Moonstruck - Happy Thanksgiving!

November 26th 2009Distance traveled: 717 Nautical Miles (at noon UTC)Distance to go: 2,287 Nautical Miles (est.)Position: 21.19N 23.14W Got out of town on a boatgoin' to the southern islandssailin' a reachbefore a following sea.She was makin' for the tradeson the outsideand the downhill runto Rodney Bay.Off the wind on this heading lie the Cape Verdeswe got forty feet on the waterlinenicely making way.I have my shipand all her flags are a flyin'she is all I have leftand Moonstruck is her name.Happy Thanksgiving with love to all our American family and friends!. read more...

Moonstruck - A Personal Best for Moonstruck!

November 23rd 2009Distance traveled: 178 Nautical Miles (at noon UTC)Distance to go: 2,700 Nautical Miles (est.)Position: 26.41N 17.11W A PERSONAL BEST FOR MOONSTRUCK! Two hundred and twenty yachts crossed the line yesterday at 1pm UTC. Half immediately set spinnakers and headed off down the coast of Gran Canaria while the other half including ourselves headed offshore to pick up more wind. It took a while to settle down at sea after 6 weeks in the marina. The wind built during the day and night to around 30kts from astern before dropping to the more pleasant 20-25 knots that we are experiencing now. Our first 24 hour run was a personal best for Moonstruck of 186 Nautical Miles! At night the stars are spectacular but are nearly matched by the numerous lights of other yachts surrounding. read more...

Moonstruck - We Match Our Personal Best Again!

November 24th 2009Distance traveled: 364 Nautical Miles (at noon UTC)Distance to go: 2,560 Nautical Miles (est.)Position: 24.26N 19.00W GOT HERB?Day three and we matched yesterday's run with another 186NM today. Conditions have settled somewhat with the Atlantic swell filling in and no more large rogue waves or cross-waves. It makes for a much more comfortable ride and all the crew got some sleep last night. We listened to Herb last night. Herb Hilgenberg provides weather routing for transatlantic yachts from his HF radio in Toronto Canada and he came in pretty clear and told us to head south beyond 25 deg N to stay in the stronger winds. Alan's LogWHERE ARE THE BUTTERMELTS?Much more pleasant sea-state today so the ride is less shattering, bright sunshine and warmer temps too! Lala is. read more...

Moonstruck - Shattered. Scattered. Shredded.

November 25th 2009Distance traveled: 538 Nautical Miles (at noon UTC)Distance to go: 2,350 Nautical Miles (est.)Position: 23.21.44WWe broached this morning while I was on watch. We had the APC up all night in 10 - 15 knot winds. When I came on watch at 6:00am the wind was increasing to about 18 - 20 (probably not a good time to be flying the APC) I was hoping we could take it down as soon as it was light enough. At about 7:30 the wind was stable at about 12 knots, so I thought I would leave the helm long enough to make a cup of instant coffee. Just as I was stirring my coffee the boat started to heel severely, then it just laid over as a strong gust hit us. Everything went flying. The liquor cabinet door swung open and all the glass wine glasses (souvenirs from a wine festival in Malta). read more...

Moonstruck - Sail Repairs

November 29th 2009Distance traveled: 1,238 Nautical Miles (at noon UTC)Distance to go: 1,766 Nautical Miles (est.)Position: 19.59N 31.57W It is unbelieveable how quickly the sails start to deteriorate in the trade winds. Our Jib has a sunbrella (canvas) cover stitched to its borders which protects the sail from UV deterioration while the sail is furled (rolled up on the headstay). During the night the stitching for this cover started to give way and as the cover came free of the sail it started to flog which would quickly damage the sail itself if not attended to. So we hove to and pulled the Jib down. This took all four of us. Sam and I on the foredeck and Joan and Lauren steering and helping to haul the unruly sail back into the cockpit for examination and repair. All in about 20knots. read more...