Daily Logs

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 20 Day 9 - Variety is the Spice of Life

The most variable weather we have ever had.   Unquestionably, this leg has produced the most difficult, unpredictable andchangeable weather that we have had on our round-the-world Rally so far. Against Bruce's prediction of strengthening Northeasterly winds developingthroughout the evening and night, the wind dropped just after we had finishedsupper.  Looking at the Skipper's hand-drawn schedule (which showedour ETA in Richards Bay at various speeds), we started the engine straightaway.  John from Chantelle had warned us about the current.  Althoughthe boat speed through the water was always an impressive six and a half toseven knots, our real progress was slow - around 5 knots.  And this meansthat we are going to have to battle to arrive in Richards Bay before the nextlow-pressure. read more...

Kasuje - Durban - yee haa!!!

We arrived in Durban around lunch time yesterday,Sunday.  After a thorough clean up of Kasuje, it was straight into thenearest yacht club (there are three here) for some beer that stays where you putit down and a really nice meal in the fish restaurant beside themarina.  Bit of a hangover this morning.  But, hey it was worthit.   We, along with the rest of the fleet had a prettyrough crossing at times, which was actually quite exhilerating.  Especiallywhen you realise that Kasuje can actually take in her stride everythingthat was thrown at her and a lot more if necessary.   It is probably quite difficult for those whohaven't experienced "heavy" weather in an open ocean to appreciate what it islike.  It is also quite difficult to describe.  However I would liketo try to paint a picture of. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 239- Alone at Anchor....

12 February 2011With a few days to spare before our five day land travel trip we had a fancy to explore some of the anchorages that abound in the Baia de Todos os Santos. We cast off our dock lines and headed deep into the bay. A gentle downwind sail 13nm from Salvador brought us to Ihla do Frade. Giving the reef at the southern tip a good offing we rounded Ponta de Guadeloupe dropping the hook some distance off a white sand beach. It was so lovely to be swinging to our own anchor once more. Apart from our one night in the river at East London we have not had this treat since Cocos Keeling as long ago as September. It was so far back I had to look up our log sheets to check. With only one other yacht at anchor and off the now deserted beach, it is all peace and quiet, away from the heat. read more...

BRIZO - 23 June 2012

We are 856 miles from Suva, expecting to arrive Thursday which is really Friday because we will be crossing the International Date Line just before arriving. We have had a lively discussion onboard during dinners as to whether we are gaining a day or losing a day, we'll find out on Thursday.Everyone has recovered from seasickness and are doing well. The weather conditions are somewhat rougher than forecast but still okay. We have had to further shorten sail with the current conditions of 25-30 kts on the beam from due south, still making over 5 knots nearly straight to Fiji. Passage Weather is still calling for favorable conditions throughout the remainder of the trip but we have generally found wind strength to be about 5 kts greater than forecast. Still, their forecast areas are so. read more...

Sookie - Leg 2 Day 6 Wwelcome to the Nothh Atlantic

From midnight this morning the winds were generally 25 knots gusting up to 35 knots so we sailed with reefs in both the Genoa by two thirds of the sail and half a mainsail.  The sea conditions were also what one would call considerable but not concerning (for all you relatives).  As dawn approached we encountered a large squall with variations in wind speeds and direction followed by two further smaller squalls.    The result that followed was a change in wind direction from SW to NNW, some 112 degrees.  The genoa is slightly damaged on the foot line and leech lines but there is no damage to the actual sail structurally.  Two visits to the pointy end were required in the testing conditions.  One to run a Genoa sheet (rope) around the. read more...

Matilda - Fabulous Fiji

It's been almost 2 weeks since our last blog from Tonga, and now we are in Fiji. You may remember that I had just started with a nasty cold, which I am almost over now. Unfortunately Heather contracted the cold and suffered quite badly with it. She is on antibiotics and it seems to be on the way out at last.The last few days we spent in Tonga were a little traumatic. A 50 foot Bavaria that had been moored next to us, Navillus, smashed into an island on the way to Australia with two lives lost. We had spoken with the guys aboard the day before, mainly because one of them blew onto us in his dinghy when cleaning his hull and we towed him back to Navillus. We timed our departure until after bad weather had passed through, but they decided to go the day before as they didn't think it seemed. read more...

La Boheme - La Boheme

Day 9 - We are now 10 miles from Richards Bay - hurray!!!!Sailing from Reunion to South AfricaWe chose to sail at least 130 miles south of southern tip of Madagascar to avoid the potentially dangerous conditions known to occur there including thunderstorms, strong winds and freak waves: our other challenge was to sail through the seas close to the South African coast, where the strong south Agulhas flowing current can create dangerous conditions when opposed by the frequently occuring southerly wind changes originating from Antarctica. Strong winds opposed by up to 5 knot current create steep, high and short waves making the eastern coast of South Africa one of the most dangerous seas in the world.Anna, Greg and PeterLa Boheme. read more...

Hanami II - Que va piano va sano ....

Lundi 21 mai 2012, 20:19 UTC   6eme jour de mer.   36 16.0 N 50 42.9 W cap 90 vitesse 4 N, au moteur contre le vent.   Bon et bien ca y est, le vent s'est affaibli, quoi que ..., et a vire au NE apres un grain ce matin. La pluie n'a pas dure et le barometre reste haut, stable a 2024, nous ne sommes donc pas sur le bord de la depression, tant mieux. Le seul inconvenient est que ce vent souffle exactement depuis la ou nous voulons aller et pas assez fort pour que nous puissions louvoyer. Nous voici donc revenus a la "Brise Volvo" apres avoir essaye de multiples allures, tangonne le Genois des l'autre deux cotes, successivemment bien sur, et finalement enroule le genois et borde la GV a plat pour garder un peu de propulsion velique tout en avancant au moteur et en. read more...

Crazy Horse - Feb. 13

A few of us from the World ARC have invaded the harbor here in Itapatica. We are anchored out here off the island where there is a sandbar which we visited last night to watch the sunset.A few of the younger members of the fleet were known to be on the sandbar later calling themselves "beach party". Their names I won't mention but you can probably guess. However, they all made it back to their respective boats in good spirits.Jeannius, Brown-Eyed Girl, Chessie, and Crazy Horse are here and ready to see the town today. They have a very dominant church at the center of the town which you can obviously see from the water. Last night they had fireworks going off on parts of the island. At least that is what we hope they were. They have various old oil platforms around us here in the harbor.A. read more...

La Boheme - La Boheme

Day 8 - What a change!Yesterday at 11am it came all of a sudden (although we were prepared) the winds building in gusts to 50 knots. The prediction was for conditions to ease after 6 hours but 12 hours later we were still battling winds gusting to 40 knots. No cooking today, we tried to make a cup of tea most of it ended up in sink. Well a bit of starvation won't kill us, so we dreamed of 2 minute noodles....promise finally fulfilled at 2am when the boat action allowed me to open the cupboard. Finally at around 5am this morning the wind dropped to 20/25 knots and the sea began to subside. We were in storm for 18 hours. I finally went to bed at 5am to wake up at 10am to different world. That was a change!Anna for La Boheme. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 238 - Baianos of Bahia

8 February 2011Two lovely local Baianas ladies come to our pontoon and everybody is given a ribbon bracelet, tied with three knots, and for each knot you were granted one wish. But it was not just any knot. This can only be carried out by a true Baiana specially trained in the art of knot tying. They also practice healing like the African witchdoctors. Wearing traditional dress, of huge wide skirts like a crinoline with hand crocheted broderie anglais tops and a colourful wrap around headdress they certainly do look the part. Party and Prize Giving TimeNow for all the World ARC boats having arrived with the exception of Ocean Jasper who are still on passage and Grand Filou who entered the Cape to Rio Race, a party was held in the yacht club. We were served very fine finger food, the. read more...

Glamorous Galah - Suva prawn seller

Ah yes, you have to admire the entrepreneurial skills of this Fijian woman!The people here have been very welcoming. Bernie and Dave enjoyed a japanese dinner with Beatoo last night, and we've all had a few good curries.We'll be out with the morning high tide to Denarau via Frigates.. read more...

Hanami II - ARC Europe, a summary at midway by Darren

The story of ARC Europe so far could not be more different to the outward journey in Nov with ARC 2011. The 900 mile first leg from Tortola to Bermuda took six days on a course almost due north, a leg necessary to escape the northeast going tradewinds of the Caribbean for the more favourable southwesterlies that are generated around 35N. Hanami II is currently about midway through leg two - Bermuda to Azores - with about 1000 miles more to run. As we're currently heading east, this feels most like the return crossing of the Atlantic before the boats split up in the Azores - one group heading on to Portugal, the rest heading north towards France and the UK.This leg has been a constant challenge from day 1. The ever present beam sea has made the usual onboard tasks somewhat more. read more...

Anastasia - From Vanua Levu to Viti Levu

17:24.4S 177:45.2EFor the past couple of days we have been working our way westward between the Fijian islands of Vanua Levu and Viti Levu. Viti Levu is the main island with the capital Suva on the south side.  We are taking the northern route around Viti Levu because it has good breezes, but calm seas and many anchorages so we can do the passage as a series of short hops each day. Curly's chartlets give us the waypoints we need to navigate safely through the reefs, which is fine provided you enter the waypoints correctly.  And when you enter them incorrectly then there is always Serendipity to call up on the VHF and ask why you are deviating from the plotted route and heading directly towards a rock. On our way down to Viti Levu we stopped at the islands of. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 20 Day 8 - On Target?

A sleigh ride last night, continuing this morning.   When Alex asked the Skipper over supper, having looked atthe line of black clouds ahead of us, the Skipper said that he thought itwould be a quiet one, probably with the motor going all night. The band of South West winds, which many of the other yachts wereexperiencing, was due to pass to the North in front of us.  Well we knewthat was asking for trouble.  After supper, a gentle breeze could be felt,so the Skipper and Alex put up the mainsail, all of it.  The Skipper wasnext on watch, so after he had cleared up the meal, Norfy and Alex went happilyoff to bed.  The Skipper was delighted when the breeze began to strengthen,so soon the full Genoa and Mizzen were flying, and the engine wassilenced.  At this point, the Skipper must have. read more...

Tucanon - Salvador is stunning

Monday morning we caught a bus from near the marina and went to Barra shopping mall. We bought a local SIM card and looked around the supermarket.  It was more of a reconnaissance visit than to do much in the way of shopping  but I did buy some fruit and vegetables to keep us going for a few days  until I know what provisioning I need to do prior to the 15th, when we go on a 5 day trip to the interior.The bus drivers seem to be wannabe racing drivers and the bus stops are more like pit stops. You have to get on the bus by the rear door, where you hand the fare to a conductor who then lets you pass through a turnstile into the bus. You exit the bus via the door at the front, next to the driver. However, if you are a pensioner, you can get on via the front door as you. read more...

Ninfea - Daily Log

Mid Point  We finally crossed the mid-point of our journey and begin the countdown to our destination. Yesterday we celebrated Pino’s birthday, his first ever at sea. The chef (Paolo) prepared a nice dinner and we toasted with a bottle of Chardonnay. The night was the most difficult yet. We started with light winds and a gennaker on, perhaps a bit too optimistic given that we expected a front to go by. And it did! At 1.00 am an alarmed Francesco woke us up. Winds were reaching an 25 kn and climbing.  We retrieved the gennaker with serious difficulties, but after a struggle during almost an hour it was safely stowed away. We continued with a genoa only, but the wind kept gusting up to 30 kn. But what was the problem was not the wind. The waves grew up to 3-4 meters broken. read more...

Common Sense - Getting started

With just six hours left to the start of the ARC Europe Rally, there we were with no sails, no clearance out of Bermuda and seventeen jobs still on Padraig’s to-do list. It seemed impossible, but Team Common Sense lived up to its name, working our way calmly and methodically through everything that had to be done – perhaps not quite so calmly when it took us us three goes to get the jib on the right way round! With just minutes remaining we ticked off the last few jobs, executed a perfect exit from our slip and there we were, bringing up the tail end of the fleet as it headed through St Georges Cut, farewelled beautiful Bermuda and sailed off into the wide blue Atlantic!So far it’s been reasonably smooth sailing at an average of five knots, apart from a calm patch on. read more...

Crazy Horse - Feb. 12

Today is Saturday and many of us are going off to anchor out off a little island called Itaparica. They are supposed to have some nice beaches and good snorkeling. There are some little villages to visit on the island. Not sure if we will do that but adventure away from this marina and city is on our minds.A group of us went on an interesting tour of the historical part of the city with the Tours Bahia co. Carolina was our guide and we actually had an a/c bus with the a/c actually working. Some of the vehicles we have been on in many of the stops have been pretty primitive but this one was wonderful. We had a delicious lunch with the traditional Brazilian food and those wonderful caipirinhas. Later Carolina took us to a store she recommended we buy gemstones. I didn't buy anything as by. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 20 Day 7 - The President Elect

Barak Obama's success has stimulated conversation on board Cleone as muchas anywhere else.    But unlike most places, we've a resident (and captive) expert to talk usthrough the subtleties of American Politics and of American Life itself. As well as politics, we have also taken time out to deal with other, perhapsmore important, aspects of US culture.  The Rules (such as they are) ofAmerican Football are no longer a mystery to us, but sad to report, try as wemight, Alex will never understand cricket, let alone Rugby. Wehave touched on Cycling (come clean, Lance, we know all about you) and Baseball(do you know the difference between a curved ball and seam bowling?), and thedifference between Ivy League and non-Ivy League and the Ozarks (separatesubject; we now know that they are a. read more...

Samsara - off to Fiji

June 23 We're leaving Tonga today and heading off to Fiji. Should be a 3-4 day passage. We've enjoyed our time here in Tonga and if the weather was better would try to do a last bit of snorkeling, however it's windy and cloudy so we'll get going.  Unfortunately the two sailors I mentioned in the earlier blog (their boat hit the reef of an island west of here) were not found. They called off the search. I can only imagine how hard it is for their families. Finishing the last preparations for the journey. Went to the market yesterday and got eggs, bananas, pineapple, cucumbers and tomatoes. Lee has to send a form to Fiji that they require before we check in so he's heading into the cafe for a last bit of internet work, then it's stow the dingy and off we'll go. Pauline. read more...

BRIZO - 21 June 2012

Things are looking up: conditions have moderated somewhat while still producing very favorable progress toward Fiji. The crew is recovering from seasickness, the girls are back to normal and Corinne is getting there. We are still experiencing gusty winds and light rain with the squalls passing through but over-all the winds have diminished to a more comfortable level. We are about 100 nm away from an island called Palmerston. It is one of the countless little places literally in the middle of nowhere! We have read that there are a few people living on the island but since there is no good harbor they do not encourage visitors. Apparently if you want to visit you need to anchor offshore and wait for someone to come out in their small boat. We don't plan to stop there but our course takes. read more...

Cleone - Leg 20 Day 6 - NSTR

Nothing Significant To Report. We have made great progress, with 172 miles logged towards Richards Bay.  It was a boisterous afternoon yesterday, but we reeled off the miles under reefed Genoa, Main and Mizzen, and the favourable winds kept up all night.  This morning has been a bit more difficult - the wind has gradually backed and eased, and is now right behind us.  And with the seas coming up from the South still, we are rolling along somewhat uncomfortably, and the wind is blowing over the top of a South-going current.  We  have yet to down-load Bruce's forecast, but from this morning's chat on the net, we understand there is an uncomfortably small window for us to get into Richard's Bay.  So we may have to hang around a bit before we get there.  As usual, we will keep you. read more...

Lexington - C1500 update

Dear friends and family, just a quick note to let you know that Bob, Sam, Karen, Jim, Jerry and Nadxi are doing well. We are only 400 miles from the BVI and at a 24 latitude and 48 L.The crew is constantly doing all adjustments to keep Lexington traveling at a maximum speed. For the past two days, have being traveling at an average of 7 miles and hour. Quite good and fast for our vessel.  The Lexington has needed only a few cares such as, changing fuel and water tanks, and the repair broken parts. The crew is keeping safe byfixing daily small precooked meal, sleeping as much as possible at a 45 degree angle. It is almost as sleeping inside a dryer machine, one must hang on using all body parts, image that!, keep checking out the tracking device. We are ahead of most vessels,. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 237 : Salvador - Jesus Christ City

7 February 2011Salvador, known as Bahia, was built on the top of a group of hills at the entrance of a 300km long bay, Bahia de Todos os Santos, the Bay of All Saints, so named when the first European to sail into it, Americo Vespucci, arrived on All Saints' Day, 1st November 1501. It was the capital city of Portuguese America from 1549 to 1763 when it was transferred to Rio. Now it is Brasilia. From 1889 it became a republic, now it is a democracy. Its economy is based on tobacco, sugar cane, coffee, mining (there are rich mineral deposits) and supposedly tourism. I say supposedly because there are plans to renovate a beautiful building near the docks to be the new Hilton. They are hosting the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games 2016, but they will have to improve on their English. read more...

Zingara - Via Inmarsat:

Guten Tag Ihr Fans der Zingara! Ja, es gab ne Sendepause. . mailasail hat mein account leer gefegt, alte mails kamen zig mal. Egal, uns gehts prima trotz Sturm u Regen u Welle letzte Nacht ohne Schlaf. Dafuer gings gut voran, unsere Analyse der GRIB Files hat uns den richtigen Weg waehlen lasen. Hoffen, der Progress setzt sich fort. Gruesse von Bord, ernst, ruediger u reinhard. read more...

Common Sense - Early days

Hey you guys, we didn’t think it was meant to be a race! Anyway, most of thefleet is well ahead of us at this stage, but we’re enjoying the fine weatherand 15 knot breeze, bobbing along at about five and a half knots average.We are, perhaps, a little bit less complacent after the bad news about OuterLimits’ encounter with a whale – so glad to hear that everyone is safe afterwhat must have been a frightening experience. Without SSB, we haven’t hadcontact with any other boats since Day 1, but it’s good to know they’re allout there somewhere, and to see the impressive distances covered by some!The pleasant conditions have allowed us to enjoy pretty decent meals –steak, fish cakes, chicken curry, not to mention a loaf of Terry’s. read more...

Ariane - Salvador da Bahia

Salvador da BahiaLiebe SegelfreundeDas Einlaufen in Salvador war ein eindrückliches Erlebnis. Die Stadt liegt auf einem Hochplateau, gut 80 m über Meer. An den Hängen sind einige Favelas (Armenviertel) sichtbar, die jedoch alle aus Stein gebaut sind, somit wesentlich besser, komfortabler und sicherer als in Südafrika. Vier Lifte, von denen nur zwei funktionieren, führen vom Hafen und der Unterstadt in die Oberstadt. Dort liegt auch die eigentliche Altstadt. Die Aussicht von dort oben über die Bucht, den Hafen und die Unterstadt ist sehr beeindruckend. Das warme Klima (auch das warme Wasser!) lassen uns wieder aufleben. Ernüchternd sind die sehr teuren Restaurantpreise; dort können nur Touristen und gut verdienende Brasilianer essen. In der Altstadt treffen wir auf einige Sambagruppen,. read more...

La Boheme - Day 6 - Close encounter

Yesterday afternoon in the middle of Indian Ocean, we had a large ship overtaking us on our starboard side and on collision course with us. We thought that we were highly visible but when "China Fortune" kept coming without altering her course we had to call it on VHF and to our amazement we had discovered that it did not see us before our alert. We had to change our course and the ship hers and it passed us in front by a short distance.It pays to be alert!Anna for La Boheme Team. read more...

Serendipity - Winter Solstice - the Shortest Day

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A Lady - Log Day 17: Still holding on tight!

MONDAY  21st  MAY  2012   Last night was a tough night,Having had a Pizza for dinner, (simple and quick in rough conditions) we settled down for the night, The wind was building all along as were the seas,We reefed the sails down further, ie  4 reefs in the mainsail, 4 reefs in the genoa, and 2 reefs in the staysail,The night was as black as the " Ace of Spades" and the seas were growling all around us, and no fish on the line.  Denis and Vera came on watch at midnight and experienced speeds of 13.50knots as the wind screemed through the rigging, we recorded winds of up to 40 knots, Is the glass half full? well, at least we will make a fastpassage to the Azores if this holds till next friday,  Skipper & Aileen came back on watch at 04.00hrs, then at. read more...

Crazy Horse - Feb 10

Still in Salvador at the Terminal Náutico.We are still here in Salvador and plan on being here and going on some of the many tours available to us. Last night we went out for a dinner and show of the typical Brazilian dances.The dancing was really fantastic. The food was mediocre. The dancers were very acrobatic and really strong and athletic in their moves. They just kept going on and on. I was exhausted watching them. That was worth the price of the tickets.Tomorrow we go on the city tour with many of the cruisers from the fleet. We are looking forward to learning more about the history of Salvador.We had a little party for Ocean Jasper to celebrate their arrival. I think they were glad to arrive and we were all happy to see them safely across the Atlantic. They had a long trip like. read more...

Samsara - a cave, paella and a goat

June 20We're enjoying our time in Tonga - the weather wasn't so good for about 2 days but now it's beautiful - we're almost 19 degrees south of the equator and it's cooler. Lee is in heaven - he can actually sleep at night. The water is about 79 degrees - it feels cool compared to the 82 degree water we've had for the last few months.Yesterday was a full day. We went to Mariner's cave, it's a large cave and it's a bit tricky to enter. You have to dive down about 6 feet and swim about 12 feet forward to end up in the cave. A bunch of people from At Last, Zoe, Southern Cross and Lee and I all entered the cave. I wouldn't let the kids try it - too dangerous in my opinion for them. Lee and I were among the last to enter so we could see the feet of a few of the people in the cave, otherwise. read more...

Talulah Ruby II - Talulah's Fish Tale

HiWe managed to miss the thunder storms earlier this week and so far the wind has been kind,but this is not an easy bit of water to cross. At the moment we have a strong current with us long may that continue. Yesterday was the most memorable day at sea ever, off the bottom of Madagascar we sailed into an area full of Humpback Whales, we must have seen at least 60 during the day, all of them beating the water with their fins or leaping straight out of the sea, which as they can reach 18 mts.in size is some sight! We had to steer round a few of them as they were in our path, so got very close, but the unforgettable sighting of all, which also explains their behavior, was of 2 mating Whales their tails high out of the water for 10 min. or so. We sailed nearby what an absolutely fantastic. read more...

La Boheme - Day 5 - half way competition

Yesterday we passed our plotted half way mark to Richards Bay. We all tried to guess the ETA at half way and I won. The prize - a nice bottle of South African chardonay which we all drank to celebrate half way. We have also guessed ETA to Richards Bay - the winner gets taken to a good restaurant for dinner, preceded by an exotic cocktail on board. Last night the sky was blinking thousands stars, there were some shooting stars as well and as usual on my watch several ships. We are making good progress but we may have to slow down to avoid storms closer to Africa.Anna for the La Boheme team. read more...

Crazy Horse - Feb 9

Yesterday I finally got Bill off the boat. He gets so busy fixing and cleaning things up he forgets we must see the sights too. So I dragged him off the boat and we had a lovely time having breakfast up in the old town right on the sidewalk. It was very entertaining to people watch. There are many vendors who approach you and sell everything from necklaces to cigars. We also went to a jewelry store and checked out some of the stones there since this is a place known for mining gemstones. We meet a very nice jeweler named Giovanni who was originally from Italy, who lived in France, who moved to Tahiti and married a Tahitian, who moved back to France, who lived in the US , and is now living here in Brazil with a Brazilian wife and 10 year old child. The people here are very interesting as. read more...

Irena - Dan 6

No, pa smo jo dobili malo po glavi. Cel dan zelo mocan zahodnik, do 35 vozlov, proti jutru pa še moèna ploha in obrat vetra na severovzhodnik.Med zahodnikom smo doziveli res prave velike dohajajoce valove na krmo.Potem pa dez in obrat na severovzhodnik. Direktno na "nos". Nekaj casa smo kar tavali, saj nobena smer ni bila v redu. Na koncu sem se odlocil, da odplujemo proti jugovzhodu, kjer so po napovedi sodec bolj ugodni vetrovi. Severno je tako in tako neurje.Imamo pa se 1117 milj do Horte na Azorih. Nisem spal zadnjih 24 ur, tako da se sedaj odpravljam v posteljo. Cez dan se je zjasnilo in otoplilo, ceprav je samo 21 stopinj. Po temeperaturah na Karibih je to hladno. Tu severno pa normalno.. read more...

BRIZO - 20 June 2012: Good News/Bad News

The good news is that we have had two, two-hundred-mile days since departing Monday morning. We are sailing very fast directly toward our destination of Suva in Fiji. The bad news is that the weather conditions producing these speeds has taken its toll on the crew, rendering useless the tried-and-true seasickness remedies. We are down to two able bodied seamen: Alex and Lew. The basic weather pattern is winds 22-26 kts with frequent squalls. The squalls generally produce light rain and gusty winds between 30-35 kts. Our course is favorable: during the squalls we run downwind but get back on course between squalls. If we maintain this speed we will arrive in Suva next Wednesday but with a very unhappy crew.Corinne made a chocolate birthday cake for Lew's birthday last night, the cake is. read more...

Crazy Horse - Feb 8

Yes, I know it is early but these time changes are difficult to adjust to. This used to be 1030. So Bill and I are up doing email and he is downloading something from the computer. We will try to Skype people from here but so far it has been difficult. There are so many people getting online that it is difficult to maintain a Skype call much less see who you are talking too. No one understands that in the US because you have all the online services, Facebook and all that but it is a luxury here really. Not many places we have been except with the big cities can you stay in touch all the time. Out at sea it very expensive. So you folks at home better appreciate all the internet that you get. Sometimes it goes down on these islands for days at a time.It can be very frustrating. So. read more...

Cleone - Leg 20 Day 5 - It's a Big Place, the Sea, but...

Sailing Yacht Martha was two miles off our port bow at six am this morning. Martha is an Estonian Ketch that has been following us around the world.  Some say she tried to sign up to World ARC, but at the time the list and the waiting list was full.  Whatever, we first came across her in St Lucia, and we have met here at virtually every stop-over since.  It is a pity she is not on the Rally; Martha is an interesting boat, and the crew are reportedly good and friendly people who would, I am sure, be an asset.  As it is, they are in a half-way house.  They are welcome, friendly, fellow round-the-world yachtsmen, but not quite part of the World ARC family.  They left La Reunion on the same day as us, and we must have been reasonably close to them for all that time without actually seeing. read more...

Wind Dancer - LOG 26: Chiquita the Goat

We are once again reunited with many of the ARC boats here in Neiafu, The Kingdom of Tonga. After clearing customs and giving the boat a well needed wash down, we were into town for Internet and fish cakes. After a bit of rain, we moved Wind Dancer over to Tapana to join Zoe, At Last, SamSara and So Cro for a Spanish Tapas Feast at a cliff top hide away restaurant. The food and company was great and ended with laughs and dancing thanks to the talented couple who run the rustic eatery and also provide the musical entertainment, oh yeah and a pet goat who roams while you eat. The next morning, we moved Wind Dancer to find the Mariner's Cave, a hidden haven inside an island. It requires a quick hold of the breath and swim at the face of the rock to enter the steaming stalactite hole. It was. read more...

Purrr-fect - Leg Two - Days 4 and 5 - Repairs at sea and Sprouts

Yesterday Captain Dave resolved to repair some sail issues which had developed over the first days of this leg. The "lazy jack" stack pack system line had frayed at mid-mast and was flapping wildly despite our efforts to tame it. In addition the first reef line had frayed at the gooseneck. Also the second reef lines were run incorrectly and were difficult to use. So Captain Dave went up in the bosun's chair to mid-mast height, with the hearty cranking of Jim and assistance from Linda. Took more than an hour with the sails all down to fix everything, but it was a great accomplishment. Today, the alfalfa sprouts which Linda started growing from seeds two days have really sprouted and we are nurturing them along and looking forward to some fresh grown greens on our sandwiches.. read more...

Voyageur - Leg 2 - Log 4 Life on the Level

20/21 May The day started squally with the first drops of rain since we left Bermuda. Up went the front door. Now our cockpit is enclosed and has become a conservatory for it traps the heat from the sun but keeps out the wind and rain. Once the final squall passed we sat in a hole with no wind and we found ourselves slopping about in the leftover swell. For the first time since the start we deployed the iron sail and motored for a couple of hours until the wind filled in this time from the south west. By 11am we were out into sparkling sunshine. We shook out the reefs, eased sheets and went off on a broad reach. With our topsy turvy world of over four days finally flattened out Voyageur was a level playing field once more. My galley stabilised. Perhaps we could at last have that roast. read more...

La Boheme - Day 4 - Change from the South

It came at around 5am this morning with the wind up to 35 knots when rounding Southern tip of Madagascar. We had too much sail and instead of genoa Greg has decided to put staysail. He got soaking wet from the sea spray and crashing waves and then...when rinsing himself and his life vest with fresh water...boom...our new "Spinlock" life vest all of a sudden inflated itself. Fortunately we have a spare PFD. I am not so sure that this is such a good thing that the life vest inflates itself on contact with water. What do you do on rainy days? Do we have to have several life jackets each for different weather? Manufacturers think!!!Anna for the team La Boheme. read more...

Glamorous Galah - Arrived in Suva, Fiji

We have just arrived in Suva, Fiji. Our crossing from Tonga was very smooth compared to our previous ones.  We are now waiting for customs to clear us in and then we will be able to explore town.  David. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Monday, 7th February 2011 Skipper went off to the Barra shopping Mall and booked the tour to the Waterfalls and Rio on the way back, all this took a couple of hours, nothing fast happens around here, the travel agents would drive one daft. On returning to the boat, skipper met the sail maker and we discussed the Parasailor and all the work needed here, this sail will be the death of skipper yet. It was so expensive to purchase, and the repairs are even more expensive. Later, we took off in the rib to the other marina and had lunch in the "Oui" restaurant, a real french joint, and the food was excellent, but again very expensive.  15.30hrs We had a Skippers briefing at the marina complex, Paul went through all the places worth visiting with the boats while. read more...

Kasuje - Slowly getting closer to AFRICA...!!!

Hi from Skipper SteveWe thought that this would prove to be an eventful passage and so it is proving to be with very changeable and strong conditions.So I thought you might like to read a couple of entries into my personal log detailing the last couple of  days.Mon: Yesterday  the benign conditions of the first couple of days developed into storm conditions rounding the Southern tip of Madagascar. We had 24 hrs of strong winds very high mixed seas but fortunately no rain. I shall never complain about the overfalls and rough seas when rounding Portland Bill again !! The East flowing current, was pushing us along at 10/ 11 knots and that was with 2 reefs in main and Genoa. Pretty hairy at times. Fortunately now all has subsided and we are trundling along in nearly flat seas!!!! We incurred. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Sunday, 6th February 2011 07.00hrs Skipper got up and did the blog and a few emails. Then we took off with Herman and Sylvia from Destiny. The crowd at Mass was small, not to mention the beggars asleep on the seats in the church. Salvador has 365 catholic churches, thats one for every day of the year, most of them are Baroque in style but very run down. An effort is being made by the authorities to renovate some, however it is a monumental task to do them all. Following Mass, we walked over a half mile to the Carmelite convent, which has been converted into a luxurious hotel, and is a tribute to what can be done with these old buildings. We had tea and cakes there before going onto the Barra Shopping Mall, a 3 storey complex with lots of shops etc, but no. read more...

Aniara II - May 21

21 May Everyone told us that we could expect tough conditions between Bermuda and the Azores. We met some of this expectation last night. A wind change of 220 degrees, rain and gusts over 35 knots. I can tell you it was tough, rough and wet out here, but so were we. We have to learn to lean towards port side when walking around, after four days of winds in from starboard we now get it in from the other side. We all have to learn to find new sleeping positions in our cabins. It is far too bumpy to make any advance cooking onboard so we consume a lot of various salads and crisp bread with sardines and garlic (!Yum,yum). We believe we are doing quite OK in the rally and are placed somewhere in the middle of the field, a place we are satisfied with. Another record was set by Aniara. read more...

Dreamcatcher - Waiting at Musket Cove, Fiji

Hello Everyone,We are here and waiting for the fleet to arrive! Looking forward to meeting all of you.Have a safe passage hope to see you soon.Marie & Charles. read more...

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