Happier boys today I think. The weather has improved and the wind is picking up a little, although not enough at present. They managed to turn the engine off for 2hrs last night, but had to turn it on again when the wind died. Today they have about 10kts of wind so they have the sails up and are motoring. The wind should slowly pick up today, so they are hoping to turn the engine off again. They are down to ¼ tank of fuel in each of the 2 tanks. Their position is 20 09.8N 063 39.5W, direction 200 and speed is 5kts. They have done about 118nm's since yesterday. They are very consistent aren't they!
Andy has told me that they will make landfall in St. Maarten first, then Tony & Mike will probably take Norumbega down to Antigua I think they have about 130nm's to go to St. Maarten, so they will get in mid morning tomorrow. So, if that's the case, Mum's estimate will be spot on, with Euan, who said 'none of the above'!!
Due to the leak in one of the fresh water tanks, they are running low of fresh water as well, although Andy says they have gallons of drinking water and will use this if they run out and get desperate for a proper shower! Tony had his first upper deck shower last night. (Not his 1st shower of the trip!) Tony has also had the boys turned too cleaning!
Still no fish! Tony will try again today. Tony has written a blog for this page, so when they get to a wifi spot, he will post it - maybe tomorrow if we are lucky.
That's it for today. Joy
|
Comments [0]
11/10/2007
Eventually spoke to Andy this morning, he'd been trying to get a signal for 40 mins, so I eventually spoke to him at 10.30 their time.
Their position is 22 04.2N 063 45.6W, direction 195 and speed is 4.5 to 5kts. They travelled approximately 118 nm's since yesterday. They still have virtually no wind, so they are still motoring. The weather forecast for them isn't good for winds, but it should improve this evening and into tomorrow as they get closer to the Islands.! Andy said that it has also been raining almost constantly for the last 24hrs, so no fish have been caught, except for the Flying Fish again!
They did have a rather beautiful sight at dawn today, a pod of dolphins kept them company for a while. They also saw a cruise ship, which got to within 1nm, so they tried to pick up it's wifi signal, but it didn't work - good idea though! I think I would have had a shock if I'd have received and e-mail! Ha Ha
No other news for today. I hope it does get a bit more exciting as this blog is getting boring to read, so here is a joke!
From the dock the woman watched as the salty old sailing captain skillfully docked his boat. She was impressed that such an old man would still be sailing at his age. She decided to wait until the sailing captain disembarked. As he did, she asked him," Captain, what is your secret to leading such a long and productive life?" "Well," he said. "I would have to say it's because I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day, drink a case of whisky every week, eat a lot of fatty foods and I never exercise." "Wow, that's amazing," the woman said. "exactly how old are you?" He answered, "Thirty-one"
|
11/09/2007
Well, the winds disappeared! Andy said that they have been motoring now for a day & a half! The winds are less than 5kts and there is a big rolling swell. In today's forecast, there is more of the same, however, it might puff up to 10kts if they are lucky. Andy noted that it is hot & sticky but overcast. I hope they get used to it because it's just going to get hotter! They didn't suffer any thunderstorms last night (bet it was Mike & the curry!) and Tony decided to have some fun with pyrotechnics and BBQ some ribs for dinner.
Norumbega is motoring well and the engine is running well with no more clunking noises!
Their position is 24 04.9N 063 52.16W, direction is 195 and speed is 5.5kts. I estimate that they traveled 129nm's from yesterdays position. So, they are now over half way, having travelled approximately 493 of the 855 nm's.
Thank you all for your guestimates, we've had another 2 since I posted them yesterday. However, Tony may change the goal posts, so I was told today, as he is now thinking of going to Antigua?!! This change has come about as he's obviously been thinking about Mum joining him and also that Norm will be there for the next 2 weeks. If they do change it, I think the person who is closest to the time they sail past St. Maarten will win.
For those interested in the fishing, they have caught 1. Well sort of - it committed suicide and threw itself on Norumbega during the night! Tony is going to use it as bait and try again today!
That's it from me for today, thank you all for your comments etc. Till tomorrow, Joy
|
11/08/2007
Well, as we all know, the weather can do strange things, especially at sea. Last evening, the boys got a thunderstorm blowing up out of know where, which Norumbega handled well, although her sails took a bit of a battering! Andy guesses that the winds were gusting 40 to 50 kts and the rains were like a monsoon - I think they all got a little wet! Andy said that the sails are a little frayed in places and will need re-stitching to fix them up again. The Mizzen boom also has a little dent in it! After this delightful storm, there were thunderstorms all around them for the rest of the night.
This morning, Tony found a leak from one of the water tanks, which he has now fixed and then the engine started to make a clunking noise, but that stopped before Tony could investigate! Anyhow, I think they are all on their toes today. Andy said overall, they are fine and Norumbega is going well.
Tony asked after Annie, and sends her his love and a speedy recovery. He was glad everything went well.
Anyhow, the important stuff, their position is 26 13.3N 063 54.8W. They are heading 200 and making about 6kts today. They managed to do just over 100nm's yesterday, which is good considering light winds and thunderstorms!
Thought you all might be interested in the guestimate time of arrival of Norumbega into St. Maarten. They are as follows:-
Monday 12th 11.00am Rosie
4.00pm Bill & Angela
6.00pm Simon & Sally
Tuesday 13th 10.30am Joy
12.00pm Philip & Annie
5.00pm Sally & Harry
6.00pm Johnny & Nessie
Wednesday 14th morning Richard & Fiona
Thursday 15th mid afternoon Alex Elvin
|
