can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

Daily Logs

Filter by..
Search


26/11/2019

Zaurak - Zaurak's Bimbling Blog

Zaurak's Bimbling BlogWe are feeling very smug today.This morning included a four hour stint in the saloon with the carpets peeled back, floor boards piled high and the skipper and crew members lying on tummies with arms reaching into the abyss. The sailors-cum-plumbers were surrounded by all available tools and spares trying to work out why the 450 litre starboard tank was reading empty. How much tea can we possibly have drunk? Claire revealed a potential career in endoscopic research as she used the endoscopic camera through the fresh water pipes to find any blockage. Pete put his trust in various pipes when asked to suck the water through and hoped he didn't get a face full. Eventually, after four hours of eliminating possible causes and solutions, a new pipe was fitted, the taps ran. read more...


26/11/2019

Challenger 1 - TS crew Blog Challenger 1 26/11

When asked to write today’s blog, my fellow watchleader said “We got up, crossed the starting line, and got into watches”. Those of you who know me now smile, since you know this would never do for me on a day like today.Maybe a bit surprisingly, or maybe not at all, there were quite a number of people who got up early to grab a last shower on land, knowing we won’t be feeling this clean again until we get to the other side. After a briefing from the Skipper, we slipped lines and lined up on the side for more photos – and it was rather touching to see and hear with how much emotions our four Gran Canarian were sent off. Again, many of us spent a good bit of the motor to the starting line on the phone – again aware of how long it would be until we get to exchange messages again with our. read more...


26/11/2019

Challenger 1 - Crew Blog Challenger 1 25/11

We left the marina at 10:00. It was quite an emotional moment because lots of people were there cheering an applauding the team. We set sail from the harbour in Gran Canaria at about 12:15 together with about 200 other boats, it was a pleasant sight even for us on the boat. Our first watch system began 13:00 for six hours and then the night watch rotates every four hours. It was very challenging at first especially because we were not used to that but we managed to adapt quickly. The meal we quite tasty since everyone contributed to the preparation. I (Neil) set a fishing line out but I am not successful up to this time. The next day at 12:00 noon the skipper (Gary) gave us a little briefing an applauded the team for the good work over the time gone. Life has continued and it is quite. read more...


26/11/2019

Sweet Dream - Monday November 25, 2019

Lars and Nancy took the car to Enseleni wildlifepark and walked with the zebras. I tidied up the anchor locker, found a slipped cotter pin onthe stay sail stay, Captain tightened it up. Captain Kirk came by and we finally got our AIS toreboot and stop being stuck on silent mode. Still no hope for the lack of radar, and with company here needed constant stimulation and entertainment, no time to work on the radar dome. Quiet evening on the boat.image1.. read more...


Sweet Dream - Monday November 25, 2019
Sweet Dream - Monday November 25, 2019
26/11/2019

Nizuc - blog 12 Nizuk

BLOG 12 – So Long, and Thanks for all the FishMonday night.There are over 100 common dolphins cavorting around our bows; many coming clear of the water. They’re not quite as good as Flipper, but who is? Their balletic leaps, some twisting, some flipping, are such a joy to behold. Video couldn’t capture such exquisite displays, but we tried, and focussed on deciphering their message, but without any luck – Douglas Adams was on to something.Chef is making some chicken, so we are down to half a flock. We have swapped our ‘jib’ for the twin headsail. The wind is 10 knots, and the sea is the lightest it has been on the trip.Now, we are helming to country songs – John Denver is on, and each of the crew has a tear in his eye (or maybe it’s just me).Tuesday morning.The chicken dish was Thai. read more...


26/11/2019

Sweet Dream - Sunday November 24, 2019

Thula Thula.... I, Laura had been sold a package that consisted of driving up on the highway in the rental car meeting a safari vehicle to take us to a village to meet the Sangoma then viewing some elephants and finishing off with a gourmet lunch at The Thula Thula Lodge.Wellllllll...we drove awhile on the highway, then went off-road on the most potholed miserable excuse for a “road” anybody could experience in a silly little toy rental car. Mike from Chao Lay kept joking about the “car jacking” scenario ahead. Sure enough....we were diverted by a water truck telling us to avoid the mud (the mud WAS impressive!) so when we took the turn advised by the water truck driver there were men with machetes in the road ahead. Oy Vey! They were just local guys going to work in the cane. read more...


Sweet Dream - Sunday November 24, 2019
Sweet Dream - Sunday November 24, 2019
26/11/2019

Salamander - Day 3 sailing south

Day 3sailing south Dear Salamander Nation, Today skies are blue with a few puffy clouds and the temperatures are a few degrees warmer. Winds, however, are in the 7-10 knot range - not much for a boat of Salamander?s tonnage.We hope to find stronger winds as we move toward--Transmitted using YB Connect (www.ybtracking.com). read more...


26/11/2019

Cadences - Alleine auf dem Atlantik? // Lonesome lost in paradise?

Seit nun schon fast zwei Tagen sind wir ganz alleine unterwegs ... das letzte (ARC-) Schiff, das wir gesehen haben, war die "Flying Dolphin", ein ca. 55 Fuß langer, wunderschöner klassischer Zweimaster aus Southampton. Zum Sonnenuntergang haben wir uns auf ca. eine halbe Seemeile angenähert, gegenseitig ein paar Fotos geschossen und über Funk gute Wünsche ausgetauscht, bevor wir uns mit ca. 30-40° Kursabweichung auseinander bewegten. Seitdem: Ruhe sowohl auf dem AIS wie auch auf dem UKW-Funkgerät. Die Wellen des Atlantik schieben uns sachte Richtung Westen, und wenn wir nicht einmal täglich mittags die Positionsmeldungen aller 90 Schiffe über email zugestellt bekämen, würde man denken, der Ozean gehört uns völlig alleine. Das Feld scheint sich ganz schön weit auseinanderzuziehen, die. read more...


26/11/2019

Cross Ocean - 26/11 - presents day three

“First log: On our crossing we have three presents given at three different times. Today was time for the first one!”Thank you!Best regards Malin and Kaj ( Boat Cross Ocean, NR 207) image1. read more...


Cross Ocean - 26/11 - presents day three
Cross Ocean - 26/11 - presents day three
26/11/2019

Saoirse - The SAOIRSE Diaries -13- We shell have a Fishy

Day 3 at sea, I awoke, thanks to Óisin shortly before dawn and headed up to Wolf in the cockpit, handed the baby off to him and went back down to make some coffee.No sooner had I the coffee poured and I heard the shout go up......Dolphins!!!!Dolphins just make your soul rejoice don’t they?They are such joyful creatures, you can’t help but be present in the moment when you see them, when there is nothing more important in the world than watching them play.I rushed up to see Óisin jumping up and down and rocking from side to side as babies do when they are excited.His whole body displaying the joyful energy that dolphins inject into all of us.His eyes wide in his head, his little mouth open and tiny finger pointing, ooh, ooh, ooh, he says, fishy,oh wow!!!Absolutely mesmerised by the show. read more...


Saoirse - The SAOIRSE Diaries -13- We shell have a Fishy
Saoirse - The SAOIRSE Diaries -13- We shell have a Fishy
26/11/2019

Albatros - Albatros - DAY 2 - Miss Delaware and her Crew

Am Sonntag wurden wir mit unserem Zuhause (Albatros, zugelassen auf den Staat Delaware) beim Ausfahren von unzähligen Zuschauern und Musik begleitet. Dank der Navigation unseres Co-Skippers Nic hatten wir einen On-Time Start und schafften durch gute Winde teilweise über 13 Knoten Speed. Während unserer ersten aufregenden Nacht konnten sich alle langsam an den Rhythmus gewöhnen. Zudem mussten wir nachts direkt das erste Mal shiften (inkl. Genoa-Pole; ein Manöver von ca. 40min). Bis jetzt geht es allen, nebst ein paar kleinen Anzeichen von Seekrankhei,t gesundheitlich sehr gut. Markus spendete seinen stylischen Cargo-Hut an Neptun, dadurch hatten wir schon in den ersten 36h einen Fisch an der Angel. Alkohol für die Betäubung des Fisches, Fischhaken und Wasabi waren schon bereit. Leider. read more...


26/11/2019

Oarsome Dream - log 26th Nov - sun sun sun

Hello from the good ship Oarsome Dream!We’re now 48 hours into the big adventure and settling down to the watch system and life at sea. A little sea sickness has been overcome and today we had lunch in the cockpit under the shade of the Bimini - it’s getting hot quickly on this southerly course we are doing!We had an epic start on Sunday lunchtime and scorched off along the east side of Gran Canaria, enjoying the edge of the wind acceleration zone for quite a while especially when we over took our friends on Rocket Dog II. The winds have been a bit lighter since then but we are still making steady progress. We were really excited to find ourselves 5th in class come the first morning and 3rd at the time of writing. Long way to go though....We’ve seen lots of ARC boats around us, currently. read more...


26/11/2019

Jua Kali - The Jua Kali Report - Day 2

Day two aboard Jua Kali started slow, painfully slow in fact as we found ourselves stuck in a wind hole seeing boats catching up and sailing around us!With a lot of concentration and effort from the helms and trimmers we managed to edge our way S/SE back into some decent pressure, although not so much as we had the night before.From there the game plan was to work further south into the promise of more breeze before attempting to put any west into our course again. It proved hard to keep faith with that plan when every other boat we encountered seemed to be headed due west though! We persevered however and did find some decent wind come evening.For the first night tonight we held a spinnaker all night which gave everyone some valuable experience and helped us catch up with and overtake. read more...


Jua Kali - The Jua Kali Report - Day 2
Jua Kali - The Jua Kali Report - Day 2
26/11/2019

Amari - With Deepest Sorrow

It is with the deepest sorrow that we heard this morning of a tragic event on one of the fleet boats. During the morning SSB net communications, it was relayed that a crew member of one of the vessels suffered a cardiac event. It is a shock unimaginable, and our hearts go out to this crew and their families.. read more...


26/11/2019

Celtic Star - Blog 2 Tuesday 26 Nov

Many people will know the opening lines of JohnMasefield's poem 'Sea Fever' "I must go down to the sea again, to the lonelysea and the sky, and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer herby,"But, probably fewer know the lines from the 2nd verse"And all I askis a windy day with the white clouds flying"However, I rather suspect thattoday, many boats in the ARC, will be wishing for just that.While its verypleasant to sit in a gentle swell with a cool breeze, it isn't doing us anyfavours for a fast passage.The only advantage we get is is summed up in thepoem's final stanza"And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long tick'sover."Ian Jenkinson, Celtic Star. read more...


26/11/2019

Next Step - Monday 25th November 2019

The wind gradually reduced during the night and the morning started off a bit dark and cloudy. The Watt & Sea our hydrogenator stopped working overnight which was a little unfortunate. However, we still managed to keep the batteries charged with the wind generator and solar panels. It has remained overcast for most of the day and the sea is a bit rolly but otherwise all is good. Not yet started fishing as we still have meat in the fridge that needs to be eaten first. Nicole prepared our supper of pasta and chicken in a white sauce which was really good. As the evening went on the wind tended to go light and variable, lets see what a new day brings!. read more...


25/11/2019

Mabetica - Amazing sailing with the gennaker

25.11.2019 - Leg 2/Day 5 - amazing sailing with the gennaker, now with butterfly into the sundown :). read more...


25/11/2019

Nizuc - Nizuc Blog11

BLOG 1 24/11/2019Are We Nearly There Yet?Not quite, but not it looks like we will make 160 miles by the end of the first day.Around 200 boats set off with a fine amount of horns blowing, and many people were out to wave off the fleet. It was a great atmosphere, and a fine, sunny day, with a slight breeze ensured we all set off without issue. We soon had the rest of the boats right where we wanted them – ten miles ahead of us. The tortoise always wins.After attending Stokey Woodall’s entertaining lecture on astronomy, earlier in the week, we were well up to the task of identifying the celestial lights to guide us across the pond. I don’t have comprehensive notes, but here goes: The first planet was easily recognised to be the sun; once that had set, stars polka-dotted the sky. The moon. read more...


25/11/2019

Saoirse - The SAOIRSE Diaries -12- A babtism of fire and a wounded Butterfly

We set off for the start line of the second leg of our Atlantic Crossing full of excitement and high expectations.We had been blown away by the performance of Saoirse and our butterfly on the leg down from Las Palmas and we were hoping to improve upon that on this next leg.We had visions of popping the butterfly just moments before the start gun and sailing off into the great blue yonder with this magnificent sight out in front of us.Things however did not quite go to plan. Do they ever? Moments before the gun we went as planned to pop the sail, but unfortunately pop she did not.It was jammed.Where is it jammed?Why isn’t it coming?Is it stuck on something? Nothing for it, I had to go forward to the bow to see what was going on, whereupon it became clear that it was twisted and the. read more...


Saoirse - The SAOIRSE Diaries -12- A baptism of fire and a wounded Butterfly
Saoirse - The SAOIRSE Diaries -12- A baptism of fire and a wounded Butterfly
Saoirse - The SAOIRSE Diaries -12- A baptism of fire and a wounded Butterfly
Saoirse - The SAOIRSE Diaries -12- A baptism of fire and a wounded Butterfly
Saoirse - The SAOIRSE Diaries -12- A baptism of fire and a wounded Butterfly
Saoirse - The SAOIRSE Diaries -12- A baptism of fire and a wounded Butterfly
25/11/2019

Salamander - Day 2 The first 24 hours

Day 2The first 24 hoursHello Salamander Nation,Salamander has traveled steadily south since the start.Overnight, the new crew members learned to sail Salamander in winds up to 34 knots and waves of 6 feet.We are sailing with the genoa and staysail poled out (Chris and Greg set the poles with some help from the rest of us).Watches started at 4 pm yesterday and will continue until St Lucia.We can?t call it a routine yet, but it is a good start.Today we sailed for hours near the tall ship Sea Cloud, which was flying a full set of square rigged sails. Just a few moments ago, we saw our first porpoises.They are swimming at our bow in the sunshine and jumping as we write. Thinking of all our family and friends on land,The crew of Salamander --Transmitted by Timothy Richards using YB Connect. read more...


25/11/2019

Little Island - 24 hours

Whilst very few of the boats in the cruising category are built to race ocean passages, it’s probably fair to say that the Moody 346 is close to the bottom of the preference rankings as you look around the dock. Of course we love our little boat, and for our very modest budget, we’re quite pleased. However, we can’t help but feel a little out of place when you line up next to some of the floating palaces departing Las Palmas. Nevertheless, although small, old and cheap; we wanted to make at least a small mark on the race. Given that we probably won’t be in contention for the prizes (sometimes we even wonder if we’ll make the finish on time!) the only place we can have a stab is at the start. Now, it’s not the most competitive start line and most sensible people hold back to reduce any. read more...


Amari - Pic for day4
Amari - Pic for day4
25/11/2019

Another Brick - 1st day

After a perfect start: on the line at the starting signal, we headed south towards the acceleration zone in increasing winds.After clearing the south end of the island with the wind unsteadily around 25 knots, we decided to drop the gennaker, but in the process we broached a couple of times.With gusts up to 30 kn, we continued with two reefs in the main. With a couple of hundred boats around on different courses, it was sometimes a little difficult, as very few seemed to respect the COLREGS rules, not wanting to give way. Soon, however, boats were more scarce as they spread across the ocean.During the night, the wind settled, and by morning we had only around 13 kn of wind. All in all not too bad a day, with 175nm on the clock.image1. read more...


Another Brick - 1st day
Another Brick - 1st day
25/11/2019

Life of Reilly III - Frying Fish

Most days at dawn we are greeted by a fresh harvest of flying fish. They are quite plentiful, which is remarkable given that they are obviously also stupid. Usually 2 to 4 per night. One vigorous fellow brained himself on the dodger framework - a good 10 feet above sea level. Another adventurous soul found his/her way into the cabin landing at the base of the companionway steps. Yet another, whacked Fred in the head as he sat at the helm one night. Fred got revenge by cleaning, gutting and frying the former flying fish and eating him and one of his brethren for breakfast. Very tasty.. read more...


25/11/2019

Challenger 1 - Staff blog - training day 2

Training Day 2IT’S amazing to see how quickly people, and particularly young people, Settle into a routine. Less than 24 hours into watches of four on, four off at night, Sixes during the day and I have yet to hear a “don’t want to get up, I am tired”. The odd “my watch was earlier, don’t wake me” just Shows how confused people are when you wake them after four hours of Sleep to Sit in the dark. Our twelve young crew member have already impressed me with how much interest, enthusiasm and initiative they Show, jumping at the chance of even Small jobs like doing the dishes and keeping the log. While this might Seem mundane and unimportant, it makes my job as a watch leader much easier, since I can then delegate and focus on other things like helming practice or sail hoists/drops. Even. read more...


25/11/2019

Challenger 1 - Crew blog - prep week

PrepFollowing after our training sail, we settled back into life on land and enjoyed being in the confines of the marina showers! That evening was the night of the fancy dress party, where we all clubbed together to attempt to buy and look like snow white and 15 dwarves. We have to give credit to our glamorous watch leader Alex for taking the lead role. Some say, we pulled it off – others not so much! Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The next day, we were fortunate enough to let off handheld flairs, watch a helicopter rescue scenario and jump in the pool for life rafting exercises. That afternoon, we were joined by the photographer for team photos and action shots which you’ve all probably seen by now! Followed by an afternoon of down time sitting in Sailor’s bar … Friday the. read more...


25/11/2019

Challenger 1 - Staff blog Challenger 1 prep week

The PrepI sit here at the end of 10 days of prep and training. My chart table is a swarm of receipts, boat parts of varied stats of repair and crossed “to do” lists. I’m never really sure what I’ve done by the end of a prep week. I’m always exhausted, I’m always ready to go to sea, but would struggle to make a list of all that had been happening. That said, it must have gone ok. My check lists are complete, my accounts balance and the remaining troubles fall into the “nice on passage job” category. Provisioning has been less of a challenge than normal. My colleagues on the trip down did a great job of packing the boat with dry and long life stores so all I really did was fresh and essentials:·         150KG of fresh fruit and. read more...


25/11/2019

Jua Kali - The Jua Kali Report - Day 1

The first 24 hours of Jua Kali's ARC2019 adventure have seen the team experience a range of different conditions and sail plans.Fairly happy with our start, we got our symmetric spinnaker up in reasonable time and proceeded to try and pull away from the rest of the fleet while chasing down our friends on Scarlet Oyster and EH01.After a couple of quick broaches in the acceleration zone (purely for educational purposes of course) we were well on our way with some surfs up to 15kts. These unfortunately did lose us a couple of fishing lures making the current count 2 lures lost to 0 fish caught, not a great ratio.After briefly experimenting with the A5 the decision was made to go through the night with no spinnaker while the crew got used to driving the boat in the dark.At first light this. read more...


Jua Kali - The Jua Kali Report - Day 1
Jua Kali - The Jua Kali Report - Day 1
25/11/2019

Sweet Dream - Saturday November 23, 2019

An easy day. I walked round to Tumi Gazi waterfront. Lars and Nancy went back to the bush. We had a simple Asian veg stir fry for supper, and I continued ploughing through the Elephant Whisperer. image1.. read more...


Sweet Dream - Saturday November 23, 2019
Sweet Dream - Saturday November 23, 2019
25/11/2019

Sweet Dream - Friday November 22, 2019

Lars’ sister, Nancy arrived this morning. After a quick cup of coffee they lost no time in zooming off for walkabout in Neseleni wildlife park. I began to read ‘The Elephant Whisperer’ in preparation for visiting a Thula Thula on Sunday. We took possession of a rental car in the afternoon and made a run to the shopping centre. Here we bought Captain some Keane hiking shoes, me a pair of sandals, Mosquito bracelets for the safari trio, and a few more snacks, along with plenty of WiFi access for all the phones. Supper was the Friday night bbq or brai, as the locals call it. We introduced Nancy to pap and sauce as a side dish...maize cooked and served with a rich tomato onion gravy on it. We hung out with Dave, Peter and Jo, had a lively discussion on the other world and turned in quite. read more...


Sweet Dream - Friday November 22, 2019
Sweet Dream - Friday November 22, 2019
25/11/2019

Amari - Day 4: Cockpit Gym

Day 4: The Cockpit GymWith 1609 miles to go, we are about a quarter of the way through now. All tasks have been done, winds are light, and the seas low. Now what?Dottie and I are both people who need to stay busy, so on this long passage with a sail plan that needs zero tending, being active can be challenging. There are only so many times I can go back to check on Pinky the Lure. “You okay back there baby? Catch me a fish now, you hear?!”So we have developed what amounts to a workout that can be done in the cockpit, overseen by cockpit manager Mojo the Camel (see pic as Mojo mugs for the camera).Of course there’s no way that any of us are going to want any others witnessing these little routines, so we do them on night watch. Perfect! Nights have been stunning by the way, with clear. read more...


25/11/2019

Zaurak - Zaurak's Bimbling Blog

Zaurak's Bimbling Blog24 hours in, 140nm behind us, some unfathomable four-digit number of nautical miles to go. Land is out of sight; the sea meets the horizon in all directions. Not long after the start line on Sunday, lined up excellently by tactician Claire, we drank afternoon tea and cake. This was in order as we started our Atlantic adventure on crew Caroline's birthday!Sunday to Monday was the first overnight watches for our three pairs. The density on the water last night is unlikely to be matched in the nights ahead. A line of red to our right, green to our left and stern lights ahead. I spent my watch following AIS points representing ARC boats on the chart gradually moving closer to each other, I then put my ear to the VHF radio, nosily waiting for the entertaining. read more...


25/11/2019

Celtic Star - Blog 1 Monday 25 Nov

 I had been told that onthe ARC you rarely see the other boats, because everyone sails in their ownlittle patch of the ocean. However, despite knowing this I was really surprisedto see how quickly this happened. Yesterday we had every boat jostling forspace in a quite small area at the start line; each within hailing distance ofmany, many, others. A few hours later we could only see 17, by midnight this hadreduced to 10 lights on the horizon, at dawn only 3. Its odd, that given weall start and finish in the same place, that everyone disappears so veryquickly. Ian Jenkinson, Celtic Star  Skipper adds: the best place for the spinnaker is in thegarage!  Up and flying despite every effort to refuse at everyhurdle!. read more...


25/11/2019

Next Step - Start Day

Day one of the ARC 2019, a busy morning was spent sorting out the remaining things that had to be done on the boat before we left the marina in Las Palmas. At 1130 we let go our mooring lines and carefully exited the marina past the spectators and band playing on the marina edge.After a bit of sailing around, the start sounded and we are off… we are a bit slow off the start line, but we have plenty of time to catch up. The wind has been great as we made our way down the island of Grand Canaria fairly rapidly. Nicole prepared sandwiches for lunch before we left and David had brought with him a shepherds pie for supper so no meal time preparation was needed. After the dishes had been washed up in the evening, we slotted back into our night watch system.. read more...


25/11/2019

Zan - What the point of a radio net?

The radio net on SSB radio runs twice each day , to share positions, technical problems ,report any emergencies and simply chat about the weather, sail plans and how many fish caught ( not many so far!) even share the odd joke! Its a virtual help line across the fleet for those who have SSB . We have around 17 boats participating on this leg.Today was a great example of why a net can be useful.Saphire 2 of London had a problem - they needed a replacement impeller for their generator , they asked the net if anyone had any spares? and in the absence of courier services out here even offered to collect ! Those who had generators quickly looked into their spares lists and boxes and offered support, hopefully it will be of help if not this time the next whether its a medical emergency,. read more...


Layla - Happy Captain 24 Nov 19
Layla - Happy Captain 24 Nov 19
Layla - On the ocean 24 Nov 19
Layla - On the ocean 24 Nov 19
24/11/2019

Layla - "That sail" 24 Nov 19

As you might have seen we are staying south, roughly the same direction as the humour on the boat is heading.The new watch system is going well with the sun rise shift voted as the best whilst the one before from 3am to 6am not seeming popular! (It’s dark when you come on… dark when you go off and you might be sleeping when breakfast is served) Fishing attempts have not been that successful – 2 fish snagged by H but lost it before he reeled them in, 1 wooden plank hooked with the loss of the tracer and lure… still we are going 7 1/2 knots and it is quite fast for a fish to hang onto the hook. The flying fish are sympathetic to our cause though and a small one was found on the galley floor this morning… how it made it there we can only imagine.Yesterday we tried to get the furling. read more...