Triple D of Chidham - FIRST LOG DAY FOUR

Its a beautiful bright morning here in the middle of the Atlantic,well not quite the middle yet. We are beginning to get settled in although Jilli is still suffering from mal de mer.We have been able to see a few other ARC boats at all times which is very reassuring. We have had good winds and clear skies all the way so far and today looks the same. At the moment it is 12 knots so once the girls get up we will put the parasailor up. We did have it up on monday with the pole for the first time and it sat very nicely. so far our plan has been to head south but today I think we will hjead a little west as well.We are recording our miles each day 1300 to 1300 and they have been 135 nm and 134nm. We have eaten all our prepared food now so its time to get cooking. I am planning roast loin of. read more...

Triple D of Chidham - A VERY GENTLE DAY!

Its just coming to the end of a lovely day here in the Atlantic. Admittedly, we would have liked a little bit more wind, as we watched it gradually drop away to literally nothing. We got a good few hours out of the parasailor before this though, and as the wind began to die we tried out every combination of sail but they would not fill. After we'd had enough of drifting and sunbathing we put the engine on and motored away in traditional Triple D style! We're still living off fresh food, so a salad full of goodies for lunch - avocado, cheese, chorizo, peppers... and roast pork with apple and rostis AND stirfried veg for dinner!! All the meat we have is vacuum packed so it lasts longer - hopefully we should be able to  eat (relatively) fresh food until our third week.We were able to. read more...

Triple D of Chidham - even the best laid plans....

We're feeling a little down-hearted today as the decision was taken this morning to divert to the Cape Verdes. Here's why....Yesterday we turned the engine on for a short while to scare away some whales that were almost underneath our boat. However, we quickly noticed an extremely strong smell of burning, and turned the engine off. When we opened the hatch to the engine, smoke filled the cabin. We worked on it over the course of the day and soon decided that this could be caused by fact that we had been running the engine at low revs overnight to save fuel. A diesel engine doesn't like this! Anyway eventually the residue produced by running it at low revs seemed to have burned off, and last night and today we were able to run the engine with no immediate problems.However, whilst. read more...

Triple D of Chidham - Sao Vincente, Cape Verdes!

One thing that can be said about Mindelo in Sao Vincente is it is HOT!! Jilli's wondering how she is going to cope in the Caribbean and wondering if we can maybe go somewhere cold instead? However, no one has suggested going back to England - sorry guys but snow in November is not for us! The other thing that can be said about it is that everyone is extremely friendly and helpful (and most of the men that work at the marina are very good looking to add to the good atmosphere!)We arrived on Sunday to Matt and Elise of Let it Be standing ready to catch our ropes. Within half an hour we had the whole crew of Let it Be on board for a cup of tea, and it was lovely to see our friends again! Soon after they left, Kai Brossman, the owner of the marina, turned up. He build the whole marina. read more...

Triple D of Chidham - Burning up

Our bodies, that is, not our engine! Although, okay, I promise to stop going on about the heat (or I could describe it in detail for those of you in England who've forgotten what it feels like!) We are moving along our way, heading SW to W depending on the wind direction. Trades still haven't really developed yet but they're coming. (hopefully!) We've had the parasail and the jenny up and are getting the hang of both of them. Although last night we had a bit of a disaster with the jenny.... It was Jillian's watch and I was asleep in bed. I was woken up by Jilli screaming, banging on my window and shouting 'Alice!!!!!!!' I dashed upstairs, still dizzy with sleep, convinced mum had fallen overboard and about to launch the jon buoy. While my body was about to do this, my groggy mind was. read more...