UHURU of Lymington - Day 1 the start

Well it is now 1630 and we are heading S at approx 150deg. The sun is shining and we are ahead of the majority of the fleet thanks to a good start. The start really deserves more of a mention as it was probably the most crazy start that any of us have ever had! We assumed that as we were in the cruising division the other yachts would relax and take it easy! Quite the opposite! We ended up in a large bunch at the committee boat end shouting and screaming! Claire was on bow and said we were 1/2 a foot from Sotto Vento the 655 infront! A rather stressful experience! Everyone is now on deck reading books and enjoying the sun! I hear we are experiencing rather better weather than back home!Josh Yacht UHURU. read more...

UHURU of Lymington - Day 2

Day 2 – Are we nearly there yet?!We've been going for just over 24 hours now and everyone seems to be settling into the watch pattern very nicely. The kite is up and flying and the boys are constantly tweaking it to squeeze every bit of boat speed out of it. I have just baked our first 2 loaves of bread, 1 white and 1 brown. They look and smell pretty good but I'm a bit scared to cut into them just incase…..looks can be deceiving! Josh has also just done his first sextant sighting and worked out our position to within 1.8 miles, not bad. On the fishing front we had a bit of a disaster yesterday when a boat crossed our stern and took out both of our fishing lines so we had to cut them free. Luckily we have spare line on board and we did actually catch a fish this morning. However, by the. read more...

UHURU of Lymington - Day 3 Whales!!

This morning we saw the most amazing spectacle – a massive sperm whale not more than a few metres from the boat! The cry 'WHALE!' went out from the on-watch crew and the rest of us flew up the companionway steps faster than I've ever seen any of us move before. Gliding alongside our starboard side was a huge whale. We all leapt onto the bow of the boat to watch and were mesmerised as it swam alongside, dipping under the water and coming up to blow water everywhere. It was incredible! Then suddenly, when the whale was alongside our mid-ships, he turned and headed straight towards us. I was convinced we were about to get hit by the whale and leapt off the side deck just incase. Seems the whale was just a bit curious about us though as he swam right up to us and then swam slowly behind us –. read more...

UHURU of Lymington - Day 3 - so eventful there is more

The rest of day 3 The whales yesterday were spectacular however there were a few other things which made the day completely unforgettable. We flew the kite all day and half of the night and it didn't rip for a start! We also had some enormous tuna (dolphin sized!) jumping out of the water chasing flying fish next to the boat. They were at least double if not treble the size of the large one we caught! We ran to the fishing lines and started playing them but to no joy. I have to say a tuna that large would be terrifying to bring in. It would be a good story though! As the sun went down a few of us were on the aft deck eating Dorado goujons and watching it go down talking about whether or not the 'green flash' exists. This is when the sun is so low you actually see green around it as it. read more...

UHURU of Lymington - day 4 - flying fish!!

Day 4 – Flying fish! Today has been pretty uneventful following yesterday's exciting whale watching. We have however had a great day sailing, cruising with the kite up at about 9-11 knots all day so we've covered some good ground. We're still heading south with the spinnaker up but we think that tonight's the night we're going to gybe and start to head west properly.  One landmark that we've reached today is that we're now into flying fish territory. We found 6 that had made their way on deck this evening after dinner. One landed on the blind of my overhead hatch only seconds after I'd shut the blind. I missed out finding a flying fish in my bed by seconds – phew! The daily 'rot watch' turned out a couple of peppers that were starting to turn already today. Things really don't last long. read more...