Daily Logs

Caffè Latte - Nouvelles de Caffè Latte

Bonjour,Une belle nuit où on a pu dormir comme il faut. Nous avons de beaux vents et préparons à entrer dans le Gulf Stream. Tout va bien et il faut beau soleil.Yolène et JeanCaffè Latte. read more...

Endeavour of Cork - Ready for the off!

The last jobs have been ticked off the lists, the boat is as ready as it will ever be, the crew are suffering slightly nervous anticipation..... but we're ready and only dying to get off. One hour to the gun! The Oompah Band is in full swing piping all the boats out (I wish I could post videos!!) and crowds of spectators are all around to see us off.This is exciting!!!!!! Until the next update from somewhere in the Atlantic.... Endeavour over and out!. read more...

Dolphin Star - FINAL TUNING BEFORE DEPARTURE TO CAP VERDE (05.11.2016)

Dolphin Star has been carefully pampered and is now ready for the big show. Captain Kari takes the ultimate notes at the skippers briefing and the crew organise the lastprovisioning of fresh food. Dolphin Star012 018. read more...

Dolphin Star - REST DAY IN GRAN CANARIA (04.11.2016)

As some take the opportunity of discovering the island during day time, others save their energy for the night life at the ARC+ farewell party Dolphin Star006 008 WP_20161104_21_51_40_Pro WP_20161104_23_46_59_Pro. read more...

Orion - S T A R T

Hallo Jungs Reingard hat uns als drittes Schiff über die Startlinie gebracht. Wahnsinn!!! Die viel  Größeren vorne haben ganz blöde geschaut. So und jetzt schauen wir, dass Seebeine wachsen.  Die Segel stehen, es soll die ganze Zeit nicht mehr als 30 Kn Wind geben und die Sqalls sollen auch nicht viel mehrbringen. Also schätze ich, dass es nicht mehr als 35 werden,  ganz oben und hoch gerechnet mit Sicherheitszuschlag. Wir laufen jetzt so um die 6 Knoten, das ist auch sehr angenehm. Kleinere Verluste sind schon zu beklagen: Zwei Tauwerkschäkel und ein Block mit Curryklemme hat es demoliert.  Sonst geht es uns einfach super nach Reinhards tollem Start.   Danke an die Crew  . read more...

Dolphin Star - ELECTRICAL TROUBLES SORTED OUT (03.11.2016)

Electricity is a very critical item since all the life on board relies on it (navigation, communications, food storage). Dolphin Star is unfortunately affected as she needsto replace swollen batteries due to overcharging and fix her unpredictable thruster. Dolphin Star003 IMG_8082. read more...

Dolphin Star - ONGOING BOAT PREPARATION (02.11.2016)

Dolphin Star undergoes a full revamping to show her best look while crossing the Atlantic. Dolphin Star012 IMG_8109. read more...

Dolphin Star - START OF ARC SEMINARS (01.11.2016)

ARC organise at the Real Club Nautico two days of seminars covering many topics that goes from management of emergencies to route & weather. Here is the slide showing thecritical actions to be taken in case of Man Over Board (MOB). The Club’s pool is very appropriate for rehearsal. Dolphin Star005 007 009. read more...

Dolphin Star - EARLY PROVISIONING (31.10.2016)

Boat preparation is a long process that requires a bit of anticipation. Today is early provisioning of dry food to cover the first leg of Atlantic crossing to Cap Verde.All of us like fruit juice but not exactly the one shown on the picture.002 IMG_7859. read more...

Dolphin Star - GOODBYE NICK (30.10.2016)

Our great chef Nick flies back to Sweden and Dolphin Star feels very sad. Although our rally number 338 is regarded as a lucky one by the Chinese, this will not offset Nick’sabsence.IMG_7668 IMG_7962. read more...

Paw Paw - Log Day 301: Our New Zealand Itinerary Created

With more bad weather arriving, we decided to stay onboard today.Once Elaine had completed her chores for the day,she re-considered the possibilities of somehow salvaging her boots, but further examination confirmed that they were indeed destroyed, so into the dustbin they went.Feeling more than annoyed, she decided that the best way to spend the rest of the day was to work her way through all the tourist brochures we had collected in Paihia and created our New Zealand itinerary for the remainder of this year. We certainly have plenty to look forward to over the coming weeks before we return to Arizona for Christmas and New Year, which, in itself, is going to make for a wonderful holiday season. Roy busied himself with various boat projects- Fixing the support arm of the wind generator,. read more...

Caduceus - Reunion to Richards Bay Day 2 - Better weather sailing

Position23:40.10 S 051:40.40 EDate2359 (UTC+4) Saturday 05 November 2016Distance run in 24hrs 169nm over the ground, 163nm through the waterLeg total 277nm over the ground, 266nm through the waterTo go toRichards Bay, South Africa rhumb line 1,129nmRoute distance 1,395nm as originally planned Dawn brought a much improved looking day with bright skies, the swell down to 2.5 metres and from the east which with wind gradually decreasing from 25 to 16-17 knots also from the east made for a much more comfortable ride.It is amazing how much better life looks after the rather brutal start to the passage.We were now able to get into the “at sea” routine that has become so familiar to us.Reasonable progress was made and for the afternoon and evening as the wind backed we were able to set the pole. read more...

White Satin - The ARC opens officially

Saturday 5th November (but not Bonfire Night for us) ARC preparations (in conjunction with the ARC+ Farewell) commenced officially last night with a wonderful reception hosted by Las Palmas City Council, with carnival dancers (see photo), drag queens and a drumming band who were ‘conducted’ by a man with a whistle – somewhat reminiscent of Mrs Boyden and the Prince’s Mead staff performance for the children a couple of Christmas’ ago.   David has had an uplifting experience; he needed an M8 tap and there are all sorts of technical shops/chandlers right outside the marina so he wandered around them all but was unable to find what he wanted.  Eventually he went into a Yamaha shop, asked the usual question, the man behind the counter didn't speak of word of English but. read more...

Orion - Die Nacht vor dem Start

Die Nacht vor dem Start   Hallo Ihr Lieben,   heute war zum ersten Mal die gesamte Crew an Bord. Jetzt gab es den neuesten Wetterbericht. Das Schiff ist so voll. Vielleicht gibt es von Regina noch ein Foto, das ich Euch Schicken kann. Es wird jetzt auch Zeit, dass es los geht.   Auf das Kommende bin ich sehr gespannt. Bei Euch bedanke ich mich. Ohne Eure Unterstützung wäre das nicht möglich. Danke und jetzt wird es spannend.  . read more...

Fleet II - Log Day 3: ready for the off

We've enjoyed some fantastic hospitality here in Gran Canaria, and it will be a shame to lose these views, but the high seas and some sailing await! We're as ready as we'll ever be, fully (over?) provisioned and raring to go.Many thanks to WCC for all their help and advice - very friendly but also hugely professional.We'll see you in Cape Verde!ColinCBO 👮. read more...

Shelena - SHELENA Departs USA

36:44.85N 075:46.2W5th November, 2016First thing to say is, HAPPY BIIRTHDAY ME!The ARC 1500 departed one day earlier than expected. So no celebrationdinner ashore today. Instead, being reasonably well prepared, we had a supermeal at the Mediterranean restaurant in the High St, Portsmouth. It wasactually really good. Helen, my wife, and Petri our crew from Finland madeup our triumvirate. This means a second celebration tonight at sea. So I seethat as definitely positive. Now a word about Petri. The fact is that I haveonly seen him twice in my life. First time was the ARC+ last year when hejoined us for that crossing. That too left the Canaries in November so Petriwas there. Here we are again, our second ARC, but the 1500, and here isPetri again! Fantastic! Now our final crew has been. read more...

Caffè Latte - C'est le départ !

Ce matin 10h00 nous quittions la marina pour le grand départ.Le ciel est bleu, le temps un peu frais et le moral est excellent!Yolène et JeanCaffè Latte. read more...

Paw Paw - Log Day 300: Venturing Further Afield

After a lazy morning we decided to venture further afield in the dinghy today. It only took us about 20 minutes to get to Paihia as we enjoyed a slow ride to take in the scenery, this time from the water vs the seaward vistas we enjoyed yesterday during our walk.After enjoying freshly baked pastries with our mid-morning coffee,it was time to find Elaine a new pair of shoes, since the soles of her very comfortable, not to mention,very expensive, leather ankle boots had simple disintegrated after wearing them ashore the other night for the first time in a fifteen months.It seems nothing lasts on a yacht!Having successfully found a pair of very comfortable replacements, it was time for lunch- Steak and Mushroom pies from the local bakery, before we headed back to Paw Paw.We also had the. read more...

Caduceus - Reunion to Richards Bay Day 1 - Heavy weather sailing

Position                    21:54.45 S 054:01.23 E Date                          2359 (UTC+4) Friday 04 November 2016 Distance run             in 14hrs 20min 108nm over the ground, 103nm through the water Leg total                   108nm over the ground, 103nm through the water To go to                    Richards Bay, South Africa rhumb. read more...

Caduceus - Where has Caduceus been since World ARC 2014-15?

Caduceus, with Martin and Elizabeth Bevan on board, dropped out of the WorldARC Rally 2014-15 in Tonga in June 2014.We briefly caught up with thatRally in Fiji, arriving in time to attend the farewell party in Musket Coveand bid our erstwhile companions fair winds.After 12 weeks cruising andcarrying out maintenance in Fiji we sailed on to Vanuatu taking in all theislands from Aneityum in the south via Tana, for the volcano visit,Erromango and then on to the capital Port Vila.As we had extra time wewere able to sail on via the Maskelyne Islands and Malakula to Luganville onEspiritu Santo before heading to rendezvous with other Rally dropouts in NewCaledonia for the passage south to New Zealand.Whilst in the MaskelyneIslands we made contacts with a local community that subsequently lead. read more...

Starblazer - 04/11/2016 - Getting ready to leave the USA

Where has the time gone?It is a little distressing to find I haven't written anything since Monday 17th October when we left New York so I will try to be brief.The first leg of our trip south was an overnight sail to the mouth of the Delaware river.The anticipated 36 hour run to the C and D canal was doomed from the very beginning!We did not want to enter the canal at midnight and the anchorage we stayed in on the way north would be dangerous to feel our way in during the hours of darkness.Though we shot out of New York, rushing past Staten Island, the current was against us as soon as we met the open sea, slowing our progress quite significantly.Tuesday evening we anchored behind Cape Henlopen, on the south side of the Delaware River opposite Cape May.At first light we pulled up the. read more...

Exit Strategy - Reporting In 1600 11/5/16

Exit Strategy here.At 1600 the wind died so we decided to motor the rumb line to the G'f Stream hoping to find more wind.All good here.Having fun.. read more...

Peacekeeper - Our time in Portsmouth

We're here and ready for the start.Kitty flew home to take some time off after a month of sailing and south.Russ Lake arrived they same day to take over duties as first mate and bottle washer. He's done much more than that and has contributed greatly to our readiness.After a week of seminars and preparation we have gotten the word that the rally will start a day earlier than scheduled to take advantage of a weather window between front.Though for us it seems we'll have a fairly rough time for the first 48 hours or so.Here is Russ "the navigator" doing some prep for tomorrow. image1. read more...

Peacekeeper - Preparation Part 2

The next stop on our journey was to be Annapolis for the start of the boat show.But not before Kitty and I had some nice stops in Chesapeake City and Rock Hall.On arrival we we got in touch with Wendy (single handler captain) and Diane who we had met earlier in the year in the Bahamas. They were great getting us around to the chandlers and DC touring.Here is the early morning view from our very cold anchorage in Spa Creek.image1. read more...