Degree of Latitude - Day 16 - Almost There!

Hello All,So we are down to the final few miles (relatively speaking anyway), right now we have just over 240 miles to run, so at current boat speed we should hopefully be in Rodney Bay in around 36 hours. As you might imagine, we are watching the wind and boat speed like a hawk, noting every increase (or decrease) and trying to calculate what impact it might have on our arrival time!On the domestic front, we finally had to get rid of the remaining leek and also half a dozen beetroot, so an impromtu game of deck rounders was required - all went well, however we are still finding bits of leek on the boat 24 hours later...Since dining has formed such a key element of this passage, Sunday evening required the appropriate meal, so the crew worked together and we produced a full Sunday. read more...

Degree of Latitude - Day 12 - Squalls

Hi All,So an interesting last 24 hours, yesterday the sunshine finally broke and we had cloudy skies, punctuated by regular squalls (gusting 25-3Kts) and heavy rain showers. Fortunately you can track the squalls as they close up behind you via the radar (picture attached), so we were largely able reef the headsails in advance and to change course by a few degrees and have them pass down one side or the other of us, however there were a couple we couldn't avoid and both John and Tony got soaked by them during their watches..On the plus side however the strong winds did mean we covered over 170NM yesterday and this means we crashed through the 1000NM barrier and we now only have around 815 NM left to run as I type this, so only a short distance to go relatively speaking!Fortunately the. read more...

Degree of Latitude - Day 09 - Half Way!

Greetings All,So progress indeed, we have now reached the halfway point (slightly less than 1400 miles left to run) and the wind has picked up and we are currently making good progress under twin headsails. The weather continues to be warm and sunny, with the gribs suggesting the wind and general weather should continue for the coming few days at least, although there are some light winds we need to try to avoid as we reach the weekend. We have unfortunately now slipped to second in class, so all efforts are now on improving our boat speed and reclaiming our crown!We finally managed to spot dolphins yesterday, we had a small pod swimming around the boat and playing in the surf around the bow for around 20 mins, which was very nice, however we are also still hopeful of spotting some. read more...

Degree of Latitude - Day 7 - Bread and Fishes

Hello All,Well Sunday (day 7) has now passed and although the wind has now dropped slightly, it does mean we have been able to re-ring the twin headsails and the sea state has eased, which has finally, largely stopped the dreadful rolling of the last few days. The tropical weather continues (as one might perhasps expect in the tropics!) and temperature is also steadily increasing, and we have now reached the stage where its still shorts and t-shirts through the night watches, which is very pleasant indeed.Overall, we are progressing well, we have covered well over 1000NM in our first week and the forecast continues to look good for the comming days.Day 7 also heralded the opening of the DoL bakery, with us attempting to bake our first loaf - despite carefully following instructions and. read more...

Degree of Latitude - Day 5 - Emergency Maintenance

Greetings to you all from the Tropics (on the basis we offically sailed into the Tropic of Cancer on Wednesday at around Lunchtime). We are making good progress and were now firmly headed West with good winds, although the sea state is currently making for a very rolly passage which is a little uncomfortable, but we are coping! So in general all is going well onboard DoL, however due to the fairly unpleasant sea state the electric kettle took a tumble and has required a number of hours of emergency repair, however after stoic work and some new improvised parts by Mark and John, I am pleased to report the kettle is now repaired and the regular tea and coffee service has been resumed! You will all no doubt be pleased to hear that things are also going well on the catering front, however. read more...