Daily Logs

Cleone - ARC 2024 SITREP 22

 At 1623HRS UTCcame the longed-for hail of Land Ho! As he heard the answering cry from thehelmsman on deck, there was a break in the voice of the Lookout, perchedprecariously in the Crow's Nest near the top of Cleone's graceful (he meanschunky - Ed) main mast. Soon the rest of the crew were thundering up thecompanionway to check that this much longed-for event really had finallyoccurred. It was 3 weeks and nearly two days since the last sight of GranCanaria, and some of the crew had given up hope (really? -Ed) of ever seeingland again. Now surliness has turned to smiles, jokes are being cracked andeveryone is trying to decide what they are going to have tattooed where (really? Ed).Actually theonly sign that any unusual event is about to take place is that the Skipper hasshaved for. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE ARC 2024 SITREP 21

 Today was a dayof proper Trade Wind sailing. I almost wroteperfect. The perfect day would have been with steady wind, full sails and 6knots on the clock leaving us 144 miles closer to St Lucia. As it was, we had aday's run of 122 miles, which left us 119 miles closer to St Lucia with 190 orso miles to go. The Skipper has sent a guarded Estimate Time of Arrival to RallyControl, and has been walking around with his fingers crossed ever since. Youwill have to wait in a state of tension and expectancy until the reveal, thetime of which is also a closely guarded secret. The Crew have also sealed theirguesses selecting the time that we cross the finish line, and they too will berevealed in due course. I suspect that they will all be provedwrong!The rest of theday had its usual challenges. read more...

Cleone - ARC 2024 SITREP 20

It has beenanother routine day at sea on our epic voyage, with a modest day's run of 118miles. However, for the first time there are no missing miles, and we are now118 miles closer to St Lucia with only 310 miles to go. Modest trade-winds withthe occasion squall have kept the crew busy, and a claim for a sail-changerecord has been lodged. In other news, the fridge is back online and the Skipperhas owned up to a 'procedural error'.The Port Watch'sclaim for a record six sail changes in one four-hour watch has been sent to theAuthorities for ratification, and has not yet been officially recognized.However, a check by the Scrutineers has revealed that as of 0500UTC on13th December the crew of Cleone had notched up over 90 sail changessince leaving Las Palmas, and the forecast squalls. read more...

Adrienne - Angekommen!!! Final Destination St.Lucia

13.12.2024 … Auf zu neuen Ufern – Tag 20 auf See…10:47 Uhr Ortszeit im Ziel !!!; knapp über 19 Tage; mehr als 5200 kmDie letzte Nacht auf See.Der Nachthimmel scheint nochmal alle Reserven zu mobilisieren und schenkt uns einen wunderschönen Blick nach oben. Der Motor läuft, die Crew ist ruhig und in Gedanken versunken. Was mag jeder einzelne denken. Ich (Sören) empfinde besondere Ruhe, Freude über das Erlebte, Neugier auf das Bevorstehende und eine Traurigkeit, dass dieser beeindruckende und riesige Ozean bald hinter uns liegt.Der letzte Morgen auf See.Am Horizont im Westen tauchen erste Lichter auf. Es sind noch 30 nm bis zur oberen Landspitze der Insel. An Backboard kann man St. Lucia und am Steuerbord Martinique erahnen. Der Nachthimmel wird nun langsam vom Sonnenaufgang im Osten. read more...

Ingrid - Framme! 13 december

Kl 13.04 den 13 december korsade Ingrid mållinjen.Då har vi avverkat runt 2800 sjömil över Atlanten.Vi är så stolta och nöjda. Nu säger jag, Alexandra som skrivit den här bloggenOVER AND OUT! Hoppas ni tyckt om att följa vår resa.. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE ARC 2024 SITREP 19

I may haveconfused the SITREPs (SITREP 17 accompanies this one) but this has been nothinglike as confusing as the weather!During the last24 hours, we have been through the longest and hardest deluge of persistent rainthat any of us have ever experienced, accompanied by the longest and most vividlightning show that any of us have ever experienced. During these storms, thewinds have randomly switched direction, boxing the compass as they did so, andvaried in strength from less than five to gusts of more than 40 knots. Atvarious points thunder has accompanied the almost continuous lightning.Throughout it all, the crew have remained calm, cheerful and enthusiastic, andCleone has dealt with it imperturbably. The storm, (or was it a continuous seriesof squalls?) started at about noon. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE ARC SITREP 17

As far as I canmake out, I have not sent this SITREP. So  here it is: oday itrained, we are planning to refuel at sea and we are in a state of doubt aboutthe weather forecast.We might just aswell have stayed in England, except that the rain was warm instead of beingfreezing cold. It was 5am UK time, ie 3am ship's time, duringFrancesca-the-Mate's watch. Kaya and the Skipper were sound asleep in theirbunks. We had enjoyed various rain showers up to now, and I do mean enjoyed,because they had never been hard, driven rain and they have provided coolingrelief from the tropical sun. At 1am and for the next two hours, we had beentreated to a spectacular display of lightning and the odd rumble of thunder.This had caused us to turn off our radios and the AIS, and to check that thespare. read more...

Snowmane - Snowmane - Final Day

Land ho! It's 8:18am Snowmane time on Friday December 13th. 7:18am St Lucia time. The sun rose an hour ago and revealed land ahead. We can see both St Lucia where we are headed and Martinique over to our right. The water still looks like glass. Not sailingconditions but it's absolutely beautiful. Over to our left, not too far, is another ARC boat motoring along at a similar speed. There are quite a few other boats that we can't see but we know are also very close, all coming in for a similar finish time. The boat on our left is the onethat rescued a catamaran many days ago. The catamaran had lost their rudder and were taking on water. They called a mayday and were picked up by this boat. They have done over 2000 miles on the one boat. I wonder what emotions they are all going through. read more...

Ingrid - Lucia - Land i sikte - 13 december

Glad lucia!Vi väcktes av Herman, Anki och Cicci som kom och lussade för oss!Till frukost serverades nybakta lussebullar, risgrynsgröt, glögg, pepparkakor och tomteskum.Vi ser land och det känns helt overkligt att vi faktiskt korsat Atlanten och snart kommer ta på oss röda byxor och stå med våra sjöben på fast mark.Uppdaterar med sista bloggen för denna resan när vi kommit i land.Ha en fin lucia!. read more...

Musketeer of Cowes - Musketeer Blog

13th DecemberVery quiet this morning! I came on watch about an hour before sunrise to calm seas and very little wind. Needless to say we are motoring. Last stretch… about 260nm to our waypoint, at the most northern tip of St Lucia. Currently we expect to arrive there in the early hours of Sunday morning! Although, if the wind picks up as predicted on Saturday, we may fly towards the finish!Another very different dawn with clouds stretched across the horizon. However, today, I think, will develop into cloudless skies and blazing sunshine!Just so you don’t think it’s blue skies and sunshine here all of the time, I thought I’d better tell you about the last couple of days! After our great kite runs we encountered a different weather pattern - tropical storms! Overnight the cloud built and I. read more...