Daily Logs

Starblazer - 21/10/2015 – Mauritius

Sorry, it’s nearly two weeks since my last log and a lot has happened since then!I celebrated my birthday at sea by eating.John cooked scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast, I made smoked salmon, cream cheese and salad wraps for lunch then John cooked steaks for dinner. Other than that, the day passed like any other day at sea, on watch periods, radio nets and regular entries in the ship’s logbook. The breeze stayed with us all day and we made good progress with a Tuesday arrival looking possible.Sadly it wasn’t to be and we arrived at first light on Wednesday.We had one further piece of damage which John noticed on Tuesday morning. The radar was dangling from the mast supported only by its wires.The seas were rather bouncy and John didn’t fancy climbing the mast so he managed to. read more...

Firefly - Belitung was smoke free at first

Firefly has been anchored on the north west of Belitung for 5 days and will probably stay for a while longer. After Kumai our planned destination was Ketapang on the west of Borneo. The Sail 2 Indonesia Rally was due to stop there few a few days and would then move onto an Island called Karimata. However, the Ketapang stop was up another muddy river and we heard early reports via the SSB net that there was poor visibility due to air pollution.The decision was therefore made on Firefly to skip the next 2 rally stops and go straight onto Belitung, an island in the south of the South China Sea that was likely to have blue sky. From Kumai we therefore sailed overnight and the following afternoon anchored at one of a number of small islands off the north east of Belitung. Lots of jelly fish. read more...

Misto - Misto at Deltaville

We are on the hard at Deltaville – great place for Cats to haul and to do work.  We are waxing, polishing, raising the waterline, bottom painting, doing some routine engine maintenance and hoping to Splash on Friday or early next week. The cold weather has been a bit of a shock – we don’t have heat while on the hard and connected to 15 amps!. read more...

Annabella - Annabella departing

Many thanks to Mary Joe and Dean Shultis for the professional photography of Annabella departing Shennecossett yacht club last week at journey's start. Actually, Dean was the early riser that stood out at the point snapping the excellent photos. But we all know who runs the operation. Thanks to both.As for our progress, we arrived at Cape May a day late and alternator short. We are waiting for replacement alternator which isn't quick on a Saturday. With luck we may clear Cape May Monday or Tuesday. We shall see. Could be worse. We are at Canyon club Marina and the facilities are wonderful and the people better. Stay tuned.IMG_0233 IMG_0234. read more...

Annabella - Dawn at Barnegat Bay

Sorry, couldn't resist. It was better/more orange 10 minutes ago.. read more...

Annabella - Electrical issues

No photos. Last two days we have been dealing with rapidly discharging batteries. We cut our sail to Cape May short and came into Barnegat Bay at 2100 on 10/13. Batteries hovering at 11.5-11.6. New batteries are now on board but since the others are now fully charged from shore power and we haven't diagnosed the system fully we are holding them in reserve until needed. When we get to cape may we will install 3 new batteries and get a system diagnosis. So far all we know is that the batteries are fully charged this second and that the charge coming from the alternator is insufficient to keep them that way under power. The rapid drop of charge is worrisome as it may be a short somewhere.Thanks to my engineer, Dan Baublis for being ready with manuals and intelligence to help over the. read more...

Why Not - At last Las Palmas.......

Pleased to say we have made it to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. After what feels a lifetime of planning we are finally here and ready to do the final preparations for the crossing. I, not being the sailor was dreading the passage from Gibraltar to Gran Canaria. I was sure we were going to have some lively seas, fortunately the Gods answered my prayers and we had an extremely uneventful trip down. Richard would say a little too uneventful for his liking. Virtually no wind and he had to spend his time looking for it! I was really in my element especially as we had birds come and rest on the bimini, who were happy to spend a few hours there, two lots of whales and hundreds of dolphins who would happily spend half an hour playing at the bow.We have brought the yacht down from Valencia. read more...

Allegro - QUARTA-FEIRA, 14 DE OUTUBRO DE 2015

Último dia da longa perna Cocos-Maurícias.E aqui estamos, a cerca de 130 milhas do destino, a cidade de Port Louis, nas Maurícias.Prevemos chegar amanhã, pelas 1300, hora de Cocos, o que quererá dizer 1030, hora das Maurícias. Pois é, a diferença de hora de Cocos para Maurícias é de 02:30 h. Cocos é UTC + 6.30, e Maurícias UTC + 4. Mais umas milhas para Oeste e ficamos com a mesma hora que em Portugal. Mas isso só lá mais para o meio do Atlântico Sul (Santa Helena)… O que quer dizer, daqui a muitas milhas e muitos dias…Esta perna tem corrido bem, apesar do mar alto e desencontrado, dos balanços e sacões, das ondas que, de vez em quando e de forma imprevisível, batem com força no casco, fazendo um ruído nada agradável. Já esteve pior, já melhorou, já tornou a piorar, e agora está. read more...

Annabella - Always exciting

The freedom Tower is a constant reminder. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are also reminders of A different kind.On our way to Cape May.FullSizeRender FullSizeRender IMG_0227. read more...

Exody - Days 271 -274 : Mahi Mahi + Mauritius

It took us three more full days to make the final stretch of under 500 miles, deliberately slowing a little so as to time our arrival for daylight and a favourable tide.  The conditions remained superb though, with the wind backing a little, we were poled out again.  We tied up in the Caudan basin in busy Port Louis at 09.30 local time Monday 12th having crossed the finish line two weeks and one hour after the start.  Exody was 8th boat in, less than two days behind the leaders, having averaged 6.95 knots.   Along with virtually the whole fleet we had zero engine hours which will make the results even more keenly anticipated than usual!Appropriately for a Friday, we had landed a 5+kilogram Mahi Mahi, almost to order since we had deferred fishing. read more...

Luna Quest - Tuesday, 13th October, 2015

Position: 20.10S 60.33EPort Louis - MauritiusDistance made good: 208 logged miles since noon yesterdayThe fresh breeze held throughout the night and morning. Some very large seas with toppling crests chased Luna Quest in her wild run for Mauritius under full goose winged sail. We were determined to make landfall before dark. When land was sighted at around 9am, our spirits rose as it was quite likely that we would be in in the afternoon. The waves and swell were impressive; each time Luna Quest was overtaken by one of the monsters, she would be carried along by them for a while until the swell tired of her, dropped her in its wake. Then Luna Quest would fall back into the trough left behind by the surging swell and our sight of land would disappear. Once we made the narrow passage. read more...

Firefly - Smoke and the Men of the Forest

In the Indonesian language, 'Orang' essentially means 'human' and 'utang' is 'in the forest'- hence Orangutan - 'Man of the Forest'. Tours to visit the Orangutan Sanctuaries in the Tanyung Puting National Park start in Kumai a port on the south coast of Borneo and it was a scheduled stop on the Sail 2 Indonesia Rally. However, due to intense smoke in the atmosphere caused by forest fires, visiting Kumai was left down to the individuals and Firefly was the first to visit, although we did know that some other yachts had been there recently despite the problems.Like a port from Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim, Kumai would certainly not be described as pretty. The wide silty brown river has quite a lot of commercial and fishing boat traffic and leads you up to the town which spreads along the. read more...

Luna Quest - Monday, 12th October, 2015

Noon Position: 19.29S 60.33EDaily run: 161 logged milesThe seas are big and rough. The waves follow in quick succession. Some threaten to poop the boat, but none have managed so far. Luna Quest lifts her bottom to them and lets any breaking sea rumble underneath her. The decks are dry. The tow rope of the aqua generator keeps flipping out of the water once a wave has passed and then spins in the opposite direction. One rope has been rendered useless as a result. It has been badly mangled and the nylon eyes at both ends are severely warped. We are using a differentrope now where Julia has whipped an excellent eye to one end. The other end already had an eye and looked reasonably secure. We live in fading hopes to have our Ampair generator repaired in Mauritius and wish we could say that. read more...

Annabella - Our condo on the Hudson

West 79th Boat Basin is a great location if you don't mind a lot of rock and roleWhat a day to take a walk in the park!. read more...

Annabella - Port Washington, NY

Sunrise or sunset?. read more...

Luna Quest - Sunday, 11th October, 2015

Noon Position: 18.57S 63.21EDaily run: 174 logged milesWe are having some frustrations in securing a replacement Ampair water-towed generator. It has taken a week and a half for a recommended agent to find out that Ampair are no longer in business. We shall have to research the second hand market as a secure power supply is essential on board. It keeps the fridge going and communications. Our 10-year old Aquagen is doing its best to do the job, but it is less reliable and less powerful.The weather continues fine with a few harmless squalls giving very light rain and a temporary boost in wind speed. Julia’s provisioning has been so well calculated that by the time we arrive in Mauritius, we shall have just about consumed all of our fresh vegetables and meat. We have given up on fishing.. read more...

Starblazer - 10/10/2015 – Problem solving

John always jokes that he likes sailing because he likes solving problems. I like problem solving in a less practical, more cerebral way like Sudoku, crosswords etc! That is not to say that I can’t contribute ideas, however the practical work falls to the skipper.One problem which John has discovered recently concerns one of the alternators on the engine, the one charging the domestic bank of batteries. We knew it was wrecked when the heat exchanger burst a pipe fitting, spraying sea water around the engine bay en route to Christmas Island. There was nothing we could do there to source a replacement so we have to rely on the generator to charge the domestic bank, which in turn depletes the engine start battery.Theoretically we can charge that one by running the engine in neutral or. read more...

Luna Quest - Saturday, 10th October, 2015

Noon Position:Daily run:The wind has remained steadfast between 13kn and 23kn. During the night it shifted from SE to ESE and we were able to pole out the genoa to port. As we are making good speeds (around 7kn), the aquagen has done a great job to keep things going including the autopilot overnight. A little sunshine today will help replenish the batteries and as it is somewhat overcast, we have decided to leave the aquagen in the water.As we are slowly gaining more south on our way to Mauritius, it has become noticeably cooler, especially at night. The leading boats are likely to arrive late today and overnight, followed in dribs and drabs by the rest of the fleet. We are the fifth boat from last and expect to make landfall on Tuesday. The last boat is likely to arrive on Thursday. The. read more...

Allegro - SEXTA-FEIRA, 09 DE OUTUBRO DE 2015

OCEANO ÍNDICO - Continuação- COCOS-MAURÍCIAS -A última noite em Cocos Keeling esteve ainda mais ventosa do que nos outros dias. Choveu um pouco no início da noite.Na manhã seguinte, segunda-feira, 28 de Setembro de 2015, arrancaríamos para a longa, longa perna de Cocos - Maurícias, com cerca de 2350 milhas.A previsão meteorológica era de vento entre 15 e 25 nós, predominantemente de Sueste, o que seria bom para uma mareação dentro do rumo. Mas previam-se ondas de 2-3 metros e, sobretudo, existia uma depressão a SE, ainda longe e a progredir relativamente devagar, mas com probabilidade, embora baixa, de se poder transformar em tempestade tropical/ ciclone. Não sei se foi o vento, se foi a ideia dessa depressão, a probabilidade era baixa, mas não deixava de ser preocupante, mas acordei de. read more...

Annabella - Port Jeff

Never made it to Oyster Bay today. Too much West wind in the face. So stopped at Port Jefferson in the early afternoon. As it got dark we watched the youngsters race. Should've had one with me today.. read more...

Annabella - Test

Hope this works!It's 50F here in northern Vermont. I can't wait to get to 18d 27.7m N64d 38.1m WJohn. read more...

Luna Quest - Friday, 9th October, 2015

Noon Position: 18.03S 68.41EDaily run: 161 logged milesJulia’s Macbook Pro can no longer be charged on the boat. We connected it to the inverter yesterday, but the inverter protested switching itself off and showing a red alarm light. The handbook says overload. We have no alternative way to charge her top of the range Macbook. Hopefully, in Mauritius the shore power will have a better chance to feed it.The wind returned late yesterday afternoon from the Southeast strengthening to 20 knots overnight. As Luna Quest tends to luff in stronger winds, the Hydrovane put her a little too far south from the rhumb line. We shall have to recoup that distance lost over the next few days. Unfortunately, the aqua generator is not quite powerful enough to keep the lights, the fridge and the auto pilot. read more...

Annabella - The Thimble Islands from 3 directions

Looking for our friend Adrienne but she isn't here.. read more...

Annabella - Wendy says goodbye to Shennecossett yacht Club

At least until next June. Headed to the Thimble Islands off of Branford CT tonight. read more...

Annabella - Day 1

Left this morning from Shennecossett Yacht Club at 7 a.m.Beautiful New England day. Sailed most of the day to our first stop, Thimble Islands in CT.. read more...

Exody - Days 269-271: It's like waiting for a bus..

.........none for ages then they all come at once! First up was Golden Zoushan on Tuesday, finding us a little off guard since first noticed at just three miles off, then one other and from Wednesday evening: Ocean Peony, Lawn Arrow, Ever Alliance, Hakkaisan and my favouritely named Hanjin Dangjin.She has been with me from first sighting for a whole four hour watch: for economic reasons the average speeds for cargo ships are low - so at her 9.4 knots (similar to World ARC recent averages for Makena and Tulasi !), she takes a while to pass us at our 7.We have been obliquely crossing the shipping route between the tip of Africa and Singapore, having four days and 630 miles to run to Port Louis, Mauritius.We have been at sea for ten days and have enjoyed quite the most consistent and. read more...

Luna Quest - Thursday, 8th October, 2015

Noon Position: 17.31S 71.17EDaily run: 121 logged milesYesterday afternoon the wind began to lose its strength and overnight the sails banged from time to time. It can take a long time before the swell reduces and the sea loses its restlessness. Today, the banging has continued although there is slightly more breeze. The forecast is for more wind, however. The leading boats, who were lucky enough to escape this weather patch of soft breezes,are enjoying the better winds ahead and the gap between us is therefore widening.They are likely to make port at the end of the week. We fitted a new temporary preventer to stop the chafe on the old one, and surprisingly enough, it seems to work fine. Julia is completely submerged in her iPhoto book for Australia, fitting different pieces of music to. read more...

Firefly - En route to see Borneo's Oragutan's

Its Thursday 8th October and at 0500 this morning Firefly's anchor was raised after 2 enjoyable days at Karimun Java. We are sailing to a small town called Kumai which is up a river on the south coast of Borneo. This is close to the location of the Tanyung Puting National Park, home of Camp Leakey, the largest Orangutan Sanctuary in the world.This was always going to be one of the highlights of the planned route for the Sail 2 Indonesia Rally. However, this dry season has seen some of the worst forest fires ever and much of Borneo is currently suffering from a serious smoke haze. The visit to Kumai is now down to the individuals and we are the first to go. The other Indonesia Yacht Rally is about a week ahead of us and some boats have been to Kumai already and reported via their blogs. read more...

Annabella - Test blog - hello?

The fortunate Captain and First Mate of Annabella are scheduled to be departing their home base in Connecticut tomorrow morning, bound on a slow and probably interesting journey to Portsmouth. The less fortunate balance of the crew remain in their landlocked bases (in Massachusetts and Georgia), awaiting their respective fast and probably boring journeys in early November to join up with them. Will this blog make it easier to keep in touch, Cap'n Lou and FM Wendy? Are you there? Hello? Ahoy?. read more...

Luna Quest - Wednesday, 7th October, 2015

Noon Position: 17.08S 73.31EDaily run: 184 logged milesThe favourable weather is holding and our good progress continues. We found the preventer line badly chafed yesterday afternoon and shortened it to put the pressure elsewhere. This morning we lost the pin holding the gate to the lifelines and shall need to replace that in Mauritius. The old aquagen is doing very well, keeping the lights and fridge on overnight. We have a new Ampair generator on order for delivery to Mauritius, but the bureaucracy seems to put the order in jeopardy. However, there is still time to have it couriered out if there are no further delays. Last night, as Julia was preparing supper, a rogue wave slopped over the deck and cascaded into the open hatch above the saloon table. The waterfall reached the chart. read more...