Halcyon of Hebe - Halcyon on the ARC - Epilogue

Well, the ARC is over. A great event and and great fun.The crewsand boats are dispersing to the 4 corners of the world.Some arecontinuing their journey on the World ARC, many are stayting in theCaribbean for a period, while some are already back in damp, drearynorthern Europe.On Halcyon, Sarah has gone back to England to relieve a beleaguedhusband, who had been defending bravely on all fronts but was inneed of reinforcements.Rachel has come out to see Alistair - you'llbe able to read of their travels in the travel section of the DailyMail around new year.Lynda has come out and taken Steve off to a nicehotel.Jo, Bridget and Lizzie arrived on Friday so that we 5 aretogether again after what seems an age.It is very good to be withthem again.Last night was the ARC prizegiving.A fun party. read more...

Halcyon of Hebe - Halcyon on the ARC - Epilogue

Well, the ARC is over. A great event and and great fun.The crewsand boats are dispersing to the 4 corners of the world.Some arecontinuing their journey on the World ARC, many are stayting in theCaribbean for a period, while some are already back in damp, drearynorthern Europe.On Halcyon, Sarah has gone back to England to relieve a beleaguedhusband, who had been defending bravely on all fronts but was inneed of reinforcements.Rachel has come out to see Alistair - you'llbe able to read of their travels in the travel section of the DailyMail around new year.Lynda has come out and taken Steve off to a nicehotel.Jo, Bridget and Lizzie arrived on Friday so that we 5 aretogether again after what seems an age.It is very good to be withthem again.Last night was the ARC prizegiving.A fun party. read more...

Halcyon of Hebe - What a welcome!

Pos: 14:04.47N60:56.94W What a welcome!We're now in Rodney Bay, St Lucia, gradually returning to earth both literally and metaphorically after successfully completing our crossing of the Atlantic. Going back 48 hours, we were about 70Nm off St Lucia in very light winds.During the night we alternated between engine and sail as the wind rose and faded between about 4-8knots.Anything over 6 knots allowed us to get 3knots towards Rodney Bay - which was about the threshold at which it was worthwhile from a competition point of view. Unfortunately, we needed to motor the last few miles across the line and finished shortly after sunrise.  We crept into Rodney Bay marina feeling as though we were entering a different world.Different people, different. read more...

Halcyon of Hebe - Nearly There

Pos: 14:17N 59:48W Light winds prevail.  Everywhere is virtually still and the water has a glassy sheen. We are currently in the "Engine Running " period between attempt numbers 173 and 174 to see if we have enough wind to make reasonable progress. The routine is quite straightforward. The wind creeps above 5 knots Rob Ums and Ahs for a bit and then says we had better "give it a go" The large jib is raised and the main set to a suitably optimistic setting. The wind drops to about 4 knots, the boat speed perhaps having got to 4.5 knots before falling back to 2.5. We wait for a while in eager anticipation of a slight gust: and enjoying the quiet of a very slow moving boat with no engine running. The wind finally gives up and we restart the engine, lower the. read more...

Halcyon of Hebe - Finns and fins

Pos 14:40N 57:02W The wind may be frustrating, but it all happens out in the Atlantic. Last night, following the Finnish national anthem on the VHF, we arranged to meet the crew of Suzanne for a drink.We were both motoring on a converging course and a couple of hours later we were side by side.Slowing to 2 knots, we closed and let Alistair and Steve go aboard Suzanne, whilst we hosted Ulla and Peter.We had a great mid-Atlantic party - the Finns (actually 3 Finns and 1 very merry Swede) were extremely happy and hearty and great company.We had a lovely drink sailing together into the sunset. Throughout this trip, Sarah has been asserting to everybody within earshot that she's not married to any us, or James' mother.The Finns just smiled. read more...