November 22, 2011,, Somewhere in the Atlantic
Our wish has been granted: the wind finally increased to a steady 15-20
knots last night blowing from the north east, which allowed us to sail at 8
knots average. Still no need to adjust the sails, the boat is going
beautifully, with very little help from the crew!
While Terry still thinks we should go faster, I for one see an inconvenient
to high speed: it makes it near impossible to catch a fish. We have 2 heavy
duty fishing rods on both sides, each carrying 100+ pounds strength lines.
We set them up every morning, hoping to catch lunch or dinner (or both).
Today both lines got a strike: the lure on the starboard one was snapped
right off, with barely a fight; while the line on the port side was taken
for a few hundred meters with such speed that we had no way of stopping it
let alone reeling it in. With our sails set as scissors, and the boat
flying at 8.5 knots, it was impossible to turn and slow down, so we decided
to "tow" the fish hoping it would get tired and let itself be pulled in.
With the rod bent to 45 degrees, we all retreated to the safety of the back
deck (in case it snapped) and waited. Not for very long, after 5 minutes,
the rod sprang back, the tension on the line was no more and the fish was
gone! Mixed feelings among us: I'm personnally glad it got away, whatever
it was would have been a nightmare to bring in. Skipper is upset at losing
his lure, and the kids "just wanted to see the fish"!
I wonder if any of the slower boats are catching any fish. In the meantime,
with no catch of the day, I resorted to plan B and baked lusciously rich
brownies, which rounded off our dinner of mushroom and bacon soup.
As I write, Marc is watching RAMBO, and has me wondering if he'll learn any
fishing tips from this. Not to be defeated, the lines will be back in the
water in the morning, persistence will pay off!
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November 21, 2011,, Somewhere in the Atlantic
We've spent most of today discussing the merit of having a spinnaker.
It all started in the morning as we were being passed by ACOOL TURABI, a
Swan 82. The wind had dropped to 8 knots and while we struggled to retain a
speed over 6 knots, she breezed past at 12 knots with full main sail, a big
spi, and 6 crew on deck. Later in the day, we watched BLUE OCEAN, another
L560, sail well ahead (actually we only spotted their big blue spinnaker
in the horizon) then it was GUNVOR XL, an X55, who crossed behind us all
sails out on a starboard tack (so technically, they're not ahead of us,
just on another heading!)
Are we envious? A little, wishing we could keep up. But these big
spinnakers require crew on deck to take them down and since we don't have
5 or more adults to help with sail changes, manoeuvres and watches, we'll
have to stay content with our gennaker/headsail combo, which once set up,
requires very little effort to maintain a downwind run. This works for us,
there is no pressure on the boat or the crew, and the ride is comfortable.
Life on board is good: cooked pancakes for breakfast, grilled lamb chops and
vegetables for dinner, sat down with a small bowl of chocolate ice cream and
watched the movie of the day "Forrest Gump".
Now all we need is for the wind to pick up a bit then it will be perfect.
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November 20, 2011,, Off Las Palmas
Hi there,
Well after two frantic weeks of preparations, we are finally gone and it
feels great!
Our boat is a Lagoon 560 catamaran and we are a family of four sailing back
home to Sydney...eventually. Ours is a fairly reduced crew (myself, husband
Terry and 13 y.o Marc) compared to some of the teams surrounding us, but we
have been sailing this way for as long as I remember, and so far it's
worked for us. It just means we'll arrive in St Lucia a little more tired
than others.
This is our second Atlantic crossing, but our first ARC. Participating in
such a large rally has meant modifying our routine a little: updating our
safety gear, brushing up on first aid and emergency handling skills, and
most importantly remembering that we are part of an event involving others.
Take today's start for example: the kids and I always get sea sick but we
normally don't take any medication preferring to soldier on "the natural
way" for the first 2 days, leaving our skipper in charge. Well, with over
200 yachts on the water today, we decided sea sickness had no place to be
and dosed ourselves with Sturgeron to remain alert. And what a difference
it made: been able to run around the deck, actually enjoyed the start of
race and took photos, even managed to keep lunch down! Here we are, 9 hours later, just finished a nice dinner of beef carrot stew and pasta, am now
typing away while the kids are watching the movie "Transformers". Skipper
is shaking his head and decided to have some shut eye while his normally
useless crew is feeling well. Must say, could not ask for better conditions
for a first night watch: moderate NE winds, we are running our gennaker and
headsail in a scissor pattern, sailing downwind at an average of 9 knots.
The boat is cutting thru the water beautifully, it's a smooth ride, the sky
is clear and littered with stars. What are the odds it will stay that way
all the way to St Lucia?
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December 31, 1969,, Somewhere in the Atlantic
All things happen to those who wait.
After yesterday's dramas, the fishing lines went in again on this gloomy
and windy morning. With the boat going at 9 knots, I was secretly hoping we
would catch something small enough that we could bring it on deck. Someone
must have heard me, as we hooked this 1m30 mahi-mahi, as tall as Anne!
Bringing it in was a team effort: Terry reeling it in, myself hooking it
with the gaffe and Marc pouring alcohol down its gills (more human than
knocking it over the head, we think). Then the cutting, cleaning,
filleting, preparing...we have enough fish to eat for 3 or 4 days. The
kids completely forgot about the sausages planned for tonight's dinner and
feasted on sashimi instead. Already I have requests for "poisson cru",
marinated fish, fish & chips and sushi! Who said cruising makes you lose
weight?
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