Rivendell - Log: "More of the Same"

9 December 2012 Well yesterday was not one of our better days from a weather point of view - matter of fact it was a Carribbean resort director's nightmare. Guess what? It rains in paradise! The skies were cloudy all day, waves were 8 to 12feet and occassionally the rain was very heavy, but the good news is that we are getting closer to our goal of St Lucia.The main sail is patched and ready to go, but the genoa jib developed a new tear - so I think that is repair number 7. Also something I would have never expected. Our primary winch on the port side (Lewmar size 88) theelectric motor dropped through it's housing. I will be easily repairable, but not at sea due to the heavy motion of the boat. The area in question is too close to the cables that steer the boat. So it will have to wait. read more...

Rivendell - Hopefully this is the Last Log

9 December 2012Well it's been sort of a dreary day - overcast - bit of rain showers - warm.The swells have returned and we are rocking and rolling along towards StLucia. Early this morning Schaefer, Ben, and Andy worked on repairing themain sail. This is the fifth repair. Four on the main sail and one on thegenoa. The work was completed shortly before lunch. The tear wasapproximately 2 feet long and it involved the area that the professionalsailmaker in Puerto de Mogan worked on. So the sails are definitely damagedby the ultra violet rays of the sun.Both Beau and Miles did something very nice - they have been carving smallanchors out of several coconut shells that are aboard. In ancient timeswhen a mariner crossed the Atlantic he would have a tatoo of an anchorplaced on his arm. So these. read more...

Rivendell - "Beau Knows Fish"

8 December 2012Well I was kidding Beau about the whale that we encountered a few days past.It was a typical fish story (but a true one) but as time goes by the fishgrows in size. Beau gets very enthusiastic and excited - he's having agreat time that he will never forget.Well as I stated yesterday we encountered two small Wahoo fish and threwthem back. Well early this morning Beau caught a huge Wahoo (1 1/4 meters -40 inches). Biggest fish that he has ever caught and was he excited. Andynext to Ben our most experienced crew member helped him fillet it. Taryndid a beautiful job cooking a meal fit for a king. You cannot get fish anyfresher than we had.Yesterday was very calm - no wind - sea very flat - so we were able to dolaundry in the washing machine. Today the winds have returned. We. read more...

Rivendell - Log: "There's No Wind! So Let's Swim"

7 December 2012Well after yesterday's rain and last night's fog, and darkness we woke up toa glorious although windless day.Andy and Ian tried their luck at fishing- successfully - each landing a 25 to 28 inch Wahoo.They both decided tothrow them back in the pond - hoping for a bigger one."Moonbow" - okay internet surfers - over the last couple of nights Ben andBruce have witnessed a very large glowing arch on the opposite side of thehorizon from the moon.It's like a rainbow, but it has been taking placebetween 11:30 and 2 am in the morning.I imagine that the moon's glow isbeing refracted somehow, but neither of us are sure what we are seeing, butI know that someone's parent will tell us the answer.Swimming - as I said it was a glorious day - the boat wasn't moving so weput out some. read more...

Rivendell - Log: "Rainy Days and Sunday's Get Me Down"

5 December 2012: "Rainy Days and Sunday's Get Me Down"Not really, it was a popular song title years ago. Today we experienced the first substantial rain storms of our voyage. Each night we've often had a very brief light rain squall, but today it was different. The winds were light 12 to 18 knots, but the rain was very heavy. It just poured! I would say that we encountered about 4 1/2 hours of rain. Interesting the crew opted to stay inside - Bruce and Ben were out on deck practically all of the time with brief visits by Ian and Dom. Everyone else were content to stay inside and watch movies that we have been down loading from the internet. Which is fine. After tonight's evening snacks and a brief movie - we will get back to our normal watch schedule. The discussion is coming up - when. read more...