Satori - Day 2: Marlin Strike!

We continued our quest to be the first boatto land in Mauretania and then decide to head for St Lucia. Had a delightful close encounter with S/Y Absolare who were taking no chances bylighting everything up on deck so that we missed her.  Must have known ofour round the cans "knocks and scrapes" reputation...Nick decided to have uswatch Master and Commander obviously as part of some crewtraining/inspiration programme.  No prizes for which role Nick was beinginspired....Not all of us made it to the end.  Gwylan (Charles Manby) thenstarted an evening of radio taunts of positions (they seem to be ahead of us),drinks (they are, we are not!) and fine dining (fresh tuna vs anexcellent pasta dish prepared by Matt and Narni).  Alan and I left. read more...

Satori - Day 3 - Dorado Day

Gently settling into a pattern supported by trade winds - long may they last.  An uneventful night - ten or so more of those please where every 3 hour watch registered 27 miles, much to the disbelief of the inveterate fiddller combination of Patrick and Nick (not that those two are competitive or anything)!.  Nick brought a little bit of Chiswick Spice to our cooking last night which left everyone gasping for both breath and admiration.  Matthew caught his first Dorado which is now waiting for the incomparable Andrew/Alan mother watch to really screw up the cooking!  A couple of gybes, some tidying and not a yacht in sight.  Winds have stayed in from the NE at 15 to 20 knots and Satori has been making around 9 knots day and night. Router Mike Broughton thinks he has us in a tunnel. read more...

Satori - Day 4 - the fight back begins!

Hampered by no spinnaker halyard, Satori has been suffering when the winds drop below 20 knots.  However the spares department, aka Alan, has been working wonders with needle, twine and splicing skills and gave us the opportunity to hoist a spinnaker.  The only next question was who was going to re feed it at the top of the 25 metre mast.  Ok all you worried wives and girlfriends, we needed a volunteer and there was only one man up to the job in the rush of applicants and, guess what, it was Alan.  Ground up by hand by Narni, safety line pinning him to the mast controlled by me, Matthew ready to catch him (!), Nick and Patrick holding her on as steady and gentle a beam reach as possible, Alan made his way to the top, refeed the halyard and returned deckwards. I am pleased to say the. read more...

Satori - Day 5: Can I borrow your parasail.....

Day 5 started really well.  Patrick treated us to scrambled eggs for breakfast, the night watches had passed without event and day broke with some downwind spinnaker sailing to enjoy. The winds took their mid day drift downwards and once they had settled at the 15 to 17 knot range, the foredeck crew went into action and up she went! Lunch with Albert (the auto helm) helming saw us effortlessly touching 10 knots of boat speed in 15 knots of breeze - the sleigh ride to St Lucia had begun. So often when you think you have got life sorted and I have to say Satori felt pretty good and then rip ....She had surfed off the back of a wave, decelerated and then filled again with a catch and bang, we had a three or four part spinnaker.  Not what the doctor ordered.  I am pleased to say that Alan. read more...

Satori - Day 8 - Freddie's last flight....

Sunday was like any other sunday Freddie could remember for a number of years.  He and the boys, his squadron of flying fish, had been out celebrating yet another successful Saturday afternoon display in front of admiring middle aged flying fish and adoring young flying fish or "freshers" as the boys liked to call the groupie girl hangerson.  Freddie had found the transition from warrior flying fish to civilian flying fish tough when peace had finally been agreed between the North and the South following the Great Flying Fish War.  But the leader of the North, a fish called Tony, had a keen understanding of the benefits of PR and team morale and asked Freddie to keep his crack fighter squadron together and take warrior flying to the waterways of his kingdom in celebration of the feats of. read more...