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Windswept - ARC USA- Big Catch
Windswept - ARC USA- Big Catch
19/05/2015

Celebrate - Arrival in USA,!!! Home Again , Playing Our Theme Song "Celebration Time Come On..."!!!

Let the music play, "Celebration Time Come On..."!!!We are back in the USA after 18 months and what a mega packed memory sailing adventure it has been. The last bit, the Gulfstream Crossing, in which the high current worked to our advantage to hasten our passage was still exhilarating.Our thanks to so many people who helped make our dream a reality.Stay safe everybody, your dreams can come true!!! Captain Charlie & CathyARC USA and World ARC Rally Finishers. read more...


17/05/2015

Celebrate - Back to the USA via Bermuda Feasting on Steak & Shrimp!

Just crossing the infamous Cape Hatteras ocean area then home again to the idyllic Chesapeake Bay in only 170nm!Yeah!Also, finishing off our provisions has been a food fest with steak & shrimp for lunch and dinner.Lots of exercise needed here when we get into Portsmouth, Virginia.The winds have been up & down but we feel that we have made good time.The weather has turned cooler at nights so up went the canvas & glass cockpit surround and some long pants and jackets.A few birds have followed us for a while, always entertaining!Charlie & CathyNext:The Gulfstream Crossing. read more...


16/05/2015

Celebrate - Nanny Cay, BVI's - A New Rally, A New Beginning!

Our first impression of Nanny Cay was charming with Sir Richard Branson's "Necker Belle" tied up to the dock and pastel painted shops on shore.Also, we saw boats from our previous fleet of the World ARC, Ghost, Avocet, Polaris and Merlyn, so we felt right at home. There were many new boats, faces and new friends to make, as well.With rum punches at the welcome party and a cheerful greeting committee of "yellow shirts" Lyall, Nicki, Jake, Mia, Claudia and Trish, it was a good time!Our final dinner was smashing with over 200 people and a wonderful West Indies buffet.Thank you to all for all of the effort.It worked! Charlie & CathyNext: Bermuda Passage. read more...


16/05/2015

Celebrate - Bermuda Night Entry and Leaving the Next Day for the USA to Catch a Weather Window

Even though we rushed to arrive at Bermuda before nightfall, it was not to be.With Cathy on the bow of Celebrate with a search light looking for markers and me cautiously moving the boat through the channel to the customs dock we arrived just fine.Also, Mia was such a welcome sight on the dock at 9pm as she directed us to a docking spot, helped us tie up and gave us two nicely chilled dark & stormy drinks!How nice was that!In the morning as we looked at the upcoming weather we realized our weather window was now, so off we sailed and expect to arrive at Portsmouth, Viginia on Monday, May 18th.It's been a great time and we will see the World Cruising Club again!Charlie & Cathy. read more...


14/05/2015

Crazy Horse - Day 6

We are powering our way to Ft. Lauderdale with motor on and all sails flying. This is really and truly the first time that wehave used the engine. Trying to make Ft. Lauderdale before dark. There is some tricky maneuvering with lots of ships and boats in the canals and a drawbridge as well. Better to get there before dark and see the obstacles clearly. Anyway, we are excited to get there and Crazy Horse seems to be fairly galloping the last 60 miles. This is some of her old stomping ground!We all agree it has been a great voyage with lots of wind and all sailing. Bill thinks we have hit the gulf stream as our speed has increased- up to twelve at times.The meals have been excellent. Better than most restaurants- just like home cooking!We will be at Bahia Mar marina after today so I should. read more...


13/05/2015

Windswept - Rock me Windswept!

Windswept's blog post to the tune of Wagon Wheel!Sailing out west to the land of the 'gators. Getting frustrated, want tokick the generator. Staring at the sea, hoping I don't see mast lights.We made it half way in 86 hours, catching flying fish and taking noshowers. Hoping for the moon so I can see my way tonight.So crank that winch and speed up the keel. Drunk on rum punch is how Iwant to feel. Hey...my boat's a rockin'! Rock me Windswept like the windand the waves, rock me Windswept in a westbound haze. Hey...Windsweptrock me.Meredith's cooking dinner, Shawn's at the helm, Carol's reading booksand Terry's always snoozing. We kept checking fishing lines, nothing tobe found. No fish, no rum keep getting me down, but we loved flipperplaying up on our bow. Next week I'm turning back to. read more...


13/05/2015

Abigail - Beautiful sailing continues

Greetings from Abigail.As expected the wind went light and turned from East to East Southeast last night and this morning has gone to Southwest, although the wind speed has picked up a bit.Last night we managed to keep sailing in the light stuff with all our working sails (jib, main and mizzen) up. We have not often sailed without at least one reef in the main on this passage. Surprisingly we managed to make reasonably good progress until 0415 this morning when the wind dropped to 5 knots directly from astern.At that point we started the engine for the first time this trip and motored for about 5 hours. We took advantage of the situation by making around 50 gallons of water, and Bob and David took showers. Then the wind came up a bit and we decided to set the spinnaker, and while we were. read more...


Morning Haze - Morning Haze - Diving in the Bermuda Triangle
Morning Haze - Morning Haze - Diving in the Bermuda Triangle
13/05/2015

Morning Haze - Morning Haze...swim in the Bermuda Triangle?

Hello everyone,As you already know, we lost our boat refrigeration on the first day, Then just after 24 hours out of the BVI we suffered an autopilot failure forcing us to make a difficult choice: to turn back or to take this misfortune as a new challenge to overcome. We choose the latter and so far we steered Morning Haze some 500 miles after another misfortune hit us...We thought we had seen it all but no....around noon today the wind died!!!What?!....We still have 165 miles to go and the wind dies? What do we do? We will enjoy it!!!We spent the last hour playing in the water behind the boat. Jumping of the davits and off the stern into deep but amazingly crystal clear water. It can only be so clear and blue in the middle of the ocean. It was so clear that we could keep our eyes open. read more...


13/05/2015

Lone Star - Day 5 - Old Bahama Channel

It is almost noon on May 13th and we are going through the Old Bahama Channel.We hoped to get a glimpse of Cuba but have not spotted land.However, we have been able to get a good dose of Cuban television.The television picked up 19 channels that were carrying two stations.Should have worked harder on my Spanish before we left because I could not understand a thing. We are still following Crazy Horse which is 3 miles ahead and Joel is jumping up and down like a mad man trying to make Lone Star go faster.It is difficult to catch a boat that is larger and more suited to down wind sailing, but we are trying.We have our tuna plug in the water along with a planer and spoon hoping to catch either a tuna or wahoo.The hand line fishing has gone well this trip. The seas are calmer and we are. read more...


13/05/2015

Crazy Horse - Day 5

Today we are traveling downor is it up? the Old Bahama Channel in the day light thank goodness. We didn't know what to expect with the shipping channel on one side of us and the Bahamas on the other. 8 miles doesn't seem like a lot of space but sometimes 2 ships seem to be able to pass on the same side. We are on the North side going toward Florida of course along side Lone Star. We have been keeping up close to each other the last couple of days. The winds are blowing 15-20k. apparent. The waves are pretty smooth in here going through the channel. We are making speeds of 8-9 SOG.Bill and I have decided that is our next adventure- to explore the Bahama islands. No time now- but it would have been nice to take a break and anchor off some of these beautiful islands. It was a wonderful. read more...


13/05/2015

Celebrate - SSB Net, May 13, Gooood Morming ARC Fleet and "Contest of the Day"! Rhyming...

Everyone is a winner!The "contest of the day" was making a rhyme for the evening radio check-in.Many boats participated.One particularly wonderful entry was from Widago who had each verse read on the radio by a different crew member.I hope they put it in the blog.Here are the rhymes I received by email:--The Polaris Crew. The day today was very calm. Feeling like sitting in the sand beneeth a palm.But then we get a reminder. Keep a sharp look out, even the grinder.First we found a red rescue ring, one hour later a yellow floating lifesling.Later in the afternoon, we ate homemade applepie, with a spoon.Matthias put the oven on. Sorry fleet, he just made one.After that, oh what a drama, a floating box left by a fishing farmer.After all we have dinner now. We lucky guys, we get slices of a. read more...


12/05/2015

Crazy Horse - Day 4

Well, This is May 12th Bill and my 41st anniversary of marriage!How appropriate that we should be celebrating this occasion on Crazy Horse. The Crazy Horse Saloon in Washington,D.C. is where Bill and I met , hence the name of the boat.How sweet of him to leave me a happy anniversary note on the top of our position and captains log. So when I come on watch at 4am ....he always remembers better than me!I am blessed to have so many adventures with this manand such great kids and grands. Of course this is all the day after we had a huge disagreement over how we had the accidental jibe, broke the preventer cleat and of course we had too much sail out for the winds and crazy waves. After all that, everything was repaired, no one was hurt and apologies were accepted. So you see the topsy turvy. read more...


12/05/2015

Abigail - Another 200 mile day

Over the past three days we have logged 602 nautical miles with daily runs of 201, 194 and 207, reaching all the way.Despite the usual late night/ early morning squalls it has been glorious sailing.Actually, so far dodging the squalls has been a kind of fun game that has helped to keep us awake during the wee hours.Today the wind has gotten a bit lighter and shifted more toward the south.A trend we expect to see continue throughout today and tomorrow, so keeping up the speed from here on in will be more of a challenge. All of the crew is doing well and we've begun thinking about the dark and stormies (is that how you spell it?) we'll be enjoying when we arrive (actually Pam has been dreaming about Chardonnay).. read more...


11/05/2015

Abigail - 234 mile day

We continue to speed toward Bermuda and we logged 234 nautical miles of a 24 hour period from noon to noon.I'm pretty sure that's the farthest Abigail has ever traveled in a day and puts us very close to the half way point in our journey.We are all doing well and catching up on our sleep and getting used to the very unnatural routine of sleeping and waking in 3 (at night) or 4 (during the day) hour intervals.Last night between midnight and dawn we sailed through numerous squalls.Fortunately, with the radar working we were able to dodge them all. It was a fun game helped keep us awake.The bad news is that not a drop of rain touched us and Abigail sure could use a fresh water wash down.Today is a beautiful, sunny day with only a few fair weather clouds in the sky.As has been the case from. read more...


11/05/2015

Crazy Horse - Day 3

After a wonderful dinner of West Indian Shrimp- hot but Bill and I loved it- it was a pleasant evening and i was able to sleep pretty well from 2100 to 0400. Then I relieved Matt from his watch. We have stillbeen making good time going from 8 to 10 kts. on average.They predict 20-25 ktsfrom the east so we are still going with our wing and wing sail formation. So far the weather reports have been right on.There are lots of clouds with strong passing showersand winds as we proceed past the Dominican Republic and gettingclose to Haiti. They did warn us that we might see some refugees trying to make their way across the Atlantic to safety. There are lots of big ships out here so they must be quite desperate to leave. Matt and I had our old scrabble game going again. Won't say who won because. read more...


Lone Star - Ron Horton Reels in Dinner!
Lone Star - Ron Horton Reels in Dinner!
Lone Star - Lone Star flying the Downwind System
Lone Star - Lone Star flying the Downwind System
10/05/2015

Lone Star - Day 2 - Sunday

Today has been a good one for Lone Star and crew.This morning we caught another Mahi Mahi similar in size to the one caught on Saturday.Then in a gesture of extreme kindness we turned it into a catch and release.Didn't get the rum to its gills fast enough.We had fresh Mahi for lunch from the one caught yesterday and still have enough for fish tacos.We have been sailing directly down wind using our double pole and head sail combination and have achieved speeds as high as ten knots, but generally in the 8.5 knot average.Hoping to have a 200 mile noon to noon distance day. Fair winds,Craig. read more...


10/05/2015

Abigail - Day 2 - Off to a good start

Greetings from Abigail.We are about 200 miles north of Tortola and off to a great start.It's blowing about 18 knots out of the ENE and we are doing 8.5 knots or so under a double reefed main and jib.Yesterday's start was spectacular as we sailed away from the BVI at over 9 knots under full sail.As dusk came we put in one reef and a bit later, perhaps a bit too late, we put in a second reef as the wind built to over 25 knots.Eventually we even rolled in the jib and sailed under main and mizzen alone doing a slower, but more comfortable 7.5 knots.This morning with the wind down a bit we decided to drop the mizzen and put up the jib again and that's the sail combination we've stuck with for today.The boat could handle more sail, but everyone is comfortable with what we've got. Everyone is. read more...


10/05/2015

Crazy Horse - Day 2

8am. here out in the middle of the Puerto Rico Trench. Sailing at speeds 8-9knots SOG.Winds are about 14Kts Apparent.We are in the midst of a little rain shower with waves from the stern pushing us along at times and rocking us at times. We figure we have made about 190miles since yesterday from the start at Nanny Cay. At this rate Matt and I willmake our plane from Ft. Lauderdale but one never knows. Many people have warned me about sailing and having firm plans for travel.So Matt made the pork loin I had marinated in the Mango Salsa and the Ginger Soy mixture. I think the Mango was the clear winner. It was tender and juicy and nota lot left for the sandwiches Matt had planned for. Even though it was rocky and rolly Matt did a stupendous job with the meal. We rounded the pork off with. read more...


10/05/2015

Celebrate - SSB Net, May 10, Gooood Morming ARC Fleet and "Question of the Day"! Everyone is a Winner!

After morning radio check-ins, the "question of the day" is announced to be answered in the evening. Today was, "How did your boat get it's name?" Many boats participated and here are some answers they emailed in:--'Merlyn' is a wizard and enchanter from Arthurian legend. 'Merlyn' has enchanted our lives by taking us around the world - that is the reason for her name.--"WIDAGO"Our boat name was derived from our 3 boy's names - William 12 yrs old(WI) / David 10 yrs old (DA) / Gordon 10 yrs old (GO)... The decision as to which of the twin's names should be listed first worked itself out because www.WIGODA.com was taken.... So our website documenting our 2.5 year family cruising adventure was created www.WIDAGO.com.--"Celebrate" the name is in in honor of my 6th birthday which coincided. read more...


Lone Star - Lone Star flying the Downwind System
Lone Star - Lone Star flying the Downwind System
09/05/2015

Lone Star - Lone Star on the Move

It's been a great first day for Lone Star.We left Nanny Cay at 0940, ahead of the main ARC Bermuda fleet.Conditions have been perfect for flying our secret weapon - the double downwind Amel system.Yes, we now look like a shrimp boat!We may not be attracting shrimp but we have recorded our first catch.Ron Horton reeled in a Mahi Mahi on the hand line.Looks like some of those frozen dinners will remain in the freezer!Craig. read more...


09/05/2015

Crazy Horse - start toward Ft. Lauderdale

Here we are out in the Caribbean Sea and soon to be in the Atlantic just south of Tobago Island. We left a little after Karina and Lone Star is close on our heels. Can't see Mystic Shadow or Windswept. They may have a couple hours start on us.There is no race on this rally but those who know sailors realize the humor in that comment. We hope to have a peaceful calm ride back to Ft. Lauderdale. But we are at the mercy of the wind, sea state, and weather. We are making 8 or 9 SOG.We have a wing and wing sail formation.There is a gentle rocking motion and the Crazy Horse is finding her sea legs. The rest of us just hang on!We had a nice farewell last night at the beach barbecue with great food and a wonderful blend ofreggae, rock and pop music. We turned in rather early in prep of the. read more...


08/05/2015

Abigail - Abigail Ready to go

All of the crew has arrived.David and Mary Bows arrived yesterday evening.Yesterday was Pam's birthday and we celebrated by going to Brandywine, an excellent restaurant here on Tortola.We also celebrated Mary's birthday, which was a couple of days ago and David's, which is today.We are stowing final bits of gear and food and checking systems and rigging.We just got new sails last week over in St. Thomas.The guys at Quantum did a great job making sure the sails were ready for our scheduled departure.We've only sailed a little since we got the sails, but they look great and we're looking forward to putting them to good use. Right the weather looks ideal for a fun passage to Bermuda.. read more...


07/05/2015

Windswept - Almost Ready

With less than 48 hours to go the Windswept crew is on board and the boat is provisioned. With just a few things to put away and have the crew safety briefings we'll be ready to go. Yeah!. read more...


07/05/2015

Crazy Horse - Getting READY for start

Hello out there to all interested readers!The Crazy Horse and crew have been madly getting the boat prepared to return to sea and north to the Chesapeake Bay. She has had a major facelift after some long trips around the globe.Miles and co. have done an absolutely superb job of painting her hull,bottom , mast and boom . She looks ever so much better! She has a new attitude as well- we can just feel it ! Wefinally had the time to get back onto the blog site after shopping, cleaning, putting sails back on, cleaning, andgetting all parts into working order.Of course we have had a tasteof the local rum punch, painkillers,and some great food right here at Peg Legs. Surely, you can imagine that hasn't affected us in any way of getting our jobs completed as crew members!We have met some of the. read more...



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