Pannikin - Day 14-17

Sunday 8th December - Day 14Throughout the night we kept the spinnaker flying which gave us some boat speed but certainly not enough to break any records, and after sail for so many miles without seeing another boat we passed two within half a mile which gave us some comfort to know we are not out here all by ourselves.Once again quiet conditions greeted the crew in the morning and by mid morning the breeze dropped right out forcing us to start the motor again, much to the displeasure of all on board. The smooth seas made it possible for Steve to bake some scones for morning tea and fresh bread rolls for lunch. Yumm. Andrew then cooked up some very tasty rissoles to go on the bread rolls. Losing weight on this trip does not seem to be a high priority on Pannikin.TheUV strip on the old. read more...

Pannikin - Days 10-13

Wednesday 4th December – Day 10A quiet day without much wind saw us burning a few more litres of diesel with very calm seas and almost no swell it was hard to believe we were in the middle of the Atlantic.The highlight of the day once again as the fishing reel screaming off and by the time Steve picked it up, the fish had taken nearly all the line. It was a good fight which lasted ten minutes and finally a good size tuna was landed, so lunch was fresh tuna and salad.Absolutely beautiful!Thursday 5th December – Day11Light winds prevailed, although there was enough to turn the motor off and set a spinnaker which made life on board a little less noisy. The speed has been very slow, each day we get a new forecast and turn to where they predict more wind only to find similar conditions. Our. read more...

Pannikin - Day 9 Fish and Fun

Tuesday 3rd December – Day 9Light conditions gave the crew aboard Pannikin another peaceful night and they woke to clear skies and smooth seas. It seems we get too much wind or it dies right down and we don’t get enough – that’s sailing. It did mean that we got the spinnaker out again for a couple of hours which made Andrew very happy. The progress has been very slow which is frustrating but everyone is in good spirits and we are still having fun. At the moment we have plenty of food and water on board so we are eating very well. Di even thinks she will have to go on a diet when she gets home! In the morning Steve baked some fresh bread rolls so we had bacon and egg rolls for lunch, then happy hour, followed by a nice baked chicken dish by Ange for dinner.The highlight of the day was. read more...

Pannikin - Days 7& 8

Sunday 1st December – Day 7Boat speed during the night was slow as we only had a very small headsail out because of the rough conditions with the wind around 35kts and gusts up to 40kts and with a long way to go we thought it best to be a little conservative. There was heavy rain squalls and the waves and swell were up as well. Every so often a wave would slap the side of Pannikin and the helms person would get a little more wet, if that was possible. John was suffering from seasickness and Dr Andrew gave him a shot and sent him to bed for the night. The morning wind slowly veered around onto the nose, but eased making a weary crew a little more comfortable. By mid morning we were not getting very far without a mainsail so we had to attempt a sail change – not an easy exercise with an. read more...

Pannikin - First few days

--Sunday 24th NovemberThe atmosphere in the marina this morning was one of excitement & relief that the big day was finally here.The crew on board PANNIKIN had breakfast (bacon on toast) & a couple of cups of tea & coffee.Only a few odd jobs needed to be done – dressing flags to be brought down, front water tank topped up & the gas bottle we’d been using during the week exchanged.We also bought a few more oranges & potatoes.The Gran Canaria marching band began at about 11am playing music & marching up & down the marina & the pontoons.Plenty of locals were wandering about the marina checking out boats & taking photos.We had plenty of PANNIKIN crew shots taken be Richard next door on SARAH JANE, so hopefully we will have a good photo for everyone.A lot. read more...