Jonathan Crinion Ocean Racing

Jonathan Crinion and one of the world's leading Naval Architecture firms; that of Owen Clark Design LLP have together designed and developed a superb racing machine to the new Class 40 Rule of 2004.

Vessel Name: Friends of the Earth
Vessel Make/Model: Owen Clark Design Open 40
Crew: Jonathan Crinion
20 October 2006 | Pendennis Marina, Falmouth, UK
18 October 2006 | 48,5.57N , 9,13.81W
17 October 2006 | 45,29.51N , 11,19.44W
17 October 2006 | 42,44.86N , 13,40.48W
16 October 2006 | 42,33.68N , 14,3.52W
16 October 2006
13 October 2006
13 October 2006
07 September 2006
14 August 2006
10 August 2006
10 August 2006
07 August 2006
02 August 2006
01 August 2006
24 July 2006
Recent Blog Posts
20 October 2006 | Pendennis Marina, Falmouth, UK

Falmouth

Well that's it, Cape Town to Falmouth. This last bit of the voyage from Madeira has seen some of the worst weather ever - non stop. My wind strategy worked well to go up the centre of the English channel and ships criss crossed all night. The weather grib files have been hopelessly wrong for the past [...]

18 October 2006 | 48,5.57N , 9,13.81W

Knock down

The ocean can be brutal. More to the point the weather can be. Yesterday was sunny but with large swells and I had been hitting 17 knots reaching on and off for most of the afternoon. Speeding off faster and faster, the feeling is exhilarating. With a reef in the main and the Genoa up I was under canvassed [...]

17 October 2006 | 45,29.51N , 11,19.44W

Approaching the channel

All along I've used one nautical chart for the Southern Hemisphere and St Helena and another for the Northern Hemisphere plus one for Madeira. I'm making fast progress at the moment and should be on the 10 degree West Longitude line shortly where I will switch to a detailed chart to take me into La [...]

17 October 2006 | 42,44.86N , 13,40.48W

Contemplation

I'm starting to understand why Bernard Moitessier made the turn and headed towards the Pacific. He was wondering what he would arrive back to if he kept going on to the UK. It's so vast out here and so far away from everything. I have a 360 degree view of the universe. I'm completely self sufficient [...]

16 October 2006 | 42,33.68N , 14,3.52W

Storm Warning

Wisdom says go wide of the Bay of Biscay but my weather files are showing a huge area of no wind to the West of me which forms the centre of a large and very vicious looking low heading this way.

Just spotted two whales

01 August 2006
7,35.0N, 18,3.74W
Position: 7,35.0N , 18,3.74W
Speed: 10 knots, Course: 323 deg.
UTC Time: 31. July 2006 13:50

Just spotted two whales lolling about on Port about 50m from the boat. Such magnificent creatures and totally disinterested in us. Not sure what type but big and with a stumpy squared off fin.

The boat is on auto pilot at the moment so it makes a whining noise as it steers, which hopefully lets creatures know we are coming. Sound travels very well under water. The auto pilot has certainly attracted dolphins. At one point we could hear a strange chirping sound in the boat and we were looking around because we thought a bird had somehow found its way into the cabin, but it turned out to be dolphins under the boat talking to us.

It's quite humid now as we move North into a big low pressure area that we hope to scoot over the top of as it darts West for a moment. It has been unseasonably cloudy for the whole trip. It's usually quite clear each day but with a steady stream of clouds passing over - some with rain squalls. The odd sunny day certainly lifts our spirits and we slack off a bit.

Otherwise there is a steady stream of things to attend to all day: making meals, splicing ropes, trimming and changing the sails and fixing things before they go too far. I just found a shackle pin on the fore deck up against the toe rail. It had been holding the Cunningham (allows you to pull down on the mainsail where the boom meets the mast to trim the sail) to the base of the mast. I guess it just shook
loose, but it was a lucky chance not to have lost it overboard and to check all the other pins, which turned out to also be loose.

It never ends but it's part of the fun of puttering on the boat and keeping things in good form.

Coming up to Dakar on Starboard - a very tempting deviation.

Cheers,
Jonathan
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Friends of the Earth's Photos -

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