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Chanto - Blog - Week 1



Chanto Blog - Week 1

After a few last minute provision runs and following a great send off from Las Palmas including late night fireworks, brass bands, and hundreds of spectators lining the marina walls we were greeted with overcast conditions and strong winds for the beginning of our Atlantic crossing. With wind speeds consistently pushing 30 knots and waves averaging 4 meters there was little easing into the voyage. Indeed it proved too much for both Andrew and Nicky (Mum), the former (aka the stealth bomber) having to more than once make a sneaky dash to the side of the boat.

Although tough on crew the strong conditions were no problem for the boat (Chanto) and we made great progress for the first 4 days averaging over 170 miles a day at an average of 7 knots. The race updates provided by Bob attested to our strong start and at one point we were lying a healthy 3rd in our class. After the initial hassle of getting them up, the twin 'yankee' head sails have proved a fantastic rig for the conditions and very easy to manage.

The first few days trouble free sailing were abruptly brought to an end on the evening of day 3 when the auto helm gave up, soon to be followed by all the cockpit instruments and the generator! Despite help from the technical support team (thanks Sean) which briefly breathed life into the auto helm, it was short lived. Fortunately, after some initial skepticism, the hydrovane steering appears to be saving the day and has proved a remarkably reliable (touch wood) and energy efficient solution so far.

The second half of the week has brought lighter winds of around 10-15 knots and seen our progress slowed somewhat. Today we turned south in the hope of finding stronger winds. We also launched the lighter weight genoa but after numerous relaxing but slow hours sailing we decided to revert back to the twin 'yankee' head sails.

The fishing gear finally made an appearance yesterday but has yet to produce the goods. We're hoping an increase in speed in the days to come will give us some better luck. If the regular dolphin visits are anything to go by there must be some fish down there somewhere!

Everyone on board is well and settling into life at sea. Spirits are good, if frustratingly under lock and key in the captains cabin.

We're slowly working our way through the various supplies that have been squeezed into every corner of the boat. As we've passed a 1000nm at sea and the days are getting warmer we are looking forward to wetting the dry boat in celebration of reaching half way, expected in the next few days.

Further updates to follow.

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