Walkabout II - Blog Tue 24/11/2009

N 26 37 W 18 12Approximately 190 nm southwest of the Canary IslandsWe had an exciting start to the ARC yesterday.  We were seen off by a brass band (which marched right down every dock playing for the sailors), a fire fighting tug (spraying water into the sky) and crowds of well-wishers.  It was quite a sight.  We sailed 160 nm yesterday in trade winds ranging from 18-25 knots.  The wind strengths have presented some challenges.  We have a parasailor we affectionately call 'the beast'.  Today in 20 knots true wind the beast became self-aware and realising that it was indeed a beast it began tearing apart the boat.  First a broken snatch block, then two bent stauncions.  We finally got the beast down and licking our wounds, admitted the score was beast one, walkabout II crew zero. . read more...

Walkabout II - Blog

N 23.54W 22.01Approximately 325 nm south-west of the Canary IslandsI am pleased to report that 'the beast' has been tamed. Yesterday in 12-17 knot winds we hoisted, flew and doused the beast like champs. Not only did the beast do our bidding and pull the boat forward at excellent speeds, but it was well mannered. We now feel confident that we have taken the beast and created a domesticated animal that will do our bidding. That said, we're still not game to let it out of it's bag above 20 knots. Best not to tempt fate.Patrick has been hailed by his niece Debbie as 'the best cook in Brug' (short for Birmingham). Last night we had a beef stroganoff with carrots and eggplant over rice with a side dish of mashed potatoes with shallots. Now, I don't want anybody to get jealous, but it was. read more...

Walkabout II - North Atlantic

N23.43W25.26Well a big hello to you all, From the sunny but not so windy North Atlantic Ocean and indeed from Barry, Ralphy,Patrick,Dean Martin and of course Martin Here we are doing well in the crossing with our latest gadget,its a huge Spinnaker and we call her the BEAST but we really love her , she can be a bit of a cat at times but when the gets the wind at her heels there aint nowt to take her place .. as you may gather I am somewhat taken in by her, She is bright red and has a mouth a bit like Mick Jagger,,,Well its actually a hole with a Parasail shoved in it but hey. We had some good information given to us today about our position in the Rally and our position over all which was very interesting (Alas I am not allowed to tell you for obvious reasons) but you would be right. read more...

Walkabout II - Ripping Along

N 22.44W 31.29Ripping along between 8-9 knotsThis morning we let the beast out of its bag two hours earlier. What we didn't know was that the seas would build and we would spend the whole day doing our best to keep the beast on the leash. It's been tiring, but we've been ripping along at 8 to 9 knots and occasionally higher all day. Our run from 4 pm yesterday to 4 pm day was 173 nm. To put that into perspective--it's bloody fast. We'll be dropping the kite in an hour. Several boats are running their parasailors 24 hours a day, but we're a bit too conservative for that. We've discovered that if we trim the sails correctly we can sail along at 7 to 8 knots under main and genoa and actually sleep at night. Now there's an interesting idea.Patrick has continued to turn out some amazing. read more...

Walkabout II - BLOG

N 21.36W 33.35From the mid-AtlanticAfter a magnificent day yesterday we had an awful night. Plagued by minor squalls that would shoot the wind speed from 18 to 26 knots and overpower the hydrovane self-steering system, no body slept terribly well. Eventually we bore on to a reach and settled for a few less knots of boat speed and much better sleep. Now there's a bargain. After a sleep-in this morning we put up the beast (our pet name for our Parasailor) and switched on the autopilot. Voila! The autopilot is 100 times better at steering the boat than we are. So we've agreed to burn a little diesel to free ourselves up for the more important things in life, like fishing, reading, sleeping and eating. Speaking of fishing, the fish have done everything but laugh at us. Last night I (Barry). read more...