Equinox - It was the middle of the night

It was the middle of the night, not sure why and never seen any evidence but it seems always to be then!We were part of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers and I’d come on watch as we approached the mid Atlantic so 1040 miles from nearest land when I noticed there was a new creaking noise in the cabin of Equinox my aluminium Vermaas Veno 441.I had found a loose windvane bolt through a creaking letterbox sort of noise 2 days earlier and set about tracking down the cause of this new, intermittent creak.With the noise only every 20seconds or so it took a while to listen to the mast, shrouds, doors and the cabin walls but the noise did seem worst in the mast.Nothing obvious around the mast but the backstay tension was reduced, usually 3.8bar on the hydraulic gauge and only 3.0 now.I’d not gone. read more...

Equinox - Franks first post

Log Sat 24th, day 4 at sea. This afternoon the sunshine returned and we fly westwards on the ocean. Remembering the first night when we discussed that the arrival might not be by Christmas and we should prepare for new year as we slowly motored west. As forecasted the wind came up and blows us now over the white horses with the best”Edmal’ of this boat yesterday of 158 miles and this with conservative techniques and no reckless racing manner. Scrolling back further it was exactly 3 months ago when I met my today’s skipper first in the Sint Annaland marina in the Netherlands. He was flying the ARC flag so his plans were easy to identify. The idea was to do the same with my wife and our boat but we had delayed the trip as not yet fully prepared.Now on board the equinox it’s a good chance. read more...

Equinox - Toms blog

PART II“I came sailing the Ocean Blue with my friend the Captain mainly to be adventurous.  As the journey unfolds by way of sailing west it appears that the sailing part is merely a side event and the meeting of new people is more the point of this experience. I am just one of many who have joined the captain on this boat as crew and was supposed to have been accompanied by a friend from home but sadly he had medical issues that forced his withdrawal. So, apart from the captain all my fellow crew members are new to me and have quickly become ‘friends’.  The accommodation itself pushes people together and a joint endeavour will also bring strangers together or create immediate discord. Thankfully, the former has been the case and new teams have been built and I can’t help but. read more...

Equinox - Herman’s post

So I’ve actually never done sailing before. Well I “test-sailed” for a few hours before coming here in my hometown Stockholm but that was in a closed archipelago, nothing like the Atlantic! So what am I doing here you may wonder. Well, back in Spring my dad told me about my far away relative uncle who was sailing around the world and that he wondered if we wanted to join a short distance. “Sure” said the bored fifteen year old also refered as me. I didn’t have a clue about boats but thought it would be a nice change from the every day life in school. A few months, three skippers exams and several knots later I’m sitting on the plane from rainy Stockholm to Las Palmas. Things doesn’t start to feel real until a couple of hours after setting sail to Cape Verde. My English feels a bit rusty,. read more...

Equinox - Post by Jacob on Music in Cape Verde.

There’s been almost a week without land in sight and as we are getting closer to Mindelo a voice starts echoing louder and louder in my head. It is the warm voice of late Cecaria Evora. The barefoot queen, she lived and worked in Mindelo and her music about longing, belonging, the sea and the tiny little islands of Cape Verde reached the whole world. For those of you who wonder what the music is like in Cape Verde, I can only recommend Cecaria Evoras popular song Sodade as a great start.. read more...