Daily Logs

Serendipity - Visiting Vanuatu I

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Voyageur - Log day 247 - The Brazil Current

27 February 2011If only I had read the pilot book a little sooner. The answer was there for all to see and guess what? Our perverse little current is called the 'Brazil Current'! It is created by the part of the South Equatorial Current that is deflected south as it approaches the coast of Brazil. By mid afternoon after thirty hours of motoring, a real soldiers wind came up and hey ho, we were off. With full main and genoa we were averaging between six and seven knots, double our speed of the last day. Off with the engine and on with the generator. We needed to make water and lots of it. We had deliberately kept the tank low as the water in Salvador was questionable and we prefer to drink from the tank rather than bottled. The rio water was too muddy and murky so this was the moment we. read more...

Poco Loco - On route to Las Palmas

Portimao en AlbufeiraDonderdag 09 Augustus 2012 door MargoDinsdagochtend zwaaien we de Donkertjes uit. Het was heerlijk al die drukte en gezelligheid om ons heen. Met zijn viertjes gaan we weer verder en we verhuizen naar Portimao, waar we het anker uitgooien vlak voor het strandje. Lies en Max gaan met de kano naar het strand terwijl Pep en ik de dingy in de marina aanleggen en het stadje gaan verkennen. Het is best een behoorlijke wandeling vanuit de marina en als we de eerste toeristenwinkeltjes zien verschijnen, draaien we om. We pakken een terrasje voor een koud biertje en zien Epke Zonderland goud winnen! Heerlijk. Woensdagochtend als we wakker worden waait er een krachtig oosten-windje (zeldzaam), en we besluiten om nog even in de baai te blijven en te wachten tot de wind. read more...

Time Bandit - Time Bandit & The Three Bears

37 41N 40 15W 11:00 25th MayWe don't know how we sailed 2700 miles to the Caribbean with 5 people on board as, with just two of us we keep bumping into each other, mostly when, like Baby Bear one of us is wandering around looking for the softest, quietest bed."I think I'll try the forward cabin". "No, it's too noisy with the staysail moving""I think I'll try the saloon" "No, its too bright during the day"....... and on it goes, usually while the other is doing something in what ends up being the "best" cabin. As for the porridge.........We had a better day yesterday in that we sailed. No engine and enough breeze for a steady 4 knots. As the afternoon wore on, the boats 60 - 120 miles behind were reporting 18 - 20 knots. We had been sailing with the genoa poled out and the gennaker flying. read more...

Cleone - Leg 22 Day 3 - More Wind Less Wind

On the pace throughout the night; today progress has slowed. We have made cracking progress so far, but during the course of last night, as predicted by Bruce, the wind began to ease.  Luckily we are being treated the same as everyone else; even Branec, miles ahead as usual, reported only eight knots of breeze.  But the difference is, he will be making eight or more knots through the water, whilst we are languishing at about 5.  We had the galling experience of more or less catching up with Viva during the night, and then seeing her pulling away steadily come the day, despite our efforts with our spinnaker.  And we could see no sign of how she did it! Meanwhile, on board all is well.  Nausea is a thing of the past and the crew falls asleep more or less on demand.  The sea sparkles, the. read more...

Andante of Mersey - Start of the Cape to Bahia Race.

After fitting the new sails with the boat number as per sailing instructions, refuelling, reprovisioning and generally getting Andante shipshape we were ready for the start of the Cape to Bahia Race.At 1130 on the 3rd Jan 2009 we all assembled at the Royal Cape Yacht Club for a blessing for the boats and the race. A jazz band started playing afterwards and the whole atmosphere was jolly.We had previously had a Race briefing from both Andrew Bishop and Eric Wells the Race Officer. We left the berth at 1230 and motored slowly to the start line. we were probably a bit too early as I could not see the start line. I could only see the first rounding mark and now the only rounding mark as there was a late change in the course. Eventually I found the start line and got myself into a reasonable. read more...

Crazy Horse - Feb 27

We are at this moment leaving Sao Paulo. There is no wind and we will have to motor until we can find some. We will be joined by OJ and Chessie who are leaving today as well. Jeannius has decided to stay either until Mon. or Tues. We all agree that this has been one of our favorite places we have visited. It was just so different with no cars on the island. The way they transport the luggage the visitors bring to their pousadas is by wheelbarrow which are the island's only "taxis". It is interesting to watch the men wheel these barrows up and down the hills and paths.The only way to arrive or depart the island is by ferry or small airplane. There are only a few sailboats that seem to stop here. There is a yacht club and few moorings. They have good holding ground and plenty of space near. read more...

Serendipity - A Place In Our Hearts

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Stella-Maris - Täpsel üks kuu stardini! 59:26.58N 024:45.59E

Täpsel üks kuu stardini!Hetkel käivad tihedad ettevalmistused ja veel eile sai koostatud ToDo-list, kus oli täpselt 100 asja, mis on vaja teha, organiseerida, hankida, paigaldada või installeerida. Loodetavasti saab viie kuu pärast juba vabamalt võtta ehk vestlus kariibimere rannas või kõlada umbes nii:- It's windy today- No, it's Thursday- So am I! Let's have a beer!. read more...

Sialia

This passage on Sialia has been a great experience for a fresh water sailor from Vermont.Unlike my first offshore passage last spring, this one has been "hands on" at the helm instead of watching auto pilot direct the boat.Each crew member steers for their watch. The weather has been beautiful with multiple brilliant sunsets and sunrises.The moon has shone brightly every night so far, lighting our route across the water. My only regret is that my wife Carol couldn't make the passage.Since the rally started late, we will not be together on our anniversary.We'll have to celebrate when I return.  Jim In addition to our blog post, which I pasted in above, I thought I'd let you know that we have had a LOT of wind over the past 12-18 hours.Its been steady in the 20 plus range with many. read more...

Irena - Dan 10

Srecali ribisko ladjo, ki se je zelo cudno obnasala. Najprej sla s polno hitrostjo proti nam, nakar je obrnila za 90 stopinj, pa sla naprej, pa spet za 90 stopinj, trobila in nato obstala. Cez 5 minut smo opazili 10 metrov od nas kita, ki je plaval proti jugu, v smeri kjer se je gibala ribiska ladja. Malo sem preklical kolege iz drugih bark, vendar nihce ni nic vec vedel kot mi. Upajmo, da nisi bili lovci na kite. Drugace pa cez dan jadranje v polkrme z SW direktno proti Horti. Milje kar izginjajo in sedaj imamo se 656 milj do Horte na Azorih. Proti jutru je zacelo rositi in tudi zracni pritisk je padel na 1023, vendar se je tu ustalil in pricakujem, da se bo zacel dvigovati. Verjetno bo za tem zapihal NW veter. Bomo videli.. read more...

A Lady - LOG DAY 21

FRIDAY  24th  MAY 2012   Its early now on this Friday morning as we learn of the death of our sailing buddy and skipper of " Starry Night "  an oyster 82, may he rest in peace,  The sun is shining and the rest of the crew are in their scratchers , exhausted from a long night of doing nothing, just sitting in the cockpit and watching the stars go bye,We have just 100 miles to Fraial in the Azores , so we should reach there by midnight at the latest tonight, and, AND , and , we are still flipping motoring,  little or no wind , well not enough to move this 35 tonboat through the water,   Yesterday , THURSDAY 23rd , was uneventfull , everyone seems to be tired, ( could have a lot to do with age ! )so naps all day , you know something, looking back on. read more...

Marlin - MARLIN - 01 Start April 2011

Hallo zämeUrsprünglich hatten wir den Plan mit der ARC 2011 über die Atlantik zu segeln, doch ein schönes Ereignis hat uns die Pläne durchkreuzt. So entschieden wir während der Schwangerschaft im Hafen von Las Palmas zu bleiben und die Geburt abzuwarten. Unser Sohn Leo Mao erblickte die Welt am 23.04.2012 in Las Palmas. So haben wir für die Atlantiküberquerung 2012 ein Mann mehr an Bord :-) Mit 7 Monaten wird er in November 2012 wohl der jüngste Segler im Team sein ...Abgesehen vom Skipper Werner, seiner Lebenspartnerin Aneta, die Tochter Amanda und der Sohn Leo Mao werden für die Atlantiküberquerung an Bord Michael, Florian und Raphael sein. Reine Schweizer-Crew :-)Kurz zur unserer Segelreise: Wir sind eine Schweizer-Familie die April 2011 in Sardinien gestartet ist und sich einen. read more...

Sapphire II - 14 July, Nearing the End

Happy Bastille day to our French friends!Now as we near Port Vila, Vanuatu, departures from the family of the World ARC are beginning. These are the boats who wanted to spend time in the Antipodes. Two boats departed today for New Caledonia. We had a nice celebration of their contributions to the Rally a few nights ago, But they will be missed from the fleet.Two more boats (us included) will leave in Port Vila on the 19th, in order to head for New Zealand later this year when the weather is more favorable. It's sad to part from friends which have become more established recently.We will wish only the best for the fleet continuing their circumnavigation. We will also remember friendships made and good times enjoyed. But it won't be easy to part from friends who've shared the experiences. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - log 5.1.09

Monday 5th January 2009 VEERING WINDS Quasar V appears to be creating a snake like pattern as she meanders up the rhumb line.  By 4.00am this morning we have gone north of the rhumb line, which is our preferred position but throughout the night the wind slowly but surely veered around to a south westerly (from the south east).  Mmmmm, I'm sure I read somewhere that the south atlantic 'south easterly' trade winds are the most consistent trade winds in the world!!  So far we've had NNW, NW, WSW, SW, and SE and it's only day 3! Anyway, it is our preference to just stay north of the rhumb line but in order to steer a more direct course to St Helena, the Twistle rig had to go and now we have a full main and yankee up and Quasar V is broad reaching at a comfortably steady pace; yawing a little. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Saturday, 26th February 2011  Another beautiful morning, we still have an adverse current of 1.5 knots, and a tolerable sea.  08.00hrs Distance traveled 143miles in 22 hours, poor enough, but the wind is on the nose.09.00hrs Joe from Brown-Eyed Girl did the radio call, there are seven fleet boats doing this trip with us, or us with them...  Gosh, the Galley still smells of last nights Bangers and Mash, despite all the scrubbing and cleaning. We spent the day looking at the fishing rod, taking naps, nibbling food and having cups of Twining's Tea and whats more it is just lovely tea, and can be purchased in most countries.  We were over 20 miles off the coast all day, so really never saw the coast line, but we passed plenty of oil rigs, and fishing boats. We motor. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 246 - Off to Recife

26 February 2011Because the breeze comes up here very early in the day this time we got up at 5am to lower the genoa and replace the halyard. It was our last opportunity before leaving. A good job we did too for in several places it was almost worn through David is certain the chafe was caused by the constant flapping of the sail in the light winds of our South Atlantic crossing. We were all ready to leave by 9am. We needed to get back down the river with the tide. Unfortunately the grib files have been showing winds coming from the north east, right where we are headed. Nothing for it but to get up and go, we need to get there for our rally rendezvous by Monday 28th. Our 6 hours of flood tide took us to the Santo Antonio lighthouse which guards the entrance of the Baie de Todos os. read more...

Wind Dancer - LOG 28: Dancer v Volcano v Nambas

Our first stop in the New Hebrides was the south island of Tanna. This is by far the most removed society we have visited on this trip. With Mt Yasur in their backyard, they are a great community of people in Port Resolution. They are so welcoming and allow visitors to explore every area of their village. We were most excited about taking the truck ride up to the volcano at sunset to see the spouting lava. There aren't words.After a quick visit to this island, we have moved north to Pt Vila on the island of Efate where we will stay for the next few days. In the future; island tours, WWII wreck dives, but no kava!!Wind Dancer Crew. read more...

Just Nuts! - arrives in Funchal

Just Nuts! arrived in Funchal on the 31/08/2012 at 03.00 hrs after a five day passage down from Oeiras (pronounced "Oh Irish" ).  Wind direction varied between NW and NE with strengths of F1 to F5 making for an easy passage. Arriving off Maderia you can still smell the scorched earth after the recent fires that have ravaged large parts of the island. Nileo from the wine shop in the market (well worth a visit for vintage years) sent us this photo taken from outside his home. A word to the wise on Funchal, recent works on the foreshore have limited the anchoring area outside the marina, a series of unlit special marks have been placed on or about the 5m contour. There is some space at the minute on the wall in the marina but beware of the night watchman's dog if you have animals. read more...

Hanami II - Enfin il arriva, comme Zorro mais sans le cheval et sans le grand chapeau

Jeudi 24 mai;     21:36 UTC    18:36 local 37 21.7 N 42 41.6 W Cap 90 M Vitesse 6N   Enfin nous avons du vent, entre 8 et 10N, par l'arriere donc pas suffisant pour couper le moteur mais qui nous fait avancer plus vite et nous avons gagne entre 1 et 2 noeuds de vitesse avec uniquement le Genaker deploye a babord. Normalement, si les previsions de Pierre et de Chris sont justes, le vent devrait monter dans la nuit, rester comme cela quelques temps puis faiblir et ensuite, le 25 au soir ou le 26 repartir du NW avec 20N au moins ce qui serait bien pour nous pousser vers Horta. Si ce senario se realise, nous devrions y etre mercredi matin, apre 13 jours de navigation.   Au classement de ce matin nous avons perdu des places en passant de la 19eme a. read more...

Cleone - Leg 22 Day 2 - 20000 Miles and just Settling In

The GPS tells me we've just done 20,000 miles since leaving St Lucia. So a beer (actually two) at lunch time was well merited!  But if you add to that the 5344 miles that we did in order to get to Gibraltar, it means that Cleone and the Skipper sailed 25,000 miles last year (an average of nearly sixty eight and a half miles a day).  This is probably more than Cleone sailed in her twenty four years since she became Cleone, and for the Skipper it's by far and away the biggest distance he has sailed in any one (or two or three or five) years so far.   However, a short note on Larry Taylor, formerly Bosun of the Royal Engineer Yacht Club, puts this in perspective.  Big Larry left the Army and set off from England on his own in his 31' yacht Suli at about the same time as Cleone in 2007. . read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Log for 4.1.09

Sunday 4th January 2009 TWISTLING WITH THE TRADES During the night and early morning the winds continued to back to the south.  However, we crept along on a course of 295 degrees, putting more west in our course to maintain the boat speed, allowing the wind to get no further behind us than 120 degrees off our port bow.  This resulted in us being quite a way south/west of the rhumb line (the direct line between Cape Town and St Helena) but we agreed to rig the noble and untiring Twistle Rig at first light. And indeed we did.  With 2 poled out headsails we could alter our course to 315 degrees, allowing the wind to nudge us along from astern.  Delightful, delightful, delightful, no other words for it really.  You see, Quasar V has had a love affair with her reliable Twistle rig for many. read more...

Wind Dancer - LOG 27: Bula and Moce

Fiji went by in a flash. We had a great sail over from Tonga with the crew of Ensemble on board, and quickly (well on Fiji time) cleared into the port of Lautoka on the northeast side of Viti Levu. We turned south to join some other World ARC boats down at Port Denarau Marina where we were able to meet up with some friends we had not seen since Papeete. A definite highlight from this stop was going into Nadi and checking out the local market. The fusion of Fijian and Indian culture is such a sight to see and a great mélange of cultures. Plus we have never seen so much Bok Choy in one pile! The greatest aspect of the market is how friendly the people are. You are never far away from a Bula, the local vernacular for hello.Our next move was over to Musket Cove about ten nm west of. read more...

Mad Fish - Ready to go (Almost)

We are currently moored on the visitor pontoons on the Hambe river. Our cars were sold last weekend so we have no ties to Marchwood anymore. Except that we are sneaking back on Wednesday afternoon for racing and a beer or two. Destys are visiting us on Thursday to do some GRP work. Then sunday off to Lymington so Ropewalk can sort the tacho on the engine on Monday. Then we need the weather to be on our side to plan a Biscay crossing.. read more...

First Edition lll - The Dinner Menu for This Evening

1528 UTC May 24 Inspired by boasts from s/v Wild Goose earlier today on the net, First Edition III will be serving: Fresh caught black fin tuna, gently marinated in a blend of tamari & wasabi encrusted with edamame and pan seared in virgin olive oil. Vegetable medley with basmati rice finished with uva plum vinegar & capersSushi available as an appetizer.. read more...

Crazy Horse - Feb 26

Crazy Horse, Jeannius, Chessie, and OJ are all here stationed off the island of Sao Paulo. We are all having such a wonderful time here meeting the friendly people, watching all the action on the beautiful beaches, and generally having a relaxing time. Of course, Bill has been working on the boat but has managed to take a day and walk around the resort part of the island with us and have some wonderful Brazilian food. Mike on Jeannius has been working hard on his boat to maintain and clean some of the systems as well. I just wish that the rest of the fleet had come here to experience this island, these people, and rejuvenate themselves here before embarking on the rest of their journey.Yesterday we went over to the cliff where they have the mineral mud that one rolls in or rubs all over. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Friday, 25th February 2011   (Election Day in Ireland)  06.00hrs We woke up to all the people cheering and playing ashore. Boy! their day starts early here when its nice and cool, and again, all the fishermen are busy on the river doing their thing.  Today, we leave Salvador and head NNE to Recife, a total distance from where we are now of approx 400 miles. We lifted the RIB up onto the derricks and strap it down tightly. We had a light breakfast and stored all movable objects before hauling the anchor about 09.00hrs. The 3 other boats had already left. The river was flat calm with little or no wind, so we motored off down the 10 miles of green tree lined hills on both sides of the river to Bahia Bay. Ohhh! It is so peaceful and beautiful. read more...

Anastasia - Gift giving and farewell to Serendipity and the Galahs

Yesterday we had a traditional welcome ceremony and gift exchange with the local villagers.  The festivities were preceded by some dancing and speech making and followed by a feast prepared by all the local families.Dancing at the welcome ceremony AFB Every crew member got a hat to wear and a coconut to drink AFC The crews of Serendipity and Glamorous Galah, who sadly leave us today, bound for New Caledonia and Australia AFD The stack of goodies for the World ARC fleet. The green palm baskets are full of fruit and vegetables AFE It rained in Vanuatu for the first time this morning.  Andrea got this picture of the boats under the rainbow AFE B00. read more...

Endo 2 - daily log 24.5.

Hurra, wir haben unser Vergfest gefeiert - einige sind zwar fast schon auf den Azoren, doch was soll's. Rechtzeitig zum Sonnenuntergang am 23. war es soweit und wir konnten anstossen. Ein schönes Gefühl und dann in der Nacht hatten wir endlich wieder Wind und so können wir der Maschine endlich wieder eine Pause gönnen. Heute war der Himmel den ganzen Tag bedeckt - aber dafür war der Wind da und dass freut uns natürlich. So reisen wir mit 6-7 kn Horta entgegen und hoffen, der Wind bleibt uns erhalten - allen Prognosen zum Trotz.Bin gespannt wann wir in Horta ankommen und ob der Rest der Mannschaft uns einen Platz freihält.tschüs Udo und Heike. read more...

La Boheme - Great start

We had an excellent weather for the start from Cape Town. As we were heading to sea, the beautiful backdrop of Table Mountains was clearly visible for quite some time. We decided to take it easy and just enjoy sailing in close to perfect conditions.This morning, we decided to try our new spinnaker and after some minor problems (loosing spinnaker sock pull down rope)which required Greg climbing mast in the middle of Atlantic, we are doing 7 knots in a 12 knot breeze.All is well on board.Anna, Greg and Ben. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 245 - The pub with no beer.....

24 February 2011We were up bright and early. We had hoped for absolute calm to take down the genoa and replace the chafed halyard that attached it to the top of the furler but even by 7am a breeze was blowing. Instead I busied myself doing laundry, housework, while David lifted the tender up into the davits, took down the poles and generally prepared Voyageur for sea. We had arranged a shoreside rendezvous with Irene and Dick, Jenny and John to have another wander around the town and lunch somewhere, someplace. By 9am it was so hot I had to take another shower. Dick taxied us all ashore and off we went to locate the cemetery of all places which we could see from its position high on the hill overlooking the anchorage. However thirst got the better of us and passing the first bar we came. read more...

Sapphire II - 13 July, Vanuatu

After a speedy but uncomfortable passage from Fiji (25 kt winds and confused seas) we arrived at the island of Tanna in Vanuatu (formerly New Hebrides) on 10th July. After the turbulent sea, it was nice to be in the mildly rolly anchorage of Port Resolution.Tanna I think has probably fulfilled most people's expectations of what to expect in an undeveloped Pacific island. We visited a village near to the anchorage with some 300 inhabitants, of whom 120 were kids under the age of 10. The people are very welcoming and appear very contented with their life. The village has closely spaced huts with frond roofs, sand paths and pigs, chickens and dogs roaming at will. Everybody smiles and waves; many speak English and French (both countries shared ruling here) and we even managed to buy bread. read more...

Ninfea - Ninfea

Nine Days Today was a day of total relax. The wind left us yesterday and till now (4.30 pm)  has not come back. It is not the kind of calm we experienced on the way to St. Lucia on our western crossing. We have just  enough breeze to keep the sails up, but not enough to go at any acceptable speed. So we keep the motor on and achieve a decent speed. In the meantime we brace ourselves for the next depression due to arrive some time tomorrow, with winds in the 20 to 30 kn. Luckily, the direction is favorable and we believe we can ride this depression right into Horta. But we also know that the depression will be accompanied by squalls. This is the Atlantic at these latitude. Plenty of variety and challenges. Not the smooth, easy ride we experienced coming west. But this is. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 22 Day 1 - Farewell, Cape Town

It was wild, it was ugly but we made it. Cape Town and its surrounds must be one of the most beautiful places in the world.  Taking advantage of the quiet (most of the World ARC boats were sparsely attended, with crews already departed home for Christmas or touring around the sights of the Cape), Marcel went off surfing and the Skipper managed to hire a car and take in some of the local sights.  These included the magnificence of Table Mountain, with what must be one of the greatest views anywhere in the world, and a trip to Simon's Town and the Cape of Good Hope National Park.  Then it was onto the great Gozome Bird (courtesy of Sir R Branson), and back home for a strenuous and very hectic family Christmas. All too soon, it was back onto the crowded Virgin Atlantic Airbus for the long. read more...

Kasuje - Cape- Bahia. We are in a race. 4th January 2009

Hi from Skipper SteveWe are off again on the long passage from Cape Town to Salvador in Brazil, a distance of approximately 3600nm with a single possible stop at St Helena in the middle of the South Atlantic. Conditions are predicted to be mild, at least for the next few days, and so far just 24hrs into the passage, we have had near perfect winds and seas with a steady 12 -15 knot blow from the south east and 1-2 metre swells. Quite a difference from the hammering we encountered crossing the Indian Ocean. We are part of the annual Cape to Bahia ocean race, sponsored by Heineken and although, we obviously, are not designed or set to race, the competitive spirit kicks in and will help us sail Kasuje to her optimum, keeping her in trim etc. It also prevents us from becoming complacent. I am. read more...

Serendipity - Civilization as we know it

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Kinship - Day 8

It is day 8, and after 2200 miles under our keel since Tortola, we've only motored 11 hours since weighing anchor in Bermuda some 1300+ miles ago. After some brisk sailing the first few days, we have now reached the longitude of the Azores High, where we've been tiptoeing across with variable winds with our full complement of sails--double headsails (Staysail poled to windward) and full mainsail. Andy has boundless energy, and his creati e sail combinations have made Kinship happy to romp along. So far, our strategy of staying north has been to our advantage, althought with these cold nights, we have needed fleece, wolly watch caps and down comforters. At one point we were only 60 miles from the ice line on the chart. And although the charts shows reported icebergs in our path, we were. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World (Presently in Brazil)

Thursday, 24th February 2011 06.00 It seems the whole of the Village are out playing games and jogging out the long pier that stretches about a quarter of a mile into this huge tidal river. Skipper had his early morning swim for some exercise. Ohhh, it is soooo refreshing, and warm as well, and NO crocodiles, actually, there are no mosquitos either, we find this amazing as the river is lined with Mangroves which would normally be crawling with the things,  and no seagulls, but plenty of Buzzards floating high up there in the sky. The early morning temperature is also lovely, a nice 24 C. Skipper would be happy to sit here and soak this up for ever, but the "first mate" has itchy feet and wants to go and visit a town miles away up another tributary, so. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 244 - Up a lazy river....

23 February 2011We slipped our mooring lines and went directly over to the fuel pontoon, in this case a floating barge. In spite of the last long windless passage we were pleasantly surprised that we still had over half a tank full of diesel. As we made our way down the north coast of the island of Itaparica the heavens opened, Tucanon and Tzigane were following in our wake. This was not a sail however for against the tide we could only manage a measly 1.8knots and we had 30nm to go. We made water to top up the tank as we drifted along and then fired up the engine. Twenty nautical miles took us to the mouth of the Rio Paraguacu, then, as we picked up speed with the turn of the tide we sped up the remaining 10nm to the town of Marigojipe. It was the prettiest trip. Wooded hills graced its. read more...

Glamorous Galah - Farewell to the Rally

We have formally left the World ARC fleet as we are heading for Noumea tommorrow. It was a great send off last night. Bernie has taken over as skipper and Nathan has left on Sapphire enroute for oz. Ted. read more...

Freedom Found - Log Day 1 - Wednesday - Depart Bermuda at last

Being only a week behind we expect to catch the fleet shortly as were now fitted with a retro rocket stay sail to help in this respect. However, we are thinking of asking control for a new category of Tortoise class! as we feel we can really achieve at that level.Finally departed St Georges Bermuda at 13:09 on Wednesday to be greeted with light winds which dropped overnight. Another exotic meal from our head chef - spicy meat balls went down well after stressful morning getting into customs. Seems freedom Found was not granted same privileges as rest of fleet. Crossing with several other boats will make coms laterGrant, Mark, Marisa & Jorge. read more...

Cleone - CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

To you all,   This is just to wish you a very happy Christmas, and to say thank you forall that you've done for me and Cleone during the last year.   It's been a wonderful time.   I'll be back on 30 Dec   Best regards to you all, James and family Cleone in Cape Town. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 243 - Getting ready to go ......

21 February 2011We handed in the ships papers to Ramon, the WARC agent, with a view to leaving Salvador for the final time tomorrow. This saved David a morning's effort traipsing around the city to the various departments. We took a taxi to en enormous cash and carry warehouse with the intention of provisioning all the way to Grenada. For once we seemed to get more for our money but the fact that the exchange rate has improved would also have something to do with it. We enjoyed a last evening meal at an Italian restaurant in the Pelourinho district. Strolling back to the main square to hail a taxi we heard music and followed its course. It led us to a live open air concert packed with local people of all ages dancing to the music. We stayed to the end returning to the marina by taxi. It. read more...

Sookie - Leg 2 Day 8 23rd May The lull is coming

The wind dropped to about 10 kts early this morning but due to our sailing angle we still managed to cover good ground.  Our batteries were in need of a boost and hot water was required for showering so we ran the engine up without propulsion for a couple of hours.  But as the day progressed our wind angle and strength also changed for the worse leaving us with 5kts of wind with variable direction.  This has now caused us to have to use our engine for propulsion and our previous use for charging could have been done at this same time.  Hey ho the "iron sail" is now fired up.  The forecast is for the weather to not change very much over the final few hundred miles.  Therefore we will probably and reluctantly have to rely on the engine more than not.  On. read more...

BRIZO - 13 July 2012

Today will likely be our last full day at Port Resolution on the island of Tanna, we expect to depart for Port Vila early tomorrow morning. Yesterday we participated in the formal exchange of gifts between the World ARC fleet and the residents of Port Resolution. The leaders of the village made short speeches welcoming us to their community and expressed their gratitude for our gifts. There was quite a collection of spare household and boating items donated by the fleet and it was interesting to watch the village leadership determine how the items were to be distributed among the residents. As a gesture of their appreciation the village prepared a feast for us and we dined on a wide array of local dishes, most of which were delicious, some merely interesting. Today's main activity for us. read more...

Cleone - Arrival in Cape Town

Cleone arrived in Cape Town at 7am local time, 0500 UK time.   The rest of the cruise was a wonderful cruise down and up the coast ofSouth Africa.  We had not many miles to go, and did not particularly relisharriving in Cape Town in darkness, so we ignored the engine and sailed. Pretty soon, we were racing up the West Coast at seven knots, and before we knewwhere we were, it was dawn (one of the best I've seen) and we were oppositeSimon's Bay.  But the wind had not finished.  One minute, it was flatcalm, the next a few knots from the North West, and then it was blowing a gale(literally) from the East.  But our friends from Quasar V had arrived sixor seven hours before us, and they were waiting on the quay to take ourlines.  We've crossed from the. read more...

Aniara II - Aniara May 24

24 May Last evening we ended up in the middle of a high pressure with absolutely no wind at all. We have gone by motor for almost 7 hours during the night. We are now back in business and are sailing again.  There has been a wind shift and we now have the wind from SSE and our heading is 90 degrees, directly towards Horta. There is less than 500 NM to our finishing line and we are more and more sure we will be in Horta on Sunday afternoon. This morning we all got the allowance to use some of the fresh water to wash our hair, so all our rastafari hairstyles from yesterday are now gone.  If you are interested will we get scrambled eggs and bacon for lunch. Sunny out here, temperature 25 degrees in the air and 16 degrees in the sea (Burr!).. read more...

Ariane - Unglaubliche Begegnung

Unglaubliche Begegnung!Liebe SegelfreundeEinen Tag vor unserer Abfahrt in Salvador nach Recife läuft eine Oceanis 411 ein. Ich beobachte sie, weil einige Details mir sehr bekannt vorkommen. Auf der Backbordseite wird die spanische Flagge geführt. Mein Verdacht bestätigt sich nach dem Gespräch mit den Besitzern, einem jungen Ehepaar aus Valencia. Es handelt sich tatsächlich um meine ehemalige ARIANE, die nun zur Moskito umgetauft wurde. Die neuen Besitzer sind damit über den Atlantik gesegelt und haben gleich Südamerika angesteuert. Sie wollen ebenfalls in die Karibik und dann durch den Panamakanal rund um die Welt! Das ist doch unglaublich: Man hat sich nie in Spanien getroffen, aber in Salvador! Und das zufällig zur gleichen Zeit. Sie haben übrigens das Boot wegen des guten Zustandes. read more...

Cleone - En Route to Cape Town - Southernmost Point

We've lost the wind, but are making good progress under engine. We kept the spinnaker up, rolling along at seven knots or so, until the breeze freshened in the late afternoon, and a big lurch caused the skipper to lose his nerve.  It's always exciting getting the spinnaker down, particularly when you are short-handed and, as usual, you've left it a bit late.  But Marcel managed it without even dipping a clew into the sea, and soon it was safely inside its bag and we were - still rolling - once more under control.  During the night, the wind gradually eased, and at about four am (0200 UK time) the engine was back on again.  As I write, we are just approaching Cape Agulhas in a flat calm.  In the light of a dull slightly misty early morning, it looks unimprssive.  But this is the. read more...

Talulah Ruby II - We arrived in Cape Town last week

We arrived in Cape Town last week ,after a stress free passage down fromDurban. We had wonderful views of Table Mountain in sunshine, and havehad a great welcome from the Royal Cape Yacht Club, which is our homefor the next 5 weeks. We are trying to get all the maintenance jobs donewell before Xmas, new sails, and generator mended. There is a generalbuzz as 40 boats are due to take part in the Heineken Cape to Bahia raceon Jan.3rd. we have 2 or 3 new crew joining us for this. Paul andI(Andy) have just flown up to Johannesburg to the Phinda Game reserve,where we were treated to 5 star hospitality and managed to see the big 5plus many more animals. What a fantastic trip, one wewould reallyrecommend. Pat and Jeff fly home this week and Michelle Tila and the 4Grandkids arrive to spend Xmas. read more...

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