Daily Logs

Ingrid - Dag 15 - 9 december

Hej på er därhemma från soliga och 29 gradiga Atlanten, klockan är 02.01.Vi har halkat bak till 73 plats och det är första dagen vi inte gjort progress. Med den kursen vi håller kommer vi köra 25 sjömil längre mot målet för vi går lite mer söderut och hoppas att vår strategi pays off och vi får bättre vindar i slutet. Just nu har vi 623 sjömil kvar till St Lucia.Vi gör nu vatten som normalt eftersom vågornas storlek minskat. Så nu blir det sötvattenduschar imorgon.Planen är att ha Gennaker i natt.Idag fick vi nygräddade pannkakor till frukostVi fick även napp igen en ny maki maki. Snart har vi tillräckligt med fisk till en flott fiskmåltid.Vi har även storstädat och vissa har tvättat kläder.Idag har vi solat, spelat kort och dagens höjdpunkt vi har haft pysselstuga med Britt. Lea, David. read more...

Adrienne - von Squalls und Handarbeit

09.12.2024 … Auf zu neuen Ufern – Tag 16 auf See…20:51 Uhr 14°39,52’N 052°16,92’ W, 505 nm (!) to go.Heute Nacht wurden wir um 01:30 Uhr von einem Squall heimgesucht. Am Himmel entsteht eine sehr hohe Wolke. Der untere Bereich (zum Wasser) ist klar mit einer horizontalen Linie abgegrenzt. In diesem Bereich fällt netterweise dann noch Regen. Schlimmer ist, dass die Squalls sehr hohe Windgeschwindigkeiten mit sich bringen. Unserer hat es von 17 kn auf 38 kn geschafft. Ralf und Sören sind etwas nach Lee abgefallen (der Wind nimmt zu und dreht nach Luv) und haben die Genua verkleinert. Danach saßen wir am Heck hinter dem Steuer und bewunderten die gute Arbeit des Autopiloten. Unsere Gefühlswelt wechselte zwischen „Wau! … mehr! … und „hoffentlich wird das nicht schlimmer“ beim. read more...

Cleone - ARC 2024 SITREP 15

 During the lasttwenty-four hours, we have been dealing with a faulty Furlex, making best speedtowards St Lucia and exploring the crews' phobias.It was Louisawho made the giveaway discovery. Whilst on the foredeck carrying out adeck-level rigging inspection, she fortuitously found a stainless-steelmachine-screw. She carefully put it in her pocket and brought it back to thecockpit where it then lay for the skipper's inspection. The Skipper took onehorrified look at it, pocketed it and took himself up to the foredeck, evenremembering to clip onto the Jackstay before setting off. Furling the genoa hadbecome difficult, and now the reason became all too apparent. At the top of thelower swivel of the Furler is a small black cap. This is held on by two machinescrews, which also do a much. read more...

Hummingbird - Blog Monday 9 December 2024

Hummingbird BlogMonday 9 December 2024As I write thisblog from the navigation station, the plotter flickers our penultimate waypointwhere we will gybe north to Saint Lucia's final waypoint and the last fewnautical miles to the finish line.Weather issupported by both the ARC and Rubicon 3, helping determine our strategic CourseOver Ground (“COG”) optimization. The ARC weather zone map is a 23 square grid, with Saint Lucia residingin Romeo Romeo.  Hummingbirdcurrently abuts the easterly Quebec Quebec grid.  One of my self-appointed tasks is tomark our rough position every few watches on the grid sheet.  It is with great satisfaction that I cansee that I will soon put a small pencil dot in RR.I have donedeliveries before, but I never done what is considered a -true. read more...

Snowmane - Day 16

8:30am on day 16. We are sailing along at around 7 knots in about 18 knots of wind. Pointed dead down wind which is pretty much straight to St Lucia. I am doing my morning watch. Everyone else is in their cabin. The waves aren't small but theyaren't as big as they sometimes are. The sun has come up and it's a beautiful blue sky. Warm but not too hot yet. This is pretty prime! We have about 620 miles to go. The winds are forecasted to be good today and tomorrow but there is a huge dead wind hole that we are going to end up in at some point late Tuesday or on Wednesday. It looks like that might then go for days. Weare trying to get as much sailing in before that happens so that when we need to motor, we have the fuel to do so. I think we can motor about 400 miles if we absolutely have to.. read more...

Musketeer of Cowes - Musketeer blog

8th December & Making Progress!We’ve had a great couple of days flying the kite, Unfortunately, the big blue sail is a bit like Goldilocks and does not like too much wind, nor too little wind, or a sea state that’s too choppy, everything has to be just right! Finally we got a smile from Nigel when the conditions were perfect and the kite flew, pulling Musketeer at pace through the sea.There’s much to do to get the kite (sail) safely in the air; sheets (rope for the non sailors) to be run and check, halyard (another name for a rope) to attach and check, sheets put through blocks and on winches ready to ease and wind in. Then it’s action stations; everyone with their part to play! We’re getting better at problem solving before it goes wrong, and faster too!This morning we crossed our. read more...

Ingrid - Dag 14 - 8 december

Hej på er därhemma!Idag vid lunchtid låg vi på 71 plats och vi har 774 sjömil kvar till St Lucia. Vindarna börjar avta och just nu ligger vi på 254 grader. Vi går söderut och i linje mot Barbados. Genomgång av väder och vindar ser ni på bilderna.Idag har vi haft skiftbyte och dagen är lite flytande i form av sysslor. Några har tvättat kläder och andra har solat, läst, spelat kort och vilat.Vi tog även upp gennakern för att gå igenom om gårdagskvällens kalabalik hade orsakat några skador. Inga riktiga hål men vi förstärkte där det var lite slitet. Vi använde segeltejp och sydde.När vi kommer fram till St Lucia får vi vänta på att bli inklarerade och vi har fått veta att de jobbar lite när de vill, inte på kvällar så det kan ta lite tid. Speciellt som vi eventuellt anländer mitt i deras. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE ARC 2024 SITREP

STOP PRESS!! WEHAVE LESS THAN 1000 MILES TO GO!! AT 1416HRS UTC THE ON DECK DISTANCE-TO-GOINDICATOR, STUCK AT 999 MILES SINCE THE BUTTER STARTED TO MELT AND WE CHANGEDCOURSE ON 27 SEP, CHANGED TO 998 MILES TO GO. LOUISA SCOOPED THE POOL PREDICTINGTHE TIME. EVEN THE SKIPPER WAS BREAK-DANCING ON THE FOREDECK.   (NB. This is not quite true. TheSkipper actually took a break from the dancing by retiring to the foredeck –Ed).As forecast, theday's weather has been a mix of breezes, sunshine and squalls and we have beenable to run along the Rhumb Line all day. Throughout the crew have been busychattering, cooking and baking, whilst still finding time to carry out all thedaily checks, routine maintenance and other miscellaneous tasks. In other words,it has been a normal day at sea.The. read more...

Adrienne - Fischkutter Adrienne

08.12.2024 … Auf zu neuen Ufern – Tag 15 auf See…15:40 Uhr 14°40,52’N 048°53,92’ W, 700 nm (!) to go.Langsam gewinnen die Nachtwachen an Beliebtheit. Die Nächte sind angenehm kühl. Mit kurzen Hosen, Shirt und natürlich Rettungsweste sitzt man unter dem Sternenhimmel. Gestern haben Sören und Ralf versucht, den Sternenhimmel und die Lichter im Meer zu fotografieren. Es bleibt leider eine Erinnerung im Kopf. Die Bewegung des Bootes lässt keine Langzeitbelichtung zu.Wir freuen uns über eure Nachrichten und wollen einige Fragen beantworten:Der Wachplan:Unseren Wachplan hat Jonas erstellt, besser gesagt das iPhone von Jonas, besser gesagt ChatGPT am iPhone von Jonas. „Erstelle einen Wachplan mit 3 Nachtschichten und 4 Tagschichten, rotiere die Wachhabenden und … und generiere ein PDF in. read more...

Bluejay - Blog 08/12/24

Sunday 8thDecember It's been two weeks since twelvestrangers left the safety net of Las Palmas marina and embarked on a journey tosail 2,800 miles across the North Atlantic Ocean. Some may consider us mad, andothers adventurers, but it's safe to say each crew member has their own motivesfor pursuing such a unique challenge. For all our crew onboard Bluejay, this isthe longest any of them have spent at sea, and as a result, away from lovedones. The day-to-day routine of boat life keeps us busy - sail changes, deckchecks, meal preparation, fishing, helming and weather routing to name a few.Today saw our first head sail change in several days. The poled out yankee 2 wasreplaced with the larger yankee 1 in preparation for the upcoming lighter winds.With less than 600NM to go, we're still. read more...

Hummingbird - blog sunday 8 december

HUMMINGBIRD Blog - Sunday 12/6/2024Bowel Health andToilet Paper Consumption!Having hadsufficient time to contemplate our reasons to exist, we have turned ourattention to much more important matters; which toilet paper aboard is best, whyand correlation of usage rates to bowel health!We have fourstyles of TP  aboard: weak, nearlytransparent single ply such as the type supplied by government institutions,poor quality double ply, quilted double ply with dimples and a durable somewhatabrasive double ply with daisy patterns printed upon The governmentpaper is hard to tear cleanly off of the roll, hard to fold, when finally foldedhas more holes than our Yankees 1& 2 and is very easily penetrated by themiddle digit when used leading to increased water usage when washingup.While the. read more...

Bluejay - blog 07/12

Saturday7th December It's great to see the distance onthe chart finally getting smaller and smaller - we can nearly taste the sweetrum punch of St Lucia. It's hard to believe that we have all been on board andunderway for nearly two weeks now - the days are definitely merging together. This last week has gone byextremely quickly, especially as we have been roaring along with 8-9knotsaverage and then get boosts from surfing down waves. Today however the windswere a little lower, and our boat speed back to our passage planning speed at6-7 knots - but that made another fish caught easier to reel in! This passagehas broken records for number of big fish caught and fresh fish for dinner!Definitely related to the new moon we've had - which has also given us some ofthe darkest nights I've. read more...

Adrienne - Wellness

07.12.2024 … Auf zu neuen Ufern – Tag 14 auf See…20:39 Uhr 15°23,05’N 046°41,64’ W, 830 nm (!) to go.Samstag ist …. Wellnesstag. Der Motor wird gestartet und läuft im Leerlauf, damit es in den Achterkabinen richtig warm wird. Schon nach einer Stunde kann die Sauna beginnen. Nein natürlich nicht! Der Watermaker benötigt viel Druck und dieser wird mittels des Motors der Adrienne erzeugt. Ca. 16:00 ist die Wanne eingelassen und der Badespaß kann beginnen. Die Wahrheit ist, dass wir schaukelnd in den Bädern stehen und beim Duschen blaue Flecke unvermeidbar sind. Abends gibt es wieder Kino und Popcorn. Davor ein Lehrfilm über die leuchtenden Quallen und das Plankton. Unsere Köpfe platzen bald vor neuem Wissen.Damit unsere Blog Leser auch neue Einblicke in die Kunst des Segelhandwerks erhalten. read more...

Ingrid - Dag 13 - Fartrekord - 7 december

Dag 13 - 7 december Hej alltför hemma från oss på Atlanten. Vid lunchtid låg vi på 73 plats av 134 båtar och vi har 934 sjömil kvar till St Lucia.Efter lunch träffades vi av en squall som var mycket vind och ett kort skyfall. Då blev det fartrekord för Ingrid och vi toppade med 17 knop.Imorgon är det skiftbyte och kl 16 drar vi tillbaks klockan ytterligare en timme till kl 15 för att göra vår sista time shift när vi ankommer till St Lucia och hamna i rätt tidszon.Vinden minskar de nästa dagarna och möjligheter för squalls ökar ju mer vi närmar oss Karibien.Vid 18.24 så snurrade vår Gennaker sig runt masten där focken sitter. Den satt stenhårt och Nikola, KG, Herman, Patrik, Jörgen, Lea och David slet som djur för att få loss den. Vi snurrade båten flera varv för att få den att lossna och. read more...

Sea Monster - on the home stretch

We are on the home stretch! We are ~2,300NM from Cocos Keeling and less than 50NM remaining to the finish line on the north of Mauritius. We have the spinnaker out and it’s been the most fun stretch of sailing for me to date. The sun has created a silver carpet on the sapphire ocean leading us to our destination. It’s beautiful.I’m no longer relying on the apparent wind angle to know if I’m sailing the right way. I can feel the tickle of the breeze moving from behind my ear to my cheek and back again, indicating whther I need to turn up or down. I hear the change in the sound of the wake behind me, and when a rush (surfing down a wave) quietens, it’s time to turn up again. And with both the wind and the sound, I allow the pressure of the rudder on the helm to guide me, always trying to. read more...

Sea Monster - continues in the Indian Ocean

This weekend has been full of lessons on how to steer. The swell has been from SW (moderate, 2m) and S (longer period and bigger, 3m) and when they meet it’s a challenge. With the constant 18-20kt winds gusting to 25kt this weekend, it has been a good opportunity for the crew to have lessons on how to manage the helm without slamming the boat or risking another broach, or accidental gybe. Skipper Jerry is doing a fantastic job on imparting his countless hours of offshore experience to us quickly. Hopefully we will all be ready for when the bigger wind and swell hit this week! And Billie The Bengal approves of the crew’s upskill and has eaten and not puked.. read more...

Sea Monster - in the Indian Ocean

Hi from The Monsters! We are off again! We crossed the start line atCocos Keeling at 11:00 local time (GMT +6:30) and in 15 days / 2350 NM across the Indian Ocean we will be in Mauritius! We’re starting the circumnavigation adventure across the most difficult ocean (!) but who doesn’t like a challenge?!? We are following the tradewinds: generally we will be sailing along a high pressure system, and there is a developing low to the north of Chagos. If that comes down towards our course at all, it will push the high pressure system south, and in turn we will head further south to stay in the high. The low pressure system could turn into a cyclone (there was one in the area last week) but historically it is too early in the season for these to be regular. For the first week, the winds will. read more...

Sea Monster - In Cocos Keeling

Hello from Cocos Keeling! I can’t believe we are in the middle of the Indian Ocean at this beautiful atoll. To get here from Lombok was 5 days / 4 nights to Christmas Island, then 4 days / 3 nights to Cocos Keeling. The sailing has been challenging and I will share more about thay later. For now, it’s hard to imagine the colours you can see in the photos where yellow turns to green which turns to blue and in real life there is no distinction between them - it’s like looking at the full colour spectrum from yellow to blue! Arriving at the Direction Island anchorage, we were met by black tipped reef sharks, who seemed super friendly until we fed them leftover wahoo!Today we are having the skipper’s briefing regarding the next leg to Mauritius, which should take 15 days. We are over at the. read more...

Sea Monster - In the Indian Ocean

The sun started showing her shine at 5am. By 6am, the sky was bright although overcast. When I saw the size of the swell we had been hand-steering through all night, I momentarily wished it was dark again so I didn’t have to see it 🤣 But then I settled back into the rhythm of the night, anticipating the swell or gusts before they caught Sea Monster, and continued to have a lot of fun. We covered 183.6nm in our 1st 24h since leaving Christmas Island. We will arrive in Cocos Keeling on Tuesday, and may have to put on the brakes a bit to ensure a daylight arrival.. read more...

Sea Monster - Joins World ARC

We made it to the start line of World ARC, from Lombok to Christmas Island and Cocos Keeling. There was very little wind, and while Sea Monster put up her main sail, none of the others in the fleet did, and we all started under engine.For this, the second leg of World ARC (part two from Darwin to Saint Lucia), and Sea Monster’s first leg, this fleet was split into two, because there are only a handful of moorings available at Christmas Island. In fact, there are only eight available and as we are 10 boats sailing across, there will be the need to raft up for some. Eleven boats will leave on Monday, and generally, they are the slower boats, and the first lot including Sea Monster, should have left by the time they arrive.Sea Monster, at 50 feet long, is one of the smaller boats in the. read more...

Cleone - ARC 2024 SITREP 13

We have sortedout magnetic from true north and have had fresh bread forlunch.As any compassuser knows, whether as a hill-walker used to the mists of the Yorkshire Moors orScottish Mountains, or as a sailor racing in the Solent or exploring the ChannelIslands or further afield, the needle on a magnetic compass points to MagneticNorth and not to True (or Grid) North, which is the North shown on most papermaps. The Skipper has always remembered how to deal with difference betweenthese two by the mnemonic CADET – Compass to True Add East. Others use Mag toGrid get rid. However, the latter only works when the compass points to the westof true north, which is the norm in UK, and not if the variation is eastwards.Besides which, these days the UK variation is only a couple of degrees, so itcan. read more...

Snowmane - Day 14

850 miles to go. That's further than we have ever sailed before, prior to this crossing, and yet it now seems like not too far at all. If the weather cooperates we should be able to do that in 6 more days. We were playing around on the map today. Did you know that it would have been a shorter distance to sail to Halifax from the Canaries than to sail to St. Lucia? It would be a terrible sailing route, through some really nasty storms in the northAtlantic but less miles. Way way further to sail to south Africa though. Our stupid northern projection maps don't show that properly. The weather where we are sailing has been pretty good. The waves and wind are down from what we had previously. That means we aren't hitting 165 miles in a day any more but it is a bit more gentle of a sail. The. read more...

Frances Louise V - December 6th

96 We started the day with 170 miles to go. But, this was not the idyllic, easy going, fast, last full day at sea that we had hoped for. Quite the opposite.It started with a squall coinciding with our 0600 watch chain. Not extreme, not even that bad as squalls go, but truly annoying.  The wind still reached the upper twenties.  The rain was short lived but absolutely torrential. It was then followed by a massive wind shift, and the wind disappearing. The next phase is equally annoying as we wallow around in the waves, sails banging, seeking to follow the wind back round again and get back on course. Very difficult in virtually no wind. Then it fills in again and off we go. This time the wind only got back up to twelve knots, or. read more...

Hummingbird - blog 7 december

Hummingbird Blog  Saturday 7th December 2024Hello readers!It's the weekend so for us that means the same as any other day. We had a nicenight of sailing last night with a few manageable squalls that pushed us alongquite nicely. This was a welcome treat given the night before that saw 40ktgusts that caused us to broach and round up, and resulted in the need to repairtwo headsails, replace a headsail hank, and clean up all the vegetables thatwere launched as the excitement ensued.Talk of arrivalincreases as well as where our friends on BlueJay are in relation to us. Weheard that they gained time on us during our headsail adventures, and thiscannot be allowed to continue. We are of course cruising not racing, butstill.Get thee behind us Bluejay!With thirteendays on the ocean behind us,. read more...

Bluejay - Blog 6 Dec

Friday 6thDecember Today has been a relatively quiet day on the journey towards StLucía, so let me take this opportunity to introduce you to the people onboardBluejay. We have the much talented duo of skipper Alex and 1st matePhoebe who are both experienced and reassuring on what is for the rest of us along awaited challenge - all of us are old enough to be their parents butrespect is given to these young ladies for the calm manner in which they driveus and Bluejay towards the Caribbean. First up are the new bromance pair Chrisand Mike who have a very special bond involving late night chats, gigglingwhilst cooking together, catching/filleting fish and much conversation on who isthe better helm.  Next we have thelong standing friendship pair of the girls from Yorkshire, Pennie and. read more...