Thursday 25 September 2008
Monday 17 December 2007
Thursday 13 December 2007
This From Pete
The big one - Crossing the pond
Wednesday 21/11/07, we went ashore and got a taxi up to the commercial dockyard to find the offices for the policia nacionale to get our exit papers stamped, it was well hidden but we found it and got the job done.
Back aboard the boat we squared everything away for sea and lifted the anchor at midday, there was not much wind so we were motoring for about an hour before the sea breeze kicked in and we were able to sail down the coast. The wind changed direction when we were off the airport and we had to bear away out to sea (ESE) the wind increased rapidly and we were charging along in a wind acceleration zone with the wind coming from the south. The further offshore we went the stronger it got, we reefed the main and put up the working jib and after another hour tacked back towards the shore. It was after sunset and getting dark as we approached the shore again and the wind eased off so we tacked again to go along the shore and sure enough the wind came around and allowed us to sail south. The seas were confused and steep and we were going straight into them it was a very uncomfortable start to our trip.
By morning we were able to point more to the southwest and by midday the wind was astern although fairly light, so progress was slow.
Thursday midday position: 26 49N 015 59W
We sailed on with the genoa poled out and the mainsail preventer rigged, we were goose winging downwind and ‘Spam’ did not need a touch on the wheel she was in the groove. The fishing lines were trailed all day with no success.
The wind was steady in direction all day but its strength varied and most of the day progress was slower than we would like, but we are going the right way.
Friday midday position : 25 48N 017 33W
We saw tenacious go by us in the dark, quite close too, they were motoring which is shame in a tall ship with a fair breeze.
The weather conditions have hardly changed, with only the wind strength varying. Still no fish, seen plenty jumping out of the water but none chasing our lures.
The seas are building up now behind us but it is still reasonably comfortable, Adam asked ‘is it going to like this all the way across?’ I’m afraid I had to disappoint him and tell him the seas would most likely get much bigger yet.
Cooked a pressure cooker full of stew for dinner tonight, this went down well with all and the bonus is there is enough left for tomorrow as well.
Saturday 24/11 midday position: 24 49N 019 17W
The wind is still blowing a force three right from astern which is keeping things comfortable and reasonably simple but not giving us a great amount of speed. We are now averaging 120 miles a day.
Saw a couple of other yachts today but no contact made with them. Still no fish caught and haven’t seen a flying fish since we left Gran Canaria, I’m beginning to wonder where they all are. The remainder of the stew went down very well again. We had a huge pod of dolphins playing around the boat for about an hour this morning, now that was entertainment.
Sunday 25/11 midday position: 23 33N 021 03W
Another reasonable 24 hour run with the wind occasionally increasing to give us a bit more speed. I’m trying to decide when I should make the turn direct towards Barbados, the question is are we far enough into the trades to turn now or am I adding extra miles to the journey by continuing into the south, decisions decisions.
We saw a shark on the surface this morning and at almost the same time hooked a fish on each lure but we lost them both, it was great excitement though. Everyone has settled into their own kind of routine now which revolves around keeping watch sleeping eating and generally lazing around when off watch. Agustin is reading pirate stories and Adam is watching dvd’s and playing his psp, Me well I have to sit here and trype on the laptop whilst the boat is lurching around which makes hitting the right key something of a game in itself.
We checked the halyards and sheets for chafe this morning and reset everything again, this is something we need to do more often as the voyage continues.
Typical just put this away and Adam catches the first fish of the trip, a small Dorado about two pounds, big enough for dinner tomorrow. Caught another during dinner, one for the freezer for later.
At 14:30 we crossed the Tropic of Cancer, so are now officially sailing in the tropics at last, seas still lumpy though.
Monday 26/11 midday position: 22 30N 023 00W
The wind has been shifting about between east and northeast since the early hours and we have had to reset the sails accordingly each time, if only it would stay steady. We made the turn to head direct for Barbados at 4a.m. and then the wind changed again. This running downwind is not as easy as it sounds especially as we are trying to get as much speed as possible to meet our deadline and rendezvous with San and Maddy on the 16th, at the moment its touch and go. I am looking forward to the cruising in the Caribbean with them aboard.
The sky has been cloudy since yesterday afternoon, could do with a bit more sunshine to lift the mood a little.
We had one of the Dorado for dinner tonight cooked by Agustin, it was absolutely delicious with a nice bit of salad and some rice on the side.
Tuesday 27/11 midday position: 22 04N 25 05W
Things going much the same, same wind constantly changing direction through about 45 degrees but always from aft at least, same waves from all directions making life quite difficult and throwing the stern around meaning the sails lose the wind and start flogging.
Its been a melancholy day today, missing San and Maddy all the comforts of home and eating dinner together on a table where dinner stays still, Sunday night pub crawl with John Hutchins and all the other little things that are taken for granted at home. This has been the hardest part of the trip, on the mind.
Agustin is full of beans and lively as ever, good job he is so upbeat he can lift spirits quite well. Adam is coping with the monotony of it really well too, he just buries his head in his toys, psp dvd player etc, and quite often does some daft thing out of the blue just to cheer us up. If only he would do the washing up!!!
Had a nice roast dinner tonight of pork, not much fresh stuff left now.
Wednesday 28/11 midday position : 21 45N 027 28W
We are happily running downwind still at much the same speed. No sooner do I sit here to do this log from where I can see out through the door, and the line goes tight with another fish on. Much excitement, a bigger Dorado this time, that’s another nice meal in the fridge. Adam wants batter on his!!
The flying fish (exocetus) have appeared in large numbers now, just as I had expected them to from the start really, Adam almost tears himself away from his game to watch them.
Really looking forward to making the sat phone call to San tonight. These calls are turning into a highlight of the trip, good job for the phone, long may it keep working.
The weather improved greatly today with wall to wall sunshine and temperature to match.
We haven’t seen any other vessels for over two days now, we are all alone out here, I would expect some of the faster ARC boats to be catching up with us soon but it’s a vaast ocean and we may not see any of them at all.
Thursday 29/11 midday position: 21 19N 29 28W
Is that a mouse I can hear!! I am half asleep in bed and I can hear something scrabbling like a mouse in a corner, sounds as though it is coming from the bookshelf just beside my bunk, it can’t be, I try to pinpoint the sound but it fades away and I then drop off to sleep. I’m up for the 4a.m. til 8 stint and I remember the noise and think it over some more through the mental plonk of early morning, it dawns on me eventually that it must have been a flying fish on the foredeck, so at daylight I go and investigate and sure enough there it is wedged under the dinghy we have lashed there, mystery solved. I was worried for my cheese!!
Slow progress in the last twenty four hours with the winds going a little lighter, we cannot afford to go any slower. No sightings of any other vessels still, they must be out there somewhere. No more fishing for a few days as we have enough in the fridge to last us, it’s a shame as it is fun to catch them but we would find it too hard to throw them back in, I would swear they all have dinner stamped on the side.
Cloudy day again today, the sunshine yesterday was great could have done with more of that.
Friday 30/11 midday position: 20 52N 31 37W
I was on midnight til four last night and halfway through the watch something hit me in the small of the back, now I know there was no-one else there, so it had to be, you guessed it a flying fish. Good job it didn’t hit me in the back of the head, now that would have made me jump.
Speed for the last twenty four hours has been pretty much the same, so still making steady progress and seem to be averaging five knots, which is not fast but the winds have hardly blown more than force two to three the whole time. Having said that we did have a bit of a blow last evening and stowed the main, then we had to drop the genoa and put up the working jib, which meant a lot of messing about with the pole set up etc. Ten minutes later it was down with the jib and back up with the genoa as the squall had passed. Up til now we have been lucky that was the first time we needed to reef since Gran Canaria.
We had chicken tonight for dinner which was very tasty and easy to do on a boat. We are now down to just two portions of mince left in the freezer plus the fish, but what to do with the mince, spaghetti Bolognese is not that easy to eat on a moving boat, it also tends to slide off the plate into your lap.
No vessels sighted in the last twenty four hours, I’ve now forgotten how long it is since we saw another boat/ship but it must be at least three days. There’s been not much wildlife either, no whales, dolphins or such, some seabirds and loads of flying fish but that’s all.
Saturday 1/12 midday position: 20 18N 034 03W
We have a little bit more wind at the moment and the boat speed has picked up nicely, if only we could keep going like this but we know it probably won’t last. No vessels sighted at all in the last twenty four hours again, this makes watch keeping a bit of a drag.
Everyone is very quiet now, we are all deep in thought or just empty headed, basically conversation has run dry and we are all keen to arrive but it is still up to fourteen days away. This is going to be a long haul! ! ! !
The days are really warm now but the nights can still have a bit of chill in them so its not all shorts and t-shirts just yet.
All the bread has gone now so its out with the part baked baguettes until they are gone then I will be forced to try and bake a loaf, that could be fun, or not.
Sunday 2/12 midday position: 19 58N 036 34W
A much better 24 hour run of 145 miles, we need quite a few more like that. No ships or sails, no dolphins nor whales, nothing sighted ‘cept miles of deep blue sea.
Its bathday today, ½ a bucket each and a good sponge down, I feel quite refreshed after that. We are getting near the halfway point now, the beers are in the fridge chillin’ ready for the celebration, it’ll be all downhill after that, I hope.
Monday 3/12 midday position: 19 12N 038 29W
We passed the halfway point at midnight last night, yippee, but now the wind has gone light and gone southerly as well, not ideal.
Got up this morning and decided it was time to have a go at this loaf of bread. I searched the books for the recipe but found none, so it was a hit and miss affair from memory, I haven’t made a loaf for a couple of years. As it turned out we have a very nice loaf of wholemeal bread, I am quite impressed with myself (no amazed), bet it won’t last very long and the next one will never come out the same.
We had a yacht pass in the night, no contact made, the first one seen for a good few days now.
This is one big ocean, full of blue sea and flying fish.
The air is much warmer now especially noticeable at night when not so long ago it had a slight chill to it, it no longer has, the days are really warm, this is what we wanted.
Tuesday 4/12 midday position: 18 36N 039 55W
The wind is still very light but we are moving along in the right direction just not as fast as we would like. The temperature has climbed rapidly it was 27c during the night and is 30c now, I think that is probably the last of the chilly nights out of the way. Not much news to add these days, we cook we eat we sleep we keep watch, and right now it is starting to get a bit boring. Beat Adam at crib 3 games to 1, I guess he will get me back in the next session.
Wednesday 5/12 midday position: 18 08N 041 52W
We have had a bit of decent breeze back since the early hours and are once again going along nicely. The genoa is suffering and some stitching is coming undone so we got it down in the afternoon and put up the other one. I shall begin sowing when I get a chance in between watches. I wish I had new sails, these old ones are in need of constant tlc.
Crossed tracks with another yacht last evening, a Sunbeam 44 called ‘Nika’, they are part of the ARC so have made better progress than us. Good to chat on the radio though.
We should pass the thousand miles to go barrier tonight which will be a good morale boost to have only three digits on the distance to go instead of four and the countdown can really begin.
Good job for the satellite phone, the chats with San really do lift the spirits, both mine and Adam’s anyway, Agustin seems to be content enough that he’s on his travels.
Right time to go on watch again, more tomorrow.
Thursday 6/12 midday position: 17 29N 043 57W
Spent the morning sitting in the sunshine on the foredeck with the old genoa and my sowing kit stitching the seams that had come undone, just a few more to do tomorrow then we can use it again.
I was on for the afternoon watch which started with fairly light winds and boatspeed between 3.5 and 5 knots, by 2pm I was doing a steady seven and hit a top speed of 11.4. The wind had freshened quite a bit and there were a few rain squalls around, one of which was coming right up behind us so I got Adam to pass me the soap and my towel and stripped off ready for a free shower. The boat was doing 8 knots and I was holding the soap in one hand and trying to steer with the other while she surfed down the waves, but all it did was spit, the main body of rain passed down our starboard side about a 100 yards away so all I got was cold.
Adam is on the wheel now and got up to 12.1 knots, he is grinning from ear to ear and enjoying the fast pace for a change. We really ought to reef but we need the extra speed to make up for what we have lost earlier, we shall see how long it lasts, I suspect it will ease before long.
Famous last words, the genoa just popped, so been out and dropped that and put up the working jib. That’s another fix it job to do when I get a chance, nothing too major this time so should not take too long. Phew its all go round here today, got to get on and start cooking something for dinner now as well. 897 miles to go as I type.
Friday 7/12 midday position: 16 57N 046 33W
We had a very good twenty four hour run, 193 miles logged from midday yesterday to today, what a blast. It has come at a price though as the spinnaker pole has just folded in two so that’s the end of that, it made a huge difference to the sail set and comfort we will miss it sorely. The tactics will have to change a bit now and our progress is likely to suffer because of it and we have no time to spare so there is a good likelihood that we shall be a bit late for the girls.
I got my free shower just after lunch, Adam opted for full foul weather gear and I opted for birthday suit and bar of soap, this time it worked but now we want it to stop raining as we have now had enough.
Baked another loaf of bread this morning, a nice white loaf to please Adam, it has come out alright considering we are guessing ingredient quantities.
We are fishing again now, looking for the elusive Tuna but we will take whatever offers itself up. This time we have added a flying fish to make the bait a bit more interesting.
Saturday 8/12 midday position: Belly up! ! ! !
Well what a night, it continued to rain, well rain does not do it justice it came down almost solid, with lightning and wind to go with it. The horrible night turned into a disastrous day when at about 0845 the mast came down and went over the starboard side, where the end started to pound against the hull. Agustin was called from his bunk and told to done foul weather gear and lifejacket. I grabbed some tools and set to work on the remaining stays to release the mast whilst Adam set to work cutting the running rigging which led to the cockpit from the mast and sails. We made a futile attempt to get the boom and mainsail off but it was particularly dangerous with a ragged and sharp end of mast stabbing upwards every now and then so we gave up and released the last two stays, starboard lower and backstay, which had bent the chain plates 90 degrees already, and dropped the lot and let it sink. All fell fairly silent then so I took stock, we had a broken spinnaker pole and a long boathook with which to jury rig, some old wires stored below and plenty of old running rigging and some sails. We went below to make a plan and discovered water coming in, we were holed and already paddling. This was no time for messing about we set off the EPIRB and I phoned Sandra on the satellite phone to let her know and then phoned Falmouth coastguard to inform them of the situation, this was particularly reassuring as they received the EPIRB signal as I was on the phone so I knew it was working. It was obvious that we were going to have to abandon at some stage so we gathered gear and packed rapidly into sailbags and got all our bottled water out and all the snacks we could lay our hands on, in case we would be in the raft for a long time. I also wanted both the inflatables pumped up and ready to use as extra security and it was at this point that we saw a yacht about a mile and a half off, I put out one last call on VHF this time on the main set as the batteries were already running down on the handheld, but first I stripped back about an inch of bare coaxial to give us some kind of aerial, apparently it worked well and the mayday was received loud and clear. We put up a red rocket for good measure (the first and last time I have to do that I hope) which soared to a great height and burned brightly but I later learned was not seen at all. The yacht we could see was now steering for us so we inflated the liferaft and packed in as much of our gear as we could, as the yacht (Navillus) sailed past we cut the painter and drifted away from ’Spam’ she was already listing badly down to the gunwhale on one hull with waves crashing over her, how long she would last is anyones guess. The guys on S/V Navillus (Brian O’Sullivan - Skipper, Michael O’Sullivan and Peadar O’Loughlin) executed a perfect run in and we got a line first time and hauled up to the stern, passed up our gear and scrambled aboard. I expressed our sincere thanks to the crew and then promptly became an emotional wreck.
Fortunately for us the S/V Navillus is a Bavaria 50 (big boat) and there is plenty of room for us and our gear and we have been made very welcome aboard. We have become part of the crew and keep watches and help out where we can, it’s the least we can do.
Needless to say my mind is running it through over and over again, there are many things we could have and should have grabbed but didn’t so they are lost, our grab bag was already packed before hand so we had the bare essentials away, passports, ships papers, money etc.
Something that is bothering me is that I should have turned on the lower nav lights and cabin lights in case she stayed afloat through the night as she would be a hazard, the batteries were fully charged so they would have lasted reasonably as long as she was afloat.
We were rescued in position 16 28.72N 048 29.30W and there the dream of cruising in the Caribbean aboard my own boat for the winter died.
Wednesday 21/11/07, we went ashore and got a taxi up to the commercial dockyard to find the offices for the policia nacionale to get our exit papers stamped, it was well hidden but we found it and got the job done.
Back aboard the boat we squared everything away for sea and lifted the anchor at midday, there was not much wind so we were motoring for about an hour before the sea breeze kicked in and we were able to sail down the coast. The wind changed direction when we were off the airport and we had to bear away out to sea (ESE) the wind increased rapidly and we were charging along in a wind acceleration zone with the wind coming from the south. The further offshore we went the stronger it got, we reefed the main and put up the working jib and after another hour tacked back towards the shore. It was after sunset and getting dark as we approached the shore again and the wind eased off so we tacked again to go along the shore and sure enough the wind came around and allowed us to sail south. The seas were confused and steep and we were going straight into them it was a very uncomfortable start to our trip.
By morning we were able to point more to the southwest and by midday the wind was astern although fairly light, so progress was slow.
Thursday midday position: 26 49N 015 59W
We sailed on with the genoa poled out and the mainsail preventer rigged, we were goose winging downwind and ‘Spam’ did not need a touch on the wheel she was in the groove. The fishing lines were trailed all day with no success.
The wind was steady in direction all day but its strength varied and most of the day progress was slower than we would like, but we are going the right way.
Friday midday position : 25 48N 017 33W
We saw tenacious go by us in the dark, quite close too, they were motoring which is shame in a tall ship with a fair breeze.
The weather conditions have hardly changed, with only the wind strength varying. Still no fish, seen plenty jumping out of the water but none chasing our lures.
The seas are building up now behind us but it is still reasonably comfortable, Adam asked ‘is it going to like this all the way across?’ I’m afraid I had to disappoint him and tell him the seas would most likely get much bigger yet.
Cooked a pressure cooker full of stew for dinner tonight, this went down well with all and the bonus is there is enough left for tomorrow as well.
Saturday 24/11 midday position: 24 49N 019 17W
The wind is still blowing a force three right from astern which is keeping things comfortable and reasonably simple but not giving us a great amount of speed. We are now averaging 120 miles a day.
Saw a couple of other yachts today but no contact made with them. Still no fish caught and haven’t seen a flying fish since we left Gran Canaria, I’m beginning to wonder where they all are. The remainder of the stew went down very well again. We had a huge pod of dolphins playing around the boat for about an hour this morning, now that was entertainment.
Sunday 25/11 midday position: 23 33N 021 03W
Another reasonable 24 hour run with the wind occasionally increasing to give us a bit more speed. I’m trying to decide when I should make the turn direct towards Barbados, the question is are we far enough into the trades to turn now or am I adding extra miles to the journey by continuing into the south, decisions decisions.
We saw a shark on the surface this morning and at almost the same time hooked a fish on each lure but we lost them both, it was great excitement though. Everyone has settled into their own kind of routine now which revolves around keeping watch sleeping eating and generally lazing around when off watch. Agustin is reading pirate stories and Adam is watching dvd’s and playing his psp, Me well I have to sit here and trype on the laptop whilst the boat is lurching around which makes hitting the right key something of a game in itself.
We checked the halyards and sheets for chafe this morning and reset everything again, this is something we need to do more often as the voyage continues.
Typical just put this away and Adam catches the first fish of the trip, a small Dorado about two pounds, big enough for dinner tomorrow. Caught another during dinner, one for the freezer for later.
At 14:30 we crossed the Tropic of Cancer, so are now officially sailing in the tropics at last, seas still lumpy though.
Monday 26/11 midday position: 22 30N 023 00W
The wind has been shifting about between east and northeast since the early hours and we have had to reset the sails accordingly each time, if only it would stay steady. We made the turn to head direct for Barbados at 4a.m. and then the wind changed again. This running downwind is not as easy as it sounds especially as we are trying to get as much speed as possible to meet our deadline and rendezvous with San and Maddy on the 16th, at the moment its touch and go. I am looking forward to the cruising in the Caribbean with them aboard.
The sky has been cloudy since yesterday afternoon, could do with a bit more sunshine to lift the mood a little.
We had one of the Dorado for dinner tonight cooked by Agustin, it was absolutely delicious with a nice bit of salad and some rice on the side.
Tuesday 27/11 midday position: 22 04N 25 05W
Things going much the same, same wind constantly changing direction through about 45 degrees but always from aft at least, same waves from all directions making life quite difficult and throwing the stern around meaning the sails lose the wind and start flogging.
Its been a melancholy day today, missing San and Maddy all the comforts of home and eating dinner together on a table where dinner stays still, Sunday night pub crawl with John Hutchins and all the other little things that are taken for granted at home. This has been the hardest part of the trip, on the mind.
Agustin is full of beans and lively as ever, good job he is so upbeat he can lift spirits quite well. Adam is coping with the monotony of it really well too, he just buries his head in his toys, psp dvd player etc, and quite often does some daft thing out of the blue just to cheer us up. If only he would do the washing up!!!
Had a nice roast dinner tonight of pork, not much fresh stuff left now.
Wednesday 28/11 midday position : 21 45N 027 28W
We are happily running downwind still at much the same speed. No sooner do I sit here to do this log from where I can see out through the door, and the line goes tight with another fish on. Much excitement, a bigger Dorado this time, that’s another nice meal in the fridge. Adam wants batter on his!!
The flying fish (exocetus) have appeared in large numbers now, just as I had expected them to from the start really, Adam almost tears himself away from his game to watch them.
Really looking forward to making the sat phone call to San tonight. These calls are turning into a highlight of the trip, good job for the phone, long may it keep working.
The weather improved greatly today with wall to wall sunshine and temperature to match.
We haven’t seen any other vessels for over two days now, we are all alone out here, I would expect some of the faster ARC boats to be catching up with us soon but it’s a vaast ocean and we may not see any of them at all.
Thursday 29/11 midday position: 21 19N 29 28W
Is that a mouse I can hear!! I am half asleep in bed and I can hear something scrabbling like a mouse in a corner, sounds as though it is coming from the bookshelf just beside my bunk, it can’t be, I try to pinpoint the sound but it fades away and I then drop off to sleep. I’m up for the 4a.m. til 8 stint and I remember the noise and think it over some more through the mental plonk of early morning, it dawns on me eventually that it must have been a flying fish on the foredeck, so at daylight I go and investigate and sure enough there it is wedged under the dinghy we have lashed there, mystery solved. I was worried for my cheese!!
Slow progress in the last twenty four hours with the winds going a little lighter, we cannot afford to go any slower. No sightings of any other vessels still, they must be out there somewhere. No more fishing for a few days as we have enough in the fridge to last us, it’s a shame as it is fun to catch them but we would find it too hard to throw them back in, I would swear they all have dinner stamped on the side.
Cloudy day again today, the sunshine yesterday was great could have done with more of that.
Friday 30/11 midday position: 20 52N 31 37W
I was on midnight til four last night and halfway through the watch something hit me in the small of the back, now I know there was no-one else there, so it had to be, you guessed it a flying fish. Good job it didn’t hit me in the back of the head, now that would have made me jump.
Speed for the last twenty four hours has been pretty much the same, so still making steady progress and seem to be averaging five knots, which is not fast but the winds have hardly blown more than force two to three the whole time. Having said that we did have a bit of a blow last evening and stowed the main, then we had to drop the genoa and put up the working jib, which meant a lot of messing about with the pole set up etc. Ten minutes later it was down with the jib and back up with the genoa as the squall had passed. Up til now we have been lucky that was the first time we needed to reef since Gran Canaria.
We had chicken tonight for dinner which was very tasty and easy to do on a boat. We are now down to just two portions of mince left in the freezer plus the fish, but what to do with the mince, spaghetti Bolognese is not that easy to eat on a moving boat, it also tends to slide off the plate into your lap.
No vessels sighted in the last twenty four hours, I’ve now forgotten how long it is since we saw another boat/ship but it must be at least three days. There’s been not much wildlife either, no whales, dolphins or such, some seabirds and loads of flying fish but that’s all.
Saturday 1/12 midday position: 20 18N 034 03W
We have a little bit more wind at the moment and the boat speed has picked up nicely, if only we could keep going like this but we know it probably won’t last. No vessels sighted at all in the last twenty four hours again, this makes watch keeping a bit of a drag.
Everyone is very quiet now, we are all deep in thought or just empty headed, basically conversation has run dry and we are all keen to arrive but it is still up to fourteen days away. This is going to be a long haul! ! ! !
The days are really warm now but the nights can still have a bit of chill in them so its not all shorts and t-shirts just yet.
All the bread has gone now so its out with the part baked baguettes until they are gone then I will be forced to try and bake a loaf, that could be fun, or not.
Sunday 2/12 midday position: 19 58N 036 34W
A much better 24 hour run of 145 miles, we need quite a few more like that. No ships or sails, no dolphins nor whales, nothing sighted ‘cept miles of deep blue sea.
Its bathday today, ½ a bucket each and a good sponge down, I feel quite refreshed after that. We are getting near the halfway point now, the beers are in the fridge chillin’ ready for the celebration, it’ll be all downhill after that, I hope.
Monday 3/12 midday position: 19 12N 038 29W
We passed the halfway point at midnight last night, yippee, but now the wind has gone light and gone southerly as well, not ideal.
Got up this morning and decided it was time to have a go at this loaf of bread. I searched the books for the recipe but found none, so it was a hit and miss affair from memory, I haven’t made a loaf for a couple of years. As it turned out we have a very nice loaf of wholemeal bread, I am quite impressed with myself (no amazed), bet it won’t last very long and the next one will never come out the same.
We had a yacht pass in the night, no contact made, the first one seen for a good few days now.
This is one big ocean, full of blue sea and flying fish.
The air is much warmer now especially noticeable at night when not so long ago it had a slight chill to it, it no longer has, the days are really warm, this is what we wanted.
Tuesday 4/12 midday position: 18 36N 039 55W
The wind is still very light but we are moving along in the right direction just not as fast as we would like. The temperature has climbed rapidly it was 27c during the night and is 30c now, I think that is probably the last of the chilly nights out of the way. Not much news to add these days, we cook we eat we sleep we keep watch, and right now it is starting to get a bit boring. Beat Adam at crib 3 games to 1, I guess he will get me back in the next session.
Wednesday 5/12 midday position: 18 08N 041 52W
We have had a bit of decent breeze back since the early hours and are once again going along nicely. The genoa is suffering and some stitching is coming undone so we got it down in the afternoon and put up the other one. I shall begin sowing when I get a chance in between watches. I wish I had new sails, these old ones are in need of constant tlc.
Crossed tracks with another yacht last evening, a Sunbeam 44 called ‘Nika’, they are part of the ARC so have made better progress than us. Good to chat on the radio though.
We should pass the thousand miles to go barrier tonight which will be a good morale boost to have only three digits on the distance to go instead of four and the countdown can really begin.
Good job for the satellite phone, the chats with San really do lift the spirits, both mine and Adam’s anyway, Agustin seems to be content enough that he’s on his travels.
Right time to go on watch again, more tomorrow.
Thursday 6/12 midday position: 17 29N 043 57W
Spent the morning sitting in the sunshine on the foredeck with the old genoa and my sowing kit stitching the seams that had come undone, just a few more to do tomorrow then we can use it again.
I was on for the afternoon watch which started with fairly light winds and boatspeed between 3.5 and 5 knots, by 2pm I was doing a steady seven and hit a top speed of 11.4. The wind had freshened quite a bit and there were a few rain squalls around, one of which was coming right up behind us so I got Adam to pass me the soap and my towel and stripped off ready for a free shower. The boat was doing 8 knots and I was holding the soap in one hand and trying to steer with the other while she surfed down the waves, but all it did was spit, the main body of rain passed down our starboard side about a 100 yards away so all I got was cold.
Adam is on the wheel now and got up to 12.1 knots, he is grinning from ear to ear and enjoying the fast pace for a change. We really ought to reef but we need the extra speed to make up for what we have lost earlier, we shall see how long it lasts, I suspect it will ease before long.
Famous last words, the genoa just popped, so been out and dropped that and put up the working jib. That’s another fix it job to do when I get a chance, nothing too major this time so should not take too long. Phew its all go round here today, got to get on and start cooking something for dinner now as well. 897 miles to go as I type.
Friday 7/12 midday position: 16 57N 046 33W
We had a very good twenty four hour run, 193 miles logged from midday yesterday to today, what a blast. It has come at a price though as the spinnaker pole has just folded in two so that’s the end of that, it made a huge difference to the sail set and comfort we will miss it sorely. The tactics will have to change a bit now and our progress is likely to suffer because of it and we have no time to spare so there is a good likelihood that we shall be a bit late for the girls.
I got my free shower just after lunch, Adam opted for full foul weather gear and I opted for birthday suit and bar of soap, this time it worked but now we want it to stop raining as we have now had enough.
Baked another loaf of bread this morning, a nice white loaf to please Adam, it has come out alright considering we are guessing ingredient quantities.
We are fishing again now, looking for the elusive Tuna but we will take whatever offers itself up. This time we have added a flying fish to make the bait a bit more interesting.
Saturday 8/12 midday position: Belly up! ! ! !
Well what a night, it continued to rain, well rain does not do it justice it came down almost solid, with lightning and wind to go with it. The horrible night turned into a disastrous day when at about 0845 the mast came down and went over the starboard side, where the end started to pound against the hull. Agustin was called from his bunk and told to done foul weather gear and lifejacket. I grabbed some tools and set to work on the remaining stays to release the mast whilst Adam set to work cutting the running rigging which led to the cockpit from the mast and sails. We made a futile attempt to get the boom and mainsail off but it was particularly dangerous with a ragged and sharp end of mast stabbing upwards every now and then so we gave up and released the last two stays, starboard lower and backstay, which had bent the chain plates 90 degrees already, and dropped the lot and let it sink. All fell fairly silent then so I took stock, we had a broken spinnaker pole and a long boathook with which to jury rig, some old wires stored below and plenty of old running rigging and some sails. We went below to make a plan and discovered water coming in, we were holed and already paddling. This was no time for messing about we set off the EPIRB and I phoned Sandra on the satellite phone to let her know and then phoned Falmouth coastguard to inform them of the situation, this was particularly reassuring as they received the EPIRB signal as I was on the phone so I knew it was working. It was obvious that we were going to have to abandon at some stage so we gathered gear and packed rapidly into sailbags and got all our bottled water out and all the snacks we could lay our hands on, in case we would be in the raft for a long time. I also wanted both the inflatables pumped up and ready to use as extra security and it was at this point that we saw a yacht about a mile and a half off, I put out one last call on VHF this time on the main set as the batteries were already running down on the handheld, but first I stripped back about an inch of bare coaxial to give us some kind of aerial, apparently it worked well and the mayday was received loud and clear. We put up a red rocket for good measure (the first and last time I have to do that I hope) which soared to a great height and burned brightly but I later learned was not seen at all. The yacht we could see was now steering for us so we inflated the liferaft and packed in as much of our gear as we could, as the yacht (Navillus) sailed past we cut the painter and drifted away from ’Spam’ she was already listing badly down to the gunwhale on one hull with waves crashing over her, how long she would last is anyones guess. The guys on S/V Navillus (Brian O’Sullivan - Skipper, Michael O’Sullivan and Peadar O’Loughlin) executed a perfect run in and we got a line first time and hauled up to the stern, passed up our gear and scrambled aboard. I expressed our sincere thanks to the crew and then promptly became an emotional wreck.
Fortunately for us the S/V Navillus is a Bavaria 50 (big boat) and there is plenty of room for us and our gear and we have been made very welcome aboard. We have become part of the crew and keep watches and help out where we can, it’s the least we can do.
Needless to say my mind is running it through over and over again, there are many things we could have and should have grabbed but didn’t so they are lost, our grab bag was already packed before hand so we had the bare essentials away, passports, ships papers, money etc.
Something that is bothering me is that I should have turned on the lower nav lights and cabin lights in case she stayed afloat through the night as she would be a hazard, the batteries were fully charged so they would have lasted reasonably as long as she was afloat.
We were rescued in position 16 28.72N 048 29.30W and there the dream of cruising in the Caribbean aboard my own boat for the winter died.
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