Spirit of Lusitania - Log Day 17

Log Day 17 - 06 DecemberDuring this crossing, what do you do when you are not doing what you are supposed to be doing? This question was posed to the crew of Spirit of Lusitania.Augusto - "I race cars.I have several fast ones, and a very fine pit crew to help me along.However, with the movement of the boat my steering has become very difficult. I suddenly find myself screeching into a sharp turn just at the wrong moment, and disaster strikes.I am afraid my international driving reputation is not improving as a result, and wrecking my garage will cost me a fortune".Mark - "I fish.My day starts by cleaning the flying fish that land on deck.But mostly I like to catch big fish just at sundown.It is best if the boat is moving about 8 knots, the seas are high and we have pole out sailing. read more...

Spirit of Lusitania - Log Day 14

03 DecemberThe "Maltese kitty" - Part OneOn all our sailing trips, we usually tend to trawl one or two fishing lines in our wake. But as we tend to sailing, cooking and other onboard activities, we seldom watch the lines.So the question was always how to attach some sort of "alarm" to alert us that we had a strike. I have experimented with a number of solutions - bunji cords, laundry pins, etc - but none seemed to work.On a recent sailing delivery to Malta, I visited my favorite fishing gear shop to re-stock the traditional lures, so I enquired about this with them.I have always found it wise to ask the local people what they normally use. Earlier while walking past the fishing piers, it sounded like there were Maltese kitties - a breed peculiar to Malta - with collar bells on them. read more...

Spirit of Lusitania - Log Day 13

02 DecemberYeeeyyy we see a boat at the horizon. It is, actually, a boat from ARC! Today we had some good downwind sailing, some failed big fight with some kind of fish, and some wild ocean life cinema session at the saloon. Now is time for some cook, "febras" e "favas" for dinner!Parabens Pai! Diverte-te aí por terra firme, por aqui tudo tranquilo.Simao. read more...

Spirit of Lusitania - Log Day 11 & 12

Log Day 11 & 12 - 30 November & 01 DecemberWe have once again been hampered by very light winds - not even enough to keep a sail full.Our progress is haltingly slow, with short periods of sailing and long periods of motoring.Nonetheless, we are having a great time and are enjoying the sunshine, food and friendship.We have been practising celestial navigation, taking sextant shots of the sun most every day.We each do our own shots and sight reductions, then compare notes under the watchful eye of Patrick, our on-board RYA Yachtmaster instructor.It is quite remarkable how accurately one can navigate with a sextant and good watch! On top of it all, we caught another Mahi Mahi today, and Patrick turned that into a wonderful curry dish for dinner. We were all looking satisfied and. read more...

Spirit of Lusitania - Log Day 10 continued

Log Day 10 continuedMark, owner of SoL cleaned the Mahi-Mahi out on the afterdeck stairs, a "hidden" compartment below a sliding deck door, while our Captain prepared things for a special cooking.The compartment opens up fully to become a swim step, and is perfect for landing/cleaning fish without getting blood on the teak decks. At dinner time we were all famished, made worse by the wonderful smells coming from the galley.We set the dining table in the cockpit just at dusk, and Augusto came up with an amazing dish…a Mahi-Mahi "cataplana".This hammered, polished copper oval shell opened up to reveal our catch of the day steamed and garnished with fresh vegetables and sliced potato, all simmering in their own juices and spiced with Piri-Piri sauce, a traditional Portuguese sauce. We. read more...