Daily Logs

Kasuje - Sunday 27th Daily Log

The Kids are Back!!Great news after the customary 48 - 72 hrs aboard feeling grumpy,tired and nauseas, suddenly, bang, wallop you feel better, full of life and raring to go and what a wonderful day we have had. We made the islands of Los Roques at first light anchored in 4 metres of perfect turquoise water, on soft sand, cooked and demolished a Saturday morning full English fry from sausage to beans and set off to explore this stunning group of islands. A divers paradise and after successfully refilling our air tank, set off back to the yacht for an afternoon of aquatic fun. Once below thousands of fish came into view, huge starfish,limpet fish attached to our hull and so many coral animals you did not know where to look!! Stunning, beautiful,breathtaking.  DSCF0099 Guy and Steve playing. read more...

Cleone - Log Day 5 - Sails

If I was a Sloop, I'd only have one mast and a maximum of 3 sails set at any one time.  Because I am a Ketch I can set as many as 5.Yesterday afternoon, we set the Mizzen Staysail, and it has been giving us an extra knot of speed ever since.  I'd been fretting for some time.  Our Rhumb-Line course puts the wind almost directly behind us, which is not only uncomfortably and rolly, but also rather slow.  So although we've had the Genoa polled-out, we've been zig-zagging down the line, between two imaginary lines drawn at 5 degrees either side of our Rhumb-Line course.  And since the weather has been unsettled with plenty of squall activity, I have been hesitant about letting out too many reefs, and hesitant about using anything but our plain sails.  But yesterday's was a lovely morning. read more...

BlueFlyer - Day 4, sunny

Hi all, Day 4 and we are now about 60 miles off the coast of Colombia. Light winds, 10-12 kts still from the East but due to go ENE and increase to 13-15 kts later.Very warm, no clouds and very sunny. We are too lazy to change the rig to jib & main and go reaching, so only doing 5 kts SOG at the moment. But we keep saying its not a race! All is well on board, although I would have happily thrown the entire Raymarine set up into the sea last night, no VHF, no SeaTalk and no plotters which keep flaring when turned down at night. I suspect a fault in the PCB in the SeaTalk box. I hope that I can get it sorted in Colon or Panama City. Otherwise I might just return the whole lot and fit B&G instead. The new poles for the jibs are working really well. We only pull the control ropes. read more...

Gray Lady - Gigi at the Main Sheet..

.....it happen again !! They told me to take care of the main sheet during a Gibe and I got tangled again.I will keep practicing ,but caching flying fish is well I really dominate .Gigi Gigi. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - log 26th January 08

Saturday 26th JanuaryALMOST!Last night I reshaped the Quasar mission statement that Sue Pelling wanted for Yachting World and left out the fun and frivolity bit which JB had written, which was a bit girly as it was supposed to come from 3 old chaps whose idea of a mission once upon a time in the days of Quasar 1 (1972-76) was more like 'birds and booze!'Its still far from being polished enough, but hey my old employers threw about £10k in management consultant fees and involved every single manager in the company for 2 days to produce their mission statement - what a waste of time and money that was!However last night Lori inspired by a sight of us in Quasar sweaters in Ireland 34 years ago has written:From Quasar 1 to Quasar VWe built the dream, which now shapes our livesA history. read more...

Graptolite - Abuse of Power

12:31.22N 070:02.56W Saturday 26th Jan 08What an interesting day we've had. The morning was uneventful but just as we sat down for a lunch of some Jamaican jerked chicken off the barbie, all the boat's 12v power died. This was not the usual batteries, which were good, but maybe something to do with a short in the isolator switch. Colin is an electrician by trade and we gave it our best shot but failed to fix it while bouncing around hove-to. This was somewhat serious in that we had no way to start the main engine, no way to start the generator, no navigation instruments and charts (more about this later), no radio comms, no autopilot, no radar, no depth sounder. We were thrown well back to the 19th Century in terms of sailing capabilities and we didn't even have the old salt who says. read more...

Kealoha 8 - Saturday off Columbia - Jens B'day ..celebrate in style ..with speed

Last night bought some  more great sailing  on K8 ,up to 14 knots boat speed as we surfed a 30 knt squall, alas an early morning jibe did result in some slightly burnt fingers (Nick will be wearing gloves in future when sweating the main !! ) and an odd temporary limp following some simple muscular damage ..  Dawn , bought  worrying and confused news of Tilley Mints ( Oy 82) involvement in the rescue of some St Lucian fisherman – alas the search continues  - they weren’t  wearing life jackets . – we are all at the mercy of the sea , and out thoughts are with the families of the missing fisherman  As we are now  sailing off the coast of Columbia , we have had the “new “kite up for a little , but prudence had us take it off when wind reached 20 knts , most importantly we are . read more...

Southern Princess - Saturday 26th Australia Day 13:26N 70:36W

I forgot in the excitement of starting off for Panama to introduce our crew for the next couple of months. Chris & Faith Mortimer we met while sailing in Sicily about 3 years ago and they have since curtailed their sailing activities and have settled in Cyprus. We have been in email contact since last we saw then in Marmaris, Turkey during 2006 and they volunteered to come as far as the Galapagos with us. They have their own Naiad 49 and are very experienced sailors with many miles of ocean passages under their keel. Yesterday afternoon was a bit of fun! A series of lines squalls formed quite a large front and blew around 25 knots right up our backside and SP just loved it. Averaging over 9 knots for a good while and topped out at 12.9 knots at one stage. The log states: 12:00. read more...

Graptolite - Nae Haggis

12:54.61N 067:19.10W at 26 Jan 2008 00:00 UTCWe took a look at the busted spinnaker pole this morning and concluded that a shorter but probably useable pole can be cobbled together from the bits. It needs bigger pop-rivets than I have on board to do a good job but it canwait until Panama.Burns Night tonight. We have nae chieftain'o'the puddin race in the stores nor neeps and tatties but we could be having a wee dram of something later if the squalls stay away.We are only 24 hours from Aruba.. Only one day away from....M. read more...

Ideal - DAY 3 - WHAT A DIFFERNCE A DAY MAKES! 24 LITTLE HOURS!

You can almost hear our skipper singing it, can't you and very nice it is out here too. The sun is shining and the wave height is only 1 metre. The Parasailor has been up for 24 hrs now and is doing well, the wind is constant and not too strong so all is well in the 'IDEAL' world .We are slowly catching up with the slower boats in the fleet as you can see on the Google Earth link.Last night the weather was also wonderful with almost a full moon and hardly any clouds with lots of stars, 15 knots of wind and doing between 6 to 7 knots over the ground, so every one had a good nights sleep [in turn of course ] but its amazing how you can look at the clock and think, oh great another hour in bed when you have only been in bed for a couple of hours. Always said 8 hrs sleep at once was to. read more...

Asolare - Log Day 3

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Jus'Do It 3 - Day 3 - Hot Hot Hot

Well folks after the excitement of the last 24 hours I am afraid it has been a disappointing 24 hours as there has been very little action! Sue is now coming up top for very short periods of fresh air more frequently but still struggling credit it to her she is putting a very brave face on it!  Wind speeds 15-20 knots throughout the night with good progress being made and a 24 hour run similar to yesterday of 204 miles despite the spinnaker catastrophe! The weather now is lighter winds and boiling hot as we all struggle to keep cool hopefully the wind should start to pick up and bring in the last half of the journey! At some point this morning we could just make out an aeroplane flying on the horizon but appeared to be very low in the sky we later heard some chat regarding. read more...

Lady Kay - Log Day 4- what beautiful weather!

Caught a lovely skipjack tuna yesterday and had sashimi and seared fillet for supper. Weather greatly improved today - clear blue skies and steady 15 knots. Caught large wahoo today, froze most and having a seafood medley of tuna and wahoo tonight. Rectified problem with SSB radio and now transmitting as well as receiving. Jackie, Michael, Hilton, Carrie and Kerry fromLady Kay. read more...

Andante of Mersey - Log 2

My first blog - should have been compiled yesterday but things rarely go according to plan.  Anyway today the weather is beautiful, with a following wind and blue skies, warm by day and night. Yesterday was dull with, occassionally, torrential rain.Ron is reading and Dave, as usual, when he sees the sun has just pegged out another load of dhobi, Bob is on the computor and Ann cursing in the galley.  I'm just lounging around.No other yachts in sight but a large bulk carrier has just politely altered heading and is now passing our stern. I hope the Captain noticed our friendly waves.We haven't fished as yet as there has been no need as we have eaten Ann's three prepared meals on the first three evenings and today it will be Dave's speciality - roast leg of lamb and roast potatoes.Everyone. read more...

Cleone - Log Day 4 - Reef and Gybe

Elizabeth was compaining that she was not familiar with reefing and gybing Cleone; she is now! Yesterday's run was nothing but hard work, even given that we are in the Caribbean.  Although the forecast gave no sign of it, we were beset by squalls followed by periods of lighter wind all day.  There was intermittent rain, and never did the wind stay in a constant direction for more than a few minutes.  Reef in, reef out, gybe onto port tack, gybe back to starboard we hardly had time to slip out for a quick lunch-time pint.  However, during a short break, it was down to the Peat Spade (for a change) where the smoked salmon and cream cheese on brown bread made a fantastic lunch, together with a few pints of Tetleys (I wish, though the bit about the smoked salmon is true, Ed).  But as a. read more...

Blue Flyer Day 3

RobFirst try at fishing today.  Hope we have some luck.  JR is resident expert and has set a lure for Dorado.  He expects to catch at sunset in the last round-up as the fish are rushing to their equivalent of the pub on their way home to the pub.  I'll have to explain to him that he will only catch old fashioned males or testostrone filled young female business fish with these tactics. We're less than 100 miles from our turning poin where we head more southerly past Colombia.  Due to more severe weather near the coast we've been advised to stay 60 miles off the land by Bruce the wether router.  Hugh picked up on him from two Aussie boats Storyteller and Southern Princess both Beneteau 57's. We're well up with the fleet but we loose a bit by keepiong north but we don't want to go any. read more...

Talulah Ruby II - Day 3

Sometimes it doesn't rain it just pours. Thursday night was wet and squally. Friday morning gray wet and squally, with big waves. Brian caught sight of a upturned dinghy close to the boat, it had been this way for sometime as it had lots of growth underneath. By the time we had furled the sails turned round we also managed to hook a baracuda,breaking the traveler in an accidental gybe, what with hundreds of tiny balls rolling around on deck, reeling in the barracuda andrunning into a big squall we managed to loose sight of the dinghy in the poor visibility and big waves. All of us thought how difficult it would be to see a man overboard in these conditions, but the drill was usefull and a good lesson learned. We have now managed to jury rig the boom by tying the sheets on the back of the. read more...

Whitbread - Whitbread Log Day 3 Big Bites

We've been putting out the fishing lines around dawn and dusk each day in the hope of catching something fresh to put on the bbq. However the fish that took our lure and snapped the 150lb line we would probably have struggled to bring onboard with a hand reel! The second lure we reeled in had a little nibble taken out of it including the hook, might be lucky next time.Still gybing our way downwind in this Easterly F5, be nice if it went one way or the other to give us a more favourable tack to our waypoint off the coast of Columbia. However as it is shaping up we might be able to on our next gybe head straight to Colon - we shall see.Beginning to see a lot more traffic heading towards the Panama Canal the shadows on the horizon are soon upon you. A tanker today came within a half mile. read more...

Kasuje - Saturday 26 Jan Daily Log

Hi to all our readers, hope we find you fit and hearty.Firstly for those who where there, please accept our apologies for our departure from Rodney Bay I hope it was not too embarrassing for the Brits present but it all seemed a trifle tense that morning and a bit of British humour and drum banging seemed in order. (Suzy has only just appeared from below from the embarrassment.)All is well with us, just a couple of small injuries, Guy has a bad heat rash, Suzie several boat bruises and I've managed to rope burn my hand, but we have had a cracking few days sailing down to the Venezuelan offshore Islands and along the chain. We are presently anchored up in Los Roques after first visiting Blanquilla and then by-passing Orchilla, something about unexploded ammunition and is strictly out of. read more...

Asolare - Log Day 1 and 2. Great Start from St Lucia but Disaster on Day 2!

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }All yachts made a good start in St Lucia crossing the line at 1210pm rather than 1200pm as a non-ARC yacht went aground in the entrance channel to the Marina blocking three World ARC yachts trying to get out!We all enjoyed very good conditions for the first afternoon, but three yachts had to return to port with various minor mechanical and electronic problems.The conditions remained very good into the second day where all yachts achieved good distances in the first 24 hours. We made a credible 188 miles, just short of the magical 200 miles a day!At 1900, just as we were enjoying a pre-dinner drink, disaster struck!With a dull thud sound that is now getting all too familiar on Asolare, I watched the 100sq m Gennaker descend rapidly into the sea at the. read more...

Kealoha 8 - Friday 25th - Day 3 Leg 1 to Panama - new Kite and lots of squalls

Firstly , apologies to all, for the formatting issues in previous posts , it will take us a little while to get to grips with all the technology – in essence posting to  3 different blogs with 1 e-mail   via a satellite link  - is not as easy as it sounds J . All’s well on board , alas no fishing success as of yet  - , some would say that as we are generally trucking in the 10knt zone , we are going too fast for the shoals of tuna etc that we are seeing .   After a very relaxing first 36 hours , last night bought a  commander weather warning of big squalls and shifting wind direction , which meant we had to revisit the best planned watch system ( MIT may be awarding David H for the mathematical simplicity of our watch model ) – suffice to say the “men” worked longer then. read more...

Whitbread - Log Day 2 All Sails Up

Great sailing through the night under a clear sky and full moon (i like the moon but not as much as cheese) which made it seem almost like daylight. In fact Caz commented in the morning it was great sailing under a clear blue sky with all those stars out, doh!!Lighter winds in the afternoon meant that we could get all the sails up so that's the mizzen, mizzen staysail, main and gennaker. We even tried poling out our 2 Windscoops to give us that extra half knot! However our colour co-ordination is something to be questioned with rather pastey white original 1973 sails, the red, blue and white mizzen staysail and the bright hot pink 2,000 sq.ft. gennaker!We're not seeing much of the crew during the daytime as we have taken on a new passtime, sleeping. I think the partying in St Lucia has. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - Day 2 - Just when its all going well.....

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Kasuje - Our new Venezualan friends!!

Hi from Suzy and the boys We made landfall at 23.00 local time at Blanquilla, anchored and quickly demolished a wonderful T bone steak, with chips mushrooms and tomatoes followed by ice cream and fruit and a bottle of Vino Sol. All went to sleep for a good 6 hours. When we woke we were greeted with an idealic view of a near deserted island all white beaches and turquoise seas, the only problem seams to have been that we have anchored right below the local military junta! with armed guards and menacing outlooks. Dad in his normal cool manner assured us that they were only boys and are quite peaceful!!! We sorted out the diving and snorkelling kit and headed for the beach. Within 5 minutes we had been approached by the junta, well not quite approached a couple of lads came meandering over. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Thursday 24th January

Thursday 24th JanuaryA MARVELLOUS NIGHT FOR A MOONDANCEBit of a late night and a fairly early morning! Lori is still buzzing from the disco and can't believe she is on a boat with its own disco lights!8.30 arrives and so does our now chum, Victor from Regis Electronics. Work is done on the hydraulics by Malcy and at about midday they are confident its going to work. In the meantime Bob and Lori have decided to become fisherpersons and bought some tackle! We set off mid afternoon to find that the halyard for the second Yankee is loose and cannot be tightened under sail, so we retire to Marigot Bay for some flat water and less wind and rapidly sort it out!Eventually set off at 16:30 and after an hour or so pick up a decent breeze and we toddle along with the Twistle averaging just under 8. read more...

Ideal - DAY 2 In between the squalls!

We had squalls throughout the night and up until lunchtime today, by the look of the weather behind us we haven't seen the last of them today, winds are also light so we are relying on the Parasailor to tramp us along at 4 - 5 knots to reach the rest of the boats. some of which are sixty miles ahead of us.Prior to lunch Sally had to do a small running repair on the Parasailor so hopefully that will hold our until our next port of call.In between squalls we are eating (lots), reading and generally chatting about things to come. Lots of flying fish around and our first school of dolphins this trip. I'm surprised the boat moves with the amount of supplies on board. The avocados brought two days ago are already over ripe, so guacamole for the next four days.Spirits are high and hopefully. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Friday 25th January

WORK HARD - SAIL SLOW!Made good speeds during the night on our way to Panama (about 1200nm), but the winds are much lighter this afternoon, nevertheless we have made 182 nm in the first 24 hours at sea.Malcy has been working hard all day fixing up fans in the forward cabins, which get unbearable hot when its rough or raining and the hatches cannot be opened. He also plans one for the galley, which is even hotter even if you can leave the hatches open, which is probably why I lost a lot of weight on the ARC after 17 days sweating it out in the galley, not to mention no alcohol!After amazing efforts washing and drying the fruit on Wednesday morning, Bob and Lori then spent 3 hours preparing and cooking chicken and other food in the evening! They are real workers who like to be occupied all. read more...

Whitbread - Log Day 1 The Start

This is it, the start of the World ARC a trip we've been eagerly awaiting and Whitbread had a top start. It was a great atmosphere with banter between the boat crews and one boat even blasting out 'Rule Brittania' through their cockpit speakers.Within about 2 hours of the start we'd had 2 close encounters. The first with Lyall at the helm bringing us within spitting distance of the stern of a large oil tanker pulling into Castries. And secondly Sam came within about 2 boat lengths of completely sailing overa couple of local fishermen in their small boat. We're not too familiar with the Patois language but the hand gestures were easily recognisable!Our newest crew member Wolfy, who flew in the night before the start and has never sailed before, not only has one of the smallest bunks (we. read more...

CLEONE Log Day 2 - The Adventure Begins

CLEONE Log Day 2 - The Adventure BeginsGood morning everyone from the Caribbean Sea,It has been a very busy few days since we returned to Cleone in St Lucia for the start of World ARC, and we have finally made it to the start line and beyond. Cleone was safe and sound in the Rodney Bay yard, having been under the beady eye of the venerable owners of an equally venerable but magnificently kept Nicholson 43 parked just near her. They are a redoubtable couple. They met during the war in Eastney, at which time he was a French matelot-come-marine serving with de Gaul's forces in England, and she was a local Hampshire girl. Seven children and six Atlantic crossings later (all in the Nic) at the ages of 88 and 83 they are still living aboard their yacht. But although they are still working on. read more...

Lady Kay - first three days

We had a good first two days. Saw a superb pod of dolphins which came alongside and swam between the hulls. Today the weather has been more variable with a few squalls but we are still making good progress to Panama.. read more...

Cleone - Log Day 3 - Bump and Grind

After one of the best day's sailing any of us hadever had, last night was a real contrast.  We were hit by squall after squall, none from the same direction, andnone of the same speed.  And to cap it all, Chris suffered a realdeluge, whilst Elizabeth and I pretended disinterested sleep!   We have moved rapidly from our shadow watch systemto what we hope will be our routine, with all of us doing 3 hours on, 3 off, and3 standby.  In practice this should mean 5 hours or so of uninterruptedkip, but if last night was anything to go by things don't always go toplan.  Elizabeth, who has not done much night sailing before (she wont beable to claim that at the end of this trip) tried her hand at OceanCatering for the first time.  Expecting delays,. read more...

Southern Princess - Friday January 25th 13:42N 67:29W

Forty Eight hours into the rally and the yachts are spreading out across the Caribbean Sea; last night we saw no other lights. We are still running along the rumb line and had no success at fishing in the initial period. See photo below. The weather has been very good for the trip so far and below is the forecast we received from our forecaster Bruce Buckley domiciled in Western Australia. All looks satisfactory for the trip to Panama with no adverse weather on the horizon. The latest satellite imagery shows there are quite a few showers around with very isolated thunderstorms but nothing organised. The showers look like decreasing markedly after 2000UTC with long fine breaks between the showers. The fresh east to ENE trade winds look set to continue, strengthening a little once past the. read more...

BlueFlyer - Day 2-sailing

The first days sailing from noon to noon yielded 185 miles as the crow flies! Furthest single day trip on this boat!! Dinner is once again being prepared by Val- a delicious spaghetti bolognese and salad, really going to go down well. Lots of birds around today, Frigates we think. One bird we passed was sitting on his own aircraft carrier in the shape of a wooden box lid, very creative. There was a big flock at one stage, hunting dinner presumably. Conditions are very nice but rolly. Sea is about 2 to 3 metre swells. Rob -Ran with a single pole until about miday today.  Since then running with both poles.  The rig looks more solid.  Val is searching for her sea legs- doesn't know where she can have put them.  I have to say for someone who claims not to have them she is pretty good about. read more...

Graptolite - Broken Stuff

13:26.0N 065:10.0WI was just in the process of writing what an enjoyable sail this has been when a squall crept up on us in the dark about twenty minutes ago and snapped my spinnaker pole in two. I'm not a happy bunny now. Still, I gather from today's radio net that a good few boats couldn't start on time in Rodney Bay because of problems with kit so it could be worse.We are currently about 180 miles NW of Caracas, Venezuela. Still aiming for a quick Aruba stopover about 280 miles further on.  This missive should be showing up both on the www.graptolite.eu  fronted http://blog.mailasail.com/graptolite Mailasail weblog and on the www.worldcruising.com/worldarc  World ARC weblog. The words all say the same thing but my photos are mostly kept on the www.graptolite.eu  site and the position. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - pre-WARC part 1

WORLD ARCThe Secret Diaries of Quasar V of Lleyn (age 6 ¾)Chief Characters (in order of appearance)Malcolm Craig (age 64 ¾ - adolescent)Robert Locke (age 62 ¾ - regular guy and author of this blog)Lindsey Davis (alias Linds Ayres- stitchy bard)Janet Broadley (age 15 ¾ - family lawyer - a.k.a. JB)Lori Evans (age 52 ¾ - a.k.a lorry -family and criminal law lecturer)Bob Maisey (age 63 ¾ a.k.a babbling Bob - character-in-chief)Pre-World ARCI am writing this on Wednesday 23rd January the day we started World ARC.  It's been the usual round of preparing and partying, and needless to say it has taken its toll!Arrived on Thursday 17th and immediately met in Spinnakers, JB, David (husband of JB for new readers, and Lindsey plus our usual mates: Steve from Kasuje,. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Pre-ARC part 2

JB and I went to weather and route briefings by Chris Tibbs and Andrew Bishop. A bit scary to say the least and the Panama Canal seems to be a complete bureaucratic nightmare and I don't think World ARC team are looking forward to it! In the evening we are invited to dinner by Steve, Susie and Guy (who was doing the cooking) with of course the crew of 'Cleone'. Another great evening! Malcy is enormously impressed by Steve's Halberg-Rassey and offers to marry Steve and have his children! He might have some competition as the blonde babes on Quasar seem to think Steve is something better than sliced bread!After JB and I went to the Skippers briefing (Malcy was too busy engineering) I met for a drink with a friend, Elaine Skeffington and her skipper Derek and wife Julie plus (I apologise). read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Pre-WARC World Part 3

(JB) But we digress, let us return to the beginning, it's Wednesday 23rd January 2008, the day we are to commence the World ARC, the first day of our incredible adventure; yet I write this log from the comfort of Rodney Bay Marina, pontoon A16, with our disco lights lighting up pontoon A...B, C, oh and D! We dance to the best of Queen, smooch to the best of Elton John, sing out in chorus to the wonderful lyrics of South Pacific, and the Quasar anthems "House of the Rising Sun" and "American Pie" sipping some rather superb red wine before moving on to some deliciously smooth brandy..but we mourn inwardly at our delayed departure. Yes, for we have stalled at the start, a minor stall but a stall, with our 2nd auto helm misbehaving in abominable fashion (basically failing to work at all). So. read more...

Andante of Mersey - Log 24 Jan 2008 : Flying Fish!

The first 3 hours were eventful. We held back as usual at the start and were last at the rounding mark off Castries. Then the fun began - as the wind was right behind us we started to set the pole to port. Unfortunately the pole uphaul got wrapped around the furling gear for the genoa at the top of the mast. After lying on the foredeck with the binoculars on it we eventually managed the disentangle it, though at one time I thought we would be heading back to St. Lucia. The new reefing line which we had bought seemed to be slipping on the winch also. On closer inspection we realised the winch was not locking and so we had to service the winch. We pegged one of the settee throws on to the guard rails and taped it down to the deck in case we dropped any parts on taking the winch drum off.. read more...

Southern Princess - Departing St Lucia 14:00N 64:16W

The World ARC started 10 minutes late. A vessel, not in the rally, went aground in the entrance channel to Rodney Bay Marina trapping a few of our yachts inside. We started OK and travelled down to the turning mark off Castries under genoa only as it was only 4 nautical miles away and when we got there we started our twin headsail rig which we have been flying every since.One yacht reported auto pilot problems and returned to Rodney Bay while our friends Paul & Sally on 'IDEAL' a catamaran report rudder problems just after the start and anchored immediately to fix the problem. As Sally reported on the air later, chewing gum, wire ties, cable ties and a pair of her knickers did the repair work and they have now rejoined the fleet.Our TWISTLE RIG where the two spinnaker poles to the. read more...

Kasuje - Daily Log 24th Jan 2008. ON OUR WAY

12 Hours into our passage and for the first time I have managed to stay below decks for more than 5 minutes without either a) being asleep or b) wanting to hurl the copious amounts of tinned beans and meatballs we have consumed so far. We left St Lucia yesterday lunchtime under a fanfare of Rule Britannia, and while we are certainly no where near one of the fastest boats we made a good bid to being, as we would like to think, one of the first boats over the starting line, due entirely to Guy's mathematical brain and competitive spirit. There is very little to report so far other than we have twice been joined by families of Dolphins and massive amounts of flying fish. I am nearly half way through my first book, Guy has read every manual available and is finding his sea legs much faster. read more...

Ideal - DAY 1 - WERE OFF - OH NO WE'RE NOT

Hi everyone again, after a wonderful time cruising the Windward Islands with John and Carol, our Atlantic crew, we set off on the next leg to New Zealand.We had a wonderful start virtually over the start line first and moving along nicely. 10 minutes on and the steering went all limp! We made an emergency call on the radio to warn other yachts around us that we had no steering and we turned into wind and motored to anchor up and fix the steering.Two and a half hours later Steve, our Pacific crew with partner Deb, had fitted a new pulley rope and it was up anchor and on our way. The rest of the fleet were out of sight and after a terrific Squall and downpour of rain the wind dropped, we were struggling to catch up with speeds of 5 knots.The winds are dropping again today, Thursday, so we. read more...

BlueFlyer - Day 1-the GPS

BlueFlyer is finally on the high seas again, it seemed a long time over Christmas getting repairs and then waiting for the start yesterday. About 90 minutes before we left the GPS on the Raymarine failed. I managed to get the local agent to come to the boat and check it out. Problem appears to be a bad/intermittent contact on a fuse holder in the brain box, which is hidden behind a cupboard in one of the cabins. There are now 5 spare fuses on board, just in case. The boat is going well, one jib is poled out and the other free flying, and no main up at all. We are surfing at up to 12 kts and averaging about 8 kts. Conditions are good with a full moon and a regular swell. After the ARC crossing we are all  wondering about the first squall and when is it going to appear. We are now approx.. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - Day 1 - Panama here we come!!

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }After an initial postponement to the start we got away at 1210hrs we had a clean start with plenty of clear air. We had the full main up and the No 2 headsail which has been the same for the last 24 hrs now. We initially headed south to a turning mark off of Castries where we then took a heading of around 260 degrees and goose winged the sails. We were making good speed around 8 knots and were in the company of a few other boats including Akoya, Gray Lady and slightly further ahead Kealoha 8. We remained on this course and after some sun downers (Gin & Tonics for this particular evening) the watch system set in for the night with a change on deck every two hours. The wind slowly increased in the night and shifted gradually more northerly so by. read more...

Storyteller - Storyteller, Day2, Lawyer nil, Fish 2

The fleet of 34 boats left St Lucia  in 20knot winds for the leg to Cristobal, Panama at 12.10 local time. Most of theyachts are doing a full circumnavigation, which will take them 15 months--makesour voyage seem tame by comparison. There was a ten minute delay as themarina entrance was blocked by a grounding. Tony and Mike's time in St Lucia,heaps of fun and interesting to see the people -- many so friendly and othersmore on the sullen side.   The two days before departure were taken upwith briefings for the forthcoming passage-- navigation advice and communicationinformation. Tony was busy updating the fish catching equipment makingStoryteller probably the best equipped fishing boat in the fleet. All thiswas interspersed with steel bands,  more than a. read more...

Talulah Ruby II - Fish Snackettes Day 1

After a great final party at The Bay Gardens we actually went to bed quite early,which is very difficult when you have crew like mine.We all got up early on the 23rd to make our final preparations befor the start of World ARC 2008.The start was delayed by 10 minutes as one yacht grounded in the entrance to Rodney Bay Marina.We had a excellent startsailed along the coast towards Castries then headed West towards Panama.The wind was coming from the East @15-20 knts and has stayed in this direction all ight.We are making very good progress but the seas are a bit rolly.At dawn we caught our 1st fish a monster flying fish (see Photo - IMGP1418).We are really enjoying the sail and welcome our new crewBrian and Maria on board.. read more...

Graptolite - 23/01/08 So far so good

13:55.0N 061:50.7WColin and me picked up a few groceries in the morning and mooched out of the marina about 11:00. Naughtily we zoomed past 'Kealoa 8' on the way out of the marina lagoon. Let's face it, there are going to be very fewopportunities for me to beat a 72-foot boat to anything on this trip. Anyway I hope you got a good photo, Rosie. We anchored out in Rodney Bay and had a sandwich and a beer waiting for the off. We crossed the start line close to the hooter and everyone piled into the channel shoreside of the 'Barrel o Beef' rock, rounded a turning buoy near Castries and pointed towards Panama. (Actually Aruba but don't tell the Race Committee).As darkness fell there were boats in the distance ahead and to port and starboard. More importantly, some were also behind us. So.. read more...

Into the Blue Log - Into the Blue ready for the off!

The start  is just under 1 hour away and we "think" we are ready. Too late now if we aren't. We think about 7 or 8 days to Panama, 1200 miles or just under. Forecast is for 20-30 knot winds , fortunately from behind us!! Communications a bit limited for the next week. Mobiles will probably not work. Robert, Paul Sam and Ed send their love to all at home. Don't forget you can watch our position on matysonboard.DSC02341. read more...

Ailsa - Day 3 50:34.412N 2:27.16W

Position report. read more...

Lady - Passage to Tortola - Day 2

Saturday November 12th to Sunday November 13th, 2011 At Sea. The light wind continued yesterday afternoon on through the night. At evening roll-call, three of the boats announced their fishing catches, Wahoo from catamaran Southern Cross, Mahi from Archangel and Bonita from Rum Runner.We had our newly-created fishing gear in the water, but the only thing we've been able to catch so far is Sargasso weed.Part of the problemmay have been that the lure still had it's protective plastic cover on it.Our fishing seminar leader, musician Davis Murray (www.BarefootDavis.com), is riding on Archangel, so that may be why they are catching.We are trying again today, but in case we don't catch anything, I have a beef stew defrosting. With such light wind, sometimes right on our nose, we have done a. read more...

Pajarito - Day 3 - Mahi for Dinner

The big news today is, Bob caught a Mahi!So, we'll put the Brunswick Stew on hold and eat fresh fish.The "official" size of Bob's fish is 50 inches, 25 lb.Bob used a hand line to pull him in and Captain Bill was ready with the gaff hook.Bob has a secret weapon for catching fish, which seems to have worked.Sorry, if I told you what it is, it wouldn't be a secret. The winds are fairly light today, 5-10 kn, and almost straight on our nose, southeast.We've been sailing close-hauled and are only able to travel due east.The winds are supposed to pick up over the next two days and clock to the southwest.We're hoping to get the wind behind us a little - we're getting really tired of the motion sailing into the waves. We stowed Big Fluffy in the forward cabin since we don't have the wind. read more...

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