Daily Logs

Oarsome Dream - Log 30th Nov - Hot, yachts on the horizon and Happy Birthday to me

Hello Blog readers!It’s my birthday today whoop whoop. I was serenaded on deck by a dawn chorus of ‘Happy Birthday to You’ - just as well the guys are all very good at their chosen professions, I’d worry if they had to rely on singing to earn a crust. Everyone made me a lovely card out of a granola box, no expense spared or extra weight carried on Oarsome Dream.We’ve seen lots Flying fish jumping out and flying around this morning and we even found a couple on deck, drying out nicely in the toasty sun.Yesterday was spent in the company of ARC yacht Hanse 411’ Siberati’ but we lost them over the horizon in the night.We took advantage of light wind this morning to pull down the mainsail and stick on more spreader patches. Despite carefully taking photographs so they went in the right. read more...

Saoirse - The SAOIRSE Diaries -15- Warts and all

So I want to keep the Saoirse Diaries real, to authentically record the experience for posterity.The highs and lows, no sugar coating, no filter.So here it is, the ugly truth, warts and all......Today was rough.I thought about not writing until I felt inspired again, or until something really nice happened that I felt compelled to share but that’s not the real story is it?You can’t have the good without the bad, we here on board Saoirse are currently experiencing quite a spell of the bad.After the heartbreak and disappointment of Day 6, losing our butterfly and realising the whole journey would take much longer, we took a day to wallow, chill, accept.Day 8 dawned and we had rallied, well that is to say I had, Wolf and Heiko were still in a funk coming out with ‘ach man we will never get. read more...

Little Island - 144 hours

It’s Bananageddon. Despite attending the provisioning seminars before the ARC departure and despite following the advice of splitting our bananas up so they ripen at different times in different places; despite our best efforts, all of our bananas are ripe. Very ripe. We are now going to be forced to eat 12 bananas each today. We have no choice. When I was at school there was always a rumour going around that eating too many bananas at once can kill a man. If this turns out to be true, by the time you are reading this, it may be too late. Remember us.On the serious matter of the fishing report, we only went and bloody caught one! A very good looking Mahi Mahi will be on the menu this evening. It was caught last night but after awkwardly filleting it on the roof of the aft cabin with our. read more...

Cuvee - Day 5-8 Clear sailing and then “Bang”

How things change! We passed half way and celebrated with Magnam Ice creams! Have had the asymmetric poled out for 6 days and was averaging a speed of 8.2 kts. It was all to easy.Mond 25 Nov- Went to turn the genset on and the circuit wouldn’t switch the house power on! Dived for the manual which didn’t help much and then remembered there was a little lever I wasn’t supposed to lose kept in the map table that had something to do with power! That panel is behind, no under, no hat’s right it’s in the rear starboard transom. Mmmm we stacked and tied down 5 jerry cans in front of that! Push and shove and there we are I can get the key in and we have 240 power.Tues 26 Nov - We jibed to port tack as the wind was pushing us north. Tried to snuff the G1 that has been up for 6 days. Had moved the. read more...

Jua Kali - The Jua Kali Report - Day 6

Day six brought steadier conditions and more fishing success to the Jua Kali crew!We have been headed WSW now for almost 24 hours, using what has built into a fairly steady 10-15 knots of wind to power us along under spinnaker all day and night. A sliver of moon was visible for a couple of hours just after sunset but it swiftly set as well leading to a mostly moonless and clear night again, interspersed by a few clouds (some of which looked angrier than others so we avoided them).We caught our third Mahi Mahi around lunch time which we promptly got marinating and ate as ceviche, only to catch another (larger) one as soon as we put the lines back in the water after! This one we actually cooked and had baked for dinner later. We are now at a total of 4 fish caught and eaten which has made. read more...

Another Brick - Memorable nights at sea

Day turns into night. Time flies at a different pace out here.The long warm nights leave time for contemplation, peace and star watching.image1. read more...

Challenger 1 - TS crew Blog Challenger 1 30/11/19

29/11/19The days surely blur together now – on and off watch are more important distinctions now, and dates and time are only numbers you put in the log.A seasoned sailor that I look up to very much once wrote about ocean passages that when the routine of ‘sail, eat, sleep and repeat’ sets in, sailors are faced with the loss of social complexities that make up our lives on land. Without phones, social media, TV, or really any mental energy to use the above, life becomes simpler, and more about the now. Thus, I find myself in a strange place of missing people who are not here – mostly the ones I wish I was sharing this experience with – but missing them with a joyful longing ache, most pronounced when listening to the innermost part of my being, which really only happens on night watches.. read more...

Mabetica - Leg 2/Day 10

30.11.2019 - Leg 2/Day 10 - We already had our „Bergfest“ and celebrated it :) Happy sailing with a happy crew :) Bettina. read more...

Challenger 1 - crew Blog challenger 1 30/11/19

29/11/19A couple of very hot past days as we make our way west. The breeze has been fairly light but everyone on board is in good spirits and the prospect of some good conditions early next week has certainly helped to boost the team. Our course has been unchanged and our progress steady. Last night some of the crew enjoyed a fish (unknown species) and banana broth which didn’t fail to raise a few eyebrows but everyone is keen for some bigger fish. Only 2241 nm till St Lucia!Red watch (Lucas)What are you most looking forward to when we reach the other side?Well I am most looking forward to the welcoming that the people of my island will provide to us as we are proudly representing then. Oh..! and lets not forget to mention that 12 hour power nap am going to have as soon as we hit the. read more...

Next Step - Friday 29th November 2019

It is another morning of not very much wind, we have obviously not sailed far enough South. The fishing lines went into the water early, but so far we have only had one bite and no fish.Nicole is making wraps for lunch but it looks like it will be sausages for supper and not fresh fish…boohoo! In the afternoon we managed to catch two fish, brought them alongside the boat but failed to get them on board before they got away, so frustrating…It has been a warm day with very little wind so we continue to motor our way south west.Tonight, it is my turn to cook the supper, little do the guys know that I am no cook so it will be sausage, pasta and white sauce slop, good old seafaring food. Captain Cook would be proud of me..hehe. In the evening we all get back to the usual watch pattern and. read more...

Zan - We caught a fish!

A first fish for team Zan due to skipper Martin’s skill and determination and now designated lucky lure. A kingfish ( we think) about a metre long. It tasted delicious marinated in soy sauce and lemon juice for lunch then fried and served with pea risotto for supper and still more in the freezer for later. Despite light winds it proved an interesting day, we tried a new sail combination- spinnaker AND genniker; it all worked well for a while but when the wind died we got a wrap in the spinnaker which took a while to unravel, no sooner had we sorted this along came the fish....Martin, Paul, Dan and Peter.. read more...

Layla - Half Way Thoughts

Half Way Thoughts….We made it to half way yesterday 28th November 10:02 UTC – had a cup of tea to celebrate and made sure the fizz was in the fridge for dinner time (our only alcoholic drink until St Lucia)After a great start we have struggled a bit the last two days with wind strength, direction, sail plans and headings. Unable to launch the Gennaker because it was not furled correctly we lost some timehoisting, unfurling re-furling and stowing. This morning the big sail went up for the first time and we have been rewarded with 8kt speeds :-) Currently we are pointing at Rodney Bay and making good progress. Getting this far has not been without its challenges…. Our Raymarine Pilot has stopped working unannounced three times which is not ideal! Much troubleshooting and reading of logs,. read more...

Amari - Day 9 Half Way!

For those who really want to get away from it all, I’ve found a lovely spot for you. A spacious back yard, spectacular views of the sunrise and sunset, and no risk of some lousy developer putting up a condo outside your back porch to obstruct your view.Excellent schools (of fish) swim by each day, and speaking of which this locale includes all you can eat fish, every day! In fact, some of them will actually fly right up onto your deck. The commute to work is a bit of a haul, but you never have to worry about traffic, so.Half WayThis morning at about 6am we reached the half way point. We are 1000 miles from Cape Verde, 1000 miles from St. Lucia, and if I had Google I could tell you the depth and breadth of our isolation because it’s got to be miles of water below and air above.Will We. read more...

Umiko - Captain log

Captains Blog 29.11.19 Today was another fantastic day with light trade wind breezes. So far we have been one of the more northerly boats. We have been waiting for the wind to veer further to the east and then hopefully into the south east. This would mean we could gybe and continue on an optimum course. These shifts are never straightforward with a number of “false starts” with the inevitable unenviable course to follow post gybe…We are now on a port tack which is much better for my sleeping arrangements as I am not hanging in my lee cloth all the time. The wind has moved around to the east but as ever not as much as we were hoping with glimpses only of the numbers we were hoping for. Crew moral is good. Stay Calm passed less than half a mile from our bow this morning after six days of. read more...

Cuvee - Hurry up technique in low wind

Trying a trick or two trying to entice the boat along in this light wind since we have lost our spinnaker halyard!. read more...

Zaurak - Zaurak's Bimbling Blog

Zaurak's Bimbling BlogFriday 29th November 2019 Wildlife watch on ZaurakThis morning Claire and Adrian started off a day of wildlife in the dawn hours by attracting a pod of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins, a species that are known to chase fast boats and play around the bow. Their choice of vessel was somewhat questioned as we were still in our wind hiatus and Zaurak was slugging along at a measly four knots. That said, we'll take any encouragement we can get regarding our progress, even from marine wildlife. They turned out to be a good omen as by the afternoon we got fifteen knots of wind from the northeast and we have been averaging six knots ever since, with some highs of eight knots.We continue to see birds flying low above the water and everyone is making intelligent sounding guesses as. read more...

The Kid - Saint Antoine priez pour nous!

body { line-height: 1.5; }body { font-family: Tahoma; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 1.5; } Bonjour Nous avons passé un moment extraordinaire le jeudi 28 lorsque nous avons longé l'ile de San Antao une des îles de l'archipel du cap vert. La brise est joliment montée le long de la côte pour atteindre 18 20 nds et nous permettre un coup de boost fort honorable! Nous sommes restés proches de la côte en empannant à diverses reprises . L'Ile nous a présenté sa beauté minérale avec ses grands pans de montagne déchiquetés et ses petits hallos de verdure. Cette vision était somptueuse et nous a motivé comme jamais. Cette option sud a décidement des bons côtés même si elle reste incertaine!à bientôt! c u soon! JP and the Kid crew . read more...

Scarlet Oyster - Scarlet Blog 1

Hi All,Thought it was about time we submitted a blog in case we still have anyone interested in our progress!The start just over 2 days ago was a great way to begin this adventure, the end of the line nearest the shore was advantaged by both distance and wind angle, and even more helpfully by an absence of other boats!I am pleased to report we crossed the tine 3 or 4 seconds after the gun at the pin with spinnaker set, we managed to lead on the water for some time before any of the faster racing boats passed us, so that was rather satisfying!We managed to stay on one gybe for the first 30hrs or so, and with our deep running mode still stay on the advantaged west side of the course.Any further west would be to risk the wind shadow of the islands.Our predicted route suggested going quite. read more...

Skyelark of London - 1/4 way

By 02.00 this morning we were finally able to raisesails again and start making real progress,  after a number of  frustrating hours of calms and variablewinds. A period that entailed a lot of sail changes  followed by teasing the boat along.Then  jib down, spinnaker up. Thenspinnaker down and engine on. Sails up and engine off again etc etc.We are now however heading south west again under fullsail at a good speed,  enjoyingclear blue skies and lovely warm sunshine. Last nights Thanksgiving feast wasfinished for lunch and everyone has big smiles on their faces. I have celebratedby doing my first weeks laundry in a bucket on deck. However ona day like todayeven the chores aren’t too much of a hardship. To add to the the “feel good factor” of the day, we. read more...

Champagne Hippy - Day 6 - diesel maker almost fixed

Day 6 onboard Champagne Hippy and the work is continuing. we had some shower issues so we have been dealing with them. Nick almost has the diesel maker working now and we hope to have that up and running tonight :-)We cut some floor for the crew cabin and that is now fitted so there is now no longer a big hole in to the bilge to fall into.The weather is getting hot with everyone fighting for some shade under the bimini. The problem is that first thing the sun is low in the sky but still very hot - 1st world problem i guess!We have been making good progress through the fleet after our late start and thoughts are with those in the racing divisions who cannot use their engines and have had to get through the light patch the hard way.Anyway, the icemaker is churning out the ice, the beers. read more...

Umiko - Fiday the 29th Blog from Carolina in her second language!

Friday the 29th of NovemberHello from the youngest crew member, also one of the swedes, Carolina! To get the question from your father, if you would like to sail over the Atlantic is like having a teacher asking if you would like to get an A on your test. I mean, is that even a question? Of course, I wanted to sail over the Atlantic. The fact that our family has been sailing for every summer in my entire life and that I am also working as a sailing instructor did not really make the answer any harder. This has indeed always been on my bucket list. Also, as a stressed 17-year-old, leaving school for 2 weeks without being able to study in my online books, is like one never ending Christmas gift.To be honest though, I have never been so scared and nervous about something in my entire life.. read more...

Cuvee - Day 5-8 Clear sailing and then “Bang”

How things change! We passed half way yesterday and celebrated with Magnam Ice creams! Have had the asymmetric poled out for 6 days and averaged a speed of 8.2 kts yesterday. It was all to easy.2 days ago went to turn the genset on and the circuit wouldn’t switch the house power on! Dived for the manual which didn’t help much and then remembered there was a little lever I wasn’t supposed to lose kept in the map table that had something to do with power! That panel is behind, no under, no hat’s right it’s in the rear starboard transom. Mmmm we stacked and tied down 5 jerry cans in front of that! Push and shove and there we are I can get the key in and we have 240 power.Yesterday Thursday 27 Nov we jibed to port tack as the wind was pushing us north. Tried to snuff the G1 that has been up. read more...

Nizuc - Blog 15 Nizuc

BLOG 15 - Cleanliness is Next to GodlinessIt’s still calm, so there’s a lot of cleaning going on. We have a five-day rota: dishes and waste management; cabin and decks, and check/empty bilges; heads, shower, and sink; and cooking. If the wind doesn’t pick up, we are in danger of wearing a hole through the decks (or running out of cleaning products).It’s been very hot, and Bimini Cricket has come into his own, sheltering us from the sun. While helming, it is hard to keep in the shade.As I write, something has happened on deck, but it will have to wait for tomorrow’s blog.Still no fish, but the wind is picking up. We should be turning right, tonight, leaving Africa behind, and heading directly towards Saint Lucia.That’ll do. read more...

Sally - 24 hours of wonderfull sailing

Fantastic sailing the last 24 hours. Moderate wind from a perfect direction and almost no waves. Slept like a baby last night, 8 hours of nonstop sleep and a lazy day with the same conditions. No sailing records but doing acceptable speed, think we have averaged 5.5 knots. The last nightwhen Johan was on watch, we was visited by a whale. First sign was on the echo sounder that displayed a depth around 35 meters and after a while it displayed ”to deep” and Johan heard the sound of blowing whale 10-20 meters on SB side of Sally. Glad it didn’t surfaced closer. Today we have had a couple of more visits below Sally and now we are quite sure it is living animals below us when that happens. Some soundings have shown only 4 meters and we can only hope that it is smaller animals than whales. It. read more...

Little Island - 96 - 120 hours

The light winds continue! Yesterday was a real test of patience. Very little wind with the boat only making 3 knots on terrible angles (probably more like 2 knots or less VMG). Sometimes we joke about being able to walk quicker but I could have almost certainly swam faster than we were moving!Thankfully a bit of breeze came in around dinner time and the angle was perfect for the cruising chute, so we had a good 8 hours at 5-6 knots smack on bearing. This meant the boat was moving nice and smoothly and all was stable, allowing Cat her best sleep so far. Much needed! Cat has been superb generally this trip. She is a totally different sailor to our previous passages. She’s confident with the sails, steering and has stood all of her watches to the full, standing on for a little longer. read more...

Celtic Star - Blog 5, Friday 29 Nov, Day 6

All quiet on the western front.It certainly was very quiet here yesterday. So much so that we finally abandoned sailing and resorted to motor-sailing at 0700 today. This was a real shame as we were keen to get a result in the Racing Fleet. But, several days of very light winds meant that we were making very slow progress and we really do want to arrive before Christmas ...We are however very pleased to have logged so much continuous spinnaker sailing: 93 hours and 437Nm; we feel this is some kind of achievement. Can anyone else beat that? Our slow progress did allow a few high points, at one moment our speed fell to one knot so Richard & Petra enjoyed a mid-Atlantic swim. In the early dawn we had a very close encounter with some whales, who briefly surfaced to breath less than. read more...

Summerwinds of Cuan - A chance move?

We have for the last few days been making a southerly heading towards the Cape Verde Islands. The old sailing captains used to "Head South until the butter melts" and then turn right towards the Caribbean. Last time we did this passage we took the 'Rhumb line', which is direct from the Canary Islands to St Lucia in a straight line. Sometimes this works, but there has been very little wind with a high pressure area sat lower. The recommended route from the meteorologists was the Butter melting one. Most boats have followed this going to 20N 25W.We have followed this 'ish' but staying as little further west. There has been so little wind as watchers of the YB will have seen. A lot of boats including ourselves have had to motor at times when the wind died away completely. We have been. read more...

Jua Kali - The Jua Kali Report - Day 5

Day five brought us a lot more change than day four did.First it was time to come back down South West towards the trades which meant getting the A5 down and hoisting one of the symmetric spinnakers. Unfortunately the one we hoisted first turned out to have a couple of small tears in (probably from the last time it was dropped) so we brought that down to repair and instead hoisted the red and yellow "dragon" spinnaker.The wind has been a little confused, not being able to decide if it wanted to be 15 knots or 5 or even from the North or East. This has made for difficult driving and tricky trimming but with a lot of effort and concentration it seems we are nearly back into some consistent pressure.The afternoon brought our second fish, another beautiful mahi mahi which we marinated for a. read more...

Salamander - Day 6. Surprise Thanksgiving Aboard

Day 6. Surprise Thanksgiving AboardDear Salamander Nation,The five Americans in a crew of nine aboard Salamander received a welcome taste of home yesterday when Hilary presented the crew with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.We put on the autopilot and for the first time all nine of us gathered in thesalon.At Jimmy's suggestion, we shared what we were thankful for on this Thanksgiving.Hilary's meal - a total surprise -included turkey, mashed yams, beans, gravy and, for desert, mince pie!It was a real treat for those of us from the US and an introduction to Thanksgiving for our English crew--Transmitted by Timothy Richards using YB Connect (www.ybtracking.com). read more...

Fish Pie - Friday 29th November

Yesterday was sooooo boring!!! Drifting around trying to find what littlewind there was and make the most of it, sails flapping and flogging.Still I took the opportunity to have a dip, holding on to a trailing fender– its surprising how fast you actually are moving! Adrian and Justin followedsuit – Justin taking the opportunity to do his laundry as well – he waswondering when the spin cycle was going to start! Martin has a rope burn injury, which we’ve been dressing and treating withantibiotic cream – Justin said it was like watching that programme on TV –Animal Hospital! The sea is fairly glassy and we have some dolphins have been sighted, butnot much else in the way of wild life. Last night was very dark – it is a new moon, and there was quite a lot ofcloud cover, it felt very eerie. read more...

Challenger 1 - Crew Blog Challenger 1 28/11/19

How do you feel about the progress challenger 1 has made so far in the race?It’s been a slow start to the race due to the winds. We have made great progress in heading south, closer to the trade winds which hopefully will set us up for the second half of the passage. Our first night was by far the best for progress, reaching up to 15 knots. Fingers crossed that next week we can match this again.What do you like about life on board challenger 1?Life onboard challenger 1 is very different to life ashore. There’s not much privacy living so close to each other. On the plus side, we have grown as a team and formed strong bonds which makes times easier when are progress is slow. Meal times are the one time where both watches are up and socialising over delicious food that one another has. read more...

Double Vision - Log day 6

Greetings from Double Vision where, despite lolling in light winds, morale is goodbolstered by the good food and company we are enjoying. Nick, a fishing virgin,has caught his first two fish allowing us to enjoy 'pan fried line caught mahe mahe' and today a 'thai style mahi mahi curry'. Napoleon said an army marches on its stomach and Double Vision takes this seriously. Our sour dough survives for bread, and the only fresh food casualties are a few soggy mandarins. We have no freezer but the fridge is keeping our meat frozen at the back, although if Nick carries on with his fishing success we will be donating our chicken to the ocean. Poached eggs on crushed avocado, fusilli Bolgnaise, sausages in honey and mustard dressing, and homemade guacamole have been other highlights and we have. read more...

Life of Reilly III - Happy Thanksgiving

Today we celebrated American Thanksgiving, in honour of our Texan crew member, Dirk. Chef Richard defrosted some rib eye steaks for the occasion and Skipper Peter selected a choice bottle of red wine from the wine cellar. But everything changed when we heard that whizzing sound from the transom. Fred, being the closest, grabbed the rod and cranked the drag as hard as he could, but still the big fish was taking line. We had hooked a monster! We were all afraid we would lose it, as had happened with another fish a couple of days ago, but Peter had rigged the rod with much heavier line this time. The fish gave up fairly quickly after a brief but intense fight for its life. The battle to land it continued for some time though because the sheer dead weight of the fish dragging behind the boat. read more...

Hawkeye - ARC Blog – Day 5 – Thanksgiving and fishing

The light winds continue for most of the ARC fleet, so Hawkeye has been engaged in a mixture of motoring in smooth, glassy seas and a cat-and-mouse game of chasing ever-changing fickle light winds.We keep trying all types of sail combinations, but always with the same outcome - which is painfully slow progress.Our favourite rig is sailing dead downwind with twin Genoas, for which Hawkeye is very well prepared, something we've learnt from previous Atlantic crossings.The rare times we see more than 10 knots of wind is cause for celebration, as we can then hit the dizzy heights of speeds of 3 to 4 knots. Still 2,300 miles to go to St Lucia though, which is a loooooong way at that speed!Of course Hawkeye carries enough fuel to motor almost all the way if we had to, but we shouldn't need to,. read more...

Next Step - Thursday 28th November 2019

Woke up today to very little wind so it's another day of motoring to get further South to pick up the Trades. During the night the yachts around us disappeared but we did see one cargo ship on the AIS about 16 nautical miles behind us.This morning the Head of Catering has given us permission to fish..yippee! so at 1105 the first fishing line went in the water, here's hoping we catch a nice fish. At last we have seen a Dolphin and flying fish as well as a number of what I think were Storm Petrel's. As we had hot water from the engine running everyone took the opportunity to have a shower. Shortly after we ran the water maker for the first time on the trip.. Oh dear, we have a water leak from one of the high pressure units which we will have to sort in St Lucia. We did manage to fill the. read more...