Anam Cara - Tuesday 25th November

Tuesday 25th November25 degrees 53.8 W 17 degrees 41.6 NDistance travelled 76.3 Nautical MilesThe wind has gradually changed from about 10 knots to zero and by 5.22am we had had enough of wallowing and only travelling with the current at a speed of between 0.5 - 1 knot; So on went the engine, against the grain I must admit! 3.5 knots seemed fast by this time but well behind our original schedule however looking at the other entrant positions in the Arc; we were by no means last. There were boats behind us and to the East of us, anyway we are all praying for some wind and by 1650 we had some, not enough for the large jib etc but for the Spinnaker, yes the Spinnaker! Down came the poled out jib and Staysail up went the Spinnaker and wow it filled with wind and along we went at around 3.5. read more...

Anam Cara - Monday 24th November

Position at 12.00 Noon (23 hrs after crossing the start line)26 degrees 41 minutes north 16 degrees 36 minutes west Distance covered over the ground 108 nautical milesLog reading (course) 124 nautical milesWind far from good but managed to sail well into the night. We poled out the Jib and used the smaller whisker pole for the stay sail, looked good, we also had some main out to help reduce the rolling but progress was slow down to 3 knots at time. Naturally we wanted more but the wind was exactly as had been forecasted so we couldn't complain. This being our first complete day and we started the new watch pattern which gave each member of the crew one night off from watch duty but meant that each had a days "Mother" watch 1 in 5. Yesterday was David Bates and what a high standard he. read more...

Anam Cara - Sunday 23rd November

By eleven thirty on the 23rd November, "The Famous Five" team slipped Las Palmas and departed from Gran Canaria to cheers and much joyful well wishes from the ARC crowds. We spent the next hour enjoying the spectacle of all the ARC Vessels whilst navigating our way to Christine on a Party Boat through the jungle of boats around us- collision avoidance at its best! (well done Geoff on the helm) Finding the start line was not so easy amidst such a throng but we did and successfully crossed it only a minute or two after the gun- we were certainly in the first 25%! So to congratulateourselves we ate some freshly baked biscuits! We have spent the next 24 hrs in a pleasant predominant NE breeze of15-20 kn with the occasional gust in an acceleration zone and a lull in the night hours. Geoff. read more...

Anam Cara - Thursday 27th November

[WCC] - Error Processing Position Report  Thursday 27th NovemberPosition atNoon23 degrees 50 W         20Degrees 57 NDistance travelled 112 Nautical MilesWoke upagain  to the spinnaker taking us forward at 4/5 knots fromlimitedwinds but Anam Cara is very steady under these conditions andtherefore verycomfortable.  Listening to the weather forecast suggestswe may have come tothe end of the run for the spinnaker, well for the timebeing anyway.I said in an earlier log we are having to use the generatormore thananticipated, our batteries seem to be going done quicker than theyshouldbut we are trying to run the freezer as low as possible as well asthefridge.  We also used the radar for the first night and when youthrow theauto. read more...

Anam Cara - Saturday 29th November

Position at Noon 22 Degrees 17 N 22 Degrees 59 WDistance travelled 148 Nautical MilesRan the Genoa all night but the wind has dropped so a party went forth to replace it with the spinnaker. All connections made, just about to haul up the spinnaker when the wind suddenly started to gust up to 26 knots. Back went the Spinnaker and out came the Genoa and yes you guessed it, the wind dropped again! So we had breakfast instead, seemed the best solution under the circumstances. We suffered little to no wind for most of the day so eventually we got out the Spinnaker, a good decision albeit a bit late in the day, and once up we were flowing, picking up speed as the wind increased. Afternoon turned to evening and the speed increased and the spinnaker was flying well, the boat was sailing. read more...