The Atlantic Adventure

The last couple of days were fruitful. We managed to do most of the repairs including fixing the watermaker. We washed our laundry and restocked on some essential supplies. Got to experience a little bit of local culture as well.

Waiting in the marina for the staff to show up, was upsetting us all. You could feel the nervousness rising. Once we undocked high emotions were still present. Arguing over how we should fix the slipping clutch on the autopilot (again) ended in a fight. But on the upside, Clark managed to fix it pretty good. For the first half of the day we were sailing (for the first time) with the mizzen up. Around noon the winds have shifted and we were once again under motor. We feel relaxed and at peace with each other as the night approaches.

Ahoy from the faithful crew of Aldebaran! We are nicely making way towards our destination. A slight change of course due to inclement weather in the next two days. We will sail for a port somewhere east of Gibraltar. There we will weather the storm and do some much needed repairs to Aldebaran. Possibly in 3 or 4 days we will be back on course. Today was a good day. It was Martins birthday today. His birthday meal request was pancakes. So I made him blueberry pancakes with bacon. He was very thankful. As we approach Gibraltar, shipping traffic is increasing, so we must be vigilent on watch. All is well here and moral remains high. A little nervous about the weather to come but that is normal. I would like to wish my wife Staci a happy birthday! I miss you. From the crew and the trusty Captain, regards.

Yesterday midday the wind started picking up. So did the sea. At sundown we were getting hit by 4 to 5 meter waves and 25 knot winds with occasional gusts up to 30. We reefed the sails down still making 6 knots. It was nearly impossible to perform everyday tasks. All we could do is fight to keep yourself standing still, grabbing everything that was in our reach and bolted to the boat. As if this wasn�'t enough, the autopilot kept failing on us. The steering gear was too heavy for its motor. Especially under the pressure of the high waves. Throughout the night we managed to adjust our sail plan so the autopilot was able to keep up. Today, conditions are more or less the same, but crew is doing better as we push on towards Gibraltar.

PS: We have just learned what the autopilots problem is (the clutch is slipping) and tried to repair it without success. We will try again tomorrow morning.

No wind all night! 1-2 knots is not very fast. Thankfully after an awesome swim call at lunch today the winds picked up and we were able to raise the sails. Aldebaran was well pleased with how the crew handled her and she is now performing lovely at about 5 knots under 15knots of close hauled wind. Like my Slovenian friend says a �" a sailboat is like a women, they require a great deal of effort�". Much wisdom in those few words. Some excitement today as you can see from the picture. Just prior to raising the sails we noticed a large fast moving vessel on a course to intercept Aldebaran. I would not be exaggerating if I said I was scared. Our hearts were racing as they approached our vessel. When I glassed them all I could see was a large dark boat with shady looking characters on board glassing us. One even had what appeared to be a ski mask rolled on top of his head ready to pull over his face. We held our course even though they continued to approach at an alarming rate. At about 200 meters the pealed off and began circling us as an intimidation tactic. Which worked very well. When the pulled along side we could read �" GUARDIA DI FINANZA�" Italys Finance Police. They hailed us on the radio and asked a few basic questions, who we are?, how many on board? Where we were headed? After this they circled one more time and went about their way. Thank you Jesus! From then on we were sailing and loving life. Some Italian salad and pasta for dinner. A glass of wine for thy stomachs sake and it was a good day;)

At 12.00 local time we kill the engine that was rumbling all night long. At first making 5 kts, but as the wind slows down so does Aldebaran. Life on our 44ft home is beginning to shape up as we figure out all her quirks and features. Everything seems slow at this point, but we expect the wind to pick up sometime tomorrow afternoon.

After a few last minute repairs, cleaning, and stowing, S/V ALDEBARAN is squared away and underway! After topping off the fuel and water tanks, she disembarked headed for the horizon. Her highly capable and fearless crew is ready to tend to her every need. As with any new crew there is a feeling out process. With this particular crew the process appears that it will be short as we are already fitting into our natural positions. At the moment the winds are light and variable, therefore we are motoring for the time being. We should have substantial winds on the morrow and for the next few days. We are sure ALDEBARAN is anxious to show us that she can harness the wind and fly. Lord willing her crew and Trusty Captain will be able to adjust her sails for her to show her full potential as intended by her creator. entry complete.