Moonflower 3 - EPILOGUE

Our final blog from Moonflower 3The last 48 hours has been one hell of a roller coaster. We arrived the evening of the 17th to a stunning Caribbean Sunset and a warm welcome from ‘Tim’ who sped out to us in his dingy and took some snaps of our arrival. A flood of emotions all around as we crossed the line as the final boat to finish the ARC this year. We were given a stellar greeting by Tony Morgan and Giles who surprised us seconds after crossing the line with 7 cold Piton Beers whilst we bobbed around in the bay drinking in the experience. After 25 days at sea, we can promise you that never, NEVER, has a cold beer tasted so good. Well. How to conclude this chapter? There’s too much to put into words or do justice to everything that has happened. It’s been an absolute adventure for all. read more...

Moonflower 3 - Final Charge

The difficult decision was made yesterday afternoon to turn the motor on, to ensure we finished the race on time. We’re pretty confident we will have among the least engine hours of the 50+ boats in the ARC, but it was a tough choice nonetheless. Unfortunately, this patch of whafty, inconsistent wind persisted too long for us to make the final stone’s throw to St Lucia before the event's closing ceremony. But even in these final chapters of our tail, we’ve been dealt some interesting cards by the ocean. Another flying fish attempted to decapitate Carrie Cushion last night whilst on watch, instead knocking her night cap beverage all over the deck. We can say with relative certainty that none of us have ever before, or ever will, be woken up in the middle of the night by a series of. read more...

Moonflower 3 - The Waiting Game

Another day in the sun, another day without wind. Gosh it's hot. We’re getting very close to crunch time on our decision on whether to turn the engine on or not. Up until now we’ve held out and sailed (hence the slow progress recently), but with 48 hours until the race ends, it’s getting close to the point of us having to motor in to make it in time. We want to hold out, we’d love to make the whole crossing wind-powered. But don’t worry, if the wind continues to not play ball, we will ensure we finish on time and put our motor on like every other boat has. It’s been a real test of our patience, but we’re still having a cracking time and enjoying the last couple of days. See you real soon!Your Moonflowersxxxxxxx. read more...

Moonflower 3 - The French Navy

We’ve been treated to a milder 24 hours with some cloud cover, a much needed break from the scorching weather we’ve had this past week. But the wind is up to its’ usual tricks again and progress has drastically slowed – frustrating with our finish line almost in reach. It goes to show how much climate change is affecting global weather patterns, as this time of year typically boasts reliable trades winds, rather than the huge inconsistencies we’ve been seeing. In other news, we had a rather exciting encounter with the French Navy yesterday evening. Our dinner was rudely interrupted by a 200 metre destroyer vessel, rearing its head over the horizon, and coming up within a mile of our starboard alarmingly quickly. Luckily, we’re aboard a Croatian boat, so there were no ill tidings or. read more...

Moonflower 3 - Groundhog Day

Good afternoon all,Today we’d like to play our ‘it’s simply too hot to write the blog’ card, because it’s simply too hot to write the blog. And we think we deserve a break.It’s currently 34 degrees but feels a lot hotter. It’s been several days since we’ve had a change in weather or schedule. We’ll try to scrape the inspirational barrel tomorrow with some new content. In the meantime, we’ll be here slow roasting. Ciao for now,Your Moonflowersxxxxxxx. read more...