Hawkeye - Hawkeye ARC Blog 11 - we've arrived!

Since arriving at 03:01 on Sunday morning, Hawkeye’s crew has been enjoying the rum punches and St Lucian hospitality – as well as decks that don’t keep jigging around in those waves.  We are rapidly working down our to do list and will leave St Lucia on Saturday to explore the rest of the Caribbean.  We are hoping to spend Christmas in Antigua and New Year in St Barthelemy.  But the beauty of cruising is that if we find some place we like better—we’ll just stay there!It’s been an amazing journey, especially for our novice Atlantic sailor, Lizzie, who we think was quite brave at her tender age jump in at the deep end.  She weathered every storm in a teacup, was a dedicated sunset watcher, vibrant painter and kept the rest of the crew on our toes with her remarkable. read more...

Hawkeye - Hawkeye ARC Blog 10 - 70 miles to go, last sundowners

Trade wind sailing has resumed and our last day at sea has been rounded off with a sundowner of a glass of fizz on Hawkeye’s trampolines. As we were quaffing away the radio burst into life with the first transmissions, in French, from Martinique Radio, showing that we are getting ever closer to being served rum punches in St Lucia. Should be in before dawn! Team Hawkeye Final Sundowner. read more...

Hawkeye - ARC Blog 9 – Heading directly away from the rum punches

An unexpected incident saw us turn Hawkeye around in the middle of the night and head to help another ARC yacht which was in distress over 100 miles away, drifting out of control with a jammed rudder.This wasn't just a rude awakening for the crew – Richard was removing his latest fresh bread from the oven when the Iridium phone came to life with an urgent message - but the temporary loss of the entire ethos so far this voyage of uber-comfortable trade wind sailing, as, suddenly, Hawkeye had to head directly into the wind. Turning into three metre waves, a near gale force apparent wind and a contrary current of up to one knot was extremely unpleasant – but entirely necessary.Gone were warm sunny days with a gentle breeze over the decks – replaced with all sails furled and motoring with. read more...

Hawkeye - ARC Blog 8 – Less than 1000 miles to go....

Another milestone crossed on the good ship Hawkeye.We now we have less than 1000 miles to go!As we get closer the Caribbean islands appear in greater detail on our chart plotter so Alexandra and Jane have been studying with great detail the many and varied offerings of St Lucia in the tourist guide in anticipation; oh the places we’ll go! We still have traditional trade wind conditions and Hawkeye is happily surfing down 3 metre waves at 7 to 9 knots, with the seas sliding gracefully underneath us. The crew are impressed with Hawkeye’s performance; she is happiest with a strong wind behind her and pushes down the waves nicely as she continues on her way, unimpressed at the natural forces ranged against her.We are making around 150 nautical miles a day, which we use as our benchmark, and. read more...

Hawkeye - Hawkeye ARC Blog 7 – Halfway Across the Pond

It’s been an eventful day on The Happy Boat. Today's excitement culminated in a midday crew celebration as we passed the half-way mark to St Lucia!Our fête had a Caribbean vibe as we toasted with a small glass of bubbly and chocolate cake made by Lizzie. It was a fitting tribute to what has become one of the least arduous voyages our crew can remember.We have also had our first squall, handled impeccably by Watch Team Stephens and its crack helm the ‘Cat Whisperer’ Peter.Mostly we have been surfing down the 3 metre waves kicked up by the 20 to 25 knot trade winds, with the record speed seen so far being over 14 knots.However, as Hawkeye is built for comfort, not for speed, we have been sailing conservatively with our twin Genoa’s often reefed at night, and a lovely relaxed atmosphere in. read more...