Northern Child - Blog Day 16

Very light air during the day threatened to push backour ETA at St. Lucia on Thursday by more than a couple ofhours.  We first tried the a-symmetrical kite to give us someadditional power, but it forced us to sail a bit too high a course for ourdestination (we will visit Cuba on some other occasion!), so the afternoonwatch changed it to a symmetrical spinnaker and correct our course toa 270 degrees or due West, a bearing straight for the twoPitons.  Winds are picking up to to a nice 20 Kts as I write this andour current ETA is now around 2 PM local time Thursday.    Another treat this last night at sea is the factthat we have a relatively late moonrise and clear skies dotted with millions ofstars, an equal delight for. read more...

Northern Child - Blog Day 15

With the 300-mile mark passed today, the countdown hasnow truly started. With the winds getting slightly lighter, we decided to put upthe asymmetrical spinnaker. This additional power added a nice 2 kts to our speed and put our expected arrival timeat mid-morning Thursday. With winds freshening a bit to around 17 kts during thenight, we decided to take the kite down again to make our nocturnal livesslightly easier. We might put it up again when daylight breaks. Most crew are getting anxious to finally get to St.Lucia after two-and-a-half weeks at sea. Discussion topics have turned towhether it is a shower or a proper bed that one looks most forward to, or justsimply a nice pint of beer.... or two, or three. Or whom will you call first tosay that you crossed the Atlantic on wind. read more...

Northern Child - Blog Day 11

Northern Child Day 11 What do you think of the music ? Well I don't really know. I am not listening other thanto the snuffling of the sails and the splash of the waves.On a voyage you must be able to switch off, appreciatethe nothingness of the ocean and not have any feeling of restlessness and ennui. This is not easy for some people. Yet it is important to try and reach some sort ofcontentment and strike a bargain with the at times harsh and difficultconditions.The Watch is the basic tenet, code and foundation oflife on board. First look after yourself, not from selfishness, butbecause if you do not you will become a burden to others. Secondly look after your watch, then look after theother watch and finally the "Officers". Everyone is getting along and looking after each otherso. read more...

Northern Child - Northern Child Blog Day 14

With apologies to the weather gods for having suggestedyesterday that the ARC was reminiscent of a "bus ride", I takeback everything I wrote in yesterday's blog.  Within hours of sending the blog, cloudscovered the sky for the first time since we started on Nov.  24, and notmuch later we were in the midst of our first Tropical Revolving Storm(TRS).Winds increased from a steady 15 to 20 kts toas much as 40 kts within a minute, changing direction from East to South East with lightning all around us lightingup a pitch dark sky. As a sign of the wind's brutal force, theheadsail pole track broke off the mast creating a moment of concernfor the safety of the sails and crew, but thanks to expert sailing ofArie, we. read more...

Northern Child - Northern Child Blog Day 13

I have read more than a few times that doing the ARC wasa "life-changing" experience. I don't recall many instances, however, in whichthis claim was explained or substantiated over and beyond its rhetorical value.For me, still about 500 miles away from completing it, it's obviously prematureto say whether doing the ARC 2014 will be "life-changing" or not. What I can sayis how life on board is changing the experience. I am a paying customer on a charter boat and decided todo the ARC to satisfy a long-felt desire to do some long-haul sailing followinga life-long affair with dinghy sailing. I recently retired from a busy andmassively fulfilling career in the international news business. Taking the timeto disengage completely was not a luxury I could ever afford. I have crossedthis and. read more...