Daily Logs

Wolkenschlößchen - Day 13 - Wind or no wind

It feels like we are closing in on our final days towards Saint Lucia. It is getting really hot during the days, making our daily bucket shower a small highlight of the day. Luckily, we also still have a good amount of ice cream that we made of ripe bananas instead of letting them go bad. We are surprised, anyhow, how good many of our vegetables are surviving in this weather. We are still enjoying plenty of fresh produce and did not even think about using any canned or durable food. Healthy sailing! Today also marked 1st December and Lonneke could finally (!!!) open the first Christmas calendar pack. She was soooo excited and happy! Sailing these days remains comfortable with calm winds dominating most of our days and nights. We are having 8-10kts of tail wind which our oxley. read more...

Cats Pajamas - Penultimate Day

So we cant see land but we know it’s out there, as we start to make some preparations for the final night and finish line. Hoping to have a close finish with two other Class 4 Catamarans after 2440nm separated by a couple of nautical miles on the other side still amazes me. Champagne is on ice and we are ready to try land again. What an amazing crew a month in one room no escape sharing everything and not a single dispute or argument despite the stress of it all.Love CP. read more...

Vitamin Sea - Tag 11: Donnerstag an Bord: Angeln, Hitze und Notfallvorsorge, Donnerstag, der 30. November 2023

Die Nacht vom 29. auf den 30. November 2023: Eine entspannte Nacht auf dem Achterdeck Die Nacht auf den Donnerstag verlief erneut ohne größere Aufregungen. Das Boot "Sea Dweller", das uns seit einiger Zeit begleitet hatte, blieb weiterhin hinter uns. Der Mond am Nachthimmel hat bereits deutlich abgenommen, und es gab keineAnzeichen für Squalls oder ungewöhnliche Wetterereignisse.Allerding hat sich unsere Routine etwas geändert. Anna hat ihre Nachtwache statt am Steuerstand auf dem Achterdeck übernommen, bequem halb liegend an unserem Esstisch. Aufgrund von Rückenschmerzen machte das sehr viel mehr Sinn. Dennochhat sie unser Cockpit portabel auf dem ipad jederzeit sichtbar vor sich. Wir haben dennoch darauf bestanden, dass sie alle 10 Minuten zum Steuerstand für einen Rundumblick geht.. read more...

Risque Business - Where Are All The Marine Animals

11:47.39N 56:7.30W0715GMT, Saturday 2nd Dec 2023. One thing has struck me on this voyage is the scarcity of all marine animals that we’ve seen when compared to my previous ARC crossing in 2019. On that voyage, we had dolphins nearly every day, either popping by for a quick “Hello”, or more usually a bit of playtime on the bow wave. On one occasion, a large pod stayed for well over an hour, taking turns to surf or simply undertake high-speed manoeuvres from all angles under the yacht. Sadly on this trip, we’ve only seen these joyous creatures a couple of times. We’ve also not seen any whales on this trip, with two sighted on the last. In addition, sea birds have been sighted in a different manner. We’ve had the odd bird pass by every day, including the egret that perched on our solar. read more...

Tahira - ARC BLOG D-Day 13 [02-Dec-23]

TAHIRA ARC BLOGD-Day 13 [02-Dec-23]Location: Mid-AtlanticLat: 14.23N Long: 40.01W Meet the crew:Andy 'the Blog' Bruce How would you describe yourself in one sentence?- Andy is an eternal optimist that loves family, sport and adventure.What is your first favourite piece of music and why? - Andy loves 'Follow you, follow me' by Genesis - the melody and movement in the song reminds him of riding his Honda 900cc motorcycle at 120mph around the New Forest in his Southampton days.He last saw Genesis live at the O2 in 2022 - perhaps their last tour.What is your greatest achievement in live to-date?- For Andy, climbing mountains with friends and his son Jonny, building a floating home and creating his business Softools come to mind, but ultimately passing P-company to receive his red beret and. read more...

JaZoFi - day 13

A bit more variation in the weather in the last 24 hours with some lighter winds, then stronger winds then a heavy downpour under a very low black cloud late at night. This was combined with some solid 27 knot winds for a few hours which had JaZoFi humming at a perfect angle to St Lucia. Visibility was very low so sailing into the abyss not know what was in front kept the senses primed. Earlier in the day we caught another Mahi Mahi, perfect size for 5 fillets which was prepared and on the BBQ in less than 90 minutes lunch was superb, fresh fish in a wrap with salad. Everyone is in high spirits in anticipation of terra firma under our feet and a Caribbean rum in our hand.. read more...

Asante - Day 13 of the never ending poem

Day 13 has me seeing, just how very tired I am. Cos the limerick I did last night just seemed to fail to scan.I had forgotten totally, that the story I submit, must be produced in story form, not a poem, what a twit. But that was not the only blip, that showed how tired I am. I had set my watch for midnight.Or that had been the plan.But Nick he came a knocking.Ten minutes late he’d say.Cos I had muddled the clocks midnight with the middle of the day.It’s lunchtime now and I must put, my QM hat back on.To check the sneaky crew, have not taken food while I was gone.I’m hoarding every scrap, of red meat that I can hide. Cos don’t forget one crewman, says veggie meals he can’t abide.I’ve counted once, I’ve counted twice.Of the meals I have to go.And I think we’re fine.Providing we don’t go. read more...

Aqualuna - I Can Almost See The Pub From Here!

So this day 15 and our very last day of our Atlantic crossing. What a strange, bittersweet feeling it is to be on the home run with only 140 miles to go. We have dreamed of doing this crossing for as long as we have known each other - for over 30 years - and now it is almost at an end.What a truly extra-ordinary adventure this has been. We have experienced challenging, and sometimes terrifying times - and we have experienced sublime sailing conditions that have entirely bewitched us. I have fallen in love with this great watery wilderness that has beguiled me with its ever changing light, colours and moods. We have frolicked with dolphins, soared along with the lonely sea birds and laughed out loud at the antics of the flying fish. We have celebrated sunrises and sunsets and gloried in. 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...

Blue Pepper - Blue Pepper - Day 13, 1/12

Here we are at sea in the tropics on the first day of December and it’s difficult to relate to the run up to Christmas at home!Aboard Blue Pepper we are all very relaxed and enjoying the downhill trade wind ride. Our course is now set directly for St Lucia 1010 miles west of us. The days are hot down below but perfect under the bimini and at night. Yesterday we had our ‘Middle of the Atlantic’ celebration. After the excitement of which, today we turned slightly to roll straight down the waves to minimise the rolling stress on the washing machine and had a laundry day!. read more...

Adrienne - Das Seegras kommt

01.12.2023Blogautoren Steffi und ThorstenLiebe Fans und Follower der Adrienne,heute schreiben wir nun den 01. Dezember. 1.177 Seemeilen liegen noch vor uns. Da der Passat inzwischen erfreulich stetig weht, haben wir von gestern 1600 UTC bis heute 1600 UTC einen neuen Rekord beim Etmal erreicht: 167 Seemeilen in 24 Stunden. Dies entspricht einer Durchschnittsgeschwindigkeit von rund 7 kt. Es geht also voran, und die 1.000 Seemeilen Distanz werden in den nächsten 24 Stunden erreichbar.In der zurückliegenden Nacht mussten wir sogar ein Reff ins Groß und in die Genua einbinden, was zu einem ruhigeren Lauf bei gleichbleibendem Speed beitrug. Die Nächte sind lau und warm und erlauben uns als Segelbekleidung Shorts, T-Shirt und Flip-Flops. Natürlich ergänzt durch die Rettungsweste und. read more...

Cats Pajamas - Cats Pajamas ?

Well it’s been a few days we think as time is now just a blur. I checked and it’s Friday the 1st as I make this update. Since last we had a birthday celebration for Alyson, baked cake and Bread, got smashed in storm squalls last night, little sleep, wales which were cool under the boat and hope to finish on Sunday late afternoon see ing land after 16days should be fun. read more...

Saida - Saida day 12 & 13

Thursday was difficult: we were forced to jibe and go further southwest on the search of stronger and more consistent trade winds. We found them on Friday morning and we are now on a more or less direct heading towards the finish line with steady 14-22 kn from the east and boat speeds of up to 12 kn. We are now pretty much the most south of the entire ARC fleet. Let's see if it was a good move... All good here, SAIDA is in her element and so is the crew.. read more...

Blue Wonder -

The end is really in sight. As I write this we have 58 nautical miles to the finish line and it can't come soon enough. With the largest squalls we've seen all crossing appearing just before sunset, it has been all hands on deck to try and avoid being stuck in one with the parasailor up. We also had a bilge alarm go off as the squall activity started, and a child who felt unwell with a bad headache. Neither of us want to be awake, and I can tell tonight is going to be our toughest yet. So we truck on, knowing that when we're safely tucked up in the marina, we will be able to catch up on that glorious sleep. The events of the evening were preceded by an exciting crossing of paths with Nuvem Magica! After over 2000 nautical miles at sea, we managed to pass within 1nm of each other. Not. read more...

TAHIRA ARC BLOG D-Day 12 [01-Dec-23]

TAHIRA ARC BLOGD-Day 12 [01-Dec-23]Location: Mid-AtlanticLat: 14.27N Long: 37.58W SENSES OF THE BOATLife is different on a boat in the Atlantic.From what we do, see and think about, to the smells, the tastes and the noises. What we seeThe biggest impact on what we can see is the contrast between night and day as we have covered in another blog.When the sun disappears, our world changes completely.But there are many noticeable differences with our lives back home:" Waves: Did you know there are over 20 different types of wave?No, neither did I.I won't bore you with them all now but needless to say that when your livelihood and progress are based on the waves (and wind) then we get to know them all pretty well." Sun: Back home we all see the sun but rarely see the full sunrise and sunset -. read more...

Hot Stuff - 13:55.98N 42:04.342W

A day of ups and downs...So having reported that the compass light was dead, Nick sacrificed the fairy lights we randonly bought in the Hypermarket for decoration to make a new light for the compass. IT was a success although having cut it to 32 bulbs it didnt quite last the night and when on destroyed your night vision completly. So with a little surgery it is now down to 15 bulbs and we will see if that with a full day of blistering sun charging the little panel lasts longer!Last night became... exciting ?! with the kite up so we had an early hours call for 'all hands' to get the kite down. I have to say at that point it was a relief as I had spent most that night not asleep holding onto the bunk trying to hug the hull and not fall out onto Darren!. Once down we had a great sail. read more...