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18/12/2019

Hawkeye - Hawkeye ARC Blog 11 - we've arrived!

Since arriving at 03:01 on Sunday morning, Hawkeye’s crew has been enjoying the rum punches and St Lucian hospitality – as well as decks that don’t keep jigging around in those waves.  We are rapidly working down our to do list and will leave St Lucia on Saturday to explore the rest of the Caribbean.  We are hoping to spend Christmas in Antigua and New Year in St Barthelemy.  But the beauty of cruising is that if we find some place we like better—we’ll just stay there!It’s been an amazing journey, especially for our novice Atlantic sailor, Lizzie, who we think was quite brave at her tender age jump in at the deep end.  She weathered every storm in a teacup, was a dedicated sunset watcher, vibrant painter and kept the rest of the crew on our toes with her remarkable. read more...


Hawkeye - Hawkeye ARC Blog 11 - we've arrived!
Hawkeye - Hawkeye ARC Blog 11 - we've arrived!
Hawkeye - Hawkeye ARC Blog 11 - we've arrived!
Hawkeye - Hawkeye ARC Blog 11 - we've arrived!
17/12/2019

Hatha Maris - Hatha Maris day 20 14/12/2019

Saturday day 20 / 14/12/19The final countdown (It’s a wrap .... only 100 more to eat ;-) )This is my 5th Transatlantic crossing and my longest one, ending tomorrow by sunrise in Rodney Bay after 19 1/2 days of great sailing with 6 awesome crewmates and a marvelous;) skipper.There is a lot of chitchat going on during watches which kept me from sleeping at times but made me smile very often.Everybody new to sailing made big progress and skills get polished. In my watch group people like to ride the squalls and surf the waves. The girls longing to arrive and join the party.Words to listen to: chop shop, bare off, keep it down, push ;)Words of wisdom: stay on course, TGV, 150 wind angle, faster!Looking forward to my first rum!Love corinneOh well, what a journey! I will arrive back home and. read more...


Sea to Sky - Caught a Mahi Mahi
Sea to Sky - Caught a Mahi Mahi
17/12/2019

Little Island - We made it!

We made it! And quite naturally I’m nowhungover whilst writing this. With every rum punch the achievement sunk in, and so we celebrated that moment with another rum punch; and so on...The first sight of land yesterday was an amazing feeling, coming into view as the sun rose and lifted the cloak of mist and darkness that had covered the island. We knew it was there for a while, but could never be too sure until we got that all important visual. Thankfully it was the correct piece of land, which was a relief having had no chart plotter for the final 300 miles or so. Despite standing next to each other at the time, we gave it a bloody good “Land ho!” call to mark the occasion, and briefly thought of those early explorers that stumbled across this green gem among thousands of miles of ocean. read more...


16/12/2019

Nizuc - Blogs 27-30

Blogs 27-30BLOG 27 – We Have the Power The brown, Sargasso seaweed is now surrounding us in swathes, and the water is a pure blue. We have been looking for a lost fishing net, and a demasted Transac boat, but would be lucky to see it, but it’s nice to have a focus. We have sorted our battery problem by shorting the VSR, which was hindering us for safety reasons (kind of like when your car goes into meltdown because the puddle light isn’t working). The navigation has been easy without it, and we haven’t used the auto helm, anyway. We ended the day in perfect symmetry: the sun setting ahead of us, and the super moon rising directly behind us; we were definitely going west. Martin has been doing videos, today, so I hope they can be posted. That’ll do.BLOG 28 – A Good Washing Day When the. read more...


Arausha - dinner for one ?
Arausha  - dinner for one ?
16/12/2019

Summerwinds of Cuan - St Lucia

Emily, Ann & I crossed the finish line last night at around 8.15 local time  in a crossing time of 21 days which brings to a close this blog and this part of our adventure. The last 5 weeks have been amazing. The preparations & parties in Las Palmas, the crossing itself and now some more parties with the climax being the final prize giving and party on Saturday night. The reason for the whole affair: 'to cross the Atlantic on our own boat' has been accomplished again. We could have done it without the organisation of World Cruising Club but I think it wouldn't have been half the fun. Full credit must go to them as organisers for making such a great event happen.After this we head to Martinique for Christmas where we will leave Summerwinds in a marina and head back home to. read more...


16/12/2019

Meltemi - Tag 23: Bordbuch der Meltemi, Fluch der Karibik, oder: last order

Hach, hier ticken die Uhren ja komplett anders. Da seile ich mich kurz ab letzten Freitag Abend, kaum daß die Festmacher ausgebracht sind, um unseren Verfolgern - also denen in diesem Block - mitzuteilen, daß wir gut angekommen sind, um am Samstag zu erfahren, daß nix erschienen ist. Was machen wir? Schicken das ganze noch mal 'raus, um am Sonntag zu erfahren: umsonst. Dafür steht Tag 20 jetzt 2 Mal im Blog... Also bitte auch 2 mal lesen, sonst war die Mühe am Samstag umsonst! ;-)Fluch der Karibik?Freitag Abend waren wir noch fix in einem Restaurant, Samstag Mittag schnell mal zum Lunch. Was uns nicht klar war: man nimmt am besten eine Dose Nüsse mit, denn vor mindestens einer Stunde Wartezeit serviert man hier nicht. Aber total nett und freundlich, immer laute Musik, die Petit Punch der. read more...


16/12/2019

Karhammel IV - News from Karhammel IV

NEWS from Karhammel IV, Monday December 2019 16th :About the broken jib : After 12 painful hours sewing (132 holes in the ropes+head sail, 792 knots), we installed the « repaired » jib last Thursday before sundown. Till now, the reparations allow the jib to work : grey plumber scotch over the 6 sewed ropes & 11 jib weaknesses over the crema-white sail allow an original, excentric look, J. Today at 12.00 UTC, we were at 396 NM from Santa Lucia – ARC dixit-, Lubilu sailing boat’s  position in advance with 30 NM.Again strong winds, 30-33 knots are back, with a rough sea – 4 to 5 m,  4 to 8 s, « houles croisées ». Let’s use the pleasant terms picked up in  ARC weather forecasts : « enhanced trade winds », rather than. read more...


16/12/2019

Greatcircle - ARC 2019 - First week on the Ocean - Sailing Greatcircle (ep.149)

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16/12/2019

Sweet Dream - Sunday December 15, 2019

Lovely day. Lars cleaned rail in prep for varnish, I put up the flags and a few Chrismas decorations inside, we were to the wonderful market. Custard, samosas, waffles, botanical gin tonics; we had a splendid lunch! Then we shopped...free range meat, local cheese, artisan bread, pies! Oh yum! Food heaven! In the afternoon we had Great a Christmas cheer with our fellow WARC ers and their families and friends. image1.. read more...


Sweet Dream - Sunday December 15, 2019
Sweet Dream - Sunday December 15, 2019
15/12/2019

Charm - Cape Town part 2

When we got up this morning, we were steering on one rudder, the auto-pilot was failing, and the mainsail was stuck.I asked Joe if he needed anything and he told me to pray the mainsail would fall down on its own.That didn’t work either.The night before we had decided to pass Port Elizabeth as an option to pull out.If the auto-pilot died right then, we would have 24 hours or so to get to Mosel Bay, the next option to pull out.We decided we could hand steer that far if needed and then assess our ability to continue at that point.If we didn’t feel like we could continue, we would pull out in Mosel Bay and pick up another person to help us steer the rest of the way to Cape Town.The next morning, with about 420 miles to go, Joe suggested we hand steer during the day and save the auto-pilot. read more...


Charm - Cape Town part 2
Charm - Cape Town part 2
Charm - Cape Town part 2
Charm - Cape Town part 2
Charm - Cape Town part 2
Charm - Cape Town part 2
15/12/2019

Little Island - 480 hours

We’ve been without power for over 24 hours no, but it’s no big deal. The solar panel and wind charger are working, but slowly, so we hope to be able to start the engine by the time we arrive. It’s an emotional game checking the battery level, then waiting a few hours and checking again to see that it’s barely moved, or bizarrely sometimes even gone down!We’ve taken to reading the cruising guide and Arc pack for arrival info and broad plans for where to head next. It’s been a pretty fun day and is making us both very excited. I can almost taste the rum and it’s warming sensation as it trickles down to my belly. Cat is most excited for the fresh fruit the way that fruit is meant to me - full sized and naturally ripened rather than harvested early and ripened with a blast of gas after. read more...


15/12/2019

Salamander - Day 20 In St Lucia

After 19 days of sailing, Salamander crossed the ARC finish line in St. Lucia on Friday afternoon.The crew enjoyed a welcome rum punch, checked into hotels for rest and showers!!and then gathered that evening for a farewell dinner. Many thanks to Chris, Hilary and Greg for making the passage, and all of the experiences associated with it, possible.Here are a few photos to wrap up our blog as the crew of Salamander for this ARC signs off.image0. image2. image3. image4. image5. image6.. read more...


Salamander - Day 20 In St Lucia
Salamander - Day 20 In St Lucia
Salamander - Day 20 In St Lucia
Salamander - Day 20 In St Lucia
Salamander - Day 20 In St Lucia
Salamander - Day 20 In St Lucia
Salamander - Day 20 In St Lucia
Salamander - Day 20 In St Lucia
Salamander - Day 20 In St Lucia
Salamander - Day 20 In St Lucia
Salamander - Day 20 In St Lucia
Salamander - Day 20 In St Lucia
15/12/2019

Hawkeye - Hawkeye ARC Blog 10 - 70 miles to go, last sundowners

Trade wind sailing has resumed and our last day at sea has been rounded off with a sundowner of a glass of fizz on Hawkeye’s trampolines. As we were quaffing away the radio burst into life with the first transmissions, in French, from Martinique Radio, showing that we are getting ever closer to being served rum punches in St Lucia. Should be in before dawn! Team Hawkeye Final Sundowner. read more...


Hawkeye - Hawkeye ARC Blog 10 - 70 miles to go, last sundowners
Hawkeye - Hawkeye ARC Blog 10 - 70 miles to go, last sundowners
15/12/2019

Summerwinds of Cuan - Penultimate Blog

Less than 100 miles to go. Its 03.45 local time. ( We will have sailed through 4 time zones by the time we reach St Lucia in the coming hours.). Emily came off watch at 03.00. So its me holding the fort until around 8.00 when things start to come to life again. This should be our last night at sea. Hopefully we should be in late this evening or early in the morning tomorrow. We are all looking forward to getting in, as three weeks is a long time to be at sea on an non stop roller coaster ride. However from me anyway there will also be a tinge of sadness. There is nothing that I have ever experienced that comes close to the isolation of being on a little boat in the middle of the ocean and also the 'can do' feeling that you need to be able to do this type of thing.We all agreed that it. read more...


15/12/2019

Agua Dulce - Log Day 20 - Hello, St. Lucia!

I took a day to decompress and sleep and just get reacquainted with land before I sat down to write this final blog post for the crossing. I think we all have mixed emotions about leaving soon. I think we are all a little bit sad to be leaving Agua Dulce in a few days, but very excited to go home to the US and England for Christmas with our families. The good news is our crew will all be back together in February to spend a few weeks cruising the Caribbean with the addition of Oli and Benji, Tracy’s sons. Sorry Cunningham kids. You’ll have to come another time! On our final approach to St. Lucia, we were welcomed by a pair of beautiful brown boobies. Ok, everyone, get your minds out of the gutters. Boobies are very common island birds with several species which inhabit the islands. The. read more...


15/12/2019

Meltemi - Tag 20: Bordbuch der Meltemi, Landfall

Hi folks, we are in Saint Lucia!! Leinen fest am Freitag, 13.12.2019, um 19.35 h in Rodney Bay. 3.036 sm im Kielwasser!!! Ziellinie passiert um 18.49 h und 5 sec.!!!! Wievielter Platz? Wen interessiert denn jetzt sowas?Mehr morgen. Wir hatten hier schon einen Willkommensdrink, und nun folgt das Ankommerbier. Also: keine Zeit!!!!!Morgen mehr. Versprochen.Ach So: natürlich alle gesund und munter, ihr solltet sie draußen schnattern und lachen hören... ich bin dann mal weg!Der Autor--. read more...


15/12/2019

Sweet Dream - Saturday December 14, 2019

Spent the morning doing internet business, then spent the afternoon exploring more of the waterfront. Really lovely place...so much to see and do within walking distance. The Warc Christmas party had to be postponed on account of the pouring rain. I find it hilarious that Cape Town is in this terrible drought, yet it rains several times everyday! If this is what they call dry, I would want no part of the wet season! But we have a dry, comfy boat and good rain gear clothing, so it’s just a mild bother. image1.. read more...


Sweet Dream - Saturday December 14, 2019
Sweet Dream - Saturday December 14, 2019
15/12/2019

Sweet Dream - Friday December 13, 2019

Dawn broke over the 12 Apostles, we had a good run under just the staysail all night right up until 06:00 in the morning light. Wind was in the mid to high twenties and we were making 6-7 knots. Then, just as the sun appeared, the fog rolled in. One minute you could see, the next minute it was thick pea-soup fog! Thankfully we’ve spent enough time sailing in Puget Sound and the U.K., so fog is just a bother to us. We furled the staysail, turned on the engine, and fired up the automatic fog horn proceeding slowly at four knots, we arrived at the entrance to the harbour at 07:00...the fog lifted like magic, we turned off the fog horn, tied up to the fuel dock, found out they only took CASH payment. Oy vey! THAT is a very pertinent piece of information that the WARC organisers SHOULD have. read more...


Sweet Dream - Friday December 13, 2019
Sweet Dream - Friday December 13, 2019
14/12/2019

Little Island - 408 - 456 hours

408 hours. The winds are good and spirits are up as we make good progress towards St Lucia. It’s looking good to arrive on 16, which isn’t too bad given the really slow first week. The sea state is a real pain and a pain probably felt more by us than any other boat. Being the smallest, the rolling affect is massive (as well as being a tubby, shallow keel Moody). Being double handed means that, if you’re not awake on watch, you’re trying your best to sleep but sometimes the rolling sea has other ideas. Last night it felt that 34 and a half feet of boat was the perfect length to fit into the troughs of the waves; perfectly imperfect. We were being sloshed around in all directions to the point where both autohelms were struggling so we hand-steered all of our watches. Cat had a real bum. read more...


14/12/2019

Fish Pie - Saturday 14th December

Nearly there!!!! Only 15 miles to go!! We can see the mighty hills of StLucia forming dark shadows in the haze ahead of us. Black and white skewer birdsare swooping down into the sea around us. Strangely none of us seem particularlyexcited about landfall. We have been living on this small kingdom for the lastthree weeks and we are not sure what to expect in St Lucia. One thing we are allexcited about – no more night watches!!! All looking forward to showers andfreshly laundered clothes, fresh fruit and an ice cold beer. Several boats are around us and there is still that competitive instinctthat make some of us ( well me, really not my sub-alpha male fellow crew!) wantto pull out all stops and sneak past a few boats at the end. I'm getting the camera ready for the arrival photos and the. read more...


14/12/2019

Next Step - Thursday 12th December 2019

The night was a bit of a roller coaster with squalls, rain and wind coming from all directions. But by morning we seemed to be on the right track again which hopefully means we will be in St Lucia before the end of the day. Nicole's hands are much improved but she will probably not be steering again today. For most of the day Jeremy, David and I took turns helming for two hours each, we will continue this until we get into St Lucia. Nicole made us a great lunch of egg muffins with potato salad and pickled beetroot etc. it was really good and should last us through to the evening. The miles are gradually ticking down and it looks like we will get in sometime during the middle of the night.After an exciting fast sail for the last few miles we eventually got into Rodney Bay, St. Lucia at. read more...


14/12/2019

Hatha Maris - hatha maris day 19 13/12/2019

Hatha maris day 19 13/12/2019I swear, someone putted some weight into my lifejacket this morning! Every day it’s getting heavier........ I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels her body more and more since we started in Las Palmas about 2850 nm ago. Although the most of the time you’re sitting around, standing a little or you’re laying your body is always moving. Balancing out the waves while you’re helming, cooking, eating, doing the dishes, getting an open air shower, beeing on the toilet for your own business, or even when you sleep. There is always tension to your body. The closer we get to the island the more you feel the effort. And so we keep on moving, moving. The good thing is your sleep is going better and better and you can eat without regrets, no diet required. So for. read more...


Sweet Dream - Thursday December 12, 2019
Sweet Dream - Thursday December 12, 2019
Sweet Dream - Thursday December 12, 2019
Sweet Dream - Thursday December 12, 2019
11/12/2019

Sweet Dream - Monday December 9, 2019

“People say I’m a dreamer...but I’m not the only one...” Imagine...John Lennon still lives.image1.. read more...


Sweet Dream - Monday December 9, 2019
Sweet Dream - Monday December 9, 2019
11/12/2019

Sweet Dream - Sunday December 8, 2019

We spent the morning puttering about with small tasks getting ready (again) to go offshore. The weather was grey and intermittently misty so Kyle wasn’t able to come and caulk our big windows in the salon. Yesterday, he and Robin had spent the afternoon fashioning a bit of hardwood into a perfect collar to fit around the mast inside the underneath of the maststep, and installing it with a hefty application of sikiflex. The goal is to eliminate as much flexing and moving of the mast against the deck fitting as possible. We’d had the exterior fitted with an aluminium plate in Richard’s Bay, now the interior was complete as well. I think this passage to Capetown will be a great test of the waterproofing we hope it affords. For lunch we went to the Point Yacht club with Dave from Chao Lay.. read more...


Sweet Dream - Sunday December 8, 2019
Sweet Dream - Sunday December 8, 2019
12/12/2019

Sweet Dream - Wednesday December 11, 2019

Dove coloured, soft, low, orotund sky aboveSlate grey, white peaked, steel sea belowSuspended on a magic carpet in a sparse, silver worldDevouring the opulent story of “The Hare with the Golden Eyes”Such a juxtaposition between the two! Flying wing on wing; a piece of Genoa on the pole,The full Hoyt prevented opposite.Two halves of a whole sail plan.The Agulhas current pulls, the wind blowsWe fly between the two next to the glittering fairy moon pathAcross the undulating “snow capped” mountainous seas.The moon made an appearance tonight; finally,after all the relentless grey days and long dark nights.The too large for comfort mounds of water are spectacular in the lunar glow. The shine of the moon’s light spills across our starboard quarter A pure shimmering fairy glitter walkwayLeading. read more...


Sweet Dream - Wednesday December 11, 2019
Sweet Dream - Wednesday December 11, 2019
11/12/2019

Sweet Dream - Tuesday December 10, 2019

Rain comes in the weird grey predawn dreamThe sky is like an old time tv screenNot dark, not light, silver-blue in betweenWater pelting from the sky; parting on the windscreenBig droplets running down with little rivulets in betweenIt’s colder now than it has been And that big, white-frothed sea runningRunning away with meimage1.. read more...


Sweet Dream - Tuesday December 10, 2019
Sweet Dream - Tuesday December 10, 2019
14/12/2019

Meltemi - Tag 20: Bordbuch der Meltemi, Landfall

Hi folks, we are in Saint Lucia!! Leinen fest am Freitag, 13.12.2019, um 19.35 h in Rodney Bay. 3.036 sm im Kielwasser!!! Ziellinie passiert um 18.49 h und 5 sec.!!!! Wievielter Platz? Wen interessiert denn jetzt sowas? Mehr morgen. Wir hatten hier schon einen Willkommensdrink, und nun folgt das Ankommerbier. Also: keine Zeit!!!!!Morgen mehr. Versprochen.Ach So: natürlich alle gesund und munter, ihr solltet sie draußen schnattern und lachen hören... ich bin dann mal weg!Der Autor--. read more...