Tuesday 16 December 2014
Sunday 14 December 2014
Search and Rescue display at Las Palmas
Jon, Padding out the spreaders to minimise Chafe on the crossing
Chris Loading final fuel supplies
Nigel....have we started yet?
The team. Top Row, L to R, Nigel, David, Rob. Front row L to R. Chris, Jon
One of the many fantastic sunsets.
Nigel assuming "the" position!
There seemed to be a lot of big ships out there.....
Rob on the night shift......
David at night....not much deifferent t during the day!
Chris admiring the sunset...
Rob at the helm....again!
Chris having a quiet moment.
Nigel's turn to enjoy the sunset!
Rob and Jon fighting for the helm...
Kings of the world!
Photo bomb!
Jon perching on the bow....
Photo bomb 2!
At rest...St. Lucia!
Friday 12 December 2014
Log - Day 18 - home and Dry!
At last we arrived in St. Lucia, Rodney Bay Marina. We arrived at 2.50 am local time, 6.50 GMT.
Congratulations to the crew for a great jobs well done. The arrival was great despite the time and a welcoming committee was there to great us with rum punch! Liz (my wife) and Geraldine (Nigel's wife) may the end complete. Now to repair the various bits and pieces. Watch this space as I will update with photographs shortly.
At last we arrived in St. Lucia, Rodney Bay Marina. We arrived at 2.50 am local time, 6.50 GMT.
Congratulations to the crew for a great jobs well done. The arrival was great despite the time and a welcoming committee was there to great us with rum punch! Liz (my wife) and Geraldine (Nigel's wife) may the end complete. Now to repair the various bits and pieces. Watch this space as I will update with photographs shortly.
Thursday 11 December 2014
Log - Day 17 - So near yet so far.....
As I write this we are under motor with Chris on the helm about 150 miles out from St Lucia.
Yesterday was a good day with solid mileage, the Parasailor working well in winds of 12 - 15 Knots and Harry keeping us on a good course. As we approached nightfall after a good day we were confident that with the winds we would make good progress over night. Over confidence is not something I would accuse any of us after this trip, but we retired (except for those on shift!) feeling pretty good. Alarms went off at 01.40 as Rob was having problems. The Parasailor had blown out in 15 Knots of wind! So Jon, Nigel and myself lowered the sail and moved on to the Jib which was giving us about 6 knots. By the 7am the wind had shifted so that we could not maintain speed and direction so we went on to the iron sail instead for a few hours. The aim now is to raise the main at first light and then (hopefully) have a relatively plain sail the rest of the way into St. Lucia.....we hope!!!!
The Parasailor has about a two meter tear, we will look to see if we can complete temporary repairs as soon as we get light, failing that we will wait for St Lucia.
ETA at Rodney Bay Marina will be somewhere after midnight St. Lucia time.......one way or another! :-)
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Yesterday was a good day with solid mileage, the Parasailor working well in winds of 12 - 15 Knots and Harry keeping us on a good course. As we approached nightfall after a good day we were confident that with the winds we would make good progress over night. Over confidence is not something I would accuse any of us after this trip, but we retired (except for those on shift!) feeling pretty good. Alarms went off at 01.40 as Rob was having problems. The Parasailor had blown out in 15 Knots of wind! So Jon, Nigel and myself lowered the sail and moved on to the Jib which was giving us about 6 knots. By the 7am the wind had shifted so that we could not maintain speed and direction so we went on to the iron sail instead for a few hours. The aim now is to raise the main at first light and then (hopefully) have a relatively plain sail the rest of the way into St. Lucia.....we hope!!!!
The Parasailor has about a two meter tear, we will look to see if we can complete temporary repairs as soon as we get light, failing that we will wait for St Lucia.
ETA at Rodney Bay Marina will be somewhere after midnight St. Lucia time.......one way or another! :-)
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Wednesday 10 December 2014
Log - Day 16 - Nothing to report sir!
Nothing broke, nobody broke anything, no one hurt. So a good day!
The wind continues to frustrate. With under 300 miles to go as I write this we have 5 - 10 knots from the East, pushing us a long at 5 - 6 Knots. Not as fast as we would like, but the destination is near...We can almost smell the cocktails!
Parasailior driven by Harry continue to work well down wind and that means we are in watch mode so reasonably low stress.
Chicken curry for dinner last night so Miss Liz II has an interesting fragrance today!
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
The wind continues to frustrate. With under 300 miles to go as I write this we have 5 - 10 knots from the East, pushing us a long at 5 - 6 Knots. Not as fast as we would like, but the destination is near...We can almost smell the cocktails!
Parasailior driven by Harry continue to work well down wind and that means we are in watch mode so reasonably low stress.
Chicken curry for dinner last night so Miss Liz II has an interesting fragrance today!
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Tuesday 9 December 2014
Log = Day 15 - Becalmed
What a different a day makes. After the storms of Sunday night, on Monday during the day the winds steadily calmed until by evening there was none at all. So the Iron sail was cranked up and we started to motor. This went on for most of the night - although about 2am we did raise the parasailor and were able to motor sail, albeit slowly. This has put us back time wise and it now looks likely that we will make landfall somewhere on Friday...
Incident of the day? The self tacking Jib car has broken.Selden will be getting a call as it is only 6 months old!! Luckily we are able to rig as a normal Jib as we have cars on the coach roof for the purpose - so just a few changes in the sheets required.
Dinner was based on beef, with every vegetable possible included...An interesting Chris delicacy!
This morning back on Parasailor in light winds and we are sailing directly down wind which is a bonus. We just need the wind to pick up a little more to boost as long at more than 6 Knots!
Setting up the Parasailor Jon, Chris and Nigel were luck enough to have two pods of dolphins come and watch what they were up to. Hopefully a god omen.
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Incident of the day? The self tacking Jib car has broken.Selden will be getting a call as it is only 6 months old!! Luckily we are able to rig as a normal Jib as we have cars on the coach roof for the purpose - so just a few changes in the sheets required.
Dinner was based on beef, with every vegetable possible included...An interesting Chris delicacy!
This morning back on Parasailor in light winds and we are sailing directly down wind which is a bonus. We just need the wind to pick up a little more to boost as long at more than 6 Knots!
Setting up the Parasailor Jon, Chris and Nigel were luck enough to have two pods of dolphins come and watch what they were up to. Hopefully a god omen.
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Monday 8 December 2014
Log -Day 14. Thunder and Lightening, Very, Very Frighteneing..
ME! As the song goes.
Yesterday went well, reasonable winds and distance. As evening approached we saw the dark clouds on the horizon and lowered the Parasailor. Engine on. In the distance lightening appeared. Now, I'm not a fan of lightening at the best of times (after being hit in Houston a few years ago), so the hairs on my neck immediately stood on end. We placed as much of our electronics as we could in the oven (protection from a lightening strike - the Faraday cage principle for anyone who wants to look it up) and motored on as now the winds were building and coming from every quarter. Then the rain came......worst yet.
Jon was on shift but I went to help him out. As the wind built we motored at 2.5 Knots into the wind....realising that the parasailor needed tying down better on deck, Chris and I clipped on and went forward under the spreader lines to make her fast. By now the Bow was digging in to the confused seas and waves smashed over Chris and I. But, happily, at this latitude the water is very warm so in away it was quite enjoyable! Everything locked down we continued to motor, in total for 4 hours before we cleared the storm. The lightening fortunately was sheet lightening...very impressive but not a threat. In Jon's words "I don't like that!"....
By Midnight we were clear and the word was blowing all angles at 20 knots, so we ran with the Jib only to allow everyone to get some respite from the previous four hours bouncing. The jib alone approach gave us over 7 Knots over the ground.
As daylight approached and in 18 knot winds we raised the Parasailor ready for a good run. It lasted 30 minutes before the wind dropped to less than 10 knots...such is our luck!
For those desperate to keep up with our culinary escapades, last night we really pushed the boat out with some high cholesterol generating chilli dogs. Very nice, but I think today we will suffer. 600 Miles to go.....
No more storms today please!
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Yesterday went well, reasonable winds and distance. As evening approached we saw the dark clouds on the horizon and lowered the Parasailor. Engine on. In the distance lightening appeared. Now, I'm not a fan of lightening at the best of times (after being hit in Houston a few years ago), so the hairs on my neck immediately stood on end. We placed as much of our electronics as we could in the oven (protection from a lightening strike - the Faraday cage principle for anyone who wants to look it up) and motored on as now the winds were building and coming from every quarter. Then the rain came......worst yet.
Jon was on shift but I went to help him out. As the wind built we motored at 2.5 Knots into the wind....realising that the parasailor needed tying down better on deck, Chris and I clipped on and went forward under the spreader lines to make her fast. By now the Bow was digging in to the confused seas and waves smashed over Chris and I. But, happily, at this latitude the water is very warm so in away it was quite enjoyable! Everything locked down we continued to motor, in total for 4 hours before we cleared the storm. The lightening fortunately was sheet lightening...very impressive but not a threat. In Jon's words "I don't like that!"....
By Midnight we were clear and the word was blowing all angles at 20 knots, so we ran with the Jib only to allow everyone to get some respite from the previous four hours bouncing. The jib alone approach gave us over 7 Knots over the ground.
As daylight approached and in 18 knot winds we raised the Parasailor ready for a good run. It lasted 30 minutes before the wind dropped to less than 10 knots...such is our luck!
For those desperate to keep up with our culinary escapades, last night we really pushed the boat out with some high cholesterol generating chilli dogs. Very nice, but I think today we will suffer. 600 Miles to go.....
No more storms today please!
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Sunday 7 December 2014
Log - Day 13 - Squall me!
A good days sail on the whole. Wind moving on to the beam meant a normal sail plan and 10 knots plus frequently passed.
No issues for another day (wow!). We are steadily heading South aiming to hit 16 degrees North later today before turning to head straight for St. Lucia. Plan is to avoid as much as possible the forecast weak winds that are meant to arrive in the area on Monday.
Pleasant stew for dinner, but let me digress for a moment.
My daughter, Jon's wife (the intrepid heads unblocker) were married just over two years ago in Florida. While there we had the chance to visit MGM studios and the backlot tour. On the tour I volunteered for the Pearl harbour special effects show. Never volunteer. For the pleasure of it I had to sit on a chair, pretending to make a call to the engine room while we were attacked by a zero (Japanese plane). The plane was supposed to drop a bomb nearby and for the effect, a 1000 gallon tank of water was effectively dropped on my head. I never thought I would get so wet again. I was wrong! Last night I had the Midnight watch and of course a squall came through. We had no reefs in and I was too late to call the crew so we took the 30 knot plus winds on the chin and Miss Liz II whizzed along at a cracking 14.5 Knots. Very nice until, SQUALL ME! it rained.....and rained....and rained. Cold and wet I thought surely, I can never get this wet again...Watch this space.
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
No issues for another day (wow!). We are steadily heading South aiming to hit 16 degrees North later today before turning to head straight for St. Lucia. Plan is to avoid as much as possible the forecast weak winds that are meant to arrive in the area on Monday.
Pleasant stew for dinner, but let me digress for a moment.
My daughter, Jon's wife (the intrepid heads unblocker) were married just over two years ago in Florida. While there we had the chance to visit MGM studios and the backlot tour. On the tour I volunteered for the Pearl harbour special effects show. Never volunteer. For the pleasure of it I had to sit on a chair, pretending to make a call to the engine room while we were attacked by a zero (Japanese plane). The plane was supposed to drop a bomb nearby and for the effect, a 1000 gallon tank of water was effectively dropped on my head. I never thought I would get so wet again. I was wrong! Last night I had the Midnight watch and of course a squall came through. We had no reefs in and I was too late to call the crew so we took the 30 knot plus winds on the chin and Miss Liz II whizzed along at a cracking 14.5 Knots. Very nice until, SQUALL ME! it rained.....and rained....and rained. Cold and wet I thought surely, I can never get this wet again...Watch this space.
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Saturday 6 December 2014
Log - Day 12. Whoops, we've dunnit again!
A quiet day, good winds and god progress - in the right direction.
Parasailed all day and the sail really is making a difference. For one the rolling is greatly reduced, which means we can actually sleep comfortably in the forepeak! Bliss. It also allows a run with very little adjustment which makes the days routine much easier. Better still Harry is perfect downwind so we able to maintain a good angle.
No more friends on deck this morning and minimal chafe as we are managing the Parasailor halyard carefully. Probably drop her at sometime today just to double check.
Movies have now moved on to band of brothers....which means we will have to stay out longer if we want to watch the entire series!!!! Panic at dinner as Jon set off the fire alarms and eventually provided us with a good but well baked chicken / chorizo pasta dinner.
So the title? After Jon's valiant efforts to clear Heads three.....it is down again. Not a blockage this time, looks likethe pump may have an issue. So we've done the dunny as the Aussies would say....
What will day 13 bring?
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Parasailed all day and the sail really is making a difference. For one the rolling is greatly reduced, which means we can actually sleep comfortably in the forepeak! Bliss. It also allows a run with very little adjustment which makes the days routine much easier. Better still Harry is perfect downwind so we able to maintain a good angle.
No more friends on deck this morning and minimal chafe as we are managing the Parasailor halyard carefully. Probably drop her at sometime today just to double check.
Movies have now moved on to band of brothers....which means we will have to stay out longer if we want to watch the entire series!!!! Panic at dinner as Jon set off the fire alarms and eventually provided us with a good but well baked chicken / chorizo pasta dinner.
So the title? After Jon's valiant efforts to clear Heads three.....it is down again. Not a blockage this time, looks likethe pump may have an issue. So we've done the dunny as the Aussies would say....
What will day 13 bring?
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Friday 5 December 2014
Log - Day 11. Singing in the Rain and other Plumbing tales....
An eventful (ish) Day. No major issues - a major event in itself. The parasailor was up all night - even though we dropped to zero wind on occasions. On the whole, wind has faded now to 10 Knots
, still good enough to push us on though. We still hope for 15!
Not a curry or chilli in sight last night as Rob prepared his pork with three mustards pasta dish....OK, now mustard instead of Chilli's but still very good and team spirits high for the night shift.
After dinner, Chris and Jon had a swim as the wind had dropped - even though we were floating along at 2 knots. Fortunately we had a swim line in the water so they could then drag themselves back. Then the big event. We lowered Jon over the side to poke out the stubborn lugged heads. Poking the seacock with the end of an old fishing rod did the trick and the plug was removed - Much to Jon's dismay and screams of "Get me out of here"!!! He was back on board faster than a rat up a drain pipe.....spirits raised again.
With a good moon we decided to keep the Parasailor up all night for the first time, and with a Harry working well all looked good. And it was, until the 3 - 6 Shift - mine (David's) as it happened. Line after line of squalls, the Parasailor flew well, until we got down to 1 knot of wind and rain, well I think it was rain (more like a bath) that had it hanging like a wet rag.Not so much singing as cursing in the rain. The wind soon came back though and onward we went with Harry happily in control.
On board life remains good with a great British Movie last night - Layered Cake. Nigel is catching up on all he has missed in UK films...In the day, Scrabble has now become king with the Skipper as the decider on word fights....not that he can spell!!!
Bring on Day 12!!
Harry was working well the P
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
, still good enough to push us on though. We still hope for 15!
Not a curry or chilli in sight last night as Rob prepared his pork with three mustards pasta dish....OK, now mustard instead of Chilli's but still very good and team spirits high for the night shift.
After dinner, Chris and Jon had a swim as the wind had dropped - even though we were floating along at 2 knots. Fortunately we had a swim line in the water so they could then drag themselves back. Then the big event. We lowered Jon over the side to poke out the stubborn lugged heads. Poking the seacock with the end of an old fishing rod did the trick and the plug was removed - Much to Jon's dismay and screams of "Get me out of here"!!! He was back on board faster than a rat up a drain pipe.....spirits raised again.
With a good moon we decided to keep the Parasailor up all night for the first time, and with a Harry working well all looked good. And it was, until the 3 - 6 Shift - mine (David's) as it happened. Line after line of squalls, the Parasailor flew well, until we got down to 1 knot of wind and rain, well I think it was rain (more like a bath) that had it hanging like a wet rag.Not so much singing as cursing in the rain. The wind soon came back though and onward we went with Harry happily in control.
On board life remains good with a great British Movie last night - Layered Cake. Nigel is catching up on all he has missed in UK films...In the day, Scrabble has now become king with the Skipper as the decider on word fights....not that he can spell!!!
Bring on Day 12!!
Harry was working well the P
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Thursday 4 December 2014
Log - Day 10. Who Nobbled Harry?
We have Gremlins. After helming overnight yesterday, alter in the day we noticed why Harry ad gone awry on us. The vane had been knocked and so the response was greatly reduced, meaning no control. Easily fixed so we had 5 Happy Bunnies yesterday evening as we were back on automatic.
Other highlight was the halfway party with Champagne and Iberico ham. Very nice. Neptune had a champagne toast so we are hoping he will look kindly on us!!
The weather continues to frustrate as we never seem to be able to have a sustained blow. Squalls yesterday stole us of an hours sailing as the wind span around us, and meant the Parasailor came down earlier than we would have liked. But, we did make better distance by a considerable margin over the prior three days.
Our main tragedy was that we consumed the final ice creams (aaggghh!). But we still have chocolate to placate the crew.
Chafe remains a worry, especially on Chris's sunburn.
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Other highlight was the halfway party with Champagne and Iberico ham. Very nice. Neptune had a champagne toast so we are hoping he will look kindly on us!!
The weather continues to frustrate as we never seem to be able to have a sustained blow. Squalls yesterday stole us of an hours sailing as the wind span around us, and meant the Parasailor came down earlier than we would have liked. But, we did make better distance by a considerable margin over the prior three days.
Our main tragedy was that we consumed the final ice creams (aaggghh!). But we still have chocolate to placate the crew.
Chafe remains a worry, especially on Chris's sunburn.
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Wednesday 3 December 2014
Log Day 9 -Half Way House
A cheery crew today as we passed half way during the night. We will be having our half way party at lunch today!
An interesting day again, but a good run over the day. We launched the Parasailor in the morning and lowered her at dusk. Finding some chafe on the halyard. We changed back to dyneema this morning and will keep monitoring.
Last night, as Harry was not coping so well we had to helm manually all night, not too bad with 5 of us, allowing 1 hour spells at the helm. we have played with the auto pilot but no response. Hanse and auto pilots do not seem to work well together - hopefully someone will be a made available to us in St Lucia to get it fixed!
In the evening as we launched the Jib, another minor incident as the becket screw on the sheet block (tacking assembly) parted. A minor issue which we will fix this morning. At least the "minor issues" give us something to do!
With the Parasailor up today and good winds we hope for another good run. During the day yesterday we caught and overtook a few other yachts in the vicinity - great for Moral! Even better, we made water last night so showers all round today!!!
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
An interesting day again, but a good run over the day. We launched the Parasailor in the morning and lowered her at dusk. Finding some chafe on the halyard. We changed back to dyneema this morning and will keep monitoring.
Last night, as Harry was not coping so well we had to helm manually all night, not too bad with 5 of us, allowing 1 hour spells at the helm. we have played with the auto pilot but no response. Hanse and auto pilots do not seem to work well together - hopefully someone will be a made available to us in St Lucia to get it fixed!
In the evening as we launched the Jib, another minor incident as the becket screw on the sheet block (tacking assembly) parted. A minor issue which we will fix this morning. At least the "minor issues" give us something to do!
With the Parasailor up today and good winds we hope for another good run. During the day yesterday we caught and overtook a few other yachts in the vicinity - great for Moral! Even better, we made water last night so showers all round today!!!
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Tuesday 2 December 2014
Log Day 8 - Downwind
Downwind sailing is not as easy as it should be - especially when the jammers aren't holding as they should.....This morning we launched the Parasailor but can't get a good sail down wind, we have to bear off about 10 degrees, which is frustrating. Harry also can't hold the course so manual helming is in order, and at night back to the main. Not very efficient at all. During the night we ran main only and had some chafe on the shrouds - meaning a little repair work today. Fortunately, structurally the sail is sound as it is on the batten.
So, today we hope that the porpoises we saw earlier this morning were a sign of good luck - and thta today we have a good run. One more flying fish on deck this morning, spotted it after the porpoises had gone otherwise we could have made some friends!
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
So, today we hope that the porpoises we saw earlier this morning were a sign of good luck - and thta today we have a good run. One more flying fish on deck this morning, spotted it after the porpoises had gone otherwise we could have made some friends!
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Monday 1 December 2014
Log Day 7 - 24 Days to Christmas.....
Oh no, I haven't started shopping yet....Ah well. Another good 24 hours. Yesterday we launched the Parasailor for the first time. The effect on the boat was instant, good speed and the rolling virtually disappeared...so it does do as it says in the brochure. Launching was fun as it was the first time in 5 months. It should be quite simple as everything is colour coded. Obviosuly Jon and I are colour blind as we got it wring three times. Very impressive though when she finally launched. But then we found the extra halyard we had fited slipped very badly. Dyneema again....I am not very hapy with Dyneema any more...back to the originals I think. Eventually someone will invent a jammer that can actually hold it...
No generator today as the Watt and Sea has maintained battery charge well for the past 36 hours.
On a less pleasant note (!) we attempted to clean the heads last night. Seems it is blocked at the sea cocks so no luck. As soon as we get a calm day some lucky volunteer will have the opportunity to swim around and see if we can unblock from the outside. Good be difficult to get a volunteer for that one!
Dinner - found dried chillies, but avoided curry. Nice chicken and chorizo, potato mix with a few vegetables thrown in. Mioni magnums for desert! Bliss.
This night saw the wind drop again which slowed progress but this morning it changed to an easterly and was blowing a reasonable 10 - 15 knots...we need 15 - 20 to really make speed. But, more adventure today as we raised the gennaker on a Port tack for the first time in almost a week. Best through the water speed so far 11.4 Knots.
So, a good day. The electronics are still holding in there. Hopefully another good day ahead.
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
No generator today as the Watt and Sea has maintained battery charge well for the past 36 hours.
On a less pleasant note (!) we attempted to clean the heads last night. Seems it is blocked at the sea cocks so no luck. As soon as we get a calm day some lucky volunteer will have the opportunity to swim around and see if we can unblock from the outside. Good be difficult to get a volunteer for that one!
Dinner - found dried chillies, but avoided curry. Nice chicken and chorizo, potato mix with a few vegetables thrown in. Mioni magnums for desert! Bliss.
This night saw the wind drop again which slowed progress but this morning it changed to an easterly and was blowing a reasonable 10 - 15 knots...we need 15 - 20 to really make speed. But, more adventure today as we raised the gennaker on a Port tack for the first time in almost a week. Best through the water speed so far 11.4 Knots.
So, a good day. The electronics are still holding in there. Hopefully another good day ahead.
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)