Faraway - Faraway log 11, N 14.09.33 W 59.45.26, 11 December 2016

Faraway is nearly there, less than 70 NM to go. ETA 11th of Dec around midnight, or in the early morning of the 12th. The last week has been pretty relaxed in terms of sailing. Good winds, sea not too choppy, no rain, no squalls, just lovely weather and real "trade wind sailing conditions". We have taken it easy and sailed in a relaxed way. Focussing on comfort rather than speed. For the last 3 days we have sailed on the main sail only, sometimes with a reef. This brings us to St Lucia in one straight line. As of yesterday it was clear we are approaching land again, as we started to see lots of birds. Last night and now we experience stronger winds, 20-25 knots, with up to 38 knots in squalls. Swell 4-6m. Great for surfing at 11 knots with a reefed main sail only. Real ocean sailing on. read more...

Faraway - Log 10, N 16.15.08 W 42.37.02, 4 December 2016

Enough wind now, and enough rain... And we spotted our first whale!We are making great progress towards St Lucia and our ETA at the moment is late on the 11th or early on the 12th of December. We have average wind speeds between 12 and 16 knots and have seen gusts of 25 in the numerous squals. Night sailing is tough, as it is pitch dark with all those clouds and squals around. No "spaceship Enterprise" experience these nights, we have hardly seen stars the last 3 days. On the other hand, we have the ability to take a rain shower anytime we want. Inside the boat it is like a swamp. All gear and most clothes are wet and we hardly manage to dry them. Yesterday we couldn't cook because the ocean was too bumpy so we put a ready made meal in the oven. We continue to have fun by playing games:. read more...

Faraway - Faraway log 9, N 19.53.51 W 28.47.47, 29 November 2016

3 days without wind.... we had so much fun! Swimming, breakfast, maintenance, drinking, swimming, drinking, lunch, music, swimming, drinking, music, dance, sleep, sleep, sleep. We have configured an emergency water system so that fresh water is flowing again. The only downside of 3 days without wind: we have consumed nearly all our alcohol!!! We were expecting the wind to return around the early hours of Wednesday morning but the first signs of a weather change were here this morning, Tuesday, at 6 am, when we first felt a slight touch of wind on our face during the morning watch. In the course of the day the wind increased and since 16:30 we are sailing again! Based on the forecast we expect 10 days of excellent sailing bringing us all the way to St Lucia.We have also started a new. read more...

Faraway - Faraway log 9, N 19.53.51 W 28.47.47, 29 November 2016

3 days without wind.... we had so much fun! Swimming, breakfast, maintenance, drinking, swimming, drinking, lunch, music, swimming, drinking, music, dance, sleep, sleep, sleep. We have configured an emergency water system so that fresh water is flowing again. The only downside of 3 days without wind: we have consumed nearly all our alcohol!!! We were expecting the wind to return around the early hours of Wednesday morning but the first signs of a weather change were here this morning, Tuesday, at 6 am, when we first felt a slight touch of wind on our face during the morning watch. In the course of the day the wind increased and since 16:30 we are sailing again! Based on the forecast we expect 10 days of excellent sailing bringing us all the way to St Lucia.We have also started a new. read more...

Faraway - Faraway log 78, N 19.53.51 W 28.47.47, 27 November 2016

As anticipated we are now in an area with less wind, crossing from the north towards the south, where we hope to pick up the trade winds. We could still sail most of yesterday. We have been using the engine since midnight though. Sea state is very calm and this morning we have stopped the boat for an extensive breakfast, swimming and some maintenance jobs. The swimming was fantastic and some of us are still sunbathing now. We are enjoying the weather and care less about boat speed at the moment.Yesterday we celebrated Els her birthday. She was off-watch the entire day, the boat was nicely decorated, she received coffee in bed and many gifts. The sunset yesterday evening was gorgeous and we played Pink Floyd and Roger Waters loudly whilst watching it and drinking GTs. Life sucks....Day. read more...