Position: 18°00.742N/29°06.394W, Friday 25 Nov., 20:50 UTC
We hit the 900 nm today, meaning we have covered about one third of the distance to Tobago. In 3 days or so, we'll have our midway party :-)
Jur has already definitely won the beard competition.... I had a shave this morning. Marc and Rutger are still in but Marc should better quit too … it's going nowhere and it's not a pretty show :-)
All the manoeuvrings with the gennaker and poling in and out the genoa are going very smooth by now. At sunset we dropped the gennaker, also getting ready to give way for the Elandsgracht, a Dutch coaster that crossed us. She was giving way but passed us close by to call us over the radio. I didn't get the message at first but when I asked to repeat it, they told us there were 6 (ARC) yachts ahead of us … and wished us a safe trip.
Just before dinner we could shoot Jupiter with the sextant and then Wega, Denheb, Polaris and Capella, .. our first planet and star sight :-) Good I have the book on how to do these calculations. We got the pro forma's, but the calculations are different and Marc nor I would know how to do them without the book.
Dinner was the last one with fresh lettuce and meat. The mince we got was frozen for us but only for half a day so that didn't last very long. The fridge started to smell a bit and we dumped 3 packs of mince and 1 pack of chicken. The burgers were still okay but won't last too long either.
So, as of tomorrow we'll be on tinned meat and fresh fish... hopefully.
zaterdag 26 november 2011
donderdag 24 november 2011
Back in time
Nov 24th, Position: 20°24.230N/26°20.046W
Yesterday we set the shipsclock another hour back so the first watch, mine, was an hour longer. But that was okay since it was only one hour... The new system is a bit more complicated but we all feel it works better. We all get to sleep some more during the night and that does make a difference :-)
Taking sightings is going better too. Yesterday Marc and I did took two sightings and plotted our position. We came as close as 8 nm! Also Rutger took some sightings and his plotting was very accurate too :-)
In the mean time, our average speed has gone up to 7.5 kts. That's good for over 180 nm in 24 hrs!!
We haven't seen any ARC yachts yet. I guess most of them aren't fast enough to catch up our head start.
What we did see though were two whales. Jur spotted them as they were cruising about 200 m behind us. Rutger tried to film them but on the camera you can't really see them :-(
We also get to see a lot of stars at night. Most of the time it's very clear. The good thing is that you can point on a star. That's way better then looking at the compass the whole time :-)
With help of 'Stellarium' on my laptop we now know where Betelgeuze, Rigel, Aldebaran and Capella are :-) I could steer at Sirius for quite a while last night. And of the planets, Jupiter is always there.
Last night Marc also saw a huge freighter or containership coming at us with over 20 kts... They also saw us according to the sea-me.... They had to give way but didn't seem to do so. So Marc called Jur and me on deck to get ready to gibe. Then they sort of stopped but still holding course... and gave me 5 flashes, meaning: alert, wake up!! We gibed .. What had happened probably, is that our echo was misinterpreted. On radar we look like a freighter too with the sea me.... As a freighter we should have give way but we didn't... so they stopped their engines... getting a bit pissed too I guess. Being a yacht and sailing however, they should give way but since they had no clue on what we were, they didn't... They could have known though. We didn't have a steaming light and our speed was 'only' 7kts. Anyway, after they passed they went full throttle to make up the lost time...
Early this morning Rutger spotted a – empty – horse shoe, probably lost by a yacht ahead of us. So we might have been caught up after all...
Yesterday we set the shipsclock another hour back so the first watch, mine, was an hour longer. But that was okay since it was only one hour... The new system is a bit more complicated but we all feel it works better. We all get to sleep some more during the night and that does make a difference :-)
Taking sightings is going better too. Yesterday Marc and I did took two sightings and plotted our position. We came as close as 8 nm! Also Rutger took some sightings and his plotting was very accurate too :-)
In the mean time, our average speed has gone up to 7.5 kts. That's good for over 180 nm in 24 hrs!!
We haven't seen any ARC yachts yet. I guess most of them aren't fast enough to catch up our head start.
What we did see though were two whales. Jur spotted them as they were cruising about 200 m behind us. Rutger tried to film them but on the camera you can't really see them :-(
We also get to see a lot of stars at night. Most of the time it's very clear. The good thing is that you can point on a star. That's way better then looking at the compass the whole time :-)
With help of 'Stellarium' on my laptop we now know where Betelgeuze, Rigel, Aldebaran and Capella are :-) I could steer at Sirius for quite a while last night. And of the planets, Jupiter is always there.
Last night Marc also saw a huge freighter or containership coming at us with over 20 kts... They also saw us according to the sea-me.... They had to give way but didn't seem to do so. So Marc called Jur and me on deck to get ready to gibe. Then they sort of stopped but still holding course... and gave me 5 flashes, meaning: alert, wake up!! We gibed .. What had happened probably, is that our echo was misinterpreted. On radar we look like a freighter too with the sea me.... As a freighter we should have give way but we didn't... so they stopped their engines... getting a bit pissed too I guess. Being a yacht and sailing however, they should give way but since they had no clue on what we were, they didn't... They could have known though. We didn't have a steaming light and our speed was 'only' 7kts. Anyway, after they passed they went full throttle to make up the lost time...
Early this morning Rutger spotted a – empty – horse shoe, probably lost by a yacht ahead of us. So we might have been caught up after all...
dinsdag 22 november 2011
Energy....
Tuesday, Nov. 22nd , 18:10 UTC. Position 23°55.585 N/23°07.216 W
The log reads 428.6 nm so you can say we're well underway :-) We're steering 210° heading for the trade winds and doing about 160 nm per day. The weather is still very fine and also the nights go good too. With help of the manual espresso machine Marc brought as a present and the energy drinks we took along, it's not too hard to wake up for the night watch. Still, we decided to change it to a 3 hr schedule with 2 hrs overlap so we all get to sleep at least an hour more.
This morning we had some bad luck with the genaker. We had just set it when the wind picked up. We were already on our way to drop it when a gust came and ripped the genoa. We could get it back in and it's not badly damaged but we can't use it anymore before we make landfall. We still have the one from Marc and also the spinnaker, so we're still fine.
Then the genoa didn't want to furl in. The leading eye the rigger fixed in Puerto Calero was gone ?
Anyway, this time Marc went up the mast and with a little slack in the halliard it works fine again.
Later we all used the shower I made. That works really fine and is very refreshing although the water is quite warm. Showering with salt water is something you have to get used to though. The first few times it itches after a while :-)
This afternoon I wasn't feeling too well so I had a good sleep and that helped a lot. Marc in the mean time shot the sun and worked out a position. After some recalculations the YES !! was there... meaning he was right on target. After I woke up I took a sight too but I didn't get to do the calculations yet …
Anyway, the plan is to take daily sights and get some more practice. If it works we will use them to navigate going west.
The log reads 428.6 nm so you can say we're well underway :-) We're steering 210° heading for the trade winds and doing about 160 nm per day. The weather is still very fine and also the nights go good too. With help of the manual espresso machine Marc brought as a present and the energy drinks we took along, it's not too hard to wake up for the night watch. Still, we decided to change it to a 3 hr schedule with 2 hrs overlap so we all get to sleep at least an hour more.
This morning we had some bad luck with the genaker. We had just set it when the wind picked up. We were already on our way to drop it when a gust came and ripped the genoa. We could get it back in and it's not badly damaged but we can't use it anymore before we make landfall. We still have the one from Marc and also the spinnaker, so we're still fine.
Then the genoa didn't want to furl in. The leading eye the rigger fixed in Puerto Calero was gone ?
Anyway, this time Marc went up the mast and with a little slack in the halliard it works fine again.
Later we all used the shower I made. That works really fine and is very refreshing although the water is quite warm. Showering with salt water is something you have to get used to though. The first few times it itches after a while :-)
This afternoon I wasn't feeling too well so I had a good sleep and that helped a lot. Marc in the mean time shot the sun and worked out a position. After some recalculations the YES !! was there... meaning he was right on target. After I woke up I took a sight too but I didn't get to do the calculations yet …
Anyway, the plan is to take daily sights and get some more practice. If it works we will use them to navigate going west.
maandag 21 november 2011
HeySailing the ocean :-)
Monday, Nov. 21st, 14:30 UTC. Position 26°20.540 N/21°11.360 W
We're 2 days at sea now and are having a great time! The weather is nice, warm and sunny although the cockpit is a good deal of the time in the shade because of the course we steer.
The wind is about 15 to 20 kts which gives a very gentle breeze if you sail down wind :-)
Life on board is starting to get into a rhythm. We do 4 hr watches from 7 pm to 7 am having 2 of us on deck. During the day everybody can steer, sleep, read or whatever else like playing with the spinnaker or sextant.
After lunch we have boat check and do a daily cleaning of the galley, heads and cockpit.
We all cook in turn and the one who's cooking also does the dishes so whatever mess you make, you clean it yourself :-) To prevent dehydration we all have our own water bottle that we have to drink each day.
So far everything works okay although the wind direction meter decided to go his own way. Most of the time it gives a random direction … :-o Instead we now sail on the wind vane at the top of the mast.
It's really nice and peaceful and we very much enjoy the sailing. The motion, the sound of the water and the boat …. :-) Last night we saw another yacht going the same direction of course, but also a freighter that was going East. Apart from those two we only see dolphins, not that many so far, but it is always fun to see them.
I guess we'll have to start fishing again in a week or so. By then the fresh meat will have run out or gotten off .. Well, we'll see, we have plenty of other stuff we can eat. So far we've been too busy :-)
PS Mascha and Leonie, Jur did get your text messages on the sat phone
We're 2 days at sea now and are having a great time! The weather is nice, warm and sunny although the cockpit is a good deal of the time in the shade because of the course we steer.
The wind is about 15 to 20 kts which gives a very gentle breeze if you sail down wind :-)
Life on board is starting to get into a rhythm. We do 4 hr watches from 7 pm to 7 am having 2 of us on deck. During the day everybody can steer, sleep, read or whatever else like playing with the spinnaker or sextant.
After lunch we have boat check and do a daily cleaning of the galley, heads and cockpit.
We all cook in turn and the one who's cooking also does the dishes so whatever mess you make, you clean it yourself :-) To prevent dehydration we all have our own water bottle that we have to drink each day.
So far everything works okay although the wind direction meter decided to go his own way. Most of the time it gives a random direction … :-o Instead we now sail on the wind vane at the top of the mast.
It's really nice and peaceful and we very much enjoy the sailing. The motion, the sound of the water and the boat …. :-) Last night we saw another yacht going the same direction of course, but also a freighter that was going East. Apart from those two we only see dolphins, not that many so far, but it is always fun to see them.
I guess we'll have to start fishing again in a week or so. By then the fresh meat will have run out or gotten off .. Well, we'll see, we have plenty of other stuff we can eat. So far we've been too busy :-)
PS Mascha and Leonie, Jur did get your text messages on the sat phone
zaterdag 19 november 2011
La Palma continued...
After Jur and Rutger stowed 18 boxes of food, drinks and other stuff, we sang for Laurens :-)
In the mean time, Marc and I got the last things and had the meat frozen. That took a while to explain but with the help of a dictionary it all worked out.
After lunch we toured the Island a bit. It was a great trip all the way up to the top, Roque de los Muchachos., 2426 meters high and bloody cold, 5°C.The road had the most hairpins I ever saw but the view was great... from time to time that is.
We drove through a pack of clouds too and then we could only see for 10 meters max.
Anyway, la Palma is for sure the most beautiful Island of the Canaries. Forests of pine trees palm trees and a lot other combined I never saw before. Also the rocks of granite and lava were astonishing. After we came back and returned the car, we cleared the last few things, topped up the diesel and had a bite to eat.
And now we'll slip the lines and are heading for Tobago :-)
So the next updates will be with no pictures but as soon as we have a decent internet connection I'll add some …
La Palma …. happy birthday Laurens
The sail to la Palma was great. God winds and nice weather. So for Marc and Jur a god trip to get used to the boat.
The marina at la Palma is owned by the same company as in Puerto Colero and as good, with lots of room :-)
The next day, Marc and I did some shopping while Jur and Rutger cleaned the boat and reorganized the lockers. It took us 5 hrs to get all the stuff except for the meat, we'll get that today.
Luckily they will deliver it to the boat. Otherwise we would never be able to get it all there. The car we hired is way to small.
Today is Lauren's 19th birthday :-)
So after he gets back from work we'll have a skype session and sing for him :-)
Then, when we stowed all the supplies, we'll have a short trip around the Island and after dinner we'll set sail for the Caribbean. Last night we talked through the plan and the way we'll organize the watches, cooking, cleaning and stuff. We all feel very comfortable and are more then ready for it.
dinsdag 15 november 2011
Nov. 15th... waiting for Marc ..
Yesterday Jur arrived and this morning Marc would fly in but he decided to take the evening flight :-o
Anyway, we're about ready to take off. We'll go to La Palma first to let Jur and Marc used to the boat before we do the crossing.In the mean time the technician that would have a look at the windlass was able to fix it so that's great news :-)
We also had a SNARC-event. All the sailors from the boats in the bay went to the beach to have a So-Not-the-ARC drink. That was really great. There are people from all over the world. Most of them started a trip for a year or so but that was 3 to 7 years ago :-)
It's nice to talk to those people and listen to their story's. We had our own story too of course, about the rescue in A Coruna..Anyway about all the jobs are done and when the last item I ordered comes in tomorrow, we can set off for the next leg :-)
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