Logs

Uno - Day 16: Gisele caught her first mahi mahi!

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 19.0px '.AppleSystemUIFont'} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 19.0px '.AppleSystemUIFont'; min-height: 24.0px} span.s1 {font-family: 'UICTFontTextStyleBody'; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-size: 19.00px}Monday 4th DecemberSo I said yesterday that we had not seen a squall yet, and then this morning at 715am we saw our first two show up on the radar! Protocol was to wake the captain as we had been sailing all night downwind, gull-winged & need two people to adjust the sails. Rich came up & we made a plan. The main was already reefed (following our conservative, back-of-the-pack sailing tactic ;) ) so we removed the barber hauler and preventer line to change from a downwind setup, reefed the Genoa and got ready. read more...

Hot Stuff - 14:45.27N 53:05.14W

Marching on! We have around 500 or so miles to go and after a squall hit last night we continued still managing over our 7 knot target with a reef in. It was tiring but made good progress. We have seen the buoys marked on the chart for Mid and West Atlantic but there is some debate as to whether these actually exist. That is one of the first google searches we need to try to see as we cant have been to far from their positions.We also considered last night in a slight sleep deprived stated Sir Francis Drake and his quest  sailing the Atlantic discovering potatoes! We have a bag on board yet to be cooked so its almost as if we are merely transporting some potatoes to their original point of origin or at least somewhat closer to home!Odd. read more...

Wolkenschlößchen - Day 16 - They exist

Today was our squall premiere! After an unpleasant night in which our normal sails were banging most of the time, we pulled up the oxley first thing in the morning. So much better! This also meant, we had to be observant for squalls and today, they actually came! Around midday we were able to avoid the first big one by altering course but only a few minutes later, the next one hit us. When it was 4 miles away, we quickly took the Oxley down and just 5 minutes later winds increased from 15 knots to 26 knots within seconds! But after a bit of rain (sadly not enough to clean the boat) all was back to normal again. Good for us though to gain some experience with these things. We had a second small one later the day but now starting into the night, all looks gentile again. We still took. read more...

Saida - Saida day 14 & 15

Great sailing day on Saturday but winds varied up to 40 degrees from their forecast, which was not in our favor, forcing us off a direct heading to the finish line. In addition, on Sunday, a Squall took us by surprise, cracking the bow sprit. This means for the remaining 2 days, we can't use our gennaker. Other than that, all good. Still enough food and the cooks deserve the first Michelin Star ever given to a sailing yacht!. read more...

Pure Fun - ARC 2023 - 3-2-1 vorbei, bald

3 - 2 - 1 - vorbei, baldwir nähern uns Saint Lucia. Es wird gefühlt jeden Tag wärmer. Der Wind kommt aus einer nicht 100% passenden Richtung für uns. Wir müssen zu „hoch“ fahren. Kompasskurs 300-310°, sonst fällt die Genua ein. Wir vermissen unseren gelben Engel…den Gennaker. Leider liegt er zerrissen in der Segellast. . Leider fehlt uns gerade die perfekte Besegelung, das frustriert uns schon ein bisschen….da wir nichts ändern können, üben wir uns wie gewohnt im „annehmen“ und das Beste draus machen. Vor Sonnenuntergang wechseln wir wahrscheinlich auf das Segel das mit „P“ beginnt und „r“ endet und nicht bei Allen unserer Crew beliebt ist. “Ohne Großsegel ist ein Segelboot kein richtiges Segelboot“ habe ich die Tage mal aufgeschnappt. Ich mag den Parasailor. Er segelte uns bisher immer. read more...

Adina - Day 16 Seaweed, sunshine and success

Adina and her merry crew are now less than 1000 miles from St Lucia. In recognition of this special moment, the Week 3 snack tin was opened to rapturous applause.We continue to head west, in bright sunshine and with increasing wind which Adina appears to enjoy and justifies the skipper’s decision to head so far south. He is also the one who loves to roll.Yesterday we covered 146 miles and we hope today to be able to break the 150 mile mark. We had a neighbour appear on AIS- the first time for three days - and highlights the vastness of this place.Our deck inspections have identified nothing serious, except requiring the removal of deceased flying fish.For the fourth day we have had to plow through increasing lines of seaweed - olvreus seeweedicus (paininthearseus) and as a result had to. read more...

Freedom - Blog 16 Monday 4th December 2023

Editor: CJGood Day to you All.Firstly, thank you for all your messages, good wishes and encouragement (faithfully conveyed by Dave), which are much appreciated by all the Crew. We are especially amused by those of you who join in the spirit of the adventure and even enter ‘crew banter’. Apparently, some are vicariously, fully, living the voyage by dressing in their Sowesters for dinner whilst enjoying the blog (no names but thank you Charles and Sue Russell Smith for your enthusiasm!).Sailing progress is good and the ‘trades’ seem to be well established for the rest of our journey. They have been blowing 16/20 knots from the WSW for the last 48hrs and during the last 24 the squalls seem to have died away. It is sunny and warm with high cloud and a few lower puffy white clouds skiding by. read more...

Hot Stuff - 14:29.92N 50:24.51W

We saw another boat!!! Last night we saw and passed another yacht! There must be loads around us but we can generally only see the at night from their mast head lights. The updates from friends and family from home give us an idea of who might be near by but we cant get anything on AIS at all from the plotter so its generally guess work. We will see when we get in if we are transmitting although we think we are?!!Back under kite today at first light. Darren has def got some more things signed off his dinghy level 3. He can now hove too and sail a 40 foot yacht backwards in the dark. I am not sure many of can do that well! Also he still holds the speed record so it might just be he is showboating now!We are looking at around 3 days at the moment to finish as far as we can tell but we will. read more...

Wolkenschlößchen - Day 15 - The stars

The moon is getting less each day and also it only comes up around midnight. Good nights for us to see this abundance of stars all around us. Being so far off civilization, there is practically no light distortion and it really makes the difference.  We are enjoying comfortable sailing although wind is expected to pick up during the night. Thus we took down our oxley and give our normal sails another chance. Better safe than sorry. In the absence of fish, we made our first curry today. With all those vegetables that we are still having, it was delicious none the less. We were really worried about the food amount that we stocked-up. Now that we are getting close, it is safe to say that we have too much food. Luckily, there is a charity on Saint Lucia where we can pass it on. read more...

Uno - Day 15: Yellow Fin, Mahi mahi & a Pizza night

Sunday 3rd DecemberToday was a lovely sunny day; super hot weather. We realised our auto pilot issue is not quite fixed after we lost rudder sensors and auto pilot again on my nightshift. I was able to hand steer while Rich reset it & it came back up. We still have some work to do to fix that problem. Gisele & I made pizza dough and prepped 4 pizzas for dinner. We caught another yellowfin tuna on the rod and at the exact same time the hand line caught a mahi-mahi, so the excitement was on as we tried to bring in both fish. Unfortunately, the mahi got away and Gisele was so disappointed because it was on her line. But we did bring in the yellowfin tuna, and a few hours after that we brought in our biggest mahi-mahi ever. So we are fully stocked up with the fish again in case we. read more...

Asante - Day 15 of the never ending poem

Day 15 sees us all recover, from the longest night so far.The weather that had protected us, had given us all a shower.For through the night, the squalls had come.And lightening with them too.The wind howled through the rigging.And the skies had flashed bright blue. Now when I say a shower.I don’t mean a drop or two of rain.But a bucket load of water, thrown time and time again.Last time we did the crossing, back in 2021, the squalls they were relentless.So I knew they were no fun.Our guests had only heard of squalls.Never felt them out in force.And pretty soon the novelty had run and run its course.700 miles is all that’s left.We continue counting down.I’m dreaming of rum cocktails, at my favourite bar in town.. read more...

Asante - Day 16 of the never ending poem

Exhaustion is taking over.Sleep is had by few.Some have been feeling nauseous so their watches they cannot do.The swell is getting greater.Strong winds are on the way.Hopefully only two more nights.Then I’ll sleep both night and day.I’ve had to play the medic, and not just for one time.As people tire they trip and fall.The result they don’t look fine.One person has a black eye, another cut his leg.Everyone’s got bruises.We just want in they beg. December is now with us.So we have on board today.A little advent calendar.And with it a game we play.Each night the crew is questioned, about one part of the boat.The first to get the answer, gets the chocolate down his throat.Last nights question which I gave, was how many winches / that’s a feat.Not one person got it right.So the skipper had. read more...

TAHIRA ARC BLOG D-Day 15 [04-Dec-23]

TAHIRA ARC BLOGD-Day 15 [04-Dec-23]Location: Mid-AtlanticLat 13.48N: Long: 45.17W Meet the crew: Chris 'Stotty' Stott - our Skipper How would you describe yourself in one sentence?- Chris is a fair, principled and self-confident person.What is your first favourite piece of music and why? - 'Comfortably Numb' by Pink Floyd; a heady mixture of mixture, harmonies and the best guitar solo to finish off. It takes him back to his school days which were a lot of fun, friends and challenges. What is your greatest achievement in live to-date?- For Chris, being part of a happy family and successful family.But he has also enjoyed everything he has attempted in his varied life - from School at Pangbourne to serving with the Army and a portfolio career in business.He has never been bored.What sailing. read more...

Saida - Saida day 14 & 15

Cleaning before sunset. read more...

Champagne Hippy - Day 13/14 - 2nd/3rd December

After days of very little happening with Rodney (apart from the endless sargassum weed, yesterday early in the day finally some action! Josh caught a small tuna (most exciting) however, it was too small for us to keep so back into the wild it went. Apart from that yesterday went by with very little else to comment on and was a fairly uneventful day. We have all commented in the last few days how the days are all blurring into one.  Today however has been full of activity! Rodney went off at speed and it was my turn to reel something in. After a small battle, I pulled in yet another decent-sized Wahoo! Josh guided me through filleting it and we’re all looking forward to cooking it up when we get to St Lucia (now only a day away fingers crossed!!).  We had a few green. read more...

Blue Pepper - Day 15, 3/12

The last couple of days have been rather more eventful - after the skipper ruminated that ‘it would be nice to experience a proper Atlantic squall’, the weather gods immediately obliged with a procession of them. We all got soaked, the boat got a great wash down and for a short time it all felt a bit like being in the English Channel, except a lot warmer!A few shackles and ropes got found out and there have been a lot more sail changes and a few trips to a wet, pitching foredeck - but Blue Pepper has carried us through marvellously. Today was back to sunshine and fast sailing under the spinnaker. It’s beginning to feel that we are closing in on the end of this voyage - we are now less than 700m from St Lucia and clipping along at 8 knots most of the time. The crew, still in great form,. read more...

Adrienne - Delfine und 1. Advent

Blog Adrienne 3.12.2023Erster Advent auf SeeBlogschreiber Bernd und MarkGestartet wurde in diesen besonderen Tag mit einem ausgiebigen Brunch. Eiersoufflé, verschiedene Schinken-, Salami- und Käsesorten, Oliven, frisches Brot, Lebkuchen, Stollen und weitere Köstlichkeiten führten zu einer überdurchschnittlich langen Mahlzeit bis zum Mittagsläuten. Die Tafel zierte ein seemännischer Adventskranz, hergestellt aus beschwerter grüner Leine, die erste Kerze brannte. Dazu erklangen karibisch inspirierte Weihnachtslieder aus österreichischer Produktion aus der Bluetoothbox, das Ganze bei 28-30 Grad Aussentemperatur (unter Deck mehr…).Seglerisch knackten wir in der letzten Nacht die 1000 Seemeilen-Grenze (0217 UTC). Die Nacht war in der ersten Hälfte ziemlich beschwerlich, da der Wind bis auf 8. read more...

Pure Fun - Atlantik 1ter Advent oder Noch zirka 3Tage „ToGo“

Atlantik 1ter Advent Noch zirka 3Tage „ToGo“Was ich vermissen werdeDie Weite des AtlantiksDas Rauschen des Bootes durchs WasserDas Spiel mit den Wellen und dem WindDie Bewegungen des SchiffesDie angenehmen Temperaturen hier draußen (Nachts habe ich tatsächlich was Langärmeliges an)Der nächtliche Sternenhimmel mit dem uns begleitenden MondDen Salzgeschmackt auf der ZungeDer warme Wind der um meinen Körper herum streichtDie Zweisamkeit mit meinem Kabinenpartner Andreas auf unseren zirka 5 Quadratmetern (Danke es ist wirklich klasse mit Dir)Die ständigen Diskussionen über TWD-TWS-AWD-AWS und die Performance AnzeigeDiese ganzen leckeren kulinarische zubereiteten Mahlzeiten Kein Tag gleicht den anderenWas ich nicht vermissen werdeDer Autopilot und ich werde bis zum Ende nicht wirklich gute. read more...

Hot Stuff - skippers blog stardate christmas minus 21

Most  thnigs have been covered by other blogs, however just to add from me, we are now very tired but surviving. there is a lot of water out here, we have seen 1 boat for about 1 hour in 5 days. the fleet will presumably converge as we get near the finish but it would be nice to know there are other boats out here.  We feel we are now on the home stretch and counting down the miles. a shower a good taverner and some cold drinks are on the agenda. Thanks for all your support. steve. read more...

Wolkenschlößchen - Day 14 - Hello Squalls

In the early hours of Saturday, we reached our 1,000 miles to go milestone. It feels good to see that counter going down. Perfect reason to fry some meat balls (Frikadellen) with sweet potato!The closer we are getting to the Caribbean, the higher the chance for squalls (small rain cells that bring a lot of wind). Until this afternoon, we heard of them only as a rumor and then suddenly, plenty of them appeared south of us. Luckily, the ones we saw so far were in good distance. If one gets too close that means that we have to be quick in getting our oxley sail down. In strong winds, it could break or damage the boat. So we are extra alert this night and keep watching our radar that we installed primarily to spot these squalls at night. Fingers crossed that they stay away from. read more...

Freedom - Blog 15 Sunday 3rd December 2023

Editor: IRWWGreetings Freedom FollowersSaturday was a day for Big Red to stay in bed and rest after her extremely hard shift trying to edge Freedom to the land of Rum and Sun. She deserves a lie in and to be honest I think most of the crew are enjoying her rest as much as she is.Big Red is no fool and has called it correctly. The variable winds today range from 6 knots to 26 knots making sail choice and sail planning tricky.The day is spent in our established routine that you are now familiar with , only interrupted by our weather eye looking out for squalls that can creep up from behind.We have left our reasonably established weather pattern of clear skies, sun shine and fairly consistent winds for grey skies patched with blue that are frequently interrupted with menacing dark clouds. read more...

Tahira - ARC BLOG D-Day 14 [03-Dec-23]

TAHIRA ARC BLOGD-Day 14 [03-Dec-23]Location: Open Seas - AtlanticLat: 14.24N Long: 42.27WTHE SECOND THIRDHooray - as we rapidly approach the last third of our journey, we reflect back on what each of the three segments has or will hold in store.The first thirdGetting out of Gran Canaria was in itself a major milestone - simply getting the boat and crew ready to head out on the voyage of a lifetime for many. The following 7 days for us were all about building the team and getting into our routines. This was a time of turbulence and learning, and simply getting used to our new environment in the middle of the ocean.As well as the challenges faced - water, radio, watch system, navigation etc, we had some delightful moments - and none more so than visitations by local wildlife. Since. read more...

Pure Fun - ARC 2023 - 1. Advent auf der X 5.6 Pure Fun

ARC 2023 - 1. Advent, 12:30 UhrDer Wind hat aufgefrischt….endlich. 17-23 Kn seit letzter Nacht. Am frühen Morgen, jedoch im Dunkeln mussten wir den Code0 gegen die Genua tauschen. Wir wollten das Material nicht überstrapazieren und der Windeinfallwinkel war einfach zu tief für den Code0. Da vermissen wir den Gennaker, der in der Segelkammer auf ein neues Leben wartet. Sonnenaufgang war heute 9:30 Uhr UTC. Es verschiebt sich immer mehr. Um 10:30 Uhr waren alle an Deck. Bis zum Wechsel der Vorsegel hatte der Autopilot reichlich zu tun um mit dem hohen Ruderdruck umzugehen und die Batterien ziemlich entladen. Wir steuern nun abwechseln von Hand um den fleißigen Autopiloten zu entlasten, den Wind, die Wellen und das Boot zu genießen. Währenddessen lädt der Generator die Batterien wieder auf.. read more...

Hot Stuff - 14:05.91N 47:06.21W

We are progressing west as expected with good trade winds in general.Yesterday was generally uneventful flying the kite down wind atgood pace. The wind forecast looked favorable for overnight with winds picking up a couple of days later (only a couple of extra knots).However the rain came in the evening. Having watched is pass by to our port side for a while a cloud looked like it might get us. So the decision was made to take the kite down and continue under white sails.It was of course now dark and the crew were summoned from slumber to assist. With that the wind took a 90 degree shift and we were almost heading back to the canaries! Tiredness was showing a little and after a bit of work the kite was down stowed and packed again ready for the morning. It was a rather wet night with. read more...

JaZoFi - day 14

Two weeks at sea and we can almost smell the rum in St Lucia! Not much different in the last 24 hours, everything previously described is now on repeat. The big excitement was watching Glenn get the starboard sea water strainer cleared. After the inlet growing some substantial barnacles, all systems were running off the port strainer. Glenn set to work thinking through then building a new sea strainer lid that included a steel handle a bit like a stick shift on a manual car, allowing him to blindly clear out the barnacles …success, the starboard strainer is operational again and the cooling water is again evenly split between port and starboard. Scotty had a line in most of the day, but the fish in this part of the world are monsters and took 600m of line and a couple of good lures. read more...

Uno - Day 14: Ladder surfing & Christmas vibes!

Saturday 2nd DecemberNew crew member Kenny, a Heavy Machines Mechanic (for Whistler Blackcomb). It was he, who after hours of investigation with Rich, discovered a loose battery connection that was causing our troubles! Mid-way through the morning a cheer went up as the fix had worked, and Rich & Kenny were nicknamed the Dream Team.After that we moved onto fun things like thinking about Christmas. We brought out the little tree we bought in Las Palmas & decorated it, putting up candy cane fairy lights & flashing coloured bulbs in the windows. It’s beginning to feel festive! We made summer rice rolls with the last of our fresh, crunchy vegetables & then decided it was time to cool off. We’re calling it “Ladder Surfing”, and you have a safety rope around your back &. read more...

Uno - Day 13: We gotta birthday in da house!

Dec 1st 2023.Today is Gisèle’s birthday! She is now a teenager, a big 13 year old. Where did that time go?! G had a checklist of things to achieve today, the first being a few video calls from family & friends. Then it was on to present unwrapping & waffles for breakfast. Both kids got their weekly YouTube videos out (they each have a YT channel you can look up @GGBoatLife & @SailingwithJacques) and then there were a few rounds of the newly acquired game, Exploding Kittens (in Spanish). Next up was a movie afternoon with popcorn, followed up by a Quesadillas & Lemon Cake. Wrapped up with a dance party with Gs playlist & then at 830pm we hit the half way mark in our journey. All up a great day!The night was a whole different story when at 1am Rich turned on an engine,. read more...

Uno - Day 12: Oh oh Gennaker in a twist!

November 30th.Today we tried our yellowfin tuna as sashimi, it was absolutely amazing. Hands down the best fish we’ve had! We also played checkers did some art work, puzzle books, reading, chatting and experimented with a different way to run our gennaker. We managed to find a new sweet spot and made good speed all day, until around dinner time when out gennaker was hit by a gust and got all twisted up, meaning all hands on deck to drop the sail &hold it from going overboard. We eventually got it mostly untwisted but had to stuff it away unfurled, a job for a day with no wind.Rich heated up a pre-cooked Thai green chicken curry for dinner as it was a bit rough for anything more adventurous.We have a big birthday on board tomorrow, so when our soon-to-be 13 year old crew member,. read more...

Freedom - Blog 14 Saturday 2nd December 2023

Editor Nigel HHi everyone, best wishes from pretty much smack bang in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I hope you are all well and about to enjoy your weekend. The freedom fighters will certainly endeavour to enjoy theirs. Not a difficult task when you have been blessed with such an experience. Morale is still very good onboard, and as some have commented via their responses to these blogs, it is so pleasing that the five of us seem to continue to ‘Gel well’. Personally I would like to say thank you to one particular response from Rachel the decorator for her very kind prayers for our blessed and safe passage. 14 days on, in approximately 1hr we will watch the log tick down to 1000nm to go. At current speeds, that should get us into St Lucia around Saturday afternoon 10th Dec. I’m not. read more...

Champagne Hippy - Day 12/13- 30th Nov/1st Dec

The last two days there really hasn’t been much new to update you on. We haven’t seen any wildlife in the daytime and have had fleeting visits from the odd dolphin here or there across night watches. Sunrises and sunsets have set the sky on fire and have really been something to behold. The moon has also still been massive post its full moon phase a few days ago. We have attempted fishing however after three exciting and exhausting reels in yesterday only to discover weeds on the hook disappointment was rife and Rodney was retired. This morning another attempt was give with a different smaller lure. Sure enough not long after setting up the reel ran hard and fast. How exciting this fish has to be huge we thought. Reeling it in was a short battle as whatever monster catch was on the other. read more...