At last! Wonderful sailing. No purple patches on the radar, a steady F4 on the beam, full sail and āmunching the milesā at a sprightly 7 knots. We even have some patches of blue sky. All is well again. Stephen, who crewed on the Trans-Atlantic to the Caribbean, contributed so entertainingly to the blogs, adding... Continue Reading →
Chafe
When running downwind, it is usual to hold out the jib using the spinnaker pole or the whisker pole. The sheet āworksā across the end of the pole as it stretches and this, over a period of time can badly damage the sheet. Our solution was to āserveā some dymeema outer sleeving over the sheet... Continue Reading →
On the cusp
With such a featureless horizon, the passing of a cargo ship one and a half miles astern becomes noteworthy. The AIS data suggested it was heading for Portsmouth but not whether that is Portsmouth Virginia or Hampshire but judging from its course, it looks like Portsmouth UK although that is a Naval portā¦ā¦.. The temperature... Continue Reading →
Squall dodging
The early promise at dawn soon condensed into heavy cloud and with lightning and thunder came torrential rain. I couldn't understand why a yacht in front we had been tracking on AIS, turned left and ran at 90 degrees to its previous course but this soon became clear with the massive wind shift that accompanied... Continue Reading →
Day one
We had a clean start off Nanny Cay with the 40 ARC yachts heading west on a broad reach to clear the islands. Of the ARC fleet, there were different rallies sharing the same start, some were heading straight to Florida, most going to Bermuda but with some of those heading on up to Virginia.... Continue Reading →
To the line
Just as in Antigua, the supermarkets seem to have a high proportion of Waitrose products and we actually bought a couple of bottles of Waitrose Prosecco to toast our arrival in Bermuda and then, hopefully, to toast our arrival in the Azores. It cost $8.55 which equates to about Ā£6 and could, from memory, be... Continue Reading →
Final Preparations
Our ARC safety inspection passed muster so it was on with more jobs and preparation. We decided to increase the size of the pin which prevents the Watt & Sea bracket from turning - up from 8mm to 10mm. The trouble was that 10mm drill bit broke and all the kit in the chandlers is... Continue Reading →
How to breathe underwater
This appeared in the June 2016 Yachting Monthly.
R & R (running repairs)
The improved weather revealed the delights of the British Virgin Islands with the blue skies, steady wind and varied scenery between the islands. There was a huge density of yachts but nothing like the Solent on a summer weekend. We almost regretted bringing our arrival into Nanny Cay forward with the improved weather and, when... Continue Reading →
Soggy BVI arrival
Dawn found us approaching Round Rock Passage as planned and we passed into Sir Francis Drake Channel between the main British Virgin Islands just as the heavens opened necessitating the donning of full wet weather gear for the first time since European waters. Unable to speak to the Customs on the phone, the marina assured... Continue Reading →