La Medianoche - Day 15

Day 15 La MedianocheOk ok, - we had our share of shifts, rain and gusts in the last days. More than enough. They where really slowing us down. But before we got really tired, the sun came out again and - what a wonder – today on day 15, the day before arrival we have finally set the parasailor. Great sailing. The big colourful one will not stay up all night, but it is good to have at least a bit of trade feeling in the end. Well the wind is picking up again and we should get prepared now... see you tomorrow in St. Lucia. read more...

La Medianoche - Day 13..?

Yiiiehaaa!The fast and the furious – this ARC will propably go down in history as one of the shortest...We had hoped for a quick journey, but this really looks good! We very rarely had winds below 20 knots, averaging rather 25. Which means the poor parasailor has not seen daylight yet. But we are speeding along anyway and looking forward to arrive on Thursday. Our weather router Meeno Schrader has led us brilliantly around the worst of squalls and calms and we have enjoyed every mile so far. Enough wind and waves – thanks to Aeolus. The first wave ever that climbed into our cockpit yesterday, left me totally soaked and my crewmates crying with laughter. We have very delicious, and more than enough food! So we did not even start fishing, because beef and lamb had to be eaten first. Just. read more...

La Medianoche - Rock'n Roll

7th day at sea - rock'n roll - wet and wild. Everything is crusted in salt. Yesterday, just as breakfast was ready on the cockpit table a nasty wave crawled in and the coffee was well salted, too. We now switch to salon menus - much dryer. Right now our first freshly baked bread smells incredibly good in the oven. But it is rocking in there as well, so the creation is called atlantic bumper bread. La Medianoche is dancing her own dance. It seems like these confused seas never end. Is it tiring? Yes! We love the wind, still 20-25 knots but smooth sailing is definitely different. Every time it gets too wild, dolphins come by to cheer us up! Yesterday we celebrated our first 1000 miles with a beautiful sundowner. We are all well and happy, but looking forward to some calmer seas. As we are. read more...

La Medianoche - What a wonderfull start

Wouw.Wouw.Wouw! Fast over the line and with good speed and spirits heading first south and now west. The first day at sea was nothing but a perfect ten! With surfs up to 16 knots, a beautifull rainbow, dolphins in the sunset, 208nm/24h - what else could we ever wish for? Since it got a littler rougher and last night saw us with reefed main and genoa in rainy squalls up to 38 knots from the ENE. But as long as the wind is not slowing down our progress west is very much appreciated. A broken halyard shackle sent me up in the mast yesterday - and I can tell you: even on a catamaran its rough up there in this breeze! But we are all well and happy, though still getting into routine before we start fishing tomorrow. Fair winds from La Medianoche, Mareike. read more...

La Medianoche - Crew of "La Medianoche" complete and ready for "takeoff"

One more day to go... excitement on our boat is building up! So many adventures in one single trip - and we haven't even started yet. One big problem WAS:  How do we get a free drink at the wonderful ARC sundowner, if we arrive late? The simple answer was: Just be early, meet lots of other great people, relax after a very busy day of preparations and just enjoy. Well we did, and still do. Another adventure WAS: Will our crew be ever complete? Good news is: Skipper Mareike always kept up her good spirit and now we finally are complete and we are SO happy about it! Who cares about a watermaker that does all sorts of funny things, except making water, if some crew members suddenly have to deal with some (not so) funny health issues. Well Josef is here now, tons of beautiful local. read more...