet wurden. Denn diesmal wurde ARIANE gleich doppelt ausgezeichnet:  1. Weil wir den Motor auf dieser langen Strecke überhaupt nicht brauchten und weder Diesel-Generator noch Wassermacher besitzen und dennoch mit 6 Personen segelten2. Weil wir schlicht als die Eco-Yacht. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 81 - Pareo prize

30 April 2010We returned to the Quai des Yachts for one final day. Nearly all the rally boats have now arrived. It was good to get together again. Many of the boats we had not seen since leaving Hiva Oa, 6 weeks ago now. Our accumulator tank was returned to us, now welded and was refitted by David. The low pressure pump for the desalinator ordered. Having a major airport,Tahiti has been a popular destination for friends and families to join rally boats for short vacations. Carole, John's partner from Eowyn was one of them. She delivered my new laptop to me. We last met her in St Lucia before the start of WARC and she has been a faithful follower of my blog ever since. By bringing the new laptop she has made sure that I will keep writing. Ingrid of Destiny also tells me that she follows. read more...

Asolare - Leg 4, Day 13. Good Friday!

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }Good Friday 21st March 2008 Perhaps it is a good thing that there are no shops out here to buy lots of Easter eggs but plenty of places to hide them – other than the orchard!We also are unlikely to have a celebration dinner featuring the “Catch of the Day”. We tried fishing all day but did not get a bite!The association of Good Friday, Mount of Olives and 5 fishes brought BREAD to mind so I set to and baked a great loaf of bread. The photo is the closest thing we are likely to get to our wayward fish so we are going to have Fried English Bacon between well buttered slices of fresh bread! – Just like our great party with friends on “Asolare” sailing out of St. Lucia at 5.00am last Christmas Morning to watch the sun rise. We had Champagne. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - log

Wednesday19th MarchLIFE BEGINS AT 40!Barry - I knew that I would be turning 40 during the passage from Galapagos to Marquesas, but had given the significance of the date little thought. I guess that the adventure we are currently undertaking has somewhat overshadowed what would otherwise be a major milestone. I wonder if that was in the back of my mind when I decided to extend my trip beyond the ARC passage in November into a 5-month odyssey. I woke up this morning to a saloon decorated with balloons and a large cut-out multi coloured letters reminding me of my new age, just in case it had slipped my mind. The guys have been great and have very kindly given me a day off, which has allowed me write today's log. A special thanks to Lindsey for arranging the pod of 40 pilot whales to arrive. read more...

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