Logs

Cleone - ARC SITREP 23

WE ARRIVED IN RODNEY BAY ST LUCIA AT 0000 UTC, all welland love and best wishes to you all!   Rum punches were well received.  James, Francesca, Louisa,Kaya. read more...

Cleone - ARC 2024 SITREP 22

 At 1623HRS UTCcame the longed-for hail of Land Ho! As he heard the answering cry from thehelmsman on deck, there was a break in the voice of the Lookout, perchedprecariously in the Crow's Nest near the top of Cleone's graceful (he meanschunky - Ed) main mast. Soon the rest of the crew were thundering up thecompanionway to check that this much longed-for event really had finallyoccurred. It was 3 weeks and nearly two days since the last sight of GranCanaria, and some of the crew had given up hope (really? -Ed) of ever seeingland again. Now surliness has turned to smiles, jokes are being cracked andeveryone is trying to decide what they are going to have tattooed where (really? Ed).Actually theonly sign that any unusual event is about to take place is that the Skipper hasshaved for. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE ARC 2024 SITREP 21

 Today was a dayof proper Trade Wind sailing. I almost wroteperfect. The perfect day would have been with steady wind, full sails and 6knots on the clock leaving us 144 miles closer to St Lucia. As it was, we had aday's run of 122 miles, which left us 119 miles closer to St Lucia with 190 orso miles to go. The Skipper has sent a guarded Estimate Time of Arrival to RallyControl, and has been walking around with his fingers crossed ever since. Youwill have to wait in a state of tension and expectancy until the reveal, thetime of which is also a closely guarded secret. The Crew have also sealed theirguesses selecting the time that we cross the finish line, and they too will berevealed in due course. I suspect that they will all be provedwrong!The rest of theday had its usual challenges. read more...

Ingrid - Framme! 13 december

Kl 13.04 den 13 december korsade Ingrid mållinjen.Då har vi avverkat runt 2800 sjömil över Atlanten.Vi är så stolta och nöjda. Nu säger jag, Alexandra som skrivit den här bloggenOVER AND OUT! Hoppas ni tyckt om att följa vår resa.. read more...

Cleone - ARC 2024 SITREP 20

It has beenanother routine day at sea on our epic voyage, with a modest day's run of 118miles. However, for the first time there are no missing miles, and we are now118 miles closer to St Lucia with only 310 miles to go. Modest trade-winds withthe occasion squall have kept the crew busy, and a claim for a sail-changerecord has been lodged. In other news, the fridge is back online and the Skipperhas owned up to a 'procedural error'.The Port Watch'sclaim for a record six sail changes in one four-hour watch has been sent to theAuthorities for ratification, and has not yet been officially recognized.However, a check by the Scrutineers has revealed that as of 0500UTC on13th December the crew of Cleone had notched up over 90 sail changessince leaving Las Palmas, and the forecast squalls. read more...

Adrienne - Angekommen!!! Final Destination St.Lucia

13.12.2024 … Auf zu neuen Ufern – Tag 20 auf See…10:47 Uhr Ortszeit im Ziel !!!; knapp über 19 Tage; mehr als 5200 kmDie letzte Nacht auf See.Der Nachthimmel scheint nochmal alle Reserven zu mobilisieren und schenkt uns einen wunderschönen Blick nach oben. Der Motor läuft, die Crew ist ruhig und in Gedanken versunken. Was mag jeder einzelne denken. Ich (Sören) empfinde besondere Ruhe, Freude über das Erlebte, Neugier auf das Bevorstehende und eine Traurigkeit, dass dieser beeindruckende und riesige Ozean bald hinter uns liegt.Der letzte Morgen auf See.Am Horizont im Westen tauchen erste Lichter auf. Es sind noch 30 nm bis zur oberen Landspitze der Insel. An Backboard kann man St. Lucia und am Steuerbord Martinique erahnen. Der Nachthimmel wird nun langsam vom Sonnenaufgang im Osten. read more...

Musketeer of Cowes - Musketeer Blog

13th DecemberVery quiet this morning! I came on watch about an hour before sunrise to calm seas and very little wind. Needless to say we are motoring. Last stretch… about 260nm to our waypoint, at the most northern tip of St Lucia. Currently we expect to arrive there in the early hours of Sunday morning! Although, if the wind picks up as predicted on Saturday, we may fly towards the finish!Another very different dawn with clouds stretched across the horizon. However, today, I think, will develop into cloudless skies and blazing sunshine!Just so you don’t think it’s blue skies and sunshine here all of the time, I thought I’d better tell you about the last couple of days! After our great kite runs we encountered a different weather pattern - tropical storms! Overnight the cloud built and I. read more...

Ingrid - Dag 18 - 12 december

Hej alla därhemma!Nu ligger vi på 72 plats och har bara 14 sjömil till mitten av fältet.I skrivandes stund har vi 97 sjömil kvar till St Lucia och om vi kör i 7 knop så kommer vi fram mellan kl 12-14 den 13 december.Våra kompisar Neptuno kom i hamn vid kl 15 idag den 12. Vi gratulerar massor men vi startade 27,5 h senare så när vi kommer i mål på vår ETA så har vi ändå seglat snabbare än dem och den tävlingen är ju den viktigaste;)Idag har det varit otroligt varmt och det har tvättats kläder för fullt, solats, slappats och vi har haft frågesport som vanns av Team 1 - a.k.a JACarna.Vi fick många radio calls under dagen då vi närmade oss flera båtar i fältet. Det kom ett samtal från en Kroatisk kvinna, som berättade att hon heter Ingrid. Roligt sammanträffande ute på Atlanten! Senare var. read more...

Snowmane - Snowmane - Final Day

Land ho! It's 8:18am Snowmane time on Friday December 13th. 7:18am St Lucia time. The sun rose an hour ago and revealed land ahead. We can see both St Lucia where we are headed and Martinique over to our right. The water still looks like glass. Not sailingconditions but it's absolutely beautiful. Over to our left, not too far, is another ARC boat motoring along at a similar speed. There are quite a few other boats that we can't see but we know are also very close, all coming in for a similar finish time. The boat on our left is the onethat rescued a catamaran many days ago. The catamaran had lost their rudder and were taking on water. They called a mayday and were picked up by this boat. They have done over 2000 miles on the one boat. I wonder what emotions they are all going through. read more...

Ingrid - Lucia - Land i sikte - 13 december

Glad lucia!Vi väcktes av Herman, Anki och Cicci som kom och lussade för oss!Till frukost serverades nybakta lussebullar, risgrynsgröt, glögg, pepparkakor och tomteskum.Vi ser land och det känns helt overkligt att vi faktiskt korsat Atlanten och snart kommer ta på oss röda byxor och stå med våra sjöben på fast mark.Uppdaterar med sista bloggen för denna resan när vi kommit i land.Ha en fin lucia!. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE ARC 2024 SITREP 19

I may haveconfused the SITREPs (SITREP 17 accompanies this one) but this has been nothinglike as confusing as the weather!During the last24 hours, we have been through the longest and hardest deluge of persistent rainthat any of us have ever experienced, accompanied by the longest and most vividlightning show that any of us have ever experienced. During these storms, thewinds have randomly switched direction, boxing the compass as they did so, andvaried in strength from less than five to gusts of more than 40 knots. Atvarious points thunder has accompanied the almost continuous lightning.Throughout it all, the crew have remained calm, cheerful and enthusiastic, andCleone has dealt with it imperturbably. The storm, (or was it a continuous seriesof squalls?) started at about noon. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE ARC SITREP 17

As far as I canmake out, I have not sent this SITREP. So  here it is: oday itrained, we are planning to refuel at sea and we are in a state of doubt aboutthe weather forecast.We might just aswell have stayed in England, except that the rain was warm instead of beingfreezing cold. It was 5am UK time, ie 3am ship's time, duringFrancesca-the-Mate's watch. Kaya and the Skipper were sound asleep in theirbunks. We had enjoyed various rain showers up to now, and I do mean enjoyed,because they had never been hard, driven rain and they have provided coolingrelief from the tropical sun. At 1am and for the next two hours, we had beentreated to a spectacular display of lightning and the odd rumble of thunder.This had caused us to turn off our radios and the AIS, and to check that thespare. read more...

Adrienne - Letzte Nacht auf See

12.12.2024 … Auf zu neuen Ufern – Tag 19 auf See…19:18 Uhr 14°18,12’N 059°05,18’ W, 108 nm (!) to go.Das Meer ruht!Nur noch eine hauchfeine Brise zieht über uns hinweg. Der Motor lief die ganze Nacht.Das immer gleiche und monotone Brummen ermüdet die Crew der Adrienne. Die Windstille bringt weitere Hitze mit sich. Wie mögen sich die Entdecker der neuen Welt gefühlt haben? Die Segel hängen schlaf herunter. Die See nur durch die leichte Dünung bewegt. Ein leises Auf und Nieder, das Knarren des Schiffes und das zuneige gehende Wasser muss die Mannschaften der Zeit der Entdecker zum Wahnsinn getrieben haben. Welch ein Glück haben wir. Die Segel werden eingerollt, das Bimini spendet Schatten, der Kühlschrank läuft und der Watermaker hat die Wassertanks bis zum Rand gefüllt. Trotzdem kann man. read more...

Ingrid - Dag 17 - 11 december

Hej på er från ett varmt Atlanten!I skrivandets stund har vi 251 sjömil kvar till St Lucia och vi satsar fortfarande på att hamna halvvägs i fältet. Som vi skrev tidigare idag så har det varit en varm och solig dag och den har spenderats i vattnets tecken på många sätt och vis. Det började med badstopp i ett 29,4 gradigt Atlanten och det var mycket uppskattat av alla. Man märkte verkligen att saltnivån hade ökat i vattnet.Till lunch blev det Ingrids ”julbord” som bestod av rester; lammgryta, Libanesisk Bulgurpilaff, köttbullar, korv och resterna av gårdagens fisk. Vi har varit väldigt duktiga på att ta tillvara på precis all mat vi har lagar och har mat så det räcker till vi kommer fram. Vi köpte fina mangos på marknaden och de var enligt instruktion från handlaren i olika stadier av. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE ARC 2024 SITREP 18

 The refuellingwas successful, but the fridge decided to give up the ghost, hopefullytemporarily, and as for the weather, words fail.In the event,the refuelling went well. Each of us was allocated a role to play; Louisa mindedthe helm and Cleone, Francesca looked after the tools and stores needed, Kayahefted the cans and removed the tops, and the Skipper, crouched on the lee-railbut secured by his life-line, removed the filler-cap and carefully syphoned theprecious fuel from the 22 litre cans and into the tank. A cupful might have beenspilt, but it was quickly mopped up, it was raining but the filler cap was inthe lea of Cleone's Cuddy and little, if any, got into the tank and nobodydropped either the can-tops or the filler cap into the sea. The crew and theSkipper ate lunch feeling. read more...

Adrienne - Dart nach dem Sturm

11.12.2024 … Auf zu neuen Ufern – Tag 18 auf See…19:16 Uhr 14°30,40’N 056°43,92’ W, 245 nm (!) to go.Die Nacht:Rotglühende Wolken, wie Engelsflügel gleich, faszinieren die Crew der Adrienne am Abend. Lange stehen sie als Zeichen für die bevorstehende Nacht am abendlichen Himmel. Langsam sind die ersten Planeten und Sterne sichtbar. Die Venus macht den Anfang eines atemberaubenden Anblicks. In als dieser Schönheit mischt sich Wetterleuchten am Horizont. Schwarze Wolken vereinigen sich zu einer Gewitterfront. Noch wissen wir nicht was auf uns zukommt. Peter und Stefan beginnen ihre Nachtschicht mit einer leisen Vorahnung. Der Wind wird schwächer, die funkelnden Sterne werden immer mehr von dunklen Wolken verdeckt. Zu wenig Wind, die Segel schlagen und lassen unser Schiff erbeben, wir. read more...

Ingrid - Dag 17 - 11 december

Ett kort inlägg, kommer mer senare.Kl 10 blev det ett efterlängtat badstopp!32 grader i luften och det är 29,4 grader i vattnet.Nu är det inte långt till vi är framme! I can’t wait.image1. read more...

Hummingbird - Blog Wednesday 11 December 2024

Hummingbird BlogWednesday 11 December 2024Well, as I writethis penultimate blog, 18 days on the Atlantic and our final destination withintangible reach, our thoughts and discussions are starting to be reflective.Less referencesto watch rotas, 'head up, bear away', 'wooling' the spinnaker, galley duties,heads, sweating & dehydration, 'clean is dirty' and the depleting stock ofcookies  we are finishing thisadventure on a high!  A welcome beamreach sails us within 125 NM of St Lucia and it feels like our beloved lady, TheHummingbird, senses our desire for a fresh wind in what has been a variable andsometimes frustrating period of down wind sailing in light airs. The finalcountdown.The mood in ourcamp is largely one of reflection. 10 crew members from different continents. read more...

Bluejay - Blog 11/12

Wednesday 11thDecember It's two weeks today untilChristmas, not that you would really know that without looking at a calendaronboard Bluejay. Although we've played the odd Christmas tune, we're far removedfrom the commercial bright lights of the festive season, with the main focusonboard being the final 24-hour push to the finish line. Last night was atesting sail for our crew, with extremely light winds Bluejay at times wasdifficult to handle but we persevered and managed an average of 5kts boat speed.With the predicted forecast for today looking like next to no wind the thoughtof motoring the last 24 hours was beyond disappointing for all onboard. However,despite the forecast I sit here slightly heeled over for the first time inweeks, as we steam along at 8-9kts on a beam reach. After. read more...