Toucan - Log Day 1,2,3,4

You may be tracking us but if not we are now more than half way to the Cape Verde Islands although we should not be going there. Hopefully we will pick up some trade winds soon and turn right. Last night and today we have a westerly wind which is not what we expected so we are beating to windward in light breeze and doing about 5 knots average. Simon and Henry seem to be enjoying themselves, Simon in racing mode and Henry with not a worry in the world. We have had very little activity in the water so far. About the most exciting thing that happened so far was finding a squid on the deck the morning before last. Marion was worried in case the rest of the family came looking from him (or her). Henry and I however took a swim yesterday in about 3 km of depth as we had a period of. read more...

Toucan - Log Day 6,7,8,9,10

Perhaps we are suffering from the same doubts as others.It has been said of Columbus that he did not know where he was going, did not now where he had been, and did it all on borrowed money Perhaps a few others in the fleet may be able to identify with two out of three of those thoughts! He, Columbus, managed to cross in 21 days on at least one of his passages- no GRIBS, no GPS, no water makers, and with crew who had been ‘pressed’.It also seems that his route was to sail SW and once at 20 degrees North to then change to the course of his destination.As this is being typed (Thursday the 2nd at 16.00 hrs) we are still going in a SW direction at 15 degrees North. On Saturday the 27th we motored for some time during the day but by evening the wind changed to a force 5 SW and. read more...

Toucan - Log Day 11 Mid Way

HelloWe are now exactly mid way across the Atlantic (we know we are mid way because Marion made us bacon egg and sausage this morning). There are of course other ways to determine mid way. For example you could simply divide the distance from Las Palmas to St Lucia by two and when this distance is covered that could be half way. You could also just work it out by the lines of longitude and simply pick the half way line on the chart. You could work out how many days at sea we are and guess how many more we might be and divide that by two. But none of these methods actually work very well as sailing boats do not go in a straight line and sometimes you may have to go twice as far to do half the distance. I hope this makes sense to you non sailors so we are still happy with the B,E &S. read more...

Toucan - Log Day 12,13,14,15,16,17

Picked up the trade winds which somebody had mislaid. This was on the 15th day and at 14 degrees North – perhaps 600 miles South of where we had hoped to find them! It is a bit more difficult than finding the car keys. Since then the motion of the boat has changed to a constant yaw in a quartering sea. Cooking is now in a different dimension and the angle at which we are able to sleep has changed. Another fish and this time on Conor’s magic lure. This was identified as a ‘Wahoo’ – surely you all keep some in the freezer? It was perhaps 15 kilo and with a firm pink flesh. Originally we had difficulty identifying it but we are now confident that it is  also known as a Kingfish and is of the mackerel family. Indeed it is so well known that it appears in one of. read more...

Toucan - Log Day 18 & 19

Day 19Nearly 3 weeks at sea.Following the route which took over 3 million slaves from Africa to the Caribbean, on the surface of a sea perhaps 5 kilometres above the seabed and below a cloudless night sky revealing galaxies unknown it is poignant to consider the microscopic scale of the daily life to which some of us will return?Apart from those we love and hold dear what do we miss- the traffic, the compliance officer, marketing and sales oppos, the latest health scare, newspapers, the Today programme, X Factor, supermarket trollies, and perhaps most of all the mobile phone!Imagine taking four adults and confining them to a space no greater than a small studio flat comprising perhaps 300 sq feet and a small garden patio of 100 sq feet and requiring them to stock it with all nourishment. read more...