As you have probably heard it all came to an end this morning. Pete and Adam were in the cockpit and Agustin had just gone to bed when the mast came crashing down and punctured a hole in the hull. Pete phoned me to tell me they were taking on water, and was going send a distress message via Falmouth coastguard. He spoke to Falmouth giving all the necessary information, who then in turn alerted the ARC control. They issued a message to all boats in the vicinity and Falmouth also alerted any vessels within a 300 mile radius. Pete then phoned again at 12.30 to say they were safely onboard an ARC yacht Navillus, a 50 foot Irish yacht. It was an amazingly quick pick up considering they were approximately 750 miles from land, and a fortunate one. The water was approaching the gunwales on one hull when they were rescued. They are all safe and well, if a little shaken. They managed to save alot of their stuff, and Pete said Agustin had all his things ok. They are now heading for St Lucia for the finish of the ARC. I havent heard any more but the progress of the Navillus can be followed at www.worldcruising.com/arc . You can check its position by following the fleet viewer link.
If I hear anymore regarding their expected arrival in St Lucia I will post this up for you. I think they should be there within 7 days. I am so sorry for not posting this earlier for Agustins friends but should I get any more news I will post again.
Saturday 8 December 2007
Friday 7 December 2007
Highs and Lows
Latest Position 16 57N 46 33W
They did manage to catch some wind after all yesterday and travelled 170 miles in 24 hours. Adam got the fastest speed which clocked at 12 knots. The bad news is that things are breaking. They have broken the spinnaker pole which whilst not disastrous is a major inconvenience as they were using it alot. Then literally 5 minutes before they called the steering broke which is a major problem. They have rigged up a temporary tiller rig which is capable of steering the boat properly but is going to make it hard work for them as it won't be able to be left for a minute, and will be quite physically demanding as well. Obviously a major downer, and without being able to get out of the boat and inspect things Pete is unsure exactly how much of the steering rig has broken and what parts he will need. This then leads to the question, will he be able to get parts in the Caribbean. I have started researching on the net, but without alot more information its a needle in a haystack job. On the upside its only 750 miles to go but at the moment they are struggling to look at that as a positive!
They did manage to catch some wind after all yesterday and travelled 170 miles in 24 hours. Adam got the fastest speed which clocked at 12 knots. The bad news is that things are breaking. They have broken the spinnaker pole which whilst not disastrous is a major inconvenience as they were using it alot. Then literally 5 minutes before they called the steering broke which is a major problem. They have rigged up a temporary tiller rig which is capable of steering the boat properly but is going to make it hard work for them as it won't be able to be left for a minute, and will be quite physically demanding as well. Obviously a major downer, and without being able to get out of the boat and inspect things Pete is unsure exactly how much of the steering rig has broken and what parts he will need. This then leads to the question, will he be able to get parts in the Caribbean. I have started researching on the net, but without alot more information its a needle in a haystack job. On the upside its only 750 miles to go but at the moment they are struggling to look at that as a positive!
Wednesday 5 December 2007
Slow Couple of Days
Latest position 18 08 N 41 52 W
They have had a slow couple of days dropping below the 100 miles day mark for the first time in the trip. Today was better and have got steady 3s again at the moment. Unfortunately the 5s and 6s forecast earlier in the week are now not going to materialise which is a shame, but they can expect some 4s so that should give them a boost along. Adam and Pete have been watching Norman Wisdom DVDs this afternoon so they were in much higher spirits when they phoned tonight, as they both had a good chuckle at those. They have been changing their clock times as they have been moving west, they are now 2 hours behind us, and once they get to 45 degrees they will move to 3 hours behind. How they work the time changes into the watch keeping system god only knows! Next update on Friday when it will only be a week until Madz and I leave Scilly!
They have had a slow couple of days dropping below the 100 miles day mark for the first time in the trip. Today was better and have got steady 3s again at the moment. Unfortunately the 5s and 6s forecast earlier in the week are now not going to materialise which is a shame, but they can expect some 4s so that should give them a boost along. Adam and Pete have been watching Norman Wisdom DVDs this afternoon so they were in much higher spirits when they phoned tonight, as they both had a good chuckle at those. They have been changing their clock times as they have been moving west, they are now 2 hours behind us, and once they get to 45 degrees they will move to 3 hours behind. How they work the time changes into the watch keeping system god only knows! Next update on Friday when it will only be a week until Madz and I leave Scilly!
Tuesday 4 December 2007
Over Half Way
19 2 N 38 29 W
They crossed the half way mark at midnight Sunday/Monday so downhill all the way now! They have slowed down yesterday and today with light winds but the forecast is for 5s and 6s coming through by thursday so Pete is hoping to catch up some ground then - providing they don't break anything. The high light of the day yesterday was that Pete baked some bread. Adam was reluctant to have any tho coz it was wholemeal! Some things just don't change do they. They are suffering with tiredness now as you would expect, with the broken sleep patterns but are otherwise fine. Just counting down to getting there, and getting their hands on some rum punch.
They crossed the half way mark at midnight Sunday/Monday so downhill all the way now! They have slowed down yesterday and today with light winds but the forecast is for 5s and 6s coming through by thursday so Pete is hoping to catch up some ground then - providing they don't break anything. The high light of the day yesterday was that Pete baked some bread. Adam was reluctant to have any tho coz it was wholemeal! Some things just don't change do they. They are suffering with tiredness now as you would expect, with the broken sleep patterns but are otherwise fine. Just counting down to getting there, and getting their hands on some rum punch.
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