Talanta - Log Day 12: A Squall sent by the devil himself and second rudder broken!

Afterswitching rudders last Sunday we have been pushing the boat really hard. Duringall the trouble of repairs and standing still we had lost all the advantage tomany of our competitors, especially Desna who now had come up on 3rd place inthe ranking. As of last Sunday they were 26 miles ahead of us. To avoid makinganother gybe (meaning once again remove the rudder in the middle of theAtlantic!), we had followed the northerly route far longer than optimal.Therefor we had to sail through a large high pressure with very low winds. Notgood for gaining on the competitors! Butas we got into stronger winds we really started the chase. At each report we hadgained one to two hours on the corrected time. We overtook Desna and as of lastnight we were about 50 miles ahead of them. Also having. read more...

Talanta - Log Day 7: Changing rudder and gybing towards Saint Lucia

Fora few days we have been flying on a starboard tack. Wind easying a bit and boatspeed last day was down to 10 knots. Felt like we were standing still!   Butthe time for a gybe were approaching as the weather forecast indicated a shiftin the wind from 70 degress to 90. Due to the broken rudder on starboard side wecannot sail on the port tack. So when we finally had to gybe, to avoid ending upin Florida, we also had to switch the rudders. Moving the working port rudder tothe starboard side.  Itis indeed a risky thing to do, removing the rudder in the middle of theAtlantic. But the trick was to mount an M8 screw at the top of the rudder stockwith a line attached to it. Then removing the rudder head and dropping the wholerudder down into the ocean. Then getting the line from. read more...

Talanta - Log Day 4 (Update): The Shark is flying again!

Aftersome hard work with a knife we have managed to get rid of the remaining parts ofthe starboard rudder. Just a stainless pipe pointing down into the water makingcascades of spray aft of the boat. From 11.30 the Shark is now flying again(Talanta, aka the Shark boat referring to the Shark in the bow of the boat).With the petit kite we are now making 13 knots again topping at 20 knots in thesqualls. Bob Marley is singing again about sweet weather and a shining sun. Thistime loud from the speakers in the cockpit. Life is rockingagain!  /Mikael,Skipper.. read more...

Talanta - Log Day 4: Chasing squalls, dancing the waves and a broken rudder

Thelast days has continued with a mix of squalls, sunshine and winds around 20knots, topping at 28 knots of wind in the squalls. To keep up the speed we havebeen chasing squalls, trying to get closer to them to enjoy dancing the waves in18 knots.  Yesterdayevening we’d just made a gybe, heading west-north-west och life at sea werereally rocking. A beautiful sunset, boat was flying at 18 knots with a lighthand at the tiller. Just finding a smooth way among the waves to minimize thespray of water. A few of the crew were taken a shower (which means using seawater from a bucket) when suddenly something hit the starboard rudder and itbecame very hard to steer.  Quicklywe brought down the sails and examined what had happened. No damages to the hullor the port rudder, nor the steering. read more...

Talanta - Log Day 2: A few days in the Car Wash!

After a great start, coming in on a starback tack, gybing on the startingline just behind the starting vessel, we came off in free wind and the ridebegan. Only a few boats ahead of us and soon they were left behind. For a whileonly Brunel, a former Volvo Ocean Race boat, were ahead.  We hoisted the kite and took off. Kind of a crazy ride down the coast ofGran Canaria. Constant speed of 15 to 23 knots, flying through the waves and itfelt like we were partly submerged. It was like sailing in a car wash, extremelywet and rocking!  To avoid the wind shadow of Gran Canaria we took the gybe 20 nauticalmiles south of Gran Canaria and went westerly, keeping Tenerife 50 miles tostarboard. Also at that distance the wind shaddow from Tenerife and it’s highvolcany Teide were very clear.. read more...