Logs

Diana - Uns gibt’s auch noch - Grüße von der Diana

(3.12.2016) Bergfest! 11 Tage unterwegs und 1500 nm geschafft, die halbe Strecke! Wir haben einen ziemlich langen Weg gewählt, Richtung Süd an der afrikanischen Küste lang, durch die Kapverden hindurch und Süd bis zum 14. Breitengrad. Dafür hatten wir fast die ganze Strecke guten Wind und konnten durchgehend segeln. Jetzt geht es westwärts. St Lucia, wir kommen!Kinder und Eltern sind gut drauf. Hier unten ist es recht einsam, unsere Begegnungen mit Seglern in den letzten Tagen beschränken sich auf die Strolla – ein norwegisches Schiff mit Kurs Karibik – und die Skiathos, die auch an der ARC teilnimmt. Ansonsten hat ein fliegender Fisch versucht, sich durch das Moskitogitter des Fensters im Salon zu bohren. Sonst keine Begegnung. Es hat auch seit Tagen konsequent kein Fisch an der Angel. read more...

Second Wind - Doug - Crew Departure

Doug our first Mate for this Atlantic crossing was a great asset to our team. He joined on April 5th in St-Martin from that point on, he volunteered for several tasks. We worked hard during the day and played hard at night; happy hours, live band, good meals, etc... In between all this, Doug needed his naps, he was very original about it, a comfortable chair, a bench any place would do but the funniest one was in the dingy feet hanging in the water. This raised concern to many people walking by. We are grateful for his skills, knowledge and support throughout this trip. Well done Doug and thank you, this was a trip of a lifetime. We also want to extend our thanks to Roberta that visited in Tortola and set up our first aid kit and for her support from Santa Maria to Lagos. So long. read more...

Second Wind - Karl - Crew Departure

It is time to start saying good buy, Karl left last night to catch his flight and fly to Canada where family , friends and work wait for him. We had a great time and took hundreds of pictures together but there are a million more that will remain in our memories. Stories to tell forever and ever. Karl was the first one to show up on deck when we needed to raise the sail, shake a reef or take one in. So agile he was, he could climbed and reached all that was needed. A great help all along. He was also our social beast meeting with all the rally people and being part of entertainment signing and playing guitar. He compose a song for us it is amazing. We really hope he will record it for our enjoyment years to come. Karl, we missing you already, start working on vacation time for your next. read more...

Lerina - De Santa Maria a Lagos .....

Après un peu moins de deux jours au moteur, le vent de NO est progressivement monté en puissance et ce fut tellement une belle navigation vers l'Est et le sud du Portugal. Nous avons été constamment sur la brèche essayant d'optimiser notre route et notre vitesse et a trois, barrant en permanence pour aider l'hydrovane dans une mer qui s'est formée au fur et à mesure du temps pour atteindre des creux impressionnants et une houle qui nous prenait par notre arrière bâbord, ce fut une semaine àssez épuisante. La fin fut marquée par la gestion du passage des couloirs des cargos qui remontent vers l'Europe du Nord ou descendent vers Gibraltar et un vent forcissant très vigoureusement après le cap Saint Vincent jusqu'à atteindre plus de 45 nœuds. Nous avons parcouru les derniers nM sans GV,. read more...

Ximera - Leg 3, Log Day ?? (Penultimate day) – Flying to Lagos

Normal 0 false false falseEN-GB JA X-NONE/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}When it rains it pours. Since we last post we have:Seen a ginormous whale on our way into Horta (it was swimming parallel to the boat, about a boat length away, and was about as big as the boat. Very amazing and a little bit scary). Had several crew changes: 1. Our Great Lakes sailor John returned to the great lakes. read more...

Adagio - Hazardous Duty Pay

Doing the dishes after a meal is a noble cause.Trying to save water, minimize trash and waste and making sure things get clean are all in the forefront of consideration when taking on the daily task.Without getting in to any 'discussion of 'roles' aboard, I do a lot of dishes. I figure it's only fair-share tasking for the great meals I enjoy aboard.Last night was a bit different for me as I started the post-meal cleanup chores.Most of the dishes were cleaned and racked for drying and I reached for the big pot as the last item of the evening.Just about then I hear from the helm "here comes a good one" ....Even when properly braced and secured there are times when it would be best to simply be sitting down.This was one such time, and when Adagio tilted over my downhill foot, even though. read more...

Second Wind - YB Connect Message from Sylvie Furtado

In honour of our skipper Eduardo M Furtado s/v Second Wind. Eduardo was born on the small island of Terceira, Azores and grew up in a family of seven with love and care. They relocated to Angola and later returned to continental Portugal. While living on that small island a dream was born; the ocean looked so appealing Eduardo started drawing submarine, hoping to one day travel the ocean and live out great adventures. His dream was put aside when as a young man he left his loving family to make a living in Canada. Then,as often happens, obligation prevented the dream from unfolding, but the sailboat photos on the wall and the annual visit to the boat show with his children kept the dream alive. About 17 years ago, he finally purchased his first sailboat and started sailing towards bigger. read more...

Tinia - Last 200

Last 200 miles to go of our 4000 mile trip home, time seems to be slowing down even though the boat is speeding up, we are flying along surfing down waves at up to 12 knts. The cooking and fishing is suffering as its become almost impossible to stand up with the waves and rolling, we only managed two meals yesterday and they were only two courses (Tuna sushi,followed by a cheese fondo)Roll on Portugal x. jl for the Brixton Boat Club. read more...

Second Wind - YB Connect Message from Sylvie Furtado

Wow only 239 nautical miles to go! Something to put a smile on our faces. You all know the day "be carful what you wish for". WIND, we got a good wind and sail away however we could have done without the squalls last night and this morning, up to 40 knots. We have a third reef on and very little Genoa out, prudent is good. Since 3 AM we have came across 8 cargo ship. They average 235 meters. We watch to keep out of their way. We are all well and look forward to Lagos, Portugal. Have a great day!Sylvie--Transmitted by Sylvie Furtado using YB Connect (www.ybtracking.com). read more...

Second Wind - YB Connect Message from Sylvie Furtado

This message is for Jeff, one of the crew that left us in Santa Maria. We hope you had a safe trip home and enjoy the company of your wife and kitty while having the comfort of your home. In the meantime, we want you to know that you are missing out on all the goodies on Second Wind but above all we want to thank you for you help throughout this trip. Yes, the pro-active dude that was first to see the far away vessels and those black clouds. Setting up the sail prudently. So long and till the next sailDA Skipper and DA crew on Second Wind--Transmitted by Sylvie Furtado using YB Connect (www.ybtracking.com). read more...

Adagio - How do you top this?

One of the dilemmas I faced about signing up for the ARC Europe Rally was the fact that during the time we were to be saling across the Atlantic Robin and I would be celebrating pour Tenth Anniversary.Now, usually I try to make a pretty big deal out of our Anniversaries and there have been times set aside for special trips or events to commemorate our years together.This year, however, presented a special challenge.My thinking was; "How do I get away with something like a special time together, a great weekend getaway, or a special event kind of thing when we are already going to be traveling to the Azores???" I mean, come on ..do I try to pass this off as "Hey sweetheart, I've been trying to figure out a really special place to spend our Anniversary ... How about I take you to the. read more...

Tinia - Last leg

Its day two of the last leg to Portugal, 810 miles, we had been motor sailing til 2am this morning when we finally got enough wind to sail. Luke caught and filleted his first solo Tuna yesterday and we'v seen some more whales and dolphins. Seem to spend most of the calm days cooking and eating. 540 miles to go ,jl. read more...

Second Wind - YB Connect Message from Sylvie Furtado

We're closing in on our final destination of Lagos, on this, the last leg of an unforgettable trip.Sails have gone up and come down more frequently than on previous legs, but spirits remain high as we enjoy great food, scenery and company on relatively calm waters.We are still getting regular visits from the dolphins who love to play in our bow waves and the longer days have allowed for some spectacular dinner-time sunsets.It would be tempting to stay out here forever, enjoying life at sea and the companionship of all those who make up the fleet (it was nice to hear from Testarossa when they flew by this morning, as has been the routine for the last few legs,) but just as the driving force of the wind can only be harnessed with the ballast of a keel in the water, the passage we've made. read more...

Second Wind - YB Connect Message from Sylvie Furtado

Not much happening right now, very light wind or no wind so we are very happy to have long range power or good volume of diesel. Yesterday's forecast predicted the formation of gale but it's far enough from us. We hope to have some wind effect and start sailing instead of powering later today. All are well aboard Second Wind and already into the comfort of our routine. Later....Sylvie--Transmitted by Sylvie Furtado using YB Connect (www.ybtracking.com). read more...

Second Wind - YB Connect Message from Sylvie Furtado

The Azores:For any of you that travel and look for different destinations, the Azores islands are great places to visit or even retire. Every island has somethings to offer. For me, food is number one then followed by the sceneries. One of the best way to see them is by hiking and taking a ferry from one island to the next. I have no idea about accommodation because we lived aboard our catamaran. When you travel that far by boat, land time becomes very important, one good reason to join the ARC Europe and have all these social events with your fellow sailors. These were filled with joy, information and great stories. We are on our way to Lagos, Portugal with all these great memories and look forwardto meet our sailor friends to celebrate the end of this grand voyage. Sylvie. read more...

Lerina - Santa Maria

Aujourd'hui vendredi, fête nationale au Portugal, nous avons quitté Punta Delgada et fait route au sud vers Santa Maria. Il ne devait pas y avoir trop de vent et pourtant la journée nous a gratifiés d'une belle journée de voile au près bon plein sous 15-20 nœuds de vent. Un vrai régal dans une mer plate ou nous avons atteint de bonnes vitesses 8 nœuds par moment. Bien sur, Lerina s'est révélé moins rapide que certains bateaux modernes de la flottille ARC mais nous avons quand même apprécié la navigation après ces nombreux jours où nous avons beaucoup subi la mer. Demain, nous visiterons l'île qui s'annonce très différente des autres iles de l'archipel déjà visitées. Elle est plus méridionale, plus chaude, plus aride. Dimanche ce sera le départ pour Lagos. Y aura-t-il du vent ? On suit. read more...

Lerina - Repos et tourisme aux Acores

Nous sommes à San Miguel depuis deux jours. Depuis notre arrivée aux Acores, nous avons vu passer 3 dépressions, beaucoup de vent et des trombes d'eau !! Les iles de cet Archipel sont magnifiques, la végétation est luxuriante et les paysages somptueux.Comme l'anticyclone semble vouloir s'établir dans les parages, c'est le beau temps qui semble s'établir mais cela veut dire aussi qu'on aura peu de vent sur notre route vers Lagos au moins au début. Sur la fin, on compte sur les alizés portugais.Nous avons quelques soucis électriques, des problèmes de pompe à eau, de filtres à régler mais rien de bien sérieux et le bateau se porte bien. Il est difficile de trouver des pièces ici et il nous faudra probablement attendre Lagos pour tout remettre en ordre.Vendredi matin, nous partirons pour. read more...

Hejira - A change of plan

I now know that it is not only the English that have a pre-occupation with the weather as it has been the primary subject under discussion among the whole ARC fleet, irrespective of nationality.We have been told that the Horta departure is delayed by 24 hours because of another gale and the rally will now miss out Terceira and head straight for Ponta Delgada on Sao Miguel. This is not only because the itinerary has events which cannot be moved but also because the storm has damaged some of the pontoons in Angra do Heroismo and they cannot now accommodate the whole fleet. Unfortunately this decision means that our ways will now part.As we are heading back to the UK, our destination lies to the north and attractive though the other islands might be, we see little merit in tracking south to. read more...

Hejira - Rafting

Being rafted three out has its drawbacks especially when you have used a dozen lines to secure the yacht in the big winds. So we really didn’t want to hear that the Finnish yacht inside of us wanted to leave. In the event, slipping and ‘standing off’ while the Fins extricated themselves was fairly painless and so we are now only the second yacht from the dock with a Dutch yacht outside of us.We busied ourselves with jobs while Ollie went off to buy some paint and he has now laid the foundation for our artistic contribution which will modestly nestle between two recent additions on the main wall. The ARC organised social function last night enabled us to catch up with the crew from ‘Slipper 1’ who arrived about 30 hours after us and caught the full brunt of the storm while still well. read more...

Hejira - Hot Rocks

Our first glimpses of Faial were through a heavy mist and it was remarkable in its greenness. The islands are undoubtedly volcanic and the isthmus we had to round before heading up to Horta was clearly originally the rim of a volcano. The small fields were bordered by hedges and the whole impression was one of ‘time gone by’. Our timing into the harbour was inspired as the customs/fuel dock was clear and we moored alongside to do the necessary formalities – or rather we tried to do them. Our arrival at 11.45 was unfortunately just as the port office, customs and immigration offices closed for lunch but this gave us time to take on fuel and water. We have almost come to expect a lack of ‘joined up thinking’ when encountering bureaucracy and perversely, although the port office and. read more...

Testarossa - Shift Colors - Arrived Azores! Safe N' Sound / Friday 27 May 2016 / 1027L //

Testarossa Daily Message: Shift Colors - Arrived Azores! Safe N' Sound / Friday 27 May 2016 / 1027L //"What port awaits us, Davy Jones' or Home?" From Middle Passage, by Robert Hayden"Azores!" From S/V TestarossaAs of 1027L hours on 27 May 2016, our position is: 38*31.927'N /28*37.493'W. We are pierside, starboard side too, seawall, main marina,Horta, Azores. Note: Land was sighted at 0655L. Finish line wascrossed at 0913L. Landfall was made at 0950L. Ship's work commenced at1010L. Customs clearing still underway. After an unofficialtransit time of 9 Days / 20 Hours / 52 minutes, S/V Testarossa arrivedsafe and sound in Horta, Azores. Boom Broken, Water maker inop,mainsheet frayed, crew tired & needing showers, but all in all - noworse for the wear. Twas a good crossing. And...uhh. read more...

Testarossa - Last Day at Sea Prior to Azores Landfall / Thurs - Fri 26-27 May 2016 //

Testarossa Daily Message: Last Day at Sea Prior to Azores Landfall / Thurs - Fri 26-27 May 2016 // / Late Entry // "Land Ho!" Cry of the sailing lookout, since time immemorialThe day prior to making landfall is always special. To be sure - youcan feel it in the air – in our case literally, as we were still making agood 9-10 knots ship's speed and over ground on a good breeze. But whatwe mean is, the excitement of the crew was palpable. Everyone wasexcited and giddy about finally making it to the Azores. Plus, I thinkwe were all exhausted, and tired of living "on the edge"...we were readyfor the heel to stop! What does all this mean? We couldn't sleep that well the night before, inspite of everything. And for various reasons:The proverbial wedgie in the starboard aft cabin, the angle in. read more...

Hejira - Something for the Weekend Sir?

My mission was to visit the chandlers, get a haircut and a loaf of bread. In the event, people were queuing out of the door of the chandlers so it was off to find a barber. Obtaining a haircut while cruising has been a mixed bag of experiences. At the zenith of these experiences was a haircut in the Railway Station concourse in Inverness where the hairdresser was very attractive, exceedingly and revealingly well-endowed and seem to delight in thrusting her assets into me while ministering to my hair. The experience here in Horta was the opposite end of the spectrum with an exceedingly portly hairdresser who had to lean over her ‘portliness’ to reach my head and what was in between made unwelcome contact with me. Having said that it was a very good haircut and the cut, beard removal and. read more...

Hejira - Cetaceans

As we close in on the Azores, yachts crossing the Atlantic funnel towards the island of Faial and the harbour at Horta. It has become one of the four busiest yacht transit harbours in the world. Zooming out on the plotter I can see 13 vessels within AIS range homing in on the refuge and clearing in and berthing promises to be a challenge. Hopefully the ARC organisation will help smooth the process.The warnings of a storm seem to have moderated to advice about a gale but we still press on to achieve a midday arrival, hopefully after the backlog of overnight arrivals have been processed. AWOL continues in our wake, keen to steer to our lights as their auto pilot is on the blink again. We have replenished their diesel stock by a further 60 litres, floated down to them in three cans and they. read more...

Hejira - Panto in Guildford

Torrential rain, thunder and lightning, lumpy sea and semi darkness did not augur well for the day as we were forced to motor to try to beat the storm into Horta. We had spotted the threatening weather system on our long term weather forecast nearly a week ago but it has only just shown on the shorter Emailed forecasts. With our self-imposed limited use of the Satellite communication system, we are relying on these Emailed forecasts but would prefer the grib files we used to download. The day actually soon brightened and with the wind and sea dropping we had a fairly languid day under engine.The fleet seems to be strung out and the warnings about the impending storm carry the advice to head south if it’s not possible to make Horta by Monday evening. Looking at the speed of some of the. read more...

Lerina - Dure journée !!

La nuit dernière , le vent est monté comme prévu et la journée de lundi a été marquée par de violents coups de vent (40-45 ) et de fortes pluies. l'océan est très creuséet ça mouille beaucoup. On navigue avec 2 ris dans la grand voile et un string devant. Ce soir après une acalmie le vent semble reprendre de la force, la nuit va être longue !! Mais le bateau et son équipage tiennent bon !! On arrivera demain dans la journée. On est à un peu plus de 100 M de l'arrivée. Tout va bien à bord.......... read more...

Lerina - On nes'ennuie jamais à bord de Lerina !!

On a avancé au moteur depuis hier midi. La nuit a été cool et reposant, sans stress particulier, que quelques cargos au loin seulement. Ce matin, notre père Kins nous fait un coup de calcaire. A 8h30, il s'est mis à accélérer, à ralentir, à réaccélérer et puis tout à coup, plus rien. Les non intiés ont paniqué mais le capitaine a tout de suite compris de quoi il s'agissait: problème d'alimentation en fuel. En remontant la ligne d'alimentation, je me suis aperçu que le préfiltre Racor était bien sale t probablement colmaté .....Ue heure plus tard et avec un filtre neuf, le moteur ronronnait à nouveau sous les pplaudissements soulagés de l'équipage. Probablement un fond de cuve, de la limaille ramassée lors d'un plein. Ce soir c'est pizza et veillée d'arme avbant 2 jours qui s'annoncent. read more...

Allegro - QUINTA-FEIRA, 26 DE MAIO A DOMINGO, 29 DE MAIO DE 2016

10º a 13º dias da perna Bermuda - Faial.Estes 4 dias têm-se passado bem, com alguns períodos com muito pouco vento e necessidade de usar o motor para avançarmos, e outros de vento mesmo pela popa, o que, com as ondas, se torna uma mareação menos confortável. Mas tudo tem corrido bem a bordo, sem sobressaltos.O dia 26 foi um dia praticamente sem vento, e tivemos que andar a motor todo o dia e noite.No dia 27, o vento reapareceu e foi um agradável dia de vela - e de descanso do barulho do motor…Na última noite o vento estava fraco, mesmo de popa, e o mar mais agitado, fazendo com que a retranca balançasse toda a noite com cada onda um pouco maior. Agora de manhã estão 10 nós pela popa, muito pouco para o Allegro e temos ajudado com o motor, fazendo “motorsailing”.Soubemos há 2 dias que se. read more...

Second Wind - YB Connect Message from Sylvie Furtado

We hope to see land by the end of the afternoon. Youououiulllleeee!We will be able to rest from our routine, the 3 our shift and 6 hours off. We are very fortunate being 6 people aboard as we are always double up for the watch and have a decent down time. The night shifts 12:00 to 3:00 and 3:00 to 6:00 are the hardest in my opinion. Last night Karl and I did my favourite, the 9:00 to midnight then off to bed for 6 hrs straight. After a good night of sleep, I cooked everyone's favourite, bacon and eggs.We have done very well with our food and we still have fresh fruits and vegetables for today and maybe next. We wereout of bread about 5 days ago but I baked focaccia, corn bread and muffin. We also had to incorporate crackers to our diet. XOXO to all that read our postingSylvie. read more...

Second Wind - YB Connect Message from Sylvie Furtado

Making tracks to Faial ahead of gale. Boat ETA to Horta 2000 today. Large black whale had to be avoided this A.M. Dolphins continue to play on our wake thru the day. All great!  Jeff. read more...

Adagio - Home stretch for Adagio

It appears as though we will be making landfall in Horta sometime tomorrow afternoon (05/29/16). The winds are holding for now, and if we need to motor in the last hundred miles we can do so with the remaining fuel and have plenty of reserves.If the winds DO die down, we won;t hesitate to motor in as the need to stay ahead of the next weather system outweighs considerations for engine time and fuel burn. That's just the way it goes.This morning was our first encounter with thunder and lightning along our path, a single cell just ahead of us and several larger ones to the north by a few miles.Thankfully the storms pressed ahead and north faster than we were going so we only encountered the one noisy one and the rest were just washing the boat off for us.I imagine had we been a few miles. read more...

Second Wind - YB Connect Message from Sylvie Furtado

Shook out all reefs, full sails wing on wing as we run down the last 200 miles ahead of quite a gale.Joined by a squid washed up on deck, and our (now usual) evening visitors, the dolphins, who love playing in our bow wave.Having placed bets, and now anticipating arrival tomorrow, it looks like I'm going to win the pool for this leg... Again. First round of drinks in Faial on me with the winnings.All eyes on the horizon with the wind and the sunset at our backs, Karl. read more...

Hejira - Sailing Explained

While off watch at 0300, I had a knock on the door as Ollie was concerned about an AIS indicator and enormous radar reflection apparently coming our way. He had rightly scrolled the data and established that the Sofia Express, bound for New York would pass us 1 mile away but its track was seemingly towards AWOL, 1 mile astern. The AIS data lists lots of useful information like speed, draft beam and length and this is usually quoted in feet. The size of the Sofia Express was such that its length was quoted in fractions of a mile! I was concerned because AWOL does not transmit an AIS signal and its radar signature is not very strong, had they been seen?A call to their bridge established that the Sofia Express had indeed seen AWOL and was tracking them. So, a reassuring outcome and a. read more...

Lerina - Bouge de là !!

Samedi après-midi - On s'est bien battus mais il faut se rendre à l'évidence, il faut qu'on avance rapidement vers l'ESt pour éviter les effets dévastateurs d'un dépression qui va passer normalement au Nord des Açores. On a donc mis en route le "père Kins". On a tout fait pour avancer à la voile mais un vent trop faible de 4-5 N et une allure difficile entre vent arrière et grand largue dans une houle croisée nous a contraint à laisser à l'énergie mécanique de nous propulser vers notre point d'arrivée. On devrait mouliner jusqu'à lundi matin. Il fait de plus en plus frais; on sort tous de nos sacs les vêtements techniques .... Sinon RAS. On a à manger et il nous reste du rhum donc: TOUT VA BIEN A BORD. read more...

Adagio - Movie Madness, as it were.

Finally some wind this evening. I don;t know if we just hit it right on the head, or if we fell exactly into place with the progressing Hi pressure ridge, but it has been quite a run of light winds and smooth seas.It makes for a nice ride and enjoyable socializing but a tough choice of slow going or using engine hours.When we received the email briefing that the next weather feature we would experience would be a pretty strong LOW pressure system with some accompanying strong winds and higher waves it cemented our decision to make as much forward motion as possible.So, with our priorities rearranged we kept the engine running throughout the day and motor-sailed as quickly as possible for several extra hours.As of this writing we are sailing again because the winds have picked up again.I. read more...

Tinia - The chase

At 12,30 utc yesterday we got news of a massive storm coming in behind us over the next 3 days, we had 465 miles to go and we have been averaging about 135 mile a day ,so we decided to make a run for it, with the spinnaker up we covered 155 miles in the last 24 hours so if we can repeat that over the next two days we should just get in port before it hits. Everything to go faster, Matt has been rowing with the dinghy paddles, Luke has been jumping up and down (he says it lightens to load). Daves been working on the tobacco and iv been getting rid of the cases of beer. So we are picking up speed and not looking behind us. x jl. read more...

Second Wind - YB Connect Message from Sylvie Furtado

Motoring lots.Transferred 160 litres of fuel from the jerry cans into the starboard tank. Have taken over 100 sights with the sextant, so I have lots of reductions and plotting to keep me busy. Regards to all.Doug--Transmitted by Sylvie Furtado using YB Connect (www.ybtracking.com). read more...

Hejira - Bill Shock

The drone of the engine greeted my watch with little wind and that from behind and AWOL trailing in our wake. The wind was due to veer to the NW and this duly happened at about 0600. The wind now just behind our beam meant that we began to accelerate the wind rather than diminish it so we could sail. So it was head to wind, full main raised and thus started a really good day under sail. Unfortunately the weather was miserable and the clouds were so leaden that I couldn’t pick up the sun for a sight until midday.Then came the bombshell, what was that noise? It was traced to the telephone. It never rings so we didn’t know what the call tone sounded like. It was a very bad line and I thought the woman said that it was Helen before ringing off. This happens to be the name of Barry’s wife so. read more...

Ximera - Leg 2, Log Day 10 – Mellowing out

v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 falsefalse false falseEN-GB JA X-NONE/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial;} We don’t have a whole lot to report since our last post. The wind has been low, generally 5-10 knots, so we have alternately motored, sailed, and motor-sailed. We have 3ish days to go before this, the longest leg of our crossing, is. read more...

Adagio - How do They ... ummm well ...

This morning's coffee discussion started up because we'd just sailed past/thru a rather huge 'patch' of Portuguese Man-of-War jellyfish.The 'patch' extended for two miles or so and was pretty densely populated, enough to prevent counting them (which, at 5 knots, is pretty thick).They were sort-of-spread-out and also sort-of-gathered-together-in-clumps and it just makes you wonder exactly how these cool (but deadly) little creatures get along in their world.So, they have these 'sails' atop the water and dangle their venomous tentacles deeply beneath them. Some tentacles are visible but some are so sinewy and fine that they are nearly invisible and perhaps dangling ten feet below the water level.These guys purportedly have no brains, no means of propulsion except to go where the wind. read more...

Lerina - Coups de pompe !!

Vendredi matin - Hier nous a montré une des facettes de ce bel océan ..... pétole complête avec une eau lisse doucement et longuement ondulée. Comme quoi cet océan ne fait jamais les choses à moitié. Nous avons donc fait ronfler le père Kins jusqu'à ce matin où nous touchons enfin du vent de WSW ce qui nous a permis à tangonner le gégène à tribord et GV sur babord (beau ciseau bien géré par Gaby). On avance pour l'instant à 4-5 N ce qui n'est pas si mal. On a eu des problèmes de pompe hier: le groupe d'eau a laché et on l'a remplacé par une pompe que j'avais en réserve. On a court circuité les filtres qui sont probablement colmatés. Il y a eu ensuite une grosse fuite qui a quasiment vidé le réservoir d'eau douce. Heureuisement, avec le désal, on a pu reconstituer le stock d'eau dans la. read more...

Second Wind - YB Connect Message from Sylvie Furtado

Dream accomplished, one more item off my bucket list. Today I swam in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with crew and my son Karl. Position 37 38.53 N 39 05.08 WIt was refreshing and the Bleu water was crystal clear with 4,000 Meeter deepWe had to keep an eye on jelly fish, the Portuguese man of war were numerous. Also some pilot whales came in proximity. Sylvie and Max chicken out and were able to take pictures. Captain Eduardo. read more...

Hejira - Barry's Bloated Bladder

The settled windless weather has resulted in the sea eventually losing its boisterous attitude and we continued to motor while the crew stirred themselves.Our first job was to decant the diesel bladder (loaned to Hejira by Barry) contents into our fuel tank and it was very heartening to see the starboard tank needle rise from about ¼ full to over ¾. We subsequently connected the deck wash pump and gave the decks, cockpit and the bladder a thorough hosing down.While talking about tank levels, even with our shower indulgence a couple of days ago, we are still using water from our first tank even though the gauge is showing empty. With only 3 days to go to Horta, it may be time to relax the showering regime which would be welcomed by all on board and probably those ashore in Horta when we. read more...

Adagio - All Things "Running"

So many times I've thought about all the 'things' and systems aboard Adagio.It seems sometimes like the boat is more of a self-contained city than a pleasure craft and keeping everything up to speed is often a challenging task.Every sailor has the "to-do" list and often times the list gets longer instead of shorter when you set out to fox something but discover a couple more layers of effort are now needed to solve adjacent problems.Boats are like Ogres, we joke making reference to Shrek's analogy about onions and many "layers" of complexity.Today we are running a bunch of the boat's systems as we make progress toward the Azores.Since we have very little to absolutely no wind, we are motoring along. As the motor, transmissions and drive train hum along spinning the propeller, we are. read more...

Allegro - TERÇA-FEIRA, 17 DE MAIO A QUARTA-FEIRA, 25 DE MAIO DE 2016

Largámos na manhã do dia 17, dentro da baía junto à cidade de Saint George, na Bermuda, com vento exactamente pela proa. Um espectáculo, todos aqueles barcos à vela a percorrerem o canal até ao mar aberto. Só não perfeito porque o vento era mesmo pela proa.Estava um dia de sol, vento de 12 nós, uma bolina inicialmente. O vento rondou de NE, para ESE, e finalmente SE toda a noite. Muitas nuvens durante a noite, mas ainda sem chuva. A pressão atmosférica estava nos 1027 quando largámos, e foi baixando progressivamente até aos 1018 dois dias depois, ficando o tempo sempre encoberto, ainda sem chuva. No dia 20, às 0400 h da madrugada (porque é que tudo acontece sempre pelas 04 da madrugada?) entrou uma vaga grande, súbita e inesperadamente, para o poço. Daí passou para o salão, e escorreu. read more...