Daily Logs

Cupid - Cupid - reflections on a boisterous passage, 9 Nov

Our Bowman 40 Cupid has enjoyed a roller coaster ride eating the miles up on route to Mindelo. What she lacks in waterline she makes up with a balanced helm, solid reliability and a surprising turn of speed as the wind picks up. Our strategy has been simple - steer a rumline course after clearing Grand Canaria's wind shadow, with sail plan  wing on wing poled out yankee and main (with staysail added to the mix if wind angles allow), reefing as and when to suit the conditions. We haven't changed that strategy in 4 days and just clocked our best ever 24hr run of 182 nms. I should also add that we hit our top speed ever of 15 kts surfing down a wave...quickly followed by reducing sail to reign in the 'excitement'. That said, sleeping last night for the adults was less than ideal. read more...

Maracuja - Maracujá Day 3 at sea

Maracujá  After a tough night, we managed to come back to third place and at 8 am we decided to put up our beautiful spinnaker bleu ! We call it BB (like Big Blue) and it does wonder in high seas and wind between 25 and 30 knots of wind Top speed 20.9 knots with average close to 11 knots ! 😀💥🏄‍♀️🌊💨 The sea is beautiful 🤩 Doing the ARC is so exciting !!! It is a nice and friendly fight with all other boats to win the first leg !!!  Aujourd’hui, https://share.icloud.com/photos/09bYr02G7ifTlOIjsXErNaMXQ. read more...

Blue Pearl - Blue Pearl blog 3

We are officially over half way now, making a new personal record of distance over 24 hours -180 nautical miles to be exact! Trying to keep the boat at a good speed and still comfortable for everyone on board is a constant challenge but I’m sure by the time we arrive in Mindelo we will have it perfected.Watching how the water and waves change during the day makes time pass quickly, there is always something to look at whether its flying fish, dolphins, mysterious creatures jumping on the horizon or our first spotting of a turtle floating past!. read more...

Cats Pajamas - Cats Pajamas Day 3 complete (72hrs)

Well a good 24 hours to report on perfectly ended with seeing a turtle swim past in the deep blue water. 136NM recorded for the days log which means we might still make it across the line at 5 pm Sunday before the cut off time, let’s hope. A last big night of bad weather to deal with and hopefully the last part is smooth sailing. Crew are now all well so back to full quota. We even moved from 3rd last to 4th last in the fleet funny as.. read more...

Northern Light II - What a 24 hours

What a 24 hours…… Winds up to 28 knots, waves up to 3.5m, a maximum speed reached of just under 15 knots surfing down a wave. All this has meant life on board has been harder with the constant rolling of the boat. We had an excellent chilli con carne that was cooked in Las Palmas as it would have been impossible to have put that together last night. The strong winds are forecast to last until tomorrow evening which should mean we can make a direct course for Cape Verde. The Captain made a small mistake yesterday afternoon - he left the forward hatches slightly open to allow the forward cabin to have some air in what was better conditions but…… within a short period of time a freak wave hit the bow and a quantity of salt water came down onto the corner of the bed and the cabin floor.. read more...

Valent - Calming down

As the sun rose on Wednesday the crew of Valent breathed out. It had been a fast night, possibly a little bit too much on the edge. Boat speeds topped 15kts at one point and the wind regularly hit the 30kt mark. Having read the latest forecast the Northerly shift in the wind is happening later and further South than originally expected, so we have altered the sail plan to sail deeper. Crew very happy and enjoying the fresh bread each morning. Next cake about to be baked.Mike and Neil doing their morning crossword. image0. read more...

Lost Abbey - Lost Abbey 8 Nov

The Rally start was our first. The whole event was spectacular with the horns, flags, music, spectators, and flotilla. After a bit of disarray on Lost Abbey, we found ourselves in the back of the fleet hours into the start. Once we got our screecher and Genoa deployed we were on our way.The crew was surprised to see that we had made up ground over night and were in 37th in the first position report. We have had the screecher out going on three days straight now.Abbey is making good and we are anxious to see the third position report tomorrow.. read more...

Aqualuna

Weather Forecasting On Sunday ARC+ started With a forecast of strong tradesBut the ‘racing’ start was very slow, More like a float and wade.O Chris Tibbs where was the windYou promised at the briefing? Acceleration? O yes please!We longed to be a-reefing.We didn’t get the promised gale On Sunday - but on MONDAY …..O my god all hell broke looseThe boat is like a bobsleigh.We’re flying down some massive wavesThe trade winds howl and roarWe have it all in shovelfuls We’d much prefer force four.Be careful what you wish forIs all I have to sayIt may come late but come it willIf Chris Tibbs has his way.Don’t be so impatient And rush that for which you longChris Tibbs - Master of GribsWill not get it wrong.  The ‘racing’ start  Rocking and. read more...

Blue Pearl - Blue Pearl Blog 2

Here we are again, hard to believe we have had two nights at sea already and covered over 330 nautical miles, the miles keep flying by. After the start on Sunday we discovered a nice feature on the chart plotter so now we can see the boat names of boats if we wish, instead of clicking on every yacht we can see on AIS! Although as the fleet has spread out we only have a few yachts surrounding us. We have had a couple of dolphin encounters so far, of course happening just as I am off watch, this morning Henry captured some great footage of two dolphins jumping out of the water near the bow.. read more...

T-Rex - 2023 11 06 -- Getting acclimated

Our day watches are more flexible than the night, and usually that works well, though I think sometimes that can lead to some people naturally spending more time on watch than others. (I am guilty of being someone who probably spends less time on it if not on a specific schedule.) We saw large black dolphins right before I went down to prep dinner. They were making some huge air-catching leaps. It’s always nice to see dolphins. Dinner was sausages, plus cut-up carrots, cucumbers, and some iceberg lettuce. A few slices of bread with sausage grease, and a Canary Islands pineapple for dessert. Simple but stellar. My 1am watch included 4 shooting stars, or perhaps doomed Starlink satellites. I wore my bibs and light goretex jacket with bare feet, and that seemed to be the right level of. read more...

T-Rex - 2023 11 05 -- We're off!

It was a beautiful day, a really great way to start the rally. We were a bit apprehensive about the predicted high winds coming in a day or two, but we enjoyed the moment. Noah and Pär put up the whisker pole so that we could have the jib out wing on wing and not have it luff all over the place. The whisker pole was installed at the last minute (seriously, they finished it on Saturday). It worked pretty well, though it was a little complicated to get all of the control lines run correctly. The preventer lines for the boom were very simple and also worked very well. The preventer was absolutely necessary with the cross waves and light winds. It would have been so unpleasant to have the boom bouncing constantly.In the provisioning seminar they mentioned having an easy, comforting meal for. read more...

Cats Pajamas - Cats Pajamas Day 2 completed

Well 48 hours down and slow progress thus far as we have take the road less traveled as usual, heading more west than the fleet in search of comfort for crew and boat. The two crew with sea sickness appear on the mend finally, just ready for Thursdays bad weather I fear. In the meantime boat is well, no fishing and lots of Dolphins passing with great speed which makes me wonder what lurks below. Looking forward to Friday when the conditions should allow some sun tanning for the crew. Anyway must return to my preparation of lunch. Love Cats Pajamas. read more...

Northern Light II - Tuesday 7th November

What a day and night……. Strong winds , big waves meant it was a very tough night for those on watch and also for those trying to sleep - it was almost impossible. Sarah and I tried to sleep in our cabin but we were either thrown in the air or against the lee clothes - very tired today. Cat gave us all Caponata last night - easy to eat in a bowl and delicious. Poor Tom was disturbed in his sleep twice once following an accidental gybe and secondly with a gybe in 25 knots winds.Thankfully it has calmed down this morning allowing Geertje to do some washing , showers all around and hopefully a peaceful lunch with some time to sleep this afternoon ( we hope).Strong winds forecast tonight and tomorrow so more of the same . 600 miles to go…..Michael. read more...

Risque Business - Day 3 - Risque Business Blog

23:33.27N 018:26.59W Well we lost the use of our spinnaker pole last night - the damaged pole fitting finally sheared off - hopefully a spare will meet us in Mindelo when DB joins the crew. The genoa isn't happy without it but we're still making good progress with a 24 hour run of 175 NM in the 24hrs from midnight Sunday to midnight Monday. This morning we have a steady 20 - 25kts with gusts into the 30's and one even over 40kts during the night! Had some more light rain showers and it's been pretty cloudy with a lumpy ol' sea! We've a boat speed of 7 - 8 kts with just the genoa flying which, at this rate, will hopefully get us to the midway point to Mindelo around midnight tonight (total distance of 867 NM from Las Palmas to Mindelo). Ran our 1st SSB HF Radio Net at 1000 this morning. read more...

Risque Business - Day 2 - Risque Business Blog

We had light winds at the start, through the evening and into the night. After an hour or so there was clear water between us and the other yachts, but our attempt to pole out the genoa ended in a broken pole end fitting. The workaround has meant that the pole is fixed on the starboard side which limits our options as to the course we take. The front passed through; the main was lowered as the wind strength built and there was a dump of rain when the waning moon and the constellations were largely hidden. We have decided to keep sailing under genoa alone with the main furled. The wind has risen during the morning and we're making good progress with just the large genoa with a SOG of 7-8 knots. Not many boats visible, but Aigle, a fellow CA member, has been hunting us down and slowly. read more...

Valent - Getting smelly at sea

2 nights down, a third of the way to Mindelo and life on board Valent is chilled. The lowlight of the day so far has been to redo the pump out mechanism on the frd heads. Turned out the key membranes and valves were horribly calcified and refused to shut properly. Result heads filling with smelly water.On the upside sun is out, people happy and speed acceptable. Dwight happy on watch while the rest of the crew do crosswords. image0. read more...

Distraction - Where's the mustard?

The sharper ones amongst you will have spotted that we have once again turned our bows towards the West horizons. Yes, we are finally at sea after seemingly months of lazing around in Lanzarote and galavanting all over Gran Canaria. That last bit isn’t entirely true for although we saw some wonderful parts of GC (eg Agaete in the North) we have largely spent the last month preparing for the ARC rally across the Atlantic.I should have known better when I saw that the Organisers had used the word ‘rally’ in their PR material along side ‘for cruisers’….. You might be excused for thinking that any event designated suitable for cruisers might be a laid back affair where each of the boats meander casually out of the marina at their leisure and like a pretty row of ducks make their way quietly. read more...

Blue Pearl - Blue Pearl Blog 1

Hello everyone, Chloe here writing our first Blue Pearl blog, on board we are a family of four, my parents Helen and Neil completed the ARC 30 years ago at the start of their circumnavigation, and my brother Henry and myself. Having completed the first 24 hours of the passage we are well on our way, and I thought it was a good time to write our first blog. Our first night at sea the majority of the fleet were still in view, during the night we spotted 30 lights from other yachts in the fleet but this morning only a few were left in sight.During the evening we had to complete a few sail alterations to make the night more comfortable and then again this morning, there is always something to adjust or change to make the passage more comfortable. This morning we encountered a few squalls,. read more...

Sydney Rock - Day 1, adventures at sea.

Blog day 1. Sydney Rock was moored in a position that allowed us to view the exodus out of the marina. We delayed our departure to view some potential collisions, and were much disappointed by all the smooth exits! A delightful sight, the crowds, and lovely yellow shirts lining the breakwater. Were they wishing us well, or just happy to see the sterns of the many aquatic alcoholics!?  Leaving the marina we crept slowly towards the start, sailing by mast, spars and superstructure only. Alas due to a little rigging fumble we were not the first over the line! But was soon corrected, and crossed the line under double headsail.  We comfortably used the existing wind, plus extra veering off land to establish a downwind plan, which we have held for the next 24hrs. The majority of the fleet. read more...

Cats Pajamas - Cats Pajamas update Day2

Day 1 was a great Rally start with gentle conditions. Dolphins were sightedand we sailed amidst the fleet for several hours. After a lovely crew dinner, the night watches started and things began to get lively. Two cases of seasickness and sail changes in the rain.Today is a bit of a slow start with swell from behind.. read more...

Northern Light II - Monday 5th November

The winds at the start and for the first 4 hours were much lighter than expected - this was not to last…….. Just before the Spaghetti Bolognaise was served the wounds picked up, the waves got bigger (2-3m) so it was definitely a balancing act bringing up the bowls to the cockpit and holding your bowl in such a way that as the boat rocked from side to side the bolognaise did not end up all over you! Even I managed to stay clean. The first night of the watch system went well with 3 watch leaders and Sarah and cat spending watches with 2 watch leaders by staggering their 4 hour watches. This allows Sarah and Cat to have more time during the day to focus on the monstrous task of feeding the crew. The first night was a fast sail under white sails only with Geertje holding the current record. read more...

Valent - One Night Down

First night complete. After a leisurely start we finally found the wind and sailed conservatively into the night. Breezes touched 32kts briefly, but as the wind back to the East dropped to F1 for a short period. Plenty of gybing practice. Greeted this morning by a squadron of Dolphins. The junior dolphins took time out from tuna hunting to play with us. In the background several decent sized tuna were seen leaping out of the water avoiding the grown up hunters belowvalent-log. read more...

Maracuja - Day 1 at sea

First day at sea with the ARC+ !It feels good  !As the sun sets, we are in the top leaders, crossing each other many times as we are gybing continuously (under full main and Gennaker) toward south and Mindelo our final destination for this first leg ! Crew and skipper are very excited and looking forward for this first night at sea !!! image0. read more...