With the wind dropping and moving round to the west, it was not the best situation for sailing but we had to stick with it as our aggregate diesel stocks were still marginal with nearly 900 miles to Horta. So we sailed and periodically when the faster AWOL threatened to overhaul us, we jogged the... Continue Reading →

What a great day under sail, beam/broad reaching in F4/5 all day long with the sun out. Our days run of 151 miles was suppressed by the wind moderating through the night and we are now only doing 5 – 6 knots, what a calamity! The decision taken with Cliff on AWOL to track north... Continue Reading →

After the big winds and seas we motored in very light conditions with a large but diminishing swell left over from the gale. I invested in a long term weather forecast and discussed the situation with my crew and AWOL. The dilemma is that, with their shortage of fuel, they need to ‘chase the wind’... Continue Reading →

The traditional advice for sailing east to the Azores is to take loads of extra diesel as you are likely to experience long periods of dead calm and flat sea. As I write, we are 4 days into the passage, broad reaching in 23 knots of wind with a lively sea having hardly used the... Continue Reading →