Andromeda of Plymouth - So long, farewell, auf wuedersien, adiue..........'til the next time, perhaps...........

........well nearly - this will be the last blogposting to the ARC Europe Website, though we we shall continue to post to theAndromeda bog at mailasail.  Well we made it to Lagos some 25 days after thelast ARC party and prize giving, no drink to be had though, so we think its timeto say farewell to ARC Europe as we think about what to do for the nextyear.   Our last night at sea was dark and we had upto 35 knots of wind from the NW most of the time. We were double reefed on genoaand main, with mizzen stowed, so felt reasonable comfortable, though it waspretty cold, and were steering 104 then 112 Magnetic, as part of the last bit ofthe route from the Azores, with the wind mostly on the port sternquarter.   We did have a very close encounter with a verylarge container. read more...

Andromeda of Plymouth - All Right Now - and Happy Happy Happy Birthday to Phill

N37:06:605 W08:40:473Happy birthday Phill have a good one.All Right Now, we are there, after over 5088 miles from Trini we have arrived at our destination, Marina De Lagos, Lagos, Portugal.At last, it has been a real journey to get here and once we were tied to the dock we broke out the champagne again.......... it is delicious.....now we have to sort our selves out, open the hatches, start the drying process but more importantly, find some more champagne, it is delicious.More very soon,Susan and AndrewAndromeda of Plymouth ( she is a real star)Marina de Lagos,LagosPortugal.ps we are only 24 days after the end of the ARC Europe, is this a record?m_20140709_111402. read more...

Andromeda of Plymouth - How many layers do the Peeps wear to keep warm? The answer (dear reader) is blowing in the wind...........

N37:07:445   W09:27:235   Layers and layers is the answer. We have beenwearing 5 top layers and 4 on the bottom including undies and our salopettes addanother half to the top too. Getting dressed and undressed especially forablutions is quite a lengthy process. The winds have been mostly from the northand cold so we haven't even been divesting ourselves of any layers during thedaylight hours either. As for our heads, well we have our buffs, then a hat,then the hood on our jackets and even a hoodie hood on occasion. Got to keepthose drafts out of our ears. Our feet however are coping with one pair of socksand in Susan's case a hot water bottle sometimes.   Yesterday afternoon we thought for a time that wehad been transported to Piccadilly Circus. In the space of. read more...

Andromeda of Plymouth - Where have alll the wooly hats gone? The sea has claimed them every one.

N38:02:638 W15:21:929   Progess report - we are over half way to thePortuguese Coast, yippee, will soon be heading down to Cabo de St. Vincente andround the corner to Lagos.   Hats! An essential part of our sailing gear and asource of frustration too. It sems that as soon as we break in a new hat or itfits wonderfully and is so comfortable,  the wind will suddenly catch usunawares and off it goes to be claimed by the sea. We estimate that we have lostaround 24ish pieces of headgear between the two of us. Sun hats, baseball caps,woolly hats, bush hats, etc.  They have rushed off our heads whilst weare on passage, at anchor, in the dinghy or on the dock.  We have managedto rescue about half a dozen by leaping into the water but most have gone overthe side and. read more...

Andromeda of Plymouth - Doh Ray Me

N38:10:647 W20:36:140   Doh a deer - well not around here there isn't, nowildlife at all that we can see,   Ray a drop of golden sun - we sure would liketo see some of these instead of the dark grey, light grey, charcoal grey, slategrey, pearl grey........   Me a name I call my self - and so does everyone,but do the whates and dolphins?   Fah a long long way to run - and to sail, hike,sail, climb, row, sail, drive, sail, dive, sail, swim, sail, skate, sail, float,sail, ski, sail, hop, sail, dance, sail,   Soh a needle pulling thread - sure comes in mightyhand and we have extra strong ones with extra strong thread,   Lah a note to follow so -  sha la la la la lala la la la la la la ti da, sha la la la la la la la la la la ti da,la ti. read more...