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Cloud Jumper - Silly hat
Cloud Jumper - Silly hat
01/12/2023

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...


01/12/2023

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...


Saida - Saida day 12 & 13
Saida - Saida day 12 & 13
01/12/2023

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...


01/12/2023

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 - Couple of pics ... including beardy hat face
Hot Stuff - Couple of pics ... including beardy hat face
Hot Stuff - Couple of pics ... including beardy hat face
Hot Stuff - Couple of pics ... including beardy hat face
01/12/2023

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...


Cloud Jumper - All the crew
Cloud Jumper - All the crew
Cloud Jumper - Mathias at chart table
Cloud Jumper - Mathias at chart table
Cloud Jumper - Mathias
Cloud Jumper - Mathias
Cloud Jumper - Spinnaker up!
Cloud Jumper - Spinnaker up!
Cloud Jumper - Port Pole out
Cloud Jumper - Port Pole out
Cloud Jumper - Neil and Mathias
Cloud Jumper - Neil and Mathias
Cloud Jumper - Crepe chef
Cloud Jumper - Crepe chef
Cloud Jumper - Flying fish
Cloud Jumper - Flying fish
01/12/2023

Cloud Jumper - Mid Atlantic Update

Just a quick update from us all on Cloud Jumper on 1st December!! It is day 13 today and we have some mince pies onboard to celebrate the start of Christmas, it is the first time for some of us not to have a calendar to open!! We are now well and truly making our way across the Atlantic, yesterday we were at the same longitude as the East coat of Brazil South of us. The Atlanic Ocean here is over 4km deep which is amazing and the sea is a very lovely colour, I can see why it is all "Blue water" sailing. The water is very warm and we all chuck buckets of water over ourselves once or twice day to try to keep cool, it's really refreshing after a 3hour watch in the blazing sunshine of the tropics.We are starting to see the weather changing and will be entering the squall area soon, we have. read more...


Cloud Jumper - Sunset
Cloud Jumper - Sunset
Cloud Jumper - Moonlight
Cloud Jumper - Moonlight
Cloud Jumper - Dinner prep
Cloud Jumper - Dinner prep
01/12/2023

Northern Light II - Friday 1st December

12 01.979n 57 57.745w223 miles to go and Patricia continues to be flown. Winds have been fairly consistent over the last 24 hours and we continue to make good progress. Last night Geertje spotted our first squall on radar which came within 1 1/2nm of us. It was a tense time judging whether it would miss us and if not when to get the crew up to bring Patricia down. Winds on the squall front can hit 30 knots + and would shred the sail. As Geertje was the first person to spot a squall and manage the boat through the period she has now been given the honorary title of Professor of Squalls.You have heard of Partygate well last night we had Pringlegate. Geertje was looking forward to sharing the last tube of Pringles today but was shocked to find the empty tube in the bin this morning. Tom. read more...


01/12/2023

Pure Fun - ARC 2023, Tag 12 oder Vom und im Beat des Atlantiks

ARC 1.12.2023, 16:30,Uhr UTC Vom und im Beat des Atlantiks Diese Woche hatten wir unser Bergfest - die Hälfte der Seemeilen haben wir bereits hinter uns gelassen. Die Tage auf dem Atlantik vergehen schnell - fast zu schnell. Wir rechneten mit einer Überquerungszeit von 10-21 Tage und vor Reiseantritt wurde ich häufig gefragt, ob bei rund drei Wochen auf dem Atlantik wohl Langeweile aufkommen würde? Nach einer Zeit auf der Pure Fun darf ich verraten, dass Langeweile die geringste Portion an Bord ist. Alles an Bord hat seinen eigenen, anderen - ruhigeren Beat. So dauert ein Cappuccinozubereiten bei viel Welle und rund 20 Grad Schräglage im Vergleich zum Cappuccino kochen zuhause deutlich länger. Es werden die einzelne Zubereitungsschritte geplant: die Tassen in eine rutschfeste. read more...


01/12/2023

Valent - Less than 500 to go

Yesterday noon we got a proper squall come through us. Up until that point we had been making excellent progress but the passing of the squall seemed to suck all the energy from the wind. A frustrating afternoon followed with the wind not filling in again until after dark. Since then progress has been good and we look on to arrive am on 4 Dec. In the meantime the sextant is getting well used. Last nights star sight gave a sensible position about 4 miles from the GPS. All of our fresh fruit is now used up with the final bananas making a Caribbean Banana Loaf and a breakfast of Banana Pancakes. Thanks to Guillemette (Saltair) for sharing this amazingly simple and delicious recipe. Just beat 1 egg and a mashed banana together, fry in butter and hey presto culinary magic follows. We added. read more...


Valent - Less than 500 to go
Valent - Less than 500 to go
01/12/2023

Freedom - Blog 13 Friday 1st December 2023

Editor CJH.Good Morning/afternoon All,25 Days to Christmas, currently seems a million miles away as we bowl along with following wind and waves, seeking shade during the middle of the day and for those in the front bunks, frequently finding it too hot too sleep at night. The thought of snow back home seems surreal!Yesterday was a beautiful day with 10/13knt winds, puffy white clouds, light trade wind conditions, relaxing and enjoyable with a fair bit of reading being undertaken by most or the crew when not attending to various daily tasks, from rubbish compaction to cleaning. Simon stepped into the kitchen to prepare our evening meal, as he has now done on several occasions to relieve Masterchef Ian, and under the latter's guidance produced another superb offering of lamb with rosemary,. read more...


01/12/2023

Distraction - blog - 300 miles to go

300 miles to goFri Dec 01 2023300 miles to goAs Officer Muff (see below) produced the evening drinks to be shared amongst the crew in the cockpit the Captain announced that the Good Ship Distraction has 300nm to run before we turn NE towards the charming Grenadian port of St George’s. That short run of 5 or 6 miles should then bring to an end our first major ocean crossing.300 miles is a very convenient number aboard this boat as it is easily divisible by 150, the approximate number of miles we might hope to do between noon on one day and noon on the next. Therefore, subject to a safe and uneventful passage from here we should be throwing our lines to the helpful shore crew at Port Louis marina on Saturday night.However, the crew have requested that before going into any marina we nudge. read more...


01/12/2023

Distraction - blog - what can sailors learn from dogs

What can sailors learn from dogs?Thu Nov 30 2023I often wonder who is the smarter race, humans or dogs? I’m sure most people would immediately proclaim it to be humans after all we invented electricity, flew someone to the moon and brought them back again (although that looks like it was a bit of a one hit wonder now. I can recall being at my first school and crowding around the television to watch that happen, and that was well over 50 years ago. So you can understand why the conspiracy theories might have grown. Was it really just filmed in some Hollywood studio? It’s often repeated that we have more technology now in an electric toaster than was used to steer the rocket to the moon and back again. I know that to be true, I can recall that my mum’s car didn’t even have self cancelling. read more...


01/12/2023

Distraction Blog - Day 9...or 10?

12 36.506n 49 47.278wDay 9, or is it 10?Tue Nov 28 2023The long awaited Trades are now with us. The Trades, and in this part of the world are (normally) 15 - 20 knots from the NE, day in, day out. I would say, and have it known that I’m clearly no expert, but this crossing of the Atlantic has been on the light side of normal. Furthermore, we are currently, and have mostly been, enjoying a relatively flat sea. That doesn’t mean that the boat sits bolt upright as it might were we shuffling across to St Mawes from Falmouth, but we are not seeing what I thought might be mid ocean waves. I imagined a mid ocean wave to be about the size of a decent sand dune, but spaced a long way apart. Yet so far the waves have been fairly, well, normal.The current sail configuration is the twins. One poled. read more...


01/12/2023

Distraction - Blog - what do you do all day?

12 42.791n 44 03.781wWhat on earth do you do all day?Sun Nov 26 2023Imagine 5 people on a reasonable sized farm trailer (normally used for shifting broccoli or bales of hay) being towed up to London (behind Prescott’s little red International) along the A30, up the 303, then a bit of M3, into to Central London around the roundabout at Piccadilly Circus then back out of the City, back down the M3, turn off to A303, (past the KFC at Soltice Services - but no stopping )- then A30 back down to Falmouth…….5 times. Yep, 5 times. Nope, up and back isn’t 2 times, it’s once. Up and back 5 times.But furthermore, the tractor towing them isn’t capable of than more than 6 miles an hour. Walking is somewhere between 3 and 4 miles an hour so 6 miles an hour is the sort of speed you might get up to in. read more...


01/12/2023

Distraction - blog 8 - Dear old kite

12 46.822n 39 01.939wOur dear old kiteFri Nov 24 2023Those of you fully up to date with our trials and tribulations will have noticed that my last missive was, amongst other things, eulogising over the spinnaker and how it had become our secret weapon allowing us to save some face from a disastrous start to Leg 2. With a near perfect wind angle, wind strength and enthusiastic crew we recovered from 83rd to 32nd. But you will also have noted the words of caution that accompanied that story.And so it was an hour or so after I turned in that the bedroom door burst open and the alarm raised that the kite had wrapped itself around the inner forestay. Kite wraps are a nightmare and if not dealt with in the first few seconds rarely recover. The kite having gripped the forestay like some. read more...


01/12/2023

Distraction - blog 7 - Spinnaker sailing

Spinnaker sailingWed Nov 22 2023Well, despite the fact that none of us have ever done an Atlantic crossing (East to West - quite different from West to East, although none of us have done that either) it’s turned out to be quite different from what we all imagined. And, to be fair, I’m not entirely sure what everyone else thought it would be like but we’ve all said, at one time or another, ‘not how I thought it might be’. Clearly, it’s still very early days and as I look at the forecasts it appears that things are very likely to change.Sailors have many expressions to describe sea conditions from ‘blowing dogs off chains’ - very windy; to ‘flat as a plate of piss’ - very little sea running. So far, on this leg, we’ve experienced more of the latter than the former. And I think that has. read more...


01/12/2023

Distraction - Blog 5 - I didn't realise we'd have to sail...

15 10.880n 30 11.791wI didn’t realise we’d actually have to sail across the Atlantic!Mon Nov 20 2023Part of the prep for a voyage like this is reading endless articles and books about ‘how to cross the Atlantic’. Those articles cover a myriad of subjects including (the following list is not exhaustive); provisioning, engine maintenance, generator maintenance , first aid at sea, power management, navigation, Astro navigation, crew management (dark art - lost on me), sail configuration, and so on. And by and large I thought it would be ‘trade wind sailing, so that means we’d slot into the trade winds as we left the Canaries and barrel along with the wind largely arriving at the same angle on the boat until we could smell the spices on the island of Granada.And if that were the case the. read more...


01/12/2023

Distraction - Blog 4 - race Report

15 19.750n 29 09.052wRace ReportSun Nov 19 2023There you go, blown our cover already! It’s meant to be a cruise but for a large part it was a race. And really this report is thanks to my good mate Dave Powys who sent a message just after we finished saying ‘bloody strong result for not racing!’ So here goes.15 minutes to our start and the crew think it’s a good idea to remove some of the fenders hanging over the side. I say some because we managed the first 90 minutes with one dragging in the water. Clearly we didn’t want other rally goers to think we’d done any of this racing lark before and by and large I’d say we kept that charade up all the way to the finish.10 minutes before the start and the call goes out to put the pole up. It’s a big old pole and weighs a ton and fortunately one. read more...


01/12/2023

Distraction - Blog 2

22 12.080n 19 12.398wMeet the crewWed Nov 08 2023All voyages are made up of many elements, the boat, the weather, the journey, the destination and of course the crew, to name but a few. And just now we find ourselves some hundred miles or so off the coast of Africa, heading in SSW direction towards the group of islands, Cape Verde, approximately 600 miles away.The wind has only just this minute calmed down a bit from a steady 23/25 knots and occasional gusts of 30 knots to a more moderate 20. The watch system has started and I’m second up after Emm who did 2000hrs to 2200hrs. To be fair to Emm the wind was at its most excitable, so far, during her watch. I was sitting down below just keeping an eye on things when I saw the wind speed increase quite significantly, followed by a huge thump. read more...


01/12/2023

Distraction - Blog 1

Day 1 – Race or CruiseThe sharper ones amongst you will have spotted that we have once again turned our bows towards the West horizons. Yes, we arefinally at sea after seemingly months of lazing around in Lanzarote and galivanting 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 preparingfor 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 eventdesignated 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. read more...


01/12/2023

Distraction - Blog 3

17 54.630n 23 44.881w(A very special) Life at seaFri Nov 10 2023Gosh, what a Roly poly few days we’ve had at sea. Emm described having a shower was like trying to put on a wet swimming costume in a telephone box strapped to the back of a Toyota pick up whilst going around several roundabouts in different directions. I think she’s right, it’s been a wee bit testing at times.The first thing that drove me nuts were the pots and pans that slid and banged against the cupboard door. Time after time I went down below and stuffed another tea towel in what I thought was the offending utensil. But somehow, just when I got back in the cockpit it all started again. Up down up down until finally I stood in the galley, like Basil Fawlty about to thrash his car, giving them one more chance! And as it. read more...


01/12/2023

Blue Pearl - Log: last full day at sea.

After another night of dodging squalls we had a few drops of rain this morning which stopped just after the hatches were all closed, typical. We are definitely getting better at dropping the spinnaker during the night and managed it much smoother last night even though the moon wasn’t up yet to light the foredeck. We have quite abit of company now from other boats and can see Cupid and Wild Goose on the horizon, as we get closer to land a suspect we will see more as everyone’s courses converge! We had to gybe this morning in order to get on course and it turns out we are going a little faster on this gybe as well an added bonus.. read more...


Loreley - Olli at the rudder! Smooth ride …
Loreley - Olli at the rudder! Smooth ride …
01/12/2023

Risque Business - The Dark Watch

12:37.28N 53:3.51W0015 GMT, Friday 1st Dec 2023Well I got that well and truly wrong! Sat in a bar in Mindelo a couple of weeks ago, the crew all gave our best estimates on our arrival date and time in Port Louis, Grenada. OK, we did have to turn back to repair our mainsail and in effect took a 32 hour hit, but even so, my very bullish estimate was to arrive by 1500 local time on 30th Nov. The rest of the crew went for various times on the 1st Dec, apart from Ed, who decided that the wine, beer and cider cellars we were carrying would add a further 2 days to our Atlantic crossing time and he went for 3rd Dec! He’s going to be the closest, but I think the light winds will probably have something to do with it, rather than the alcohol on board! Current thinking is arrival sometime Monday. read more...


Risque Business - The Dark Watch
Risque Business - The Dark Watch
Risque Business - The Dark Watch
Risque Business - The Dark Watch
Risque Business - The Dark Watch
Risque Business - The Dark Watch
30/11/2023

Bluejay - Bluejay Blog

For immediatereleaseNovember 30th,2023Rubicon 3 Marine InnovationspresentThe Yankee 4 SunShadeImagine a world where the sun'srelentless rays no longer dictate your comfort. A world where you can enjoy thevast oceans without squinting or sweating. That world is here, and it's broughtto you by the Yankee 4 Sun Shade. The product of extensive research andgruelling at sea testing during the ARC 2023, the Yankee 4 Sun Shade is craftedfrom a single fitted bedsheet consisting of the finest linen sourced from themost exclusive dollar store in Las Palmas, a pure testament to ingenious designand economical sourcing. This isn't just any bedsheet; it's a status symbol sureto stand out on the docks, a beacon of not only shade but in fact refined tasteset against the sun-drenched landscape. The Yankee. read more...


01/12/2023

Asante - REVISED Day 12 of never ending poem

Day 12s the day I changed my job.No more First Mate for me.I put on my medics hat.Cos that’s what I am at sea.One of the crew has hurt himself.No blood and guts and gore.Just every time he goes topside, the last step he does ignore.He’s had three days from the first aid kit.But that’s not been enough.So out I’ve got the big gun bags.For which nothing is too tough.He’ll be fine, there’s nothing more, that a hospital could do.Especially as the casualty, is a medical doctor too.Today the slight disaster.Was my sextant took a tumble.All the way down the companion steps.And landed in a bundle. The box had thrown the sextant out.It all looked to be in bits.But thankfully it was not as bad.Or I’d have lost my wits.So I had another day of searching, for a boat far out at sea.To calibrate it once. read more...


01/12/2023

JaZoFi - JaZoFi day 12

Another great sailing day. Put another 200 nautical miles under the keel as we broke through the 1000 nautical miles left to sail.Sargasso sea grass was a talking point for some time after we sailed through a reasonably large carpet and needed to do a back down to relieve the keel and rudders. Seaway was a lot kinder today with the wave height dropping from 3m significant to 1.5m. Lasagna for dinner tonight was very tasty.  . read more...


01/12/2023

Aqualuna - High Tea on the High Sea

Wow - I cannot believe we have been at sea for 14 days. I’m honestly not sure what I’ve done with my time other than read, eat and sleep.Obviously I had to get in training for limin’ around the Caribbean, but this is ridiculous.So today I decided that I needed to be a lot more productive.And what better way to do this than to have a bake-athon in order to celebrate, not only 14 days at sea, but also dropping below 400 miles to run to Grenada.First of all we had some bananas that needed using up.I bought very green ones in Mindelo in the hope they would last for much of the journey. In the early stages, this felt like a serious error of judgement as they stubbornly refused to ripen, to the extent that I thought I must have bought plantains by accident.And then of course they did ripen -. read more...


Aqualuna - High Tea on the High Sea
Aqualuna - High Tea on the High Sea
01/12/2023

Vitamin Sea - Tag 10: Wettrennen und Riesenfisch, Mittwoch, der 29. November 2023

Die Nacht vom 28. auf den 29. November 2023: Von Flauten und Verfolgern Die vergangene Nacht war wieder einmal ruhig und ereignisarm. Der Wind ließ uns nur mäßig vorankommen, mit Geschwindigkeiten zwischen 4,5 und 5,5 Knoten. Es fühlte sich fast wie eine Flaute an, aber es war noch nicht ruhig genug, um denWingaker einzufahren.Interessant war, dass das Boot, welches uns seit Tagen auf Parallelkurs begleitet hat, plötzlich aufgeholt hat. Ich muss gestehen, das hat mir gar nicht gefallen. Rennmodus vs. Abenteuerlust: Eine unerwartete Wendung Schon in der Nacht hatte ich ja bemerkt, dass uns das Boot, dass uns seit Tagen wir ein Schatten gefolgt ist, auf einmal deutlich an uns vorbeizog. Am Morgen waren sie uns schon mehr als 5 Meilen voraus.Das wunderte mich, da die Wetterbedingungen. read more...


Vitamin Sea - Vitamin Sea - Tag 10: Wettrennen und Riesenfisch, Mittwoch, der 29. November 2023
Vitamin Sea - Vitamin Sea - Tag 10: Wettrennen und Riesenfisch, Mittwoch, der 29. November 2023

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