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
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.
Flying fish
Speed: 7 knots, Course: 71 deg.
UTC Time: 09. August 2006 15:29
Well, it's been slow going with either too strong head winds in the wrong direction or not enough at all. We have actually had more light conditions here than where we should have had them earlier. The up side is the weather has been fantastic with clear skies.
We have been reaching West since passing through the Cape Verde Islands and now we have tacked East up towards the Canaries. Our routing program consistently tells us that is the best way to go. If all goes well it looks like we will arrive in Madeira on Tuesday next week.
I'm constantly amazed at how self sufficient our yacht is out here. Now that we have summer sun all the time the solar panels keep the batteries completely topped up. If things got bad and we ran out of our food there is a constant supply of flying fish that leap onto the deck.
The other night on my three hour watch I rescued no fewer than 25 flying fish. At one point they were jumping onto the deck as fast as I could put them back in. During the day they don't try and jump on. At night, the only light I put on is the masthead tricolour navigation light which is at the top of the mast, so that can't be attracting them.
We still have a good supply of fresh water and a hand held water maker if the fresh water runs out. Bernard Moitessier, the famous round the world sailor, used to collect the dew off his sails as the sun went down.
It's true, as the sun goes down the whole boat gets covered in a damp layer of water condensation. If you haven't read his books, I highly recommend them - I've eagerly read them all and found him to be an inspirational model of self sufficiency and ingenuity.
All the best
Jonathan
