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20/05/2023

Avventura - Bermuda - Azores : Day 4

32:17.975N 56:17.001W alle 20:30 (22:30 UTC) del 18 maggio 2023. -Sun, music and whales -Smiles and rest finally -And a good shower to freshen our skins, like the shining sun freshens our souls -When sailing in the ocean you can admire in the sky what you study in the books about meteo. This morning, at sunshine, we passed through the eye of of the cyclon* that proved us the previous days, it was quite a good moment! Now we reached the long awaited sweet high pressure of the Azores. Our hearts are higher and dryer now! It's laundry time! *technically a "cold front squeezed in between two high pressures merging together with a developing low pressure at the end of the front" but it doesn't sound as cool. -Today's blog has been written freely and collectively by Alessandro C., Alessandro. read more...


Avventura - Bermuda - Azores : Day 4
Avventura - Bermuda - Azores : Day 4
Time Out - Time Out - Day 1, Departing Bermuda
Time Out - Time Out - Day 1, Departing Bermuda
20/05/2023

Time Out - Time Out - Day 1 Bermuda to Azores

Time for our Departure, Day 1 of what is looking like a 14d crossing of around 2000nm. The boat is stocked, crew briefed on all the navigation and security processes. The Bermuda Triangle is supposed to be a myth, but I must admit that the weather here is complicated, we are passed the actual triangle as such when heading out east, but we have seen two boats arrive without masts while we have been here, having encountered complex weather off of the Bahamas, and a number of Arc boats are returning to Bermuda we various breakages. We have waited out the weather, and fingers crossed, the next 5 days should be good sailing and we may even make up some time. We’ll post more of our adventures along the route, hopefully some good fishing, and some entertaining moments. Jim Saunders - sv TimeOut. read more...


20/05/2023

Time Out - Time Out - Day 1 Bermuda to Azores

C’est le jour J pour Timeout !La fenêtre météo se precise, nous partons avec trois jours de retard mais nous devrions éviter d’avoir le vent de face ce qui sera plus propice a la navigation d’un catamaran dans des conditions confortables. Nous partons pour 14/15 jours de navigation.Le bateau est prêt, nous sommes dans les derniers préparatifs: nettoyage du bateau, changement des filtres du desalanisateur, revision du loch… le capitaine doit faire les papiers pour la sortie du bateau des Bermudes et récupérer en douane le nécessaire pour les apéros en mer…Finalement, nous aurons pu profiter un peu plus des Bermudes et visiter les spots principaux.. read more...


19/05/2023

Avventura - Bermuda - Azores : Day 3

31:44.493N 58:38.580W alle 20:00 (22:00 UTC) del 19maggio 2023.   From no wind to almost too much. From gently lulled tofirmly shook. Such is the change that happens in a few hours on the ocean,making our reality very different everyday. Today we have 22-25 knots to sail against ("di bolinastretta") and some sizable waves to dodge. Each one of us got at least once agood taste of seawater when one wave bigger than the others takes us bysurprise. Staying dry is a challenge, even more so now that theinside of the boat is also getting wet in these conditions.   The weather forecast promises us a change in the nexthours, with a shift of wind direction and a reduction in its intensity. Untilthen we hold strong, and so does the boat.     Bonus: The 4 stages of getting. read more...


Avventura - Bermuda - Azores : Day 3
Avventura - Bermuda - Azores : Day 3
19/05/2023

Bluewater Mooney - 18.05.2023 2. Tag Bluewater Mooney

Wir haben exakt an der von unserem Wetterprogramm Predict Wind angegebenen nördlichen Höhe die Front erreicht. Zuvor konnten wir unter Genacker auf Backbordbug raumschots bis fast achterlich NWW machen. Das war ein sanftes dahingleiten. Dann, innerhalb von zehn Minuten drehte der Wind um 180 Grad und kam mit 18 bis 22 kn aus Nord. Alles vorhergesagt. Und damit sind wir bei immer zunehmender Welle 345 Grad missweisend gefahren. Alles nach der Planung, aber gewöhnungsbedürftig, denn wir machten zwar Nord, aber entfernten uns vonden Azoren richtung Osten. Demgegenüber blieben die anderen Yachten auf ähnlichen Kursen südlich von uns Richtung Ost. Sicherlich für die Yachten ok, die die nächsten Tage immer mal wieder motoren können,aber das gilt nicht für alle. Vermutlich. read more...


18/05/2023

Avventura - Bermuda - Azores : Day 2

32:51.496N 61:01.470W alle 20:00 (22:00 UTC) del 18maggio 2023.   It was a moonless night, and stars sparkled in the spotsof the sky the clouds were not covering. Venus was shining brightest, making a reflection on thesea like a substitute moon.   What yesterday had in favorable winds, today took away.We flew our gennaker all night but as the sun rose, it was stored away and theengine was turned on. It is still going as I write these lines, gently lulledby the long waves of the calm ocean.   We had lunch floating on a silver sea, observing thedifferent cloud formations around us, hoping to find the one that will bring uswind. In the afternoon we saw a whale and Marco managed to geta picture of it. Blurry evidence of two paths that crossed briefly.    . read more...


Avventura - Bermuda - Azores : Day 2
Avventura - Bermuda - Azores : Day 2
18/05/2023

Blonde Moment - Leg 2 Log 1

Blonde Moment Boat Log Thursday May 18, 2023Yesterday we said goodbye to beautiful Bermuda. We had a chance to explore and visit some attractions after some repairs were completed to a leaky hatch, and a patch on our head sail was taken care of at the local sail locker. We also attended some very nice ARC events.We had a very good start yesterday, and for our first 12 hours we made great progress with good winds.It is always amazing to see a large group of sail boats crossing the start line. Last night we lost our wind and ended up motoring until it came back for as few more hours. The moonless and cloudless night provided quite the star show, where we saw a flash of lightthat lit up the sky off our port side that had no explanation. The seas and wind are calm today, and we have had to. read more...


18/05/2023

Time Out - 18/05/2023 Bermuda to Azores

We didn't Start ! Given some technical issues (don't you always love those last minute problems), and a cold front arriving Friday from the North, we decided that it really wasn't worth rushing out the gate, and we would sit out the weather here in comfortable Bermuda, while Catamarans are great cruisers, they don’t like going upwind into heavy seas, and that is what the fleet is facing the next couple of days. This is a lesson learnt from the 2021 ARC crossing, where in hindsight we should not have left and waited for a better window. We continue our preparations, with the crew off visiting and doing the final provisioning for the crossing which is now looking more like a 14 day crossing rather than 11/12 day crossing, but we are used to that. The boat is as ready as it can be now, so. read more...


18/05/2023

Walkabout - Day 4 - 15 miles to Fakarava, Tuamotu

S15:54 W145:37Our final night at sea and the sun is about to rise above the horizon and we are all looking forward to anchoring off the town of Rotoava and having dinner ashore!Fakarava is the second largest of the atolls that are the Tuamotu archipelago and along with 6 other atolls, forms part of the Nature Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. There are two main villages on Fakarava, Rotoava in the north and Tetamanu in the south where the first Catholic Church was built out of coral in 1874. The island is surrounded by a crown of reed stretching 60 km long and 25 wide.The island is known for its emerald waters, luxurious fauna and flora and incredible diving and snorkelling due to the coral, fish and strong concentration of grey sharks! Sort of puts me off snorkelling and swimming to be. read more...


18/05/2023

Endeavour III - Blog Day 1

Day 1!We crossed the start line at 12:01, in great winds, and lovely sunshine! Dodging the fast ferry out of St. George’s Town cut, to cheers from the passengers! Must have been a sight seeing 25 sailing yachts, all with full sail jostling for place. Out into open water and we raise the code Zero, and started making good ground until the halyard slipped! A couple of places lost before we sorted our first (I’m sure of many) problem. With the now reefed code zero back in action we made very good ground!Was a good day of sailing, keeping an eye on our on fellow ARC boats. Alas 2 of our crew were still to find their sea legs.As chef of the day Dominique had shrewdly prepared a lasagna the previous day, and was absolutely delicious! A meal to aspire to. Into the night and the wind slowly. read more...


Bluewater Mooney - 17.05. Start BLUEWATER MOONEY
Bluewater Mooney - 17.05. Start BLUEWATER MOONEY
Bluewater Mooney - 17.05. Start BLUEWATER MOONEY
Bluewater Mooney - 17.05. Start BLUEWATER MOONEY
Bluewater Mooney - 17.05. Start BLUEWATER MOONEY
Bluewater Mooney - 17.05. Start BLUEWATER MOONEY
Bluewater Mooney - 17.05. Start BLUEWATER MOONEY
Bluewater Mooney - 17.05. Start BLUEWATER MOONEY
18/05/2023

Bluewater Mooney - 17.05.2023 Start in St Georgs, Bermudas

Es ist jetzt schon 21:30 Zonenzeit Bermudas (- 5 Std deutscher Zeit), 09:30 Stunden nach dem Start.Jetzt haben wir uns schon recht gut eingesegelt. Wir, dass sind Nicole und ich, und dieses Mal zusammen mit meiner Schwester Bibi.Wir haben alles recht ruhig angehen lassen. Abgelegt um 11:00, dann noch einmal zur Tankstelle, 26 Liter nachgetankt – der Verbrauch der letzten 4 Tage für Generator; bei der Ankunft hatten wir bereits vollgetankt – jetzt haben wir dievolle Tankkapazität zur Verfügung, das heißt 900 Liter Diesel.Vielleicht waren wir etwas zu ruhig, die Vorbereitung war etwas zu nachlässig. Die Backstage standen noch, dadurch kann das Großsegel nicht sauber raus, 4 Minuten vor dem Start klariert, zwei Minuten vor dem Start Genua raus – Schot unklar– echt peinlich, hat noch einmal. read more...


17/05/2023

Avventura - Bermuda - Azores : Day 1

32:26.281N 63:58.510W alle 18:00 (20:00 UTC) del 17maggio 2023.   Another big departure day. After saying goodbye to onecrewmember, Federica, and welcoming another one on boar, Alessandro, the newcrew is now complete for this next step of the way.Avventura's bow will now be pointing towards the East,until we reach the Azores, 1,800 nautical mile away. It is twice as far as we have already sailed until now,and the weather conditions already appear to be quite varied. We  plan onreaching the Portuguese archipelago in approximately two weeks.   The departure from St George was a beautiful moment,with the many sails on the water all rushing towards the ocean, eager to feelthe vastness of the sea once more.We leave Bermuda and the crystal blue water of its reef,its lush. read more...


Avventura - Bermuda - Azores : Day 1
Avventura - Bermuda - Azores : Day 1
17/05/2023

Walkabout - Day 3 - Nuka Hiva to Fakarava - Slow days at Sea

S13:60 W144:02Hello,We are all trying to get back into the routine of life at sea, you would have thought it would be pretty easy after spending nearly 3 weeks at sea about 10 days ago. It feels like we set off on a day sail that’s just been lasting for the last 72 hours so far. Maybe that’s just all my mind could cope with thinking about after the passage we have done!We are gradually still on the mend with eating bigger and more substantial portions every time. There is still some food we think about cooking and go maybe not today, just a step too far. For breakfast we had eggy bread and bacon sandwiches which smelt and tasted unbelievably good. Lunch was bean salad, coleslaw and wraps and dinner was tomato bolognese pasta while we took part in our daily not so formal SSB call. We have. read more...


15/05/2023

Walkabout - Day 1 - Nuku Hiva to Tuamotus

S10:39 W141:22The biggest tuna we did catch!Walkabout is once again on the move and are currently on passage to the Tuamotus. These are an archipelago of atolls rich in sea life, coral reefs and tidal ways that can be tricky to navigate. We are looking forward to exploring a few of the atolls before making our way to Tahiti and rendezvous with Bron on 3rd June! It wasn’t long before we left Haahopu Bay yesterday morning that the fishing line was out. We had our share of near misses with some BIG fish of late, namely a 10kg+ Tuna we weren’t able to land and then a Sailfish that we fought with for 20 minutes before it took our line and lure! And boy did it put up a fight, jumping and somersaulting out the water!!On this occasion, we happily landed a large 8kg black tuna, not 100% sure what. read more...


15/05/2023

Jadamama - Jadamama blog phots

Mountain pass at Anaho and arrival in Fakarava 036F887A-94AA-40C3-B2E8-6E1D4ACB8FE5_1_105_c79657748-B7F8-4266-B3CB-33F74E04EB3D_1_105_c. read more...


Jadamama - Jadamama blog phots
Jadamama - Jadamama blog phots
Jadamama - Jadamama blog phots
Jadamama - Jadamama blog phots
15/05/2023

Jadamama - Jadamama arrives in Fakarava, Tuamotus

From Ua Pou we made for Anaho which is a calm and well protected anchorage in the North East of mountainous Nuku Hiva. It is surrounded by a reef and beach with just a small village set among palm and fruit trees with the next village a boat ride or a trek over a mountain pass away so the atmosphere is very tranquil. You have to book lunch or dinner a day in advance at the only restaurant but the lobster was certainly worth the wait. We had lunch alongside the beach after a breath-taking morning climb up to the pass where we could see that visiting yachts outnumbered local houses by about three to one.We motor sailed around the island then to Taoia especially to see a famous waterfall that was rumoured to have dried out.The anchorage is an almost magical gap in a rough and rugged. read more...


15/05/2023

Walkabout - The Marquesas

S9:51 W139:09Since our arrival in the Marquesas on 2nd May, we have visited 4 of these stunning islands and are loving it here! We arrived on Hiva Oa in a small anchorage and were met by Cheryl and Heikki from Zelda who we first met on the ARC+ in 2021. They were anchored in the north of the island and had a hire car for the day so were happy to pick us up and take us into town where we purchased sim cards, withdrew some local cash, picked up some supplies, visited the gendarmerie to finalise our check-in and then met up with fellow ARC mates for some lunch.The people of the marquesas are extremely generous and friendly, we were waved over by a chap on our walk back from town who asked where we were from and offered us a hand of his bananas from his plantation. We took as many. read more...


Norm the Storm - St Georges Dinghy and Sports Club
Norm the Storm - St Georges Dinghy and Sports Club
13/05/2023

Wethomi - A cold front ...

... is something you really do not need on sea - but it comes anyway!"Our" cold front came from the north and started by bringing us the joy of 24 hours of running the engine against light wind and waves; when the wind came up again and we started to sail it blew within minutes so strong we had to reef the sails immediately. Followed an unpleasant night without sleep in strong winds and short ugly waves and in really cold air.But finally air and sea calmed down and a very beautiful sailing day was the reward for our efforts.Now we are cruising in very calm conditions under a clear starry sky towards Bermuda and are happy not be in the harbour yet.What else happened? Had fresh Captain`s bread.Live guitar music in the cockpit.A big fish bate off our lure - again no catch.130 NM to St. George. read more...


12/05/2023

Blonde Moment - 12th May

12th May 2023Conditions continue to change frequently as we make our approach to Bermuda. During calm seas we encountered a small pod of dolphins, who played off our bow for about 10 minutes as we were completing a sail change at sunset. We still have not caught any fish, but we have collected a handful of flying fish off the deck, after their failed attempts to fly over our boat. On Thursday we were besting to windward and were being pushed further east by currents with a north wind. A very well time tach put us on a direct course to Bermuda, but we faced swells which were close together (short) and a significant heel. This made for some entertaining shifts at the helm as we crashed through the waves, water covering the deck and hitting our wind shield. However, this made for a rather. read more...


11/05/2023

Avventura - Sint Maarten - Bermuda : Day 6

30:17.570N 64:01.858W alle 18:00 (21:00 UTC) del 11 maggio 2023. A small fish found on deckOf the flying fancy kindDidn't see us in the night. A big ship crossed our pathOf the giant oily kindWe steered clear of its light. Sometimes even the ocean feels too small. Today the wind is strong, over 20 knots, and blowing from the north/north-east. We once again have to go against it, sailing close haul and against the swell. This is great sailing experience for anyone at the helm, having to deal with the elements while maintaining the boat and crew comfortable enough.Onboard Avventura the autopilot is very rarely turned on, save for the motoring time.This means everyone gets about 4 hours of helm time per day, in all the conditions and wind angles encountered.. read more...


Avventura - Sint Maarten - Bermuda : Day 6
Avventura - Sint Maarten - Bermuda : Day 6
10/05/2023

Avventura - Sint Maarten - Bermuda : Day 5

28:18.119N 63:36.331W alle 16:00 (19:00 UTC) del 10 maggio 2023. Yesterday's dreams were quite peculiar. A missile shot across the night sky, knocking down the stars in its path. They fell into the sea, creating submarine constellations, dancing around the boat.It was later on discovered that we all shared the same dream, and so as strange as it may seem, it had to be accepted as reality. But what caused such a strange succession of events ?The object crossing the sky was most likely, we theorized, a rocket launch. Coming straight west from us, where Florida is, we imagined its departure from Cape Canaveral, before crossing the entire sky leaving a smoking trail behind it.Or maybe instead of going towards space was it falling from it ? After such a mysterious occurrence, one can forgive. read more...


Avventura - Sint Maarten - Bermuda : Day 5
Avventura - Sint Maarten - Bermuda : Day 5
11/05/2023

Wethomi - What is Atlantic sailing?

Fast sailing in reaching winds, hard sailing under reefed sails, wonderful sailing for hours with the spinnaker, motoring over mirrorlike waters: all in one day.And so we are presently motoring under a beautiful half moon, lightning behind us, waiting for the next wind change.What else happened? Caught a fishing net instead of fish and had to cut the fishing line. Repaired the genakker boom on the bow while on the move. Enjoyed a glass of self imported Madeira for sunset.630 NM to go. read more...


10/05/2023

Blonde Moment - log 2

Blonde Moment Boat Log11th May 2023Blonde Moment faced a variety of conditions which required multiple sail changes over the last couple of days. With light winds, a current, and lumpy seas working against each other there was quite a bit of rocking and rolling which caused sails to bang no matter what we tried. After several hours things flattened out, and after a jibe we were on the right path again. Our fishing line once again only caught seaweed, and we have had a couple of flying fish on the deck. It is also very interesting listening to the other boats report in on the SSB radio group, and to hear about their challenges and successes. Crew is in good spirits as we are down to under 250 miles to Bermuda, and the boat cabin temperature is thankfully cooling off at night. We have had. read more...


10/05/2023

Blonde Moment - LOG 1 8TH MAY

Blonde Moment Boat Log May 8, 2023After a great start we had hot conditions with light winds. There was an amazing moonrise on Saturday night, and an equally impressive sunrise Sunday morning. A seabird of some type landed on our dinghy cover and stayed with us for about 24 hours, then departed. Fishing was attempted, but with no success, other than some seaweed. When faced with very light winds on Sunday afternoon we made the decision to motor for almost 2 hours and the the wind dramatically changed in our favour, and our speed increased to about 8.0 kts. Monday the weather has been very good with no rain, but we started out with rather lumpy seas, which have flattened out as the day progresses. So far (thankfully) we have had not had any significant issues to deal with as we head for. read more...


09/05/2023

Avventura - Sint Maarten - Bermuda : Day 4

26:01.946N 63:42.416W alle 17:00 (20:00 UTC) del 9 maggio 2023. Today it rained. Quite a lot. It rinsed some of the salt that has slowly penetrated our souls and hair.The air got a bit cooler and the sky cloudier, giving us a welcomed break from the heat of the past days. The challenge "In bermuda until Bermuda" is getting more difficult, and in fact half of the crew has already lost it.We continue sailing under gennaker, cutting through the gentle waves of this tuesday afternoon. It will soon be time for "aperitivo". Life onboard is good.. read more...


Avventura - Sint Maarten - Bermuda : Day 4
Avventura - Sint Maarten - Bermuda : Day 4
09/05/2023

Wethomi - ARC Fleet sailing

For over 24 hours we sailed together with 2 other ARC-Europe boats - Jubilate Mare and Herceg-Novi - in viewing range. Very nice feeling. Winds were great during the day and blew us towards Bermuda. In the evening we passed an old front and the wind increased significantly. So we reefed the sails and tried not to be thrown around in the waves. Now in the early Tuesday morning it is calm again and we are looking forward what the day will bring.What else happened? Nice chat in the radio net, fresh Guacamole and Quiche and no fish on the line.540 NM to go. read more...


08/05/2023

Wethomi - The whole sailing program in 1 day

During the last 24 hours we sailed with the genoa and the main, with spinakker, used the engine while there was no wind, then again with full genoa and main and now for the last hours with reefed sails. Progress is good now and mood on board fantastic.What else happened? Nothing! No fish on the line, no playing dolphins, no blasting whale, no smiling mermaid. Poor sailors!660 NM to Bermuda. read more...


07/05/2023

Misty of Mylor - Misty's blog: Mountain hopping in French Polynesia

It’s April. I am currently in Rangiora, 200 nautical miles from Tahiti. It’s 28 degrees (at 8am) but feels more if there is no breeze. During the day it’s sunny most of the time and at night we have showers and thunderstorms.French Polynesia is one of the most remote places on Earth anyone can travel to. So far We have visited the Marquesas (Hiva Oa, Nuku Hiva and Oa Pou) and Tuamotus (Kauehi, Fakarava and Rangiora). The Marquesas Islands have mountains, loads of green vegetation, jungles and waterfalls, while the Tuamotus Islands are atolls. They are flat, full of palm trees and the middle of these islands have a hole formed by the crater of an underwater volcano. It’s like a lake surrounded by a halfmile land ring with usually one or two gaps where boats can sail in and out.All these. read more...


07/05/2023

Avventura - Sint Maarten - Bermuda : Day 2

20:40.615N 63:20.750W alle 18:20 (21:20 UTC) del 7 maggio 2023. After near ideal conditions yesterday, the wind weakened during the night. The stars helped us navigate and the bright moon kept company to those doing night guard. We managed to keep sailing until dawn, but most of today's route has been accompanied by the rhythmic roar of the engine. Still, good progress has been made and we should find ourselves in favorable conditions once again during the night. Although all sight of land has been long lost, we keep seeing on the horizon the friendly shape of other ships' sails.. read more...


Avventura - Sint Maarten - Bermuda : Day 2
Avventura - Sint Maarten - Bermuda : Day 2
07/05/2023

Wethomi - Wethomi is on the road again

After 5 month cruising in the Caribbean from Grenada to Culebra it is time to go east again.So we left Sint Maarten with 18 other boats today heading to Bermuda.And what a beautiful first day it was.First the departure from the lagoon in Sint Maarten through the bridge, then our perfect rally start as first boat crossing the start line and now wunderful ocean sailing with reaching winds and only little waves under the full moon.What else happened? Delicious vegetarian hamburgers from Deniz. Impressing sunset.825 NM to go. read more...


Jadamama - The crew in Oa Pou.
Jadamama - The crew in Oa Pou.
05/05/2023

Jadamama - Jadamama blog from Ua Pou, Marquesas

We arrived in Hiva Oa late on May 1/early May 2 after over 20 relatively peaceful days at sea punctuated by the odd excitement such as a fish, a boat or a weather event.The last few days were a bit more difficult as the weather deteriorated and we had lost our starboard steering due to a break in the cable.Heno and Polly rigged a back-up system with dyneema and some u-bolts which got us in but there was another cable also perilously close to failing. We had no hand steering and were completely reliant on the autopilot system, even in the anchorage, until Heno put a longer term fix in place. Hiva Oa is a forbidding island to arrive at as sheer rock rises up to a volcano crater that is shrouded in clouds.Jurassic Park is certainly an image that springs to mind !As it was dark when we. read more...


02/05/2023

Walkabout - Quick Update - Land Ahoy!!!

S9:53 W138:49Through the pitch black of a moonless night, we are able to make out the outline of islands!We have 12 miles to run to get to our anchorage in Hiva Oa.Nearly there!We should arrive around sunrise, and then try and find somewhere to anchor - apparently it is rather busy in paradise.Further update to follow later, one we are secure.A,T&Tx. read more...


30/04/2023

Walkabout - Day 18 - We found some wind

S9:15W133:48After days of on and off motoring we now have some steady wind, since the last update the wind has built gradually as was predicted. We were able to fly the BWR the whole of yesterday making great progress until around 5 in the evening. But at that stage the wind had reached 17-18 knots and we were storming towards Hiva Oa at 8-9 knots. It was great to make such good speed but with the forecast only set for the wind to build on what it was we had to bring it down. We reverted back to 2 reefs in the main and 1 in the Genoa both on the starboard side with the main on a gybe preventer. We were still making good speed, as the evening was drawing in we had a squall come past with some rain. We hadn’t seen a squall in a good 10 days, maybe as we are getting closer to land?? We put. read more...