Day 1 11 Nov 2018

Despite having almost a year to prepare, the last week has been hectic. Purchasing all the groceries, meats, fruit and vegetables, we also had to consider critical spares not just for the Atlantic but for the Pacific Crossing early next year. The Skipper in a flight of fancy also splashed out on an additional downwind sail. This time a very large, very second-hand symmetrical spinnaker.

The crew for the passage to the Caribbean is Brendan (Skipper), Ciara, Rena, Seanie & Shauna and everyone mucked in to get us ready on time. Ciara even managed to cook a meal in the middle of all the chaos on Saturday in preparation for our first night at sea.

We only had two minor hi-cups. Our meat was delivered vacuumed but not frozen and the B&G Technical Support Engineer, Ivan while kindly doing a system review Saturday afternoon discovered our Auto-Pilot computer settings were not correctly loaded.

There were of course some highlights - the Skipper won the Best Dressed Man Award at the Pre-departure Fancy Dress Party which was followed by a very entertaining couple of hours in Sailors Bar for a sing song with the crews of a couple of Italian boats. Boy can they sing!

Our NZ friends on board Kiwa, James and Marina kindly stepped up and offered to freeze the meat in their empty freezer - they do not leave Las Palmas for another couple of weeks. This was great and got us out of a real jam, our freezer would not have coped at all.

With the Auto-Pilot, we decided to conduct an autotune this morning on the way to the start-line.

Departure was lovely with lots of friends to wave us off. A big thank you Angela and her pretty assistant Mike for the marina departure pictures and videos which we received as we crossed the start-line!

Our start when well - fifth across the line was not too shabby we thought! Our first night at sea was pretty uneventful. The high for sure was Ciara’s chilli which was superb. On trips like this, dinner can quickly become a focal point to look forward to and we were not left down.

Day 2/3 12-13th Nov 2018

Our first full day at sea has us among the fleet. In lighter winds we raised our new (secondhand) symmetrical spinnaker briefly. Unfortunately the sock jammed when we were taking it down and we lost an hour or more trying to sort - another job for Mindelo. As darkness fell the wind ranged from 20-28 knots from the NNE and the swell went to 1.5 meters. Unfortunately around 2200hrs, the clew of the mainsail parted from the boom taking its stainless steel fittings with it. This necessitated taking the mainsail down and running just with the jib overnight until a temporary repair was completed at first light this morning. As a result our speeds dropped and Realta Bheg among others few past nearby in the dark.

This morning we woke to 2 meter seas and 15-23 knot seas. Once the main was repaired and back up we reviewed the weather and decided to head back east of the rum-line towards the African coast for the next 36 hours in the hope of stronger winds later in the week. Lunch was a treat and consisted of chicken curry, dahl and the remains of last nights chicken stew - happy faces and full tummies all round.

Day 3/4 14-15th Nov 2018

Wednesday proved to be a relatively calm day with winds between 7-11 knots for most of the day. We raised the Parasailor which while small for the boat (only 125 msq) proved to be ideal in the conditions. Later in the day a trial we added the Jib which does not appear to interfere with the Parasailor like the mainsail clearly did.

We affected a temporary repair to the boom which is robust enough if necessary to comfortably last until we reach St. Lucia.

In the kitchen Ciara and Shauna prepared a magnificent chocolate cake which we ate after supper to celebrate our halfway point on the way to Mindelo.

Life on board has now dropped into a easy routine as the crew as become familiar with the shift rota. From early afternoon until about 2100hrs everyone is up and about enjoying each others company. Last night after dinner games included lives and chenga. For some this was followed by a movie.

This morning Thursday, the early morning rig inspection has identified a badly chaffed starboard spinnaker guy which will need to be cut out during the course of the day. Our water-maker is keeping our tanks full and the crew is enjoying the luxury of showering every couple of days.

Day 5/6 16/17th Nov 2018

A tough 48 hours with low winds and constant sail changes in an attempt to keep the boat moving at a respectable speed. Unfortunately this was rarely the case. Last night we left the Parasailor up all night but in winds regularly less than 8 kts, progress was slow. Ciara and I took it down at dawn and tried a number of combinations to no avail. In the end we settled for goosewinging with the gennaker and jib until early afternoon when we reverted to full main and Assy. Spinnaker which we are keeping up tonight. With wind veering a lot, this will require a bit of tuning on each shift but at least we are moving. Supper tonight was curtsey of Chateau Murphy and was excellent - hot chicken curry. With big slow rolling seas, we saw lots of flying fish this morning and the Skipper was lucky enough to stand on one with this bare feet!

The goal tonight is to keep the boat moving if possible over 5 knots and so ensure we get to the finish line before it closes at 1800hrs UTC tomorrow.

Day 7 18th Nov 2018

At dawn we have the islands of the Cape Verdes archipelago to port as we approach Mindelo - still 50 nm’s away, from the East. Its a beautiful morning with long slow 1.75m swells on our starboard beam. As the period is long, its actually very comfortable. We put the main back up at 0600hrs having just had the the A.S. up all night. Winds are still less than 10 knots but we are moving at between 5-6 knots most of the time.

As the finish line closes at 1800 UTC, with the wind as it is, it will be a challenge to get there on time. The crew will be excited to see land when they rise for their respective shifts. The atmosphere on board has been excellent with everyone getting on well and enjoying each others company. The boat is big enough to find some quite space if you want it and with a crew of five, is very comfortable.

The slight chill that was been in the wind at night has now completely gone and its already 26c in the cabin as I write at 0745. While we may feel it ashore, with the breeze, the heat is really quite comfortable on the water.

As it has turned out, unless the start of the next leg is delayed, we will be actually have very little time in Mindelo. We are currently scheduled to leave on Wednesday morning for Rodney Bay, St Lucia.

Day 8-12 18th/21st Nov 2018

So, on corrected time, we came 3rd in the Multihull class and everyone on board is delighted! All that frustration with shifting variable winds and multiple sail changes was worth it. Mindelo itself is lovely, a piece of Africa with a genuine Caribbean vibe. Time here was limited with the amount of repairs and work required on the boat but we enjoyed it. We took a tour to a neighboring island which was amazing and probably spent to much time watching reruns of Irelands rugby victory over the All Blacks on Saturday evening.

Today we top up our fresh fruit and vegetables before heading out to the start line a little early to attempt a recalibration of our Rate Compass and Autopilot Computer. On the last leg we experienced significant yawl typically 14 degrees port/starboard of our desired course - not good!!

Next up the 2000+ mile leg to St Lucia. The start is at 1245hrs with little wind forecast for the first 24 hours. After that, lots of wind 20-30kts from the NE with 2.5 swell from the NW which should make thinks interesting.

Just nine days to go before Crean and her crew departs Las Palmas as part of the ARC+ Rally to St. Lucia via Cape Verde. For Crean this is the start of a three year circumnavigation and while her crew will change from time to time, most of the faces will remain the same. The aim of this blog is to allow the family and friends of those on board to follow and track their progress and adventures along the way.