Daily Logs

Maunie of Ardwall - Day 12 and Maunie falls into the hole!

The wind hole that we’ve been trying to avoid acted as a something of amagnet to Maunie so, despite our best efforts, we fell into it at 18.00 lastnight and took the decision to motor through it for about 14 hours (the Fleettracker will show a very straight line where we had the engine and autopilotrunning). The wind hole was also full of very heavy rain – Rich described it ashis wettest sail ever! Listening to  the SSB radio net, lots of other boatsmotored between 12- 15 hours though the hole.   Eventually the weather cleared and we emerged this morning into sunshineand, thankfully, a reasonable (but not quite strong enough) breeze so we hoistedthe Parasailor at 10.00 UTC and we’re currently trundling along at about 5knots, enjoying the silence after all hour of the engine. read more...

Selene - Everlasting battery

We seem to have an everlasting battery.We have kept the instruments running for the last 36 hours over two nights and all days yesterday whilst sailing with the kite as it helps to know TWA, VMG and heading to get the most out of our downwind performance. The instruments use only 0.4 A of current and the voltage has only dropped from 12.1 to 12.0V at this load over 4-5 days now since we lost the alternator.The drain from the computer charger puts the drain up to 4A, but this is only for the 20-30mins it takes to write and send the blog and download messages and gribs.I have been reading Nigel Calder's Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual to try to diagnose the problem.It seems that 12.7V in the starter battery really ought to be enough to crank the engine, so it is possible there. read more...

Milanto - Log Day 14 - Something fishy

Day 14The last long weekend cometh.It is abundantly clear to me now that Flying Fish are the dimwits of themarine world.Fish are not known for their brightness in any of the species its true;I only know of one Fish who once attained greatness.He was aWeatherman, and he got it horribly wrong with a hurricane in October1987, and he lost it.It's the stuff of legend.I don't imagine thatthere are many Einsteins of the fish world (team mammal seems to haveall the brainiacs down there), so to be bottom of the pile of your tribein the underwater brains department, is not a good start.When you lookup in awe to your cousin the squid for his brains (at least they cansquirt ink and stuff you know) it's simply a case of:"Just face itfish face, you is thick." When you see a flying fish at a distance,. read more...

Bristolian - Day 14: Chocks Away!

Ahoy hoyThis mornings mini crisis was caused by the main halliard becoming detached due to a faulty shackle.  Mr Big had the cunning plan to send up the topping lift with a fisherman's gaff attached to snag it. The plan worked brilliantly and much slapping of backs ensued until halfway down the halliard twisted and caused an internal jam which bent the gaff straight and destroyed said cunning plan.  My understanding of the consequence of this is now that we cant use the big flappy thing until and if we hit a flat calm stretch of water and can send up fearlessly Lucky Lucky Lachie in the bosun's chair to recapture the elusive halliard.   Our jib  though is doing us proud on its own though, so who needs the big flappy thing.Saturday morning it seems is clean the boat morning so all hands. read more...

Murphy - The wind and the Sea - Log Day 12

WindyWind, which one can't actually see and is therefore probably not real, is fundamentally different from other real stuff., like the sea, say, which is a three dimensional thing – i.e. it moves up, down and sideways and, in my experience based on the passage so far, often all three at once. Wind on the other hand has two dimensions – speed and direction – and is cunningly designed so that one or the other is always wrong. It is for this reason that for the last day or so we have been motoring – for much of that time the wind has effectively had no dimensions at all – neither speed (or at least not enough) nor direction. Right now the speed is enough to turn off the motor, but while the direction according to the prophet Grib is supposed to be from the north-east, it's actually from. read more...

Great Escape of Southampton - Day 12 Great Escape 15 19N 44 18W

Dia 12Hoy  hace un dia esplendido como ayer con algo mas de viento, esto es bueno para la navegacion. Acompanado por la luna y las estrellas nos sentimos como en casa eso si, tenemos ganas de llegar a Santa Lucia y continuar la Aventura del Caribe.[As yesterday, today is a splendid day, with some more wind – this is easier for helming the boat.  With the moon and the stars as company, we are feeling at home, such that we are looking forward to arriving in St Lucia and to continue the adventure of the Caribbean.]  Gregorio. After the trials and tribulations of the last few days this was probably the first day where the crew could relax, take some sun and finally step off the roller coaster that has been our home for the last 12 days. Phew!We spent the day motoring in a. read more...

All-Linn - Dag 11 Hai på kroken og ingen propell

Det endret seg fort i går fra atlanterhavsidyll med god seilevind til mordor stemning med regnskurer og blikkstille hav. Vi benyttet anledningen til å dykke ned under båten for en status på propellen og Eirik hoppet i vannet. Halvveis, midt i atlanteren, ingen vind og opp av vannet kommer Eirik med nyhetene vi fryktet – propellen er borte!!!. Okei, hva gjør vi nå? Vi spiste lunsj, Eirin hadde laget en steike god omelett. Det er liksom ikke så mye man kan gjøre, propellen er og blir borte så det eneste vi kan håpe på er nok vind til å komme oss til kai før jul. Stemningen er god ombord tross alt og litt galgenhumor må til i en slik situasjon. Litt ut på dagen får vi en videresent e-post fra våre “konkurrenter” Rabalder der de spør etter vaier. De kan ikke seile og har problemer med riggen. read more...

Sunrise - 07.12.2012 - 11. Tag auf See

14° 30,8' Nord, 040° 14,5' West. Wir befinden uns mitten auf dem Atlantik.Nördlicher als das nördlichste Südamerika, westlicher als das westlichsteNordamerika, südlicher als das südlichste Südeuropa und westlicher als daswestliche Westafrika. Bis zum nächsten Festland ( Brasilien ) sind es 840Seemeilen und bis zu uns nach hause sogar 3480 Seemeilen.Und wir gehen schwimmen !! Beigedreht, Fender an Leinen rausgehängt undKöpper vom Schiff ins 3500 Meter tiefe erstaunlich klare und warme Wasser.Kein Gedanke an Meerestiere, nur pure Freude. Herrlich, nach dem Motto:Ein gesunder Geist braucht eine saubere Hülle.Die Nacht vorher war viel Aktion im Schiff. Mehrere Squalls ziehen überuns hinweg. Der Wind nimmt auf bis zu 30 Knoten zu, Regen kühlt unserekonzentrierten Gesichter, der Lärm nimmt zu. read more...

Stella-Maris - 7. detsember - 11 päeva Atlandil

Reedene päev Atlandil algas täieliku tuulevaikusega, mis märkis kahe kõrgrõhkkonna vahel kiiluks oleva madalrõhkkonna keskpunkti jõudmist. Kuna kätte oli saabunud hommikune akude laadimise aeg, siis otsustasime mõttetu lainetes kõlkumise asendada mootorpurjetamisega, kuid paistis, et Vana meie plaanidega nõus polnud. Seega esimese hooga katelt käivitada ei õnnestunud. Remondimeeskonna uurimisel selgus, et viga on suhteliselt lihtne: nimelt käivitusakust olid jäädavalt lahkunud tööd tegevad elektronid. Proovisime käivitada tarbeakude pealt, kuid need olid ööga nii tühjaks kurnatud, et proovimiseks see jäigi. Viimaks saime mootori tööle vöörivindi akuga. Töölepingu ühepoolselt üles öelnud käivitusaku plaanime St Lucias laevast maha kirjutada ning kuni uue ametivenna hankimiseni, ülendasime. read more...

Northern Child - ARC DAY 11: written by Adolfo

What a day !!! Everything goes soooooooooooo slow that if it continues for another 24 hours I might have to get into the sea and swim with sharks for excitement ;-) If I had my iTunes and iPod with me I would have to build a playlist for today including the following songs:- "Travelling without moving" by Jamiroquai- "Quiet Nights of Quiet Starts" by Stan Getz- "Shooting Stars" by Maverick Sabre- "Move me no Mountain" by  Soul II Soul- "When the sun(wind) goes down" by Fleetwood Mac- "Staring at the Sun" by  U2- "Dont Stop the Party" by The Black Eyed Peas- "Where did we go wrong?" by  Incognito Yes. All of that. We are simply stucked in a no/little wind zone and we make barely any progress with this. Northern Child is a heavy solid boat that has given us. read more...

Northern Child - Daily Log 10 - 7/12/12

Daily Run    93mDTT             73nm Lunch          Pizza and Corn on the Cob   Dinner          Chicken wrapped in Parma Ham with Roasted Vegetables Well I think the mileage says it all - bob, bob, bob went Northern Child........  The wind has been under 6 knots for that last 24hrs making slow going at best.  The positive side of this very light wind and hot sunny weather is that we have been able to get all of the wet waterproofs and sails out on the deck to dry.  We have also blitzed the boat, cleaining every surface, ceiling and floor space.  Once dried,. read more...

Fidelis of London - Day 11

During the day we have around 7 knots of wind. It´s a nice break from thehigh waves and 30 knots of wind that we had for the first 8 days. Using theengine, our speed is around 6.2 knots. If we calculate our ETA in anoptimistic way, we should be there in 8 days. Now that the sun is comingout, it´s boiling. We´re finally getting a chance to tan and relax! It´simpossible to stay out in the sun for long, and as there is very littleshade, it´s very refreshing to take a shower outside on the deck. Daddoesn´t quite realise that we´re in the middle of the Atlantic and that itis unnecessary to use 5 pans to cook dinner. ``But I have to cook this meatin the small pan first`` and ``but this pan is more stable on the table``are his excuses. We were all hoping that we would lose some weight on. read more...

Lancelot II

Date: Sat 8th Dec 2012 Time: 12:50UTCPosition: 15’34.8N 48’25.8WSOG: 8-10 knotsCOG: 282 MWeather: Big Nasty SquallsWind: All over the place but mainly ENE 18-25 Well – what a night ! (aren’t they the words to a song somewhere?) We finally inched away from our almost surreal, flat calm sea and  wall stars at night  with the wind and our boat speed building  using our light weight spinnaker.  The afternoon was great with sunshine and a lovely warm breeze. We were all thinking of stepping ashore at Rodney Bay and our first rum punch ... However at about 16.00 we encountered the first squall with heavy rain. it was great to get the shampoo out and wash our hair in the pouring rain.  Jacko’s 21.00 to midnight watch saw more squalls on the way  and. read more...

Ceilidh of Lorne - 1,000NM to run!

ARC Day 11 Ceilidh continued to make great progress in the last 24hrs with a Daily Run of 193NM At 00:20 this morning we had exactly 1,000NM left on the rhumb line route to St Lucia. The wind gods had favoured us yesterday with a 20-25knot NE breeze filling in as against a 10-14knot forecast. We did have another joust with our code 0 gennaker in 10knots of breeze which gave us plus 8knots boatspeed for 2 hours. However as the wind increased to over 16knots we went for a furl and drop. This time the process was executed perfectly with all 6 crew involved. Just shows practice makes perfect with this sail. Overnight sailing was very difficult with full cloud cover and a quartering swell making it hard for all watches to hand steer.  Our forward. read more...

Scarlet Oyster - Nice sailing in the mythical trades!

Hi All,Just been having some good sailing conditions, touch wood, boat behavingwell. Last night was a little dark at times with some cloud, but seems ourspeeds have been pretty good. Several surfs to 16.1kn, exciting stuff.By our calculations we have slipped back to 1st in class b, hopefully we canstay there this time!The thai green prawn curry was a little hot last night, but so far there hasnot been a big queue for the heads so we may have got away with it!The fishing is not really working out so we will need to go for a sushidinner on arrival.Need to get back to the sunbathing, so will sign off.380 dtg, so may be in before light on Mon.CheersRoss. read more...

Mad Fish - Dodgy weather

Sorry I have not written for a while. We went through the bottom end of a low pressure system a couple of days ago that resulted in the wind going through 360 degrees, (making sure it paused at 35 knots when dead on the nose) with associated rain etc.However, we believe we got away with it quite lightly as we kept wind and progress was ok. Talking of which we are very happy with the progress we are making toward St Lucia. We were hoping for a crossing time of three weeks. This looks well within our grasp and we have half an eye on making the party next saturday night. We shall see.After 12 days we have finally got the spinnaker up and we are making around 7.5 knots with nice surfs up to ten knots. We will break through the 1000 miles to go in about an hour. Emma has made scones to. read more...

Katherine - DAY 11 'Two For One'

Great day on the water. The wind came in and with Katherine's Headsail and Main restored we have been able to sail though out the night averaging 9 plus. The lack of battens – three on the deck and only three top remaining has only caused issues with her stability with wind and and wave movements – an annoying occasuinal luffing and slapping that keeps the watch person on their toes to stop.  We haven't been overly successful on the fishing side and apparently the number of flying fish that we have caught don't count as Islay’s crew believe we have the advantage of an airstrip for landing. However we may have just gained the upper hand in this competition with the catch of not one but two fish on the one line with a combined length of 1m. During the night we started our last. read more...

Capricho - Día Nº 11 - 7.12.2012 ... al agua patos

Día Nº 11Posición actual : Latitud 21º 17,0’ N ~ Longitud 45º 28,5’ W Distancia recorrida del día : 161 MN Velocidad promedio : 6.7 NudosVientos suaves de 13 a 16 nudos, sol pelao, mar en calma ... al aguapato!!!Anoche, después de tanta vaina, fue una jornada deliciosa, fresca ycalmada; muy reconfortante físicamente para todos, pésima para la regata.Los vientos amainaron desde ayer, pero se fueron alineando a soplar delNorEste lo cual nos lleva en dirección directa a Saint Lucia; además loestán haciendo en forma estable aunque no muy fuerte.En la guardia de las 04:00 a 07:00 estuvo realmente movida; bajo ladirección de Romain y al despunte del alba bajamos la mayor, recogimos elfoque para colocar el genneker... baja aun mas el viento e igual pa’bajo elgenneker, a subir el spinnaker (esta. read more...

Jus' do it 5 - LOG Day 11- Major Setback-RACE OVER

Friday 7th December 2012 1200hrs GMT (8th December) - miles in last 24 hours -  POSITION;15' 55' 591 N, 048' 49.223W Late morning we decide to hoist the genaker - the big white blooter. We even got 9 knots wind from the N and we're cruising along nicely at 7/71/2 knots. It's still a fairly flat sea, the sun is splitting the skies and it's hot, hot, hot - we could do with some more breeze. In the afternoon the wind dies away, then starts to fill in again from the N , 13-15 knots. Speed increases to 9-10,1/2 knots - everyone enjoyijng the sail. We decide to play safe, however, and drop the blooter before sunset. With all hands on deck the drop goes well without a hitch. We commence our watch system for the night. At approximately 0215hrs in 20 knots of wind, Gordon and Annie. read more...

Hera - Bergfest

Gestern18.00 flog der Sektkorken, mit dem Klaus fast einen fliegenden Fisch im Flugerlegt hätte. Dieverbleibenden 1400 sm schmelzen im Passat wie Butter dahin. Ja, wir haben ihnwieder - mit 15 kn aus Nordwest.Heragleitet von Rasmus beflügelt mit 8 kn über Grund, der allerdings 4000 km unteruns liegt, auf ihrem Sollkurs von 260 Grad dahin.Eswird von Tag zu Tag wärmer und Henrik hat soeben verkündet, ab sofort im BikiniRuder zu gehen. Stefan. read more...

Ostrea - dr father in law

hi all,Yesterday when we were mid Atlantic, furthest away from land, we heard a request for a scalpel and local anaestetics on channel 16 on our VHF. We reacted and with the help of our friends from Oojah, we were able to talk to the crew of SY Johanem who had a medical emergency. One of their crew members had a big triple fishhook deep into his upper lower arm and we were only 25 miles away. We decided to both alter course and meet in the middle to operate the patient and free him from the hook. In the pitch dark we (Jan and myself) rowed to the Johanem with our medical kit. It was good to be off the boat after 11 days and to meet some other people again after so long at sea. Jan injected the anaestetics and happily got the hook out after a while. We stayed for one quick beer with the. read more...

Rafiki - Consolations of being becalmed

Friday 7th December 2012Cally writes:Last night Andy managed to steer us round the edge of the lightningand we escaped major squalls, while Phil had a couple of patches of nowind at all. It was unbearably hot.There was lots of bed swapping,as the kids sought out any airy bit of the boat they could find.Initially the morning loomed remarkably grey.We all feltheavy-headed and soporific.Towards mid-morning there were heavy rainshowers and it was wonderfully refreshing to take to the foredeck andget hosed down by them!The sea is relatively flat and calm and soyou can see for miles across the horizon.We’ve also continued tohave a small harvest of flying fish each day on the deck – we assumethey are leaping out of the water to avoid being eaten, oblivious toRafiki being in their path.They are. read more...

Rafiki - Past Halfway

Thursday 6th DecemberCally writes:We reached our halfway point at about 3am this morning!We celebrated this afternoon with a fantastic Mexican meal prepared byAndy and the kids.They have been planning it ever since Andy firstdecided to join our boat and in Las Palmas, Andy and I picked up somecostumes to add to the party atmosphere.Chief Rob was in a figleafskirt and flower garland, as was Mini-chief James; Andy, Phil, Emilyand I wore grass hula skirts and flower garlands.Emily and I hadflower bikini tops to add to the look – all very fetching!As ever on this boat, the party centered around food, so here’s the menu:- fruit cocktails, served with pineapple slices and cocktail umbrellasand 2 of which were inside coconut shells;- starter: nachos with melted cheese, tomato salsa and sour. read more...

Rafiki - Evading the Doldrums Effect (or not quite)

Thursday 6th DecemberEl Capitano Roberto writes:Today, we continued on about 245deg on port tack and will probablycarry on this way until tomorrow afternoon. This will mean we havebeen on the same point of sail for over five days and about 1000NM onour log (probably nearer 900 in reality)! We have recently beenmaintaining our course to avoid a ridge of high pressure to our westwhich has generally light and variable winds which we are keen toavoid, even if it means sailing for longer – it beats motoring orbeing becalmed. We also heard report on our radio net this morning ofboat who have sailed through this ridge experiencing heavy squallswith strong winds and rough conditions in between calm patches, not ahappy combination.As well as receiving email forecasts and downloading data. read more...

Meltemi - 07.12.2012 - 11. Seetag - Nachtrag: Nikolaus-Gruesse

Position: 20-44N / 051-16WCOG: 255 deg (nein, wir wollen nicht nach Puerto Rico, wir halsen gleich. Der Blinker ist schon gesetzt!)SOG: 7,1 kn679 nm to goLiebe Meltemi-Freunde,es ist jetzt kurz vor Mitternacht und ich moechte die Highlights des heutigen Tages fuer euch imverschneiten Deutschland noch kurz zusammenfassen. uebrigens: Die Wassertemperatur betraegt bei unsaktuell 27 Grad! Wir sind also auf dem richtigen Weg ... Heute haben wir Bergfest nach Breite gefeiert (nicht zu verwechseln mit dem Bergfest nach Laenge), nachdemwir mit Meltemi den 21. Breitengrad 08 Minuten noerdlicher Breite unterschritten haben. Aktuell befindenwir uns zwar nicht mehr im Geschwindigkeitsrausch der ersten Tage, denn das geben Windstaerken um 15Knoten und Windrichtung ganz einfach nicht her. Trotzdem. read more...

Little Pea's ARC Blogoramma 8 - We're over halfway!

19:21.5N 42:44.0W PLEASE NOTE: THIS POST WAS SUPPOSED TO BE POSTED ON 6th DECEMBER BUT DIDN'T MAKE IT. DON'T WORRY, WE'RE WELL BEYOND HALFWAY NOW! WE DID IT! Yesterday we reached the halfway mark in this marathon of a sail. We all woke up in a very good mood as we knew today we'd it the halfway mark. For breakfast Jags (who was on Mother duty) made porridge and added currents and apricots to make a smiliey face (ah bless...). By lunch time we past half way so our celebratory lunch was pizza and dinner was steak, followed up by a cigar and some rum. The sun shone dowm on us all day, the wind was steady and we were sailing fast.  All in all, it was probably our best day so far. .... And then the night came down on us.  The night shift. read more...

Salsa af Stavsnäs - An almost perfect day 14.50N 37.51W

The half moon did rise at about four this morning,and with that the ocean came to life. Before it was the stars who where the...stars The children did rise about 6.30 local time thismorning, so now I have set the local time even further back. It cost me some ofmy time off from watch, but it is worth it. The genacker did rise about 9.30 this morning, andyes, it is BIG!When we hauled it we had 10 knots of wind, itlooked good, but then Poseidon got bored and decided to give it a go, - whatabout 20 knots you little humans down there? - Aha, now there is a lot of stressin the cockpit, and look how it flyes here and there! 200 square meters ofsheet, it's ridicolous! Look now, they are taking it down again,BORING! After pulling our arms 4 cm longer with a crazygenacker I went to bed.   The. read more...

Poespas - day 11

Day 11Another 24 hours gone and those promised 15 knot trade winds are due very shortly. Unfortunately before we get blessed by Aeolus who has been providing mankind with the right kind of global winds to explore, travel and to do trade, we had to go through a period of being becalmed.Unable to receive synoptic charts by fax through the SSB due to a lot of electrical disturbance, we have had to make do with grib files in order to make an assessment of the weather situation. As mentioned before, the grib files have been very accurate so far, and yet again they proved right. They foretold the winds would veer westerly and decrease to less than 10 knots, with an area of heavy precipitation. How right that proved to be! From early on in the morning we started getting lots of echoes on our. read more...

Fidelis of London - day 10 152 nm by thomas

de champagne ging er gister avond wel in, en de vis ook. Het wordt steedswarmer. het is nu bijna 3 uur snachts en we zitten in shirts onzenachtwachten te doen. Tot 5 minuten geleden hebben we vandaag niet echtwind gehad, we hebben vooral veel gemoterd. maar we zijn wel blij dat degolven zijn gezakt. We hebben vandaag ook nog de klok een uurtje teruggedraaid. En voor de rest kijken we allemaal uit naar dde rumpunches in stlucia.The champagne was really nice yesterday, and so was the fish. It keepsgetting warmer , its almost 3 AM and we are doing our nightshifts inthsirts, until 5 minutes ago we barely had wind. so we mostly went on theengine. But we are happy that the waves have reduced. We also put the clockback an hour today. And we are all looking forward to the rupunches in stlucia.. read more...

Rivendell - Log: "There's No Wind! So Let's Swim"

7 December 2012Well after yesterday's rain and last night's fog, and darkness we woke up toa glorious although windless day.Andy and Ian tried their luck at fishing- successfully - each landing a 25 to 28 inch Wahoo.They both decided tothrow them back in the pond - hoping for a bigger one."Moonbow" - okay internet surfers - over the last couple of nights Ben andBruce have witnessed a very large glowing arch on the opposite side of thehorizon from the moon.It's like a rainbow, but it has been taking placebetween 11:30 and 2 am in the morning.I imagine that the moon's glow isbeing refracted somehow, but neither of us are sure what we are seeing, butI know that someone's parent will tell us the answer.Swimming - as I said it was a glorious day - the boat wasn't moving so weput out some. read more...

Little Pea's ARC Blogoramma 9 - Wind shifts and wind holes.

18:53.1N 45:37.8W We awoke exhausted after the havoc of the previous night to the great news that we had made some serious gains inspite of the foul conditions. Spirits were quickly raised as we knew we were going to be in for an easier time as the weather was due to ease off. Much of the day was spent trying to keep our pace up and then in the afternoon the inevitable happened: under a massive black cloud we had a 140degree windshift bringing all hands on deck to cope to settle Pea down to the new conditions. During this time the heavens opened. The biggest rain storm yet (and we've had some big ones) poured down. However, it was not all bad news, this was the first big rain storm we'd had during daylight. We took this opportunity to strip off and lather up in some shower gel. read more...

Loupan - Mot Västindien - 7 december

Tänk vad fort det ändras här på havet. Precis när gårdagens blogginläggskickats kom en svag bris och vi kunde gå på ett kryssben genom större delen avnatten. Det var vackraste natten hittills med blankt vatten, massor av stjärnoroch månljus. Framåt morgonen blev det någon timmes motorgång igen innan vi kundehissa full stor och rulla ut Code 0. Resten av dagen flöt med härlig segling ochvi firade på eftermiddagen att det nu bara är 1000 sjömil kvar genom att hissaSt Lucia’s gästflagga under styrbord spridare. Nu till kvällen så har vindenökat till runt 24 knop och vi forsar fram med nattrevad stor och genua 3. Igår såg vi tre stycken späckhuggare som simmade förbi. Det är otroligt attse de stora djuren röra sig så graciöst i vattnet. Ovan vattnet är ju djurlivetinte så intensivt, men vi. read more...

Karma Daze - Day 10/11 Half Way There

The weathercontinues to improve and the wind has eased significantly.  The waves are smaller and life on boardis easier.  We have gone quite along way south and have so far managed to escape the wind hole that many boatshave encountered plus thunderstorms. We are fairly near the back of the fleet but think we are on schedule forabout 20 days.  Today we passed thehalf way mark and opened the bubbly to celebrate, not forgetting to give alibation to Poiseidon/Neptune. We now havethe fishing line out but so far have failed to catch anything; we thought we hadsomething earlier on but by the time we had reeled it in it hadescaped. Yesterdaywas the second time we put the clocks back so we are now 2 hours behind UKtime.  By the time we reach St Luciawe will be 4 hours. read more...

Puddle Jumper - Day 10

Here we are just a speck in the Atlantic Ocean it can be quite romantic outhere!! At night due to no light you can see millions & millions of stars& ones mind starts to think of other Galaxies & beyond. But then you are soon bought back to earth with a whiff when you realiseyou have been unable to have a shower for 3 days. Mind you nobody complains(much) as we are all in the same boat! Over the last 10 days we have acquired newskills. I can now enter a head at 15 mph & when finished opening the door& get flung at 15 mph without breaking limbs. Eating our meals at night ischallenging its like eating off a trampoline at a chimps party. Today we weredeck cleaning & other chores  keeping the boat shipshape. Today hasbeen our calmest day with very light winds. read more...

Peter von Seestermühe - PvS 07.12.12

Liebe Peterfans,Wir haben den Passat zu fassen und lassen nicht mehr los! Der Spinakerwird mit doppeltem Fäll und Schot gefahren, der Reservefall ist aus demWeg geräumt und wir haben fest vor den Spi vor Ankunft in Rodney Baynicht runter zu holen. Wir segeln mit ein wunderbarer nordöstlicherWind, der zwischen 15 bis 18 Knoten auf die Uhr weht, und erreichenweiterhin unsere 8 Knoten Durchschnitt und wir hoffen in maximal vierzigMinuten die 800 Meile Marke zu knacken. Dann hätten wir in 12 Stunden100 Meilen geschafft. The race goes on...Unsere Reise ist wie in zwei geteilt. Bis zum Gewitter (also ein Tagnach dem Bergfest): starker Wind, Regen, nass mit Genoa und Kluiver undjetzt. Nach der auf das Gewitter folgende Flaute: Passat, Sonne, trockenmit Spi und Besanstag. Beide Teile zwar. read more...

Coral IV - Lågtryck

Vädret på oceanerna är inte som vädret hemma. På oceanerna är vädretförhållandevis förutsägbart. Seglar man på de breddgrader vi gör seglar man i deså kallade passadvindarna. Dessa blåser nästan alltid östligt eller nordöstligt(“medvind” för oss) – typiskt med 15 till 25 knops vindstyrka vilket passaroceanseglare utmärkt. Columbus var den första att upptäcka och användapassadvindarna och med deras hjälp tog han sig fyra gånger över Atlanten ochtillbaka.   Genom rapporter från tävlingsledningen får vi ibland uppdateringar på hurdet går för de andra båtarna. De första dagarna rapporterades att en handfullbåtar av de drygt 200 tvingats avbryta seglatsen. Orsaker kunde vara en skadadbesättningsmedlem som behövde få vård, eller något allvarligare problem medbåten. Några av båtarna. read more...

Sam III - Funny Im Erholungsgebiet

Nachdem wir die Starkwindzonen nun schon länger hinter uns haben,sind wir seit gestern morgen im Atlantischen Erholungsgebiet gelandet.Flaute mir 1-2kn Wind oder besser einem Hauch von selben.Das Meer glatt wie Ol.30° im Schatten.Also Badeplattform aufgeklappt und reins in 3850 m tiefer Wasser. Herrlich.Tauchermaske und Flossen ran und die neue Welt erkunden.Nun neues haben wir auch unter der Wasseroberfäche nicht gefunden.Nur tiefblaues Wasser.Dann wieder die eiserne Genua an , nun schon seit 24st.Aber ich rieche Wind,bald!!! Freitag ist auch unser Wäsche Tag.die Maschine läuft schon zum zweiten mal und befreit unsere Kleidung vom salzwasser.Gut das uns keiner sieht,mit unseren gesetzten Kleidersegeln... Zwei Crewmitglieder haben sich schon in Einheimische verwandelt,fast schwarz statt. read more...

Sam III - Pirat Pit und die weisse Massei

Hallo Ihr Badewannenpiraten,Pirat Pit ist ja bekannt dafür,daß er in jedem Hafen zwei Bräute hat. Aberda gehören meine Mädels auch hin,und nicht auf ein Schiff. AltePiratenweissheit, Frauen an Bord bringen Unglück. Zumindest fürmich, grauenhafte Vorstellung - tägliche Federpflege,Rum nur wenn gnädigsteschläft, nee nee, das kommt mir nicht in die Tüte !Und dann kommt diese afrikanische Vögelchen hier mitten auf dem Atlantik anBord. Du liebe Zeit, mußte mich erstmal eine halbe Stunde im Badeinschliessen um wieder halbwegs respektabel auszusehen. Tja,und dann wardas Spätzchen nicht mal schwarz. Eine scheeweisse Schönheit aus Afrika, mitgelben Schnabel und Augen. Da war ich aber platt. Hab Ihr erstmal ein paarAnekdoten von mir erzählt, damit sie weiss wen sie vor sich hat. Waranscheinend. read more...

Sam III - Im Rausch der Sinne - II.

Der morgendliche Ozean erfreut uns mit einem tiefen Blau. Wir genießen die Morgensonne beiunserem gemeinsamen Frühstück an Deck.SAM III schiebt uns weiterhin unablässig Richtung Karibik. da der Wind uns verlassen hatnutzen wir die Kraft der Maschine.Um den Start in den Tag aber noch perfekter zu gestalten, wird der Motor nach Beendigungdes Frühstücks gestoppt. Wir dümpeln nur noch sanft auf der Stelle. Die Badeleiter wirdins Wasser gelassen.- Kein Hai in Sicht -Mehr oder weniger elegant hüpfen wir in den Ozean. Ausgelassenes schwimmen, plantschen undtauchen ist nun angesagt. Unendliche Weite umgibt uns. 5000 Meter tiefes Wasser gibtAnlass zu Spekulationen, was alles unter uns sein könnte. Aber es ist nicht bedrückendoder beängstigend, eher befreiend oder beglückend.Doch weiter geht die. read more...

Coral IV - The Doldrums

17:09.019 N 42:49.30 W   Today we seem to have hit the cursed doldrums, where winds die and leavesailors stranded in sweaty humid conditions for periods that seem endless. Wehave bobbed around making next to no progress and wishing that the Hanse 46 hadbeen fitted with air con as standard.   These doldrums have a historical reputation of making sailors irritable.This negative mindset is not really what you want on a small boat 1000 milesfrom the nearest shore. It is therefore best to try and keep upbeat. Sam’sapproach to this conundrum was an interesting one; While the rest of us loungedaround sunning ourselves and reading, he decided to cook a full 3 course mealfor lunch. This was a fabulous idea for those of us who got to eat it, but notso amazing for the ‘kock’ (cook in. read more...

Orion - Week 2, Friday Dec.8

The day started with heavy rain and both watches got soaked - luckily the afternoon has been with sunshine. The wind is only around 5 knots and we are doing slow progress. Tomorrow we should have the wind back, pushing us west. Rune was dragged after the boat and he confirmed that 6 knots is the max. speed to get safely back into the boat even for a strong man. The marlin was today served by Alex with curry - very delicious. Henrik The fresh rain was cooling and quite welcome although visibility at the time was very poor; no discernible horizon at all. The deck light seems to have worked loose so there might be a second trip up the mast in store for me. We saw some large dolphins playing round the boat today but they didn't stay long, just long enough to make us smile. Enjoyed Alex's. read more...

Indulgence - The good, the bad and the ugly.

Friday 7th DecemberCurrent Position: N 17o 51'.516W 40o 49'.509 Current Speed : 6 knots (motoring)Distance to finish at Saint Lucia : 1177 nm* * * * * The good, the bad and the ugly.So much for our predicated light airs and calm seas last night. Shortly after our last blog post, the rain set in. Hot. Sticky. Wet. Warm. Rain. We ate our evening meal below, peepingour heads above deck every so often hoping the squall would pass through. After a few hours it still hadn't and the wind was picking up. Time to reef our main and furl in the headsail. I reckon the lads were on a conspiracy against me, because they all sat below and jointly exclaimed " I'd be Fffff'd if I go up up there, Joleen it's your watch". Good luck now. And all three huddled together whimpering, while I sat in the cockpit,. read more...

El Mundo - Friday 7th December

One of the great joys of being at sea in the middle of the ocean is the airis soooooooooo clean!!!!!! One just wants to take great gulpfuls of thestuff. It just makes one feel SO WELL!!!Another day, another bit of ocean. We have motored clear of the area of nowind and at about midnight last night found a F3/4 going in the rightdirection. First light we had the cruising chute up for the first time thistrip. For the non-sailors the cruising chute is a HUUUUGE sail thatreplaces the foresail at the front of the boat. Ours is massive and drivesus through the water like a battering ram. The sail is attached at themast, at the bow, and back to a winch near the cockpit towards the stern.The feeling is a bit like being on a very powerful roller-coaster - there isa delicious sense of excitement. read more...

Page 106 of 312  104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125