Lady Ann - Night riders

10/06/2013 (1000u UTC)We are on our way again! After the nice island cruising in the beautifularchipelago of the Azores it's time for some ocean sailing. And we'vebeen put to the test directly.With a front chasing our heels we had anything but a clear night. Nomoon, no stars just pitch black darkness. This means concentration andanticipation. The level of chit chat goes down. And even the unstoppablemusic remains silent. Chris and Died, the newly arrived crew members are doing very well inthese conditions. The galley still produces excellent meals, we had abeautiful circular rainbow right above us and yes. we almost caught ourfirst fish.We are 630 miles from Lagos, doing 8+ knots with a winged out jib. Wind:Westerly: 20 knots.Position: 37*12.9N 32*38.5W IMG_7462. read more...

Lady Ann - Peperoni Albercore

24/05/2013 13:42 UTC pos: 38* 18.5 N 38*50.1WDTD: 466nmThe excitement of surfing down waves and flying across the ocean with 10knots is -unfortunately- over; the wind has dropped or is almost headon. This means that another rhythm on the Lady Ann kicks in. First, thedecreasing swell allows cleaning and freshening up the boat. After theheat of Bermuda, it is quite nice to wake up with hatches wide open, agust of fresh air and the sound of cresting waves. Next, together withthe fixed autopilot, the roaring Steyr diesel engine provides time andfreedom to read and converse more. Thankfully, nature provided us with other excitement instead of wind:dolphins are joining us regularly. But it got even better: afterspotting whales (!) yesterday, new fishing tactics finally paid off thissunny. read more...

Lady Ann - James the autopilot: friend or foe?

22/05/2013, 16:25UTC, POS:37*463N 44*44.2WWhen our autopilot James broke down at the very moment Bermuda'smagnificent skyline dropped behind the horizon we were at first a littlesad. From chilled out night watches with lots of books, star studies anda steady sleep for the standby watch, sailing changed to work. Hardwork. Four hours a day and two hours a night nothing else than the wind,the instruments and the almighty wheel. And after your watch? Norelaxation but another two or four hours as a standby.As a standby watch you are, with all possible respect, the servant ofthe next helmsman. Bringing coffee, playing music, grinding in sails,opening lids from water bottles, scratching backs. As the standby watchyou are in no position to question any request from the helmsman. Afterall: he. read more...

Lady Ann - High spirits, high seas

17/05/2013 22:00 UTCpos: 36*14.8 61*23.8High spirits, high seasTwo days ago we left Bermuda. Heading: Azores. Some repairs were delayedby overactive customs officials so it was quiet a race to be ready intime. But, thanks to the combined efforts of some freshly arrived crewand the seasoned lads from the last leg we managed to get ready withonly a couple of hours delay.Now we are full at sea. No doubt about that. The first 24 hours we'vebeen heading north searching for wind. And wind we found! Together withthe wind came the seas. With 25 knots from behind we are surfing downfour meter swells, straight to the Azores.This is how sailing supposed to be. Friends, lots of fun and thebeautiful sea. No autopilot but we couldn't care less: now we've got thewhole playing ground for our. read more...

Lady Ann - FW: What a difference a day makes...

08/05/2013 (21:00 UTC)How radical can the looks and behavior of the ocean change in 24 hours.Take for example yesterday, from windless warmth in the morning we wentthrough one of the heavier, longer and funkier front passage withsqualls I have ever experienced. The rain was so thick and heavy that itflattened out the seas completely, gusts of wind came from everydirection, increasing from 3 to 35 knots in seconds. This mayhem did notcontinue for a normal 20 minutes but for more than one and a half hourwith all four crew members in the cockpit, wearing swim shorts and foulweather jackets, struggling and singing along in the ankle deep waterthat came down more rapidly than the water holes could carry away. Allof us sincerely happy with the boat, the surroundings and each other.And with the. read more...