Hot Stuff - some final thoughs

As we approach the last days starboard watch (Josie, Rosie, Silvia and Janet) have been discussing our experiences, good and bad, and thinking about the things we will miss. 1) precariously positioning yourself in the heads, knowing one unfortunately timed heel will result in being slapped back with toilet water.2) surviving the heads challenge, but busting out the side door towards the person in the forepeak with your pants around your ankles. 3) the never ending supply of cabbage to create some unusual meal choices, pasta pesto and cabbage....yum! 4) armpit hair wafting in the wind (without judgement!)5) playing human Tetris to get between the cabin, saloon and deck.6) the strange noises and the mouse that lives in the mast.7) boat soap foot spas, authentic sea salt shower scrubs and. read more...

Hot Stuff - port watch blog

From the port watch crew: Bella, Kat, Naomi and Emily.The rain has been taunting is on the horizon for days and finally during the 2am to 6am shift last night we experienced our first squall. The wind picked up and jackets went on, but with hoods kept down to hear instructions, andalso appreciate the fresh water shower! Just as we were about to furl away some headsail a flying fish thought it would get in on the action. He was quickly returned to the sea, unfortunately along with one of the tea towels adorning the cockpit, with Lizzy letting Bella know that now wasn't the time to be scared of a fishRain water felt soft against the skin and washed off the salt, but we are hoping for a little more today! We are currently being buffeted by an enormous swell, rocking the boat from side to. read more...

Hot Stuff - silvias blog

Muis cachorros, Leo, Timeo, Benja &Julian, How much I would like to share some of the experiences on board with you, like seeing that majestic whale only a few meters off our starboard side, watching dolphins play for hours, swimming in funny zig zags just in front of the bow, so close that we could almost touch them with our feet hanging overboard. Or be my surprised again and again by how far the flying fish actually fly, sometimes landing in the cockpit or even on one of us, causing screams and laughter, oh my they stink! Life on board is VERY different from what you know from our Croatia cruises. We are only alowed a certain amount of water to drink per person per day, the personal space is extremely limited and the days are tightly structured with watches and different jobs and. read more...

Hot Stuff - a few words from the whole crew

For today blog we have all reflected on what inspired us to cross the Atlantic, and how we feel now that we are out in the middle of it.Emily: I wanted to give myself some time to get to grips with sailing and wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone. I hoped to enjoy a simpler way of life away from castanet emails and was excited to witness Mother Nature in all her glory. Now we are (hopefully) past halfway I am very happy with my decision to set out on this adventure, and with 9 other inspirational ladies this is an adventure I will never forget. Janet: In my 60th year and using my redundancy money I thought it would be good to have a challenge. A friend suggested the Arc and it appealed to me to cross the Atlantic on a girls for sail boat, where we muck in and get a chance to. read more...

Hot Stuff - day 15 - kitemares

So far in our blogs we have talked a lot about all the beautiful skies, stars, dolphins and flying fish, but yesterday was a different kind of day. We had been flying our spinnaker for four days, had been getting it up with ease and were getting well practiced at helming with it up. However, just before happy hour yesterday I was in the galley when I heard that we had wrapped the spinnaker around the forestry and it was "ALL HANDS ON DECK". We had squirrels in the forepeak trying to pull it down and a team on the bow, and in the cockpit all working together to try and get it down, listening to the surprisingly calm instructions from our skipper Lizzy. There was a lot of grunting and sweating, we were all working together but really not having any luck, no matter how many different things. read more...