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Sweet Dream - Sunday February 2, 2020
Sweet Dream - Sunday February 2, 2020
10/02/2020

Charm - To Brazil 5

It was a busy day on Charm! Cleaning day went well – all the participants cleaned their respective areas without complaint. After that, there were all kinds of activities.We gybed Le Grand Bleu and Joe discovered a small tear in the leech tape so she came down and Mini Spinny went up.Gemma got a splicing lesson from Joe and made a nice rope with two loops on it, mainly to practice splicing but Joe plans to use it to reinforce our reef lines somehow.The girls pretended to be dogs or sea creatures or tigers or all of the above and Cobin read his book, played with his robot, and started a rubber band war against Gemma. We all paused to see the only things we’ve seen on the ocean since our courteous archery target fish companions paced the boat about a week ago.Today we sighted . . .. read more...


09/02/2020

Charm - To Brazil 5

It was a busy day on Charm! Cleaning day went well – all the participants cleaned their respective areas without complaint. After that, there were all kinds of activities.We gybed Le Grand Bleu and Joe discovered a small tear in the leech tape so she came down and Mini Spinny went up.Gemma got a splicing lesson from Joe and made a nice rope with two loops on it, mainly to practice splicing but Joe plans to use it to reinforce our reef lines somehow.The girls pretended to be dogs or sea creatures or tigers or all of the above and Cobin read his book, played with his robot, and started a rubber band war against Gemma. We all paused to see the only things we’ve seen on the ocean since our courteous archery target fish companions paced the boat about a week ago.Today we sighted . . .. read more...


Charm - To Brazil 5
Charm - To Brazil 5
Charm - To Brazil 5
Charm - To Brazil 5
Charm - To Brazil 5
Charm - To Brazil 5
09/02/2020

Charm - To Brazil 4

There’s not a lot happening in the Atlantic Ocean, 500 miles from the Brazilian coast.And it’s hot.Sweat dripping down your back hot.Sweat coalescing under your hair, dampening your hairline, and dripping down your neck hot.Hot enough that everyone is cranky and uncomfortable and we just want to sit still in the shade and wait for the night’s coolness to come. Now the night is finally here.But with the heat, or probably because of the heat, or somehow linked to the presence of the heat, there is very little wind.Le Grand Bleu finally fluttered to a halt around dinner time during Gemma’s watch.She suggested it was time to douse it and Joe agreed.Down came our only sail and up went . . . nothing.We turned on the starboard motor (Joe very kindly keeps it running so we don’t have to smell. read more...


Charm - To Brazil 4
Charm - To Brazil 4
Charm - To Brazil 4
Charm - To Brazil 4
07/02/2020

Charm - To Brazil 3

Another peaceful night on the Atlantic!Joe’s strategy has paid off and time we spent working our way north has allowed us to stay in the wind and sail faster because we have room to turn upwind a bit and get some air in the spinnaker when the winds lighten. It wasn’t peaceful all day, however.When I woke up, it was cool-ish and cloudy outside.Joe had done the wash and he and the kids hung it (see, I told you we all do laundry) in the cockpit.Gemma said, “We’re going to get wet soon!” which I took to mean either she saw a large wave in the distance or it was going to rain.Either way it seemed prudent to take down the laundry.Gemma helped me take it all down.Then I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have a few more minutes of drying time until it actually started raining so I hung up the ones. read more...


Charm - To Brazil 3
Charm - To Brazil 3
Charm - To Brazil 3
Charm - To Brazil 3
Charm - To Brazil 3
Charm - To Brazil 3
05/02/2020

Sapphire II of London - Panama Canal Day!

The sun is shining, today's the day to cross the canal! We arrived in Shelter Bay Marina on Friday and were kindly greeted by our new crew member Charlie. There is not much to do here but we made the most of it! Pool party on the first day, a few boat admin days (yay!) and a Birthday! For Shelly's birthday, we made a shrine with bubbles, brownies and chocolate and went to visit a nearby fort. We also went to an observation deck to see the new locks which are mostly for big container ships. Our timeslot through the canal has been delayed a day due to some unforeseen circumstances. So today is our day!! (hopefully) Yesterday we went on a tour to a village with Emberra tribe residents - on the way we had a near death experience involving a bus driver who was confused about our drop off. read more...


Sapphire II of London - This little cutey latched on to Emily
Sapphire II of London - This little cutey latched on to Emily
Sapphire II of London - Panama Jungle
Sapphire II of London - Panama Jungle
04/02/2020

Charm - To Brazil 2

Normally on passages, we have three days of school and then take one day off.I was so certain that yesterday was a day off that I had planned to watch a movie with Joe, bake things, do crosswords, etc. I think I might have been more disappointed than the kids when I woke up and realized that we had only done two days of school.It was even worse when Joe mentioned that it was his favorite day of the week - Sunday.It’s Joe’s favorite day because we clean the boat.We almost never have school on cleaning days because it’s too painful but we make an exception on passages.This meant that we did our normal cleaning jobs AND school, which made no one happy. The irritability lasted throughout the day, with my students being particularly trying and my patience being particularly. read more...


Charm - To Brazil 2
Charm - To Brazil 2
Charm - To Brazil 2
Charm - To Brazil 2
07/12/2014

Take Off - Our first squall

Although the full moon lit our way so gently last night was quite unsmoothdue to wind changes all the time. We suspected several squalls so the spinnakerwent up and down all night in prevention. However we seemed everytime to “miss”them. This morning was a grey morning, no sunrise from the sea and heavy cloudsahead of us. However the heavy clouds were all along the horizon so we thoughtit was just normal rain. We sailed through it, got a bit wet, the wind wassteady and we thought this was smooth. The wind started to blow stronger and wasup to 30 knots when it then dropped gently down to 17 knots. And from nowhere astrong wind hit the boat, Jörgen stearing had difficulties in answering the windand the broach was inevitable. And then came the real rain – just like pouringhundreds of. read more...


Sapphire II of London - Panama Canal
Sapphire II of London - Panama Canal
03/02/2020

Sapphire II of London - PANAMA CANAL TRANSIT

We are scheduled to go through the Panama Canal Atlantic locks on Tuesday pm - so if you want to view our progress please look at the below link to view real time Sapphire going through.IMG_9984. read more...


Sapphire II of London - PANAMA CANAL TRANSIT
Sapphire II of London - PANAMA CANAL TRANSIT
02/02/2020

Charm - To Brazil 1

We have a tradition that, on the first full day of a passage, we have a day off from school.This is mainly a grace period for me to get used to the motion of the boat, finish organizing watch schedules and meal plans, etc. but the kids never seem to complain or ask to start school early. Sometimes I’m busier on non-school days than I am on school days because there are all kinds of other activities that still require my assistance.I tried to let the girls paint on their own and it went fine – there were just a few more spots of paint to clean up then when they are more closely supervised. I thought Cobin and I could work through some of the magnet or radio experiments I had prepared for many months ago.Unfortunately, he was more interested in building a hydrogen bomb.I had dragged my. read more...


Charm - To Brazil 1
Charm - To Brazil 1
Charm - To Brazil 1
Charm - To Brazil 1
Charm - To Brazil 1
Charm - To Brazil 1
Sapphire II of London - Sapphire II of London steaming towards Panama Canal
Sapphire II of London - Sapphire II of London steaming towards Panama Canal
01/02/2020

Sapphire II of London - Panama Canal entrance

Screen shot of chart plotter showing density of commercial traffic. Sapphire came in from northeast. IMG_0140. read more...


Sapphire II of London - Panama Canal entrance
Sapphire II of London - Panama Canal entrance
01/02/2020

Charm - St. Helena visit

We’re out to sea again, tonight celebrating calm seas and winds on the way to Salvador, Brazil, thanks to the influence of my maternal grandmother, known as Super Granny.It’s Super Granny’s birthday today.Although she passed away at the age of 102, her influence lives on and we know she still plays an active role in improving our lives. While she didn’t help us make it to the pig roast in St. Helena after our crossing from Namibia, it didn’t really matter because we had tacos on the boat, got a good night’s sleep, and were able to clear in the next morning so we could start exploring the island. After a very rolly night with loud waves crashing right next to us, we woke up to an unpleasant surprise.Despite having followed 90% of the “right things to do” for mooring a catamaran, one of. read more...


Charm - St. Helena visit
Charm - St. Helena visit
Charm - St. Helena visit
Charm - St. Helena visit
Charm - St. Helena visit
Charm - St. Helena visit
31/01/2020

Charm - Guest blog entry from Gemma

Hi, Gemma here. I am crew on board for the current leg of Cape Town, South Africa to Salvador, Brazil. I met the lovely ‘Charm-ies’ a year ago now. Our first meeting being when they let our family boat, Aurora B, come into a very windy Santa Marta marina in Colombia before them. My two kids (Eva then 10 and Henry then 7) were ecstatic as they had noticed kids on board Charm. “Yeay, more World ARC kids to come play” they yelled.We then spent the next 6 months slowly getting to know the Charm crew, our paths not crossing too often due to Charm’s speed and our lack of it. However this did not stop the kids making new friendships. It was, however, not until their generosity with skills and time in Fiji, when Aurora B’s engine failed us, that we really got to spend some great family time. read more...


Charm - Guest blog entry from Gemma
Charm - Guest blog entry from Gemma
29/01/2020

Sapphire II of London - Another day, another beautiful island...

After a very leisurely breakfast (avocado on toast with eggs) we set off to Porvenir, another San Blas island, this one with a smattering of houses on. We sailed at a very sedate 4-5 knots and are now at anchor. Tomorrow we leave for Shelter Bay in Panama in the evening so that we arrive in the daylight which will be a novel experience. It remains very hot and the sea temperature is 30 degrees C! Leg of lamb on BBQ tonight ... yum. read more...


28/01/2020

Next Step - 27th Jan 2020

Today we need to get to Porvenir to check in, we raised the anchor after breakfast and headed out to clear water and made our way to Dog Island first to do some snorkelling before we going direct to Porvenir. As we approached Dog Island it started to rain quite heavily but did not detract from our destination. We found a spot not far from the island and the wreck of a cargo ship which was sunk in the 1950's. Jeremy, Nicole and James rowed across in the dinghy to the wreck to do a bit of snorkelling whilst I kept watch on the boat. Once everyone was back on the boat we picked up the anchor and motor sailed our way to Porvenir so that we could complete the formal customs and immigration requirements for Panama before arriving in Shelter Bay Marina. Porvenir was quite a strange island with. read more...


28/01/2020

Sapphire II of London - San Blas Day 4

Rained all day yesterday so we had a poker championship with Helen as the victor. She continued her winning streak to thrash Paul at cribbage. Got all dressed up to go out in the kayak this morning and it started raining again. Luckily the sun has come out and done some snorkelling and kayaking, It is difficult to get 3 fully grown Phillips' into a 2 person kayak. Emily got out and towed her elderly parents to shore who cannot paddle in sync. Planning BBQ for lunchtime. The poker tournament will continue tonight, bets on who is going to win this time?. read more...


Deo Juvante - Mazarine and Clement had the opportunity to take the World Arc turtle for an excursion on Porvenir Island, the heart of the Guna culture.
Deo Juvante - Mazarine and Clement had the opportunity to take the World Arc turtle for an excursion on Porvenir Island, the heart of the Guna culture.
27/01/2020

Sapphire II of London - Rainy San Blas

Last night had good news of the arrival of Neil and Shelly's healthy grandson Rufus so we had steak and champagne to celebrate! Then some dolphins gave us a show catching flying fish which was magical. Today we have moved to a different San Blas island which is bigger but the weather is very rainy! Time to become Catan experts.. read more...


27/01/2020

Next Step - 26th Jan 2020

After a breakfast of scrambled egg and bacon we planned our route and input some waypoints to Cacos Holandes. At 0905, we lifted the anchor and headed passed the reefs out into more open water. The trip was very quick and before you knew it we were wending our way through the reefs to a new anchorage. The bay at Cacos Holandes was very much bigger than our previous anchorage with many more islands to explore. Unfortunately, we were met with rain showers which thankfully only lasted a short time. After a bit of lunch we headed for the beach in the dinghy on the nearest island to do some snorkelling and I took the kayak out to the reef edge. The island undergrowth was quite dense so not very easy to explore, the beach was lovely the odd starfish and lots of small fish. Going out to the. read more...


26/01/2020

Next Step - 25th Jan 2020

I was awoken earlier than expected with a bit of rain coming in through the hatch above my bunk. It really only drizzled for a very short time. Once we were up and had breakfast we got out the rubber dinghy ready to go ashore to explore one of the islands and do a bit of snorkelling. Jeremy, Nicole and James took the dinghy off whilst I sorted out some of the issues on the boat that we had experienced since leaving Santa Marta. When the folks returned to the boat, we had lunch before heading out again to another island where Jeremy and Nicole snorkelled and I went by Kayak. On the island we were able to buy a beer, relax and met up with folks from Skylark. After a great day we headed back to the boat for sundowners. Burns night…we did not have any whisky so we had to drink Gin as a. read more...


26/01/2020

Sapphire II of London - San Blas

Arrived in San Blas yesterday, lots of tiny beautiful islands with palm trees and nothing else! Spent the day organising our huge collection of flags - we have 3 St Lucia flags if anyone is interested. Several unidentified flags also in the mix. We launched Sapphire explorer, the kayak, onto the island while the rest of us drank beers on board. We had fried fresh fish on the BBQ.Wishing everyone could be here.. read more...


25/01/2020

Next Step - 24th Jan 2020

Hopefully, on target to get into the San Blas Islands today...! Overnight we had quite a bit of shipping traffic and it was very dark with cloudy skies for most of the time. Thankfully the wind stayed with us all the way until the late morning when it got a bit lighter but with the engine running we still managed to achieve a steady 6.5 knots towards the finish line. During the morning we planned our arrival anchorage destination and input the necessary waypoints into the chartplotter. Lunchtime Nicole made a guacamole to have with salad and wraps, very nice. As we get closer to the finish line more and more of the WorldARC fleet yachts start appearing visually and on AIS. At the finish line at 1539 we had Cloud Shadow ahead and Amazing Grace astern. Once over the line we immediately. read more...


25/01/2020

Charm - St. Helena passage 5

Our last day of the passage went by fairly quickly.The kids did school and I have to eat my words about Marin struggling to write three sentences because today she wrote almost a full page with perfect handwriting and no complaints.Once again, we have been able to tap into the talents of our crew and the girls got a dance lesson from Gemma.After school, Tully decided that everyone should have a water gun fight.Cobin joined in and taught the girls how to conduct a duel with their water pistols.After that got old, he decided just to throw buckets of water on them, which they not only tolerated but encouraged. We had tacos for dinner, which wasn’t quite the same as a pig roast but we had the added benefit of seeing St. Helena around sunset, which more than made up for the lack of pork.That,. read more...


Charm - St. Helena passage 5
Charm - St. Helena passage 5
Charm - St. Helena passage 5
Charm - St. Helena passage 5
Charm - St. Helena passage 5
Charm - St. Helena passage 5
24/01/2020

Charm - St. Helena passage 4

Another gorgeous day on the boat.The longer we’re on a passage, the faster the days start to go.Part of this might be because we’re always heading east and we don’t change our clocks until we arrive at a destination.Our bodies continue to adjust to the sun, so there’s a weird feeling that the kids shouldn’t be going to sleep while it’s full daylight out even though it’s 9 pm.It feels like summer nights, except in January. We had school today but I diverged a bit from our typical writing plans to do something that I thought would be fun.Usually I’m the only one that thinks it’s fun but today, everyone eventually got into it.I had saved a few in-flight magazines from our trip to Zimbabwe and we all went through them and cut out pictures that inspired us and put them together to make a. read more...