Neverland - Neverland leg 2 - Days 15 - 16

Day 15 – 16Not long to go now!! Thankfully we have had a steady 10 – 16 knots of wind for the last 72 hours which has meant our concerns over lack of diesel are no longer plaguing us. We’ve added our last 20 litres into the tank and Tom has estimated we have enough for 13 hours of motoring should the need arise. Looking at the forecast we don’t think we will need it but having spent the first week of the trip chasing the wind south only for it to either out run us or die as soon as we catch it, none of us are prepared to bet money on it.Tao and Toccata, also with the ARC+ fleet showed up on our AISthis morning and we can actually see Tao. We haven’t physically seen another boat for about 2 weeks. We’re keeping a close eye on Le Soleil skippered by our friend Kristian. We have two. read more...

Neverland - Neverland leg 2 - Days 13 - 14

Day 13 – 14If anyone has every wondered if it’s possible for a person to levitate I can confirm it absolutely is… after 24 hours of squalls, lying in a cabin in a three metre swell and confused sea. When we eventually reach land I intend on patenting ‘the sailor sleep suit’. It will revolutionise sleeping onboard and simply requires; a onesie, fitted sheep, copious amounts of Velcro and a friend to peel you off in the morning. The Dragons in the Den will love it.Last night we all could have done with anything that would have kept us in a sleep-able position. Dad was flying most of the night (and not from his drug overdose), I decided lying on my stomach and wedging my arms under the bench cushion was the best way to ensure I didn’t end up under the saloon table. Anyone would be forgiven. read more...

Neverland - Neverland leg 2 - Days 11 - 12

Day 11 – 12Having travelled roughly 1150 nautical miles without a squall in sight we were starting to wonder if we might make it across to St.Lucia without being hammered by the wrath of a mid Atlantic squall. Ohhhhh how wrong we were. The typical Atlantic squall usually comes at you from behind. They kind of look like a big mushroom cloud or the aftermath of an atomic bomb depending on the size of it. The top is a towering mass of thick cumulonimbus cloud, underneath that a thick line of dark grey and below that a trunk of torrential rain. As well as torrential rain, they bring strong winds (the wind speed can triple in a matter of seconds) and a lumpy sea. By day you can spot them lurking in the distance but on a moonless night they creep up on you and if you’re not careful you could. read more...

Neverland - Neverland leg 2 - Days 9-10

Day 9 – 10 HALF WAY!Spirits were high onboard Neverland as we crossed the halfway point. 1040 miles done, 1040 to go! We are still making slow progress with a maximum of 8 knots of wind but as it is halfway day we shall not dwell on what we don’t have and instead look forward to what we do have – freshly baked brownies cooked by our resident Mary Berry aka Tom!! Mmmmmmm. I’m stuffing my face with one as we speak which is annoying Tom because it means I’m dropping brownie crumbs into the keyboard of his Mac book. He looked particularly perturbed when I shook it over the side of the boat. The only other times I’ve seen him move that quickly is when the Dominos pizza guy rings the doorbell. We had all decided that going for a dip in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean was an opportunity not to. read more...

Neverland - Neverland Leg 2 - Days 7 & 8

We have no wind. Ok no wind is a bit of an exaggeration but I consider 6 knots of wind resulting in a maximum boat speed of 3.5 knots the equivalent to having no wind. We have been bobbing along and sometimes it feels like our only forward momentum in the gentle nudge from the following sea. Light winds mean slamming sails which, for a long enough period of time, is enough to send most people stir crazy.We’ve tried sailing at a wind angle of 140 degrees and putting the Spinnaker up (or ‘tissue’ as my friend Wendy calls it). We picked up speed which was great…but the angle we were sailing meant we were almost going backwards…not great. The tissue came down and we have reverted back to the typical goose wing set up.HOWEVER…we will not let our horribly slow progress drag us into a state of. read more...