Jack Rowland Smith - Log Day 18 - JACK Rowland Smith - We Have Finished

JACK has Finished - 18 days 10 Hours 30 MinutesJACK and it’s motley crew have finished the 2018 Atlantic Rally For Cruisers and in the process travelled 3,000 miles and delivered JACK to its new cruising waters in one piece (for the most part!).We were 100 miles off at dawn yesterday but the forecast was for a dropping wind throughout the day.We shook a reef out of the main and made good progress until midday when the wind started to drop and the main, once again, started its often customary flog after each large wave.We got to the point where the banging was too much to bear, we were pointing in the wrong direction to keep it filled and we were still 30 miles away.So in a final quest to sail to the finish, down came the main and up went the cruising shoot (bit of ARC rating advice,. read more...

Jack Rowland Smith - Log Day 17 - JACK Rowland Smith - We Are Getting There

Day 17 was a cloudy and damp affair but lovely and warm with a good breeze blowing us roughly towards our destination.We thought we would be slow with only the double reefed main set but we managed to latch onto a string of black clouds and as I write this we have 100 miles to run and so a good day for us.Little to report on boat or crew, a couple of gybes to try and achieve the best angles was the only major activity otherwise it was sit back and watch the miles tick by.Ben completed his English GCSE mock which, of course, included the obligatory “toilet break”, in this case a gybe.How he managed to concentrate for over two hours as the boat rolled its way down waves I will never know.As parents you never know whether it is the right thing to do to give your children an opportunity such. read more...

Jack Rowland Smith - Log Day 16 - the Joys of Sailing

Day 16 of the trip will go down as the day when if it could go wrong it will go wrong and we have learnt more lessons about ocean sailing.As I write this we have 275 miles to run but those who like numbers will notice that our day to day mile rate is significantly down, we have only run 105 miles since my last report having averaged 6.8 knots in the previous day’s ARC produced noon to noon averages.Two reasons for this significant drop in speed, wind direction and more breakages.A little more wildlife but not much to be honest.The odd bird looks at the boat as a potential resting place but I think word has got around about the sanity of the crew (well skipper) and they are giving us a very wide berth!!No dolphins either but the flying fish still come and visit with their delightful. read more...

Jack Rowland Smith - Log Day 15 - JACK Rowland Smith - Quiet Refection

Day 15 and progress feels painfully slow at times as we are at the mercy of the wind direction which, especially during the nights, does not want to play ball.We have 380 miles to run this morning and a forecast that should get us to St Lucia in the early hours of Thursday morning.We are trying to beat 13.00 GMT on Thursday so that we have achieved our 18 day crossing target.We have therefore completed 2,500 sea miles and to put this into perspective, a trip from the UK to Gibraltar is probably less than 1,000.Ben, at the age of 15, also has his qualifying mileage for the Yachtmaster certificate which is brilliant for him.All the days blend in to one after a while as watches and meals become just part of the pattern of daily life.Sleep is the one thing that cannot be organised and so the. read more...

Jack Rowland Smith - Log Day 14 - JACK Rowland Smith -Squalls and All

A more subdued log this morning as we have had a difficult weather night on JACK requiring constant vigilance and sail adjustment which equates to no sleep.The ARC 24 hour run report for midday yesterday came in at an average of 7.3 knots for JACK which we were pleased with.It maintained our overall average and showed us having a higher average speed over the last 24 hours than the other boats we follow who are all north of us.It is the first time we have really seen any visible evidence that south pays for wind but better late than never.This morning we have 550 miles to run.So to yesterday and we are definitely getting closer to land because we have spotted sea birds.Not many at this point and we have no idea what type, but birds they certainly are.We had a couple of parrotty looking. read more...