Daily Logs

Starblazer - 25/05/2015 - Exploring the Ha'apai

In the introduction to Ken's Cruising Guide to Tonga he describes the Ha'apai as like the Tuamotus, of French Polynesia, a sentiment with which I agree to some extent.There are a lot of islands, a lot of reefs and a lot of long sandy beaches, there are also a number of passes between islands and reefs.The one missing feature is the narrow pass into a circular atoll, something I can do without though we entered Minerva Reef quite easily, exiting was an altogether rougher experience!.The Ha'apai are divided into several island chains.From Ha'apai Beach Resort on Lifuka we wriggled our way between reefs and shallows and went south to the next island, Uoleva.The anchorage toward the southwest of the island, tucked between two reefs, gave access to Serenity Beach Resort run by Jackie and. read more...

Luna Quest - Sunday, 24 May, 2015

Noon Position: 16.53S 169.47WDaily run: uncertain; est. 120 miles (cross over charts and unreliable log reader)The wind backed yesterday from south east to east so that we could no longer sustain our goose-winged sail configuration. The rough seas in the strong winds nearly jibed the boat and if that had happened we might well have had a few breakages. As the night was upon us, we took down the mainsail and just carried on with the one poled out and reefed Genoa (jenny). Our progress diminished dramatically while the boat began to roll in the rough seas, but there was nothing we could do about it other than suffer the ignominious rocking and rolling, all night. Sleep was difficult to come by as one’s body and head were rolled from side to side with much clattering and banging of items. read more...

Euphoria - Dag 4, mer fokus på segling än bloggande

Vi inledde med att gå nordöst efter starten i onsdags (20.05.2015),sydvästliga vindar förde oss snabbt ut från Bermuda. Under dag två ändrade vikurs till en mer östlig för att undvika dåligt väder. Seglingen har i stort settskett med fulla segel, spinnaker på dagtid och genua/code zero på nätterna. 600nautiska avklarades efter 3 dagar med bra vind och fina förhållanden. Euphoriassnabba frammarsch har gjort att vi nått ett område med svagare vindar, dessavindar väntas hålla i sig till på tisdag (26.05.2015).  Under anmarschen till Bermuda så fick Euphoria problem med en delinstrument. En tekniker var på plats i Bermuda som hjälpte oss med dessa menunder natten mellan lördag/söndag så återkom problemen. Idag har vi felsöktinstrumenten då vädret vart lugnare, vi tror oss ha hittat. read more...

Gozwoz - Day 5 from Bermuda

The day started with the arrival of the weather front which we had seen to the north west all the previous day. During the night we had heavy persistent rain. At one point in the dark cockpit the Coxswain was alarmed to hear distressed exclamations from the Navigator only to learn that he had sat down on a wet seat having forgotten to don his waterproof trousers. The Coxswain stood the early morning watch and was later described by the Bosun as a drowned rat. The wind rapidly veered from the SW, which had been blowing us along since Bermuda, to north-east as foretold by the so-called weather GRIB files which Our Great Leader has been downloading daily via the SSB shortwave radio. Having sailed on the other tack during the morning we resorted to engine in the afternoon.  A comment on. read more...

Gozwoz - Day 4 from Bermuda

The next few days are likely to be interesting as e reach the end of the weather system we have enjoyed since Wednesday. Following a long discussion between Our Great Leader and Harald from Sophie, who has done several ARCs and the World ARC, the decision has been taken to turn somewhat to the south with a view to picking up a favourable south-easterly wind in a few days time. It is likely that we will have some motoring to do. After a day's steady sailing we are almost back on the line of our original Great Circle Route. The difference from previous days is that there has been a definite chill in the wind today and warm clothes are a necessity, particularly at night.On the subject of navigation the Navigator has worked out in conjunction with the cerebral Cox'n that one is always on a. read more...

Aislig Bheag - Dramatic Rescue on the High Seas!... of an old Fender...

The crew of the Aislig Bheag can today report the dramatic rescue on thehigh seas of a highly distressed fender:  The rescue effort began in earnest a little after 4pm on the first DogWatch (Rover) after John spotted the white head (of said Mr. fender) bobbing offthe port side.  Conditions were challenging with high seas (1ft swell) andgale force conditions (3.5knts) but in spite of these adverse conditions theskipper’s fast reactions, (think well oiled mechanical gears not fibre opticcables), kicked into gear as he brought the yacht head to wind and a text bookemergency stop (backing the jib under full canvas and heaving in themain).  John shouted out “all hands on deck!” and the crew speedilyassembled in the cockpit as the yacht charged towards the bobbing victim. read more...

Tara -

Saturday was another beautiful day of sailing even though the winds lightened as the day progressed.Just before lunch I noticed a sail pretty far ahead in the distance.We all commented about how big the sails looked and wondered if we’d have any chance to catch her. Well, as it turned out, we were on a near parallel, but eventually, intersecting course that lead us together after about an hour.Our big yacht that we were chasing had metamorphosed into a tiny 30’ sailboat named ‘Django’ with a French husband and wife aboard as only crew.For comparison sake, the smallest boat in this rally is 39’ and that is about twice the size of a 30’ when you consider practical living conditions.It was a real reminder of how big this ocean is. When there is nothing to be seen in 360 degrees for three. read more...

Agua Dulce - Light winds - no fish - good food

Not much has been happening out here in the big, blue ocean. We have had light winds, but fairly steady, until yesterday when they all but died. I think we jinxed it, because someone thought it would be a good idea to have a contest to see who could guess most accurately when we would have to turn the engine on - we haven't had to use it (other than to enter Town Cut at St. George's harbor in Bermuda) for 1200nm. So, of course we all placed our bets, and in less than 24 hours, we were running the engine. Guess who won? Captain Charlie. The man whose ultimate decision it was to turn the engine on. Hmmmmm..... Anyway, with 1200nm to go, I guess we had to do something if we want to get to the Azores before Christmas. We have caught no fish. Nothing is even interested. We've tried a variety. read more...

Dala - The daily problem

Hi, all,Today, except for about two hours without wind, we continued to enjoy our ride.You may remember, in one of my former messages to the blog, I wrote that a friend of mine once told me that when sailing, every day brings with it a new problem!Today was no exception, and we got an overriding of the genoa starboard sheet around the winch! (French: Un "surpattage" de l'ecoute tribord du genois autour du winch, une grosse galere!).It took us four or five different attempts with an equivalent number of possible solutions to solve the problem. At one moment we even considered to CUT the sheet!Finally, after about a tough fight, we succeeded to free this overriding...Of course, all this occured under a super strong rain, the strongest we had since the beginning of the Rally...I said to my. read more...

Jambo - saturday night

It was pitch black last night and I was on watch at midnight when it started to rain shortly followed by a 70 degree wind shift. That would have been fine if we were not underfull sail with the Genoa poles out. So I had to get everyone up from their bunks to gybe the main, drop the pole and change course in the rain anddark- everyone obliged in good spirits - international yachts men and women are like that!We All agreed it was one of the best nights out we had experienced on a Saturday but did ask why are we doing this? .....""living the dream baby" came the answer from TomDid about 120 miles which was not bad either so nearly one third of the wayPhilip. read more...

Free Spirit - Log 13: 23 May 2015

It is with great regret that I have toannounce that there is a thief  on board. The following notice has beenposted on the refrigerator door:   NOTICE:   ANYONE CAUGHT STEALING THE CAPTAIN'S CHOCOLATE WILLBE KEEL-HAULED   You might consider keel-hauling, which wasabolished by the Admiralty in the mid-eighteenth century, rather severe, butgiven the heinous nature of the crime I personally consider this to be anentirely appropriate punishment. I suspect the young whipper-snapper and amwatching him very carefully.  To other things: Today the material that blockedthe main outlet pipe from the holding tank migrated to become lodged in themacerator pump.So, another hour or two was spent in the bilges, once moredismantling the pump and disimpacting it by. read more...

Widago - Bermuda-Azores: Day 3

Fantastic day sailing the North Atlantic. WIDAGO finally took down her parasailor, and it was a whole family affair. Luckily we were able to sail it even as winds came around at 90 apparent. But speed was being sacrificed for comfort, and we have nice little side bet with DALA, so we needed to make haste! With winds at starboard beam and full sails, we are cruising now at 8.5kts, a little bumpier ride. The currents are brisk out here, edging us southward off our easterly track. No fish (yet) today. We landed a MahiMahi last night just around dinnertime/SSB net call, but the stinker jumped ship after we removed the gaff. Fish 1, WIDAGO 0 - back to the seas, to live another day (or get eaten by something bigger).-Ali image1. read more...

Widago - Bermuda-Azores Day 5: hurts my motor to go so slow

Almost becalmed out here, just about 1200nm from Horta. The parasailor did the best it could in very light winds of 9-10kts true. By 9pm last night, we decided it was too light and variable to keep sailing, so we fired up the engine. This is great because now we have a seemingly endless supply of scalding hot water. Unfortunately, this means I really don't have a good excuse not to shower...The past two evenings during sundowners, we have had some lovely guests visit. It's incredible that in this vast expanse, these pods find us for some sunset surfing. Once we get land-based internet, I'll put some more pictures/videos up. Weather forecast has us motoring for awhile. Following seas are gently pushing us along with broad smooth 8-10 ft rollers. Still no luck on the fishing front, but we. read more...

Free Spirit - Log 12: 22 May 2015

Yesterday evening we caught a large tuna. It wasa struggle to get him aboard, not only because of his large sizebut also because, as a result of heaving-to to stop the boat, the line wascaught under the hull. However, the beast was eventually overcome, gaffed aboardand dispatched with a dose of gin poured into its gills. Sadly,  anyterminal inebriation that may have resulted was scant compensation forthe suffering that went before but this is the most humane way of killing alarge fish and he died within seconds. It is tempting to make the observationthat in humans the end result of imbibing gin is potentially thesame but in most cases there there is at least more time to appreciate theside effects. He (the tuna) was very. read more...

Firefly - PLYMOUTH MAYFLOWER ARRIVAL -

Firefly left hamble at 15hrs on Friday 22nd May and we completed the tripto Plymouth in 18 hours averaging 7.5 knots – Excellent sailing but extremelycold with a Northerly blowing Force 4 gusting 5 through the night. No moon andvery dark!The boat is now tucked up in Mayflower and all crew are due back Friday forthe start of the Arc Portugal – very exciting!Need a rig check though as one of the intermediates looks a little slackbut nothing too serious.   50:21:86N 004:10:006W m_FullSizeRender m_FullSizeRender_1 m_FullSizeRender_2 m_FullSizeRender_3. read more...

Starblazer - 22/05/2015 - On our way back to the islands

Starblazer is on her way back to rejoin World ARC in Musket Cove, Fiji where we said goodbye last July to our friends who continued around the world..We have learnt some interesting lessons on this leg.Perceived wisdom says leave New Zealand on the back of a low pressure to get favourable winds to the islands.Our departure on 02/05/2015 was into the middle of a high so the routing suggested motoring east for 2 days before picking up south easterly to easterly winds to bear off towards Minerva Reef and Tonga.I'm sure weather forecasting is one of the dark arts (though we have friends who will quite rightly disagree), the wind filled in from the east north east instead of southeast somewhat sooner than expected and it was a beat all the way..Yes, you can anchor in the middle of the ocean. read more...

Luna Quest - Saturday, 23.5.15

Noon Position: 16.29S 167.46WDaily run: 126 milesThe fleet are setting off today and tomorrow from Niue to Vava’u (Tonga) and by the grace of God we shall be level with them tomorrow and arrive at a similar time. We expect to make landfall on Tuesday. Reading about the Tongans, one must remember not to raise one’s voice, dress in long trousers, women in blouses and not to show any affection in public. Sundays are reserved for God and nobody does anything other than going to church. A select few bakeries are allowed to be open by law. Even at the airport, it is extremely rare to see public display of affection between departing family members or friends. Apparently, everybody is very relaxed and has lots of patience (not good to have work done in a hurry). So we are looking forward to. read more...

Widago - Bermuda-Azores Day 4: Shhhhhhhh

It's been a calm day out here today. Winds shifted to our rear and die down a bit, so we launched the parasailor again. Only about 9kts true, but we are still creeping along under sails. Not even a whisper from the fishing department. Apparently there are not more fish in the sea - the rumors are false. Looks like chicken for dinner :)-Ali. read more...

Free Spirit - Log 11: 21 May 2015

Today started extremely badly - and gotworse!  Yesterday we sailed the Parasailor (spinnaker) downwind all day andmade very good progress.  The thing about the Parasailor is that it isquite tricky and the helmsman really does need to be able to see it.  So,we made a deciion not to fly it during the hours of darkness and it was dulytaken down at dusk to be replaced with white sails, main and genoa. Similar winds to yesterday were forecast for today and I got up at first light (0530 hrs) to assist Blue Watch (Ian and Richie) to reset it in anticipation ofanother fine day's sailing.  Like many other spinnakers it is encased in atube of ligh cloth called a "snuffer".  You haul it up the mast inside thesnuffer which is then withdrawn upwards off it by. read more...

Dala - The DALA express has left the station... for now!

Hi, all,Yes, The DALA express has left the station... for now!We have been very well rewarded by our northernmost option and the weather was excellent for us for the last 36 hours or so. This, in spite of the numerous problems we encountered yesterday but overcame (Thanks for your valuable help, my teammate Richard!).For now, this continues, but I added a cautious "for now!" to the subject if this mail because the weather after the coming 24 hours seems rather unfavorable to us, and also we did only less than 1/3 of the way.The news are not that good on the fishing front: On that leg, the situation is very simple: We caught nothing!Yesterday, of course in the middle of the problems we met, we heard the noise of one of our trolling lines, but the fish made his way out. How. read more...

Jambo - a bumpy old night!

Wind picked up to Force 5in the night and the sea was very bumpy so sleep at at premium for everyone In the day we had a cracking sail withthe cruising chute up and Jambo cracking along at 7/8 knots - we covered a 143 miles which was a good performance .I just plotted our position on the chart and the Azores look a lifetime away !We have started to track slightly further north in anticipation of the wind changeCarol has finally got control of the galley tonight so gentlemen are being asked to dress for dinnerCan just still see one other ARC boat otherwise it is just us and the sheerwater birds with the odd visit from Dolphins who clearly think we are mad!Philip. read more...

Zingara - Via Inmarsat:

greetings....hello everybody, here we are again. heute erst einmalherzliche gruesse an meine bisherigen mitsegler der arc 2011, 2012, 2013.wolfgang aus schwanheim, malte aus kronberg, reini aus oberursel, ruedigeraus waldshut. es laeuft recht gut im moment, nun zeigt sich, ob unserelaengere nordroute doch die richtige wahl war. etwas holperig ist es schonmit der achterlichen welle. aber alles geschieht ja freiwillig. so, nunnoch ein hallo an ickes lehrer, cpt meier-brinkhoff, rolf u thomas. euchalles gute, herzlichst, ernst. read more...

Tara - Leg #2 Bermuda to The Azores

Wednesday morning the dreaded start of the longest, most dangerous leg of this three stage passage was upon us. Approximately 1800 miles of the North Atlantic.I know that 35 degrees north of the equator does not seem like very far north but you need to keep in mind that we are advised not to go north of 40 degrees because of ice bergs! WTF!It’s known as the ‘Roaring Forty’s’.The Azores are located at 39 degrees latitude and I’m hoping that the wind God’s allow us to enter the island chain from the west, or even south, without going on a Titanic-like iceberg ‘watch’ (well hopefully we would do it better than they did).The dilemma is that the winds south of the Azores are notoriously light (who wants to take a month to get there? Not me!) and hence the delicate balancing act that is. read more...

Gozwoz - The case of the Ground Coffee

Today has been sunny and a steady f4/5 breeze from the south west over our starboard quarter has been pushing us towards our destination. It has been a glorious sail with little attention required by the sails and accompanied by bright sun and blue seas. Our Great Leader's study of the weather charts, GRIB files to the uninitiated, has led to the abandonment of the Great Circle route in favour of a foray to the north in the hope of keeping the present wind and avoiding north easterly winds on Sunday night. Fingers crossed it works out. There are a number of yachts in the rally even further north than ourselves but the only ones we have seen today were sailing towards the south. Obviously there are a umber of solutions to the weather conundrum. The disaster of the day has been the. read more...

Aislig Bheag - Call me Ishmail! - First Few Days

The start from Bermuda was a spectacular race out of the town cut at aroaring 6 knots between two sheer cliff walls with a blue sky and a light tenknot wind.  Vying for position early on the skipper held firm as AisligBheag charged towards the gap with an Italian yacht (Mahe 3) a few feet off ourport side.  So close that John shouted out humorously “have you got afender?” which indicated his clear resolve to stick to his line come hell orhigh water. We made it through the narrow channel first and as soon as the lastchannel buoy lay astern we raised the chute and tore away through the pack andleaving a new Leopard 48 in our wake.  The tactical decision had been made to head South and away from adeveloping low to the North and as dusk fell the pack of yachts on the. read more...

Mahe' 3 - Si fila

Si fila a 8,5 nodi di velocità, vento al lasco, randa, trinchetta e janke. Mare calmo, la barca sembra in porto. Non abbiamo niente da fare, infatti ho dormito per tutto il pomeriggio. Navigare così è troppo bello. Siamo in attesa della perturbazione che dovrebbe arrivare Sabato notte. Il meteorologo mi ha consigliato di non salire oltre i 35°di latitudine N in quanto le raffiche di vento potrebbero essere molto forti. In attesa di raggiungere quel limite, continuo la mia ortodromica alla ricerca del vento migliore e della rotta più corta. Oggi ho ricevuto una mail dal comitato di regata con l'elenco delle posizioni delle altre barche, e con grande soddisfazione ho visto che siamo ancora in gara e se il vento arriva, possiamo farcela.Nell'appuntamento radio quotidiano è uscito fuori che. read more...

Tara - BERMUDA

BERMUDAApologies are due to those readers that have been waiting for more blogs. The explanation is short and simple.The absence was due to exhaustion in Bermuda that had turned into pure laziness and recovery while back on the water these two days.When I last wrote, we were on final approach to Bermuda and happy to be ending two frustrating days of fighting our way into port. As it turns out, that was the easy part.But I’ll explain that later.At 11pm, we entered the well protected harbor and it was bizarre to have no wind and waves at all in there.We ghosted silently to an anchorage just at the same time as great friends (marina mates for 5 months) that we met in Grenada.Charles and Gretchen own, ‘Agua Dulce’, an identical Hylas 54 like to ours.They had just sailed in from Virginia to. read more...

Luna Quest - Friday, 22.5.15

Noon Position: 15.51S 165.23WDaily run: 152 milesAn extensive grey mass of low-hanging cloud, so low that it melded with the sea in places, with ominous patches of deep black, accompanied us on our starboard side for the better part of the afternoon. We had been trying to work out whether it was the biggest squall ever or the advent of a new frontal system. On our port side we had a clear sky with patches of white, grey clouds. It seemed that the starboard mass was chasing us and getting closer, but as we were sailing well on a broad reach on the port tack, we did not take much notice and hoped the ugliness would go sooner or later. By 6pm it had us in its clutches and opened its lock gates accompanied by thunder and lightning. The rain was indescribably dense and so hard that it tended. read more...

Dala - 2nd leg Bermuda to Horta - 3rd sailing day

Hi, all,Today, we would have loved to say "Thanks God it's Friday!".But sailing is never as you plan it: Yes, we started the day extremely well. After having gybed yesterday night at about midnight, we were right on track to Horta, our VMG equalled our SOG (for the non sailors, this simply means that every mille we were advancing was also taking us a mille closer to our destination, this is not always the case when you sail because the circumstances can lead you to take an indirect route).And the wind conditions improved continuously up to the point where we were sailing between 8 to 12 Knts, at one moment we even touched 15.5 knts. That is my personal record!But that was too much and we decided to be cautious and to take down our code zero sail. It was very difficult to do that in such. read more...

Widago - Bermuda-Azores: Day 3

Fantastic day sailing the North Atlantic. WIDAGO finally took down her parasailor, and it was a whole family affair. Luckily we were able to sail it even as winds came around at 90 apparent. But speed was being sacrificed for comfort, and we have nice little side bet with DALA, so we needed to make haste! With winds at starboard beam and full sails, we are cruising now at 8.5kts, a little bumpier ride. The currents are brisk out here, edging us southward off our easterly track. No fish (yet) today. We landed a MahiMahi last night just around dinnertime/SSB net call, but the stinker jumped ship after we removed the gaff. Fish 1, WIDAGO 0 - back to the seas, to live another day (or get eaten by something bigger).-Ali image1. read more...