Well we're really settling into the routine on board now. The watch systems a la Fastnet are working well, ie 4 3hr watches at night and 3 4hr watches during the day, with a short watch and dinner/sundowners 6-8pm so we all get together once a day. Last night the G&T's were out as we literally watch the sun go down. More impressive however was this mornings sunrise. It was at about 8am GMT. You can tell the difference in sunrise each day as we go further west. When we reach 30W it's clocks back an hour (and a celebratory champers!)
So, the tanker. Well it was the evening watch 8-11pm, Tony and Juliet on the lookout. Well, more Juliet than Tony, as he was pottering below doing nav stuff or whatever when eagle eye Juliet spotted two white lights and a green over the horizon. Having thought back to collision regs flip charts we could work out it was a very large vessel heading across our bow, range appeared to be about 10 miles. As time passed our bearings didn't change ie. we were on a collisions course. So after disengaging "George" (the new "Casper" or autopilot, we bore aware to clear her stern. In the end we passed about half a mile astern but could hear her engines and felt her wash very clearly. Just shows, it's a big ocean but still must keep a lookout.
After a slightly squally morning, with headsail up and down and reefs in and out, we've now settled into normal "champagne" mode with yellow peril leading the way after a good rest in the bow cabin overnight. Dan's at the wheel and all I can hear is the usual Dan excited squeals of Yeehah as he catches a wave and we hit 10 knots boat speed in 15-18 knots of breeze.
We now await lunch a la Andrew, consisting of boiling the first of the eggs and creating egg mayo sandwiches, accompanied by avocado (which are now very ripe), tomatoes and ham. Yumeee!
Tony & Juliet
PS First showers this afternoon now we're confident the watermaker is delivering good quantities of fresh water. Juliet is delighted as that means hair wash time at last!
We saw our first dolphins today with a small group initially giving everyone on board a display of their agility and fun, weaving in and out of the bow wave with effortless ease and incredible speed and acceleration. They left us after about 10 minutes but returned with a load of their friends to give an aerial display close to the stern leaping out of the water up to 6 feet.
Having stopped general activities to watch and sitting on the bow it made us see just how blue the sea is, when looking down it is an ice blue and off to the horizon a royal blue like no other. It is also nice and warm at 23 degrees. Not that anyone has tested it yet.
In addition to this we overtook, having reeled in Gemini from the horizon, two fellow ARC crossers to much waving and a short radio communication. For the first time at 9.00 am on the 28th we could not see any other boats.
Dinner was a Cordon Bleu affair of Spaghetti Bolonese (from a can) but spiced up with fresh carrots, onions and onions. A little disappointing that fish is not yet on the menu, but the fishing team are planning a revised strategy of mega bungee and the fishing lure that we have been told could catch a small whale - watch this space!
Dan & Andy
Well, we were finally off in a rather chaotic
start of boats randomly on port and starboard gybes heading for a 1 mile
line. All good sport.
Fairly soon we encountered our first 30knot squall which Tony took for the
team in his shorts as the others dive below for waterproofs.
Our first boat system/engineering challenge was no cooling water through the
engine on start up for battery charging at dusk. Happily we now know 4
engineers who can solve this problem with a simple bit of re-priming.
After a meal of delicious Juliet chilli out of our newly acquired dog bowls
(yes, actual dog bowls, as they're great for keeping the food in when the
boats moving), it was into the night. A full moon made it seem almost like
day still and we all marvelled at the familiar star constellations in
unusual orientations in the sky due to our different latitude.
The boat has been great so far in a quite breezy 24 hours, 20-25knots. One
broken #3 batten and pocket. Sian's excellent needlework sorted out the torn
pocket and we're back in business.
Dan took the first wave for the team over the stern quarter. The rest of the
Incog crew will love this because the helmsman (or backstay) gets it
first!!!!
Current conditions are champagne sailing: 28 degrees C, full sunshine, 20
knots north easterly. Dan and Andrew are planning the first fishing exploit
later. More to follow in tomorrows log.
Tony & Juliet
So all the crew are here and all the main boat jobs & preps are complete. Just the washing of the fruit/veg and filling the water tanks to go. Plus a good scrub of the decks of course so we set off nice and clean.
The boat is cleaner than she's ever been down below. Juliet knows every nook and cranny of the bilges (it's a glamorous life). Cockroach traps are placed and everything disinfected. Off to the skippers brief in a while.
Forecast for tomorrow is 20knots NE and sunny. Sounds lovely to get us off to a good start. We'll try to keep in touch when we can, so keep an eye on the log in the Incognito website and World Cruising website. And of course, keep tracking us!
From all the crew: Tony, Juliet, Andrew, Nick, Sian & Dan
Welcome to the 2007 ARC Race page
Incognito's has now completed the 2007 ARC from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Rodney Bay in St.Lucia. The follow page provides a blog of the crew's experience. Incognito finished 35th out of 169 in the Cruising class.
Passage Facts @1200 on 28 November 2007
Passage distance: 2700 nm
Distance since start: 437 nm
Distance to finish: 2263 nm
Last 24hr run: 166 nm
Average speed (last 24hrs): 6.9 knots
Average speed (since start): 6.1 knots
Estimated time to finish: 15.5 days
Days at sea so far: 3 days
Passage Facts @1200 on 29 November 2007
Passage distance: 2700 nm
Distance since start:
586 nmDistance to finish:
2114 nmLast 24hr run:
149 nmAverage speed (last 24hrs):
6.2 knotsAverage speed (since start):
6.1 knotsEstimated time to finish: 14.4 days
Days at sea so far:
4 days
By the way, Sian is now the unassailable victor of the daily run sweepstake, so she's getting a free crew meal in a nice St Lucian restaurant.
So farewell from the ocean based crew of Incognito. Next message from land, and after a few rounds in the bar may be a bit late coming.
A huge thanks to everyone for their emails and support, in particular Simon and Paul for their constant weather info updates which have been very reassuring to have fed through.
Andy, Tony and Juliet will stay on for a while and sort out the boat over the next couple of days, then she's over to the boatyard for antifouling, keel repairs and a few other odd jobs.
Tony and Juliet will then be back in March for some family cruising and the transfer of Incog from St Lucia to Antigua in readiness for the arrival of the full squad at the end of April and Antigua Sailing Week!!!!!!!
Last night was the last night for Dan, Sian and Nick and we were able to celebrate in style at the Caribbean fancy dress party on Pigeon Island. Yes there are pics! Dan provided the shirts for the boys and Rosinante provided a beautiful dress each for the girls.
So we sit here now on a lazy Sunday while 3 of our trusty crew prepare for departure, nearing the end of the fantastic journey.
Epilogue......Days ashore
Well we've well and truly been soaking up the St Lucian atmosphere. Our arrival on Wednesday was perfectly timed to make it to the first ARC welcome party at the Rodney Bay Yacht Club. After a rather late night, we all planned on a nice lie in and a sleep of longer than 4 hours!
Our plans were scuppered however by the arrival of Rosinante, our Finnish friends from Las Palmas, at 8am the following morning. Their feet didn't get off the boat until late that afternoon when we'd helped them celebrate their arrival for several hours.
Yesterday, we had a great day sail, heading down to the famous volcanic Pitons and Soufriere, the sulphurous town at the foot of the volcano. This was following by some superb swimming and snorkelling in a secluded bay.
Race Finish time: 12-12-07 21:26.56.
Elapsed time: 17 Days, 8 Hours, 26 Minutes, 58 Seconds
Result: 35th out of 169 in cruising class
And finally a few more statistics for anyone who might be interested....
So in final preparations for arrival we've made sure our main is nice and tidily reefed (even more than normal), we'll all freshen up with an on deck shower this afternoon, search out the Incog battleflag from the forepeak mayhem and then keep eyes peeled for the shore. Prize for the first person to shout Land Ahoy! (legitimately)
The offending squash!
Rum punch ahoy!
Carnage!
Day 17 - 12 December 2007 - 13.30 - Incognito Laundry
Yesterday being the first dry day for ages meant that all those wet and now musty clothes could be washed and more importantly dried. This combined with the renewed operation of the water maker meant that clothes when washed had a vaguely soft feeling rather than the sticky and hard feel left from salt water washes and rinses.
In fact it was a celebration when Andrew's boxers, put out to dry on the evening of the storm starting, finally got dry. They had been out on the rails for 3 days and nights and affectionately been nick named the bullet proofs as they withstood howling gales and driving rain, unlike Tony's towel which disappeared in mysterious circumstances and a light breeze.
So for all the racing squad of Incognito, she took on a whole new persona with a broad selection of underwear, Tee shirts, tops, towels and socks all blowing in the breeze, we think there was so much it was contributing to the boat speed by the end.
Everyone was much more relaxed on board, a combination of the beautiful sunshine, steady but strong winds and the thought that we are now able to count down the arrival in St Lucia in days rather than weeks, even hours made for a resumption of the watch / standby book club and champagne sailing again.
Having not seen another boat for nearly a week we were blessed with two yesterday a fellow ARC yacht following a broadly similar course but about 2 nm away and a rather large and very fast Gas tanker, which appeared on the port quarter and very rapidly grew larger passing behind us no more than 1/2 a mile away and then receding into the distance behind us just as quickly. It just goes to show that the rule of checking the horizon every 10 pages or so really is a must.
The fishing team have again been unsuccessful and are contemplating a further lure change strategy, in an attempt to prove that the Guelly Jack caught 10 days ago was not a fluke. Also as we enjoyed this so much it would be a great shame not to e able to sample such fresh fish again before we sight land tomorrow, I know TOMORROW isn't it exciting.
Well we were told to expect a change in the sea pattern as we approached the Islands but the state of the sea now as I type this is making for a very difficult experience, not an excuse for the typo's either. During the night the winds grew again returning the rig to no Gib and three refs in the main, whilst still getting 7ish knots, but the rolling of the boat is just unbelievable.
The waves seem to come from every direction and the boat just wallows side to side to side to side. Fortunately it has only made it difficult to sleep so far and no one has had to succumb to the use of Stergeron again - Yet!
Day 18 - 13 December 2007 - 14.03 - Nearly There!
Well today's position report puts us around 60 miles to the finish. All the talk on board is focussed on rum punch, we can almost smell it!
Overnight was clear with brisk ENE winds, giving us an opportunity to gybe towards the rhumb line. We crossed "north" overnight waiting for the shift back and sure enough at 7am today it duly arrived and we gybed back onto what will hopefully be our final approach on port.
The only notable overnight incident was a loud screech from Tony at 3am as he was alone on watch on deck when something grabbed his elbow - yes it was Freddy Krueger - alias another flying fish. It flapped its way off the sidedeck much to Juliet's amusement who rushed up to see what was going on. They may look small, but when they hit you at a closing speed of 20 mph you certainly know about it!
We expect to sight Martinique first on this approach, perhaps in the next couple of hours. Excuse me a moment, calls of squall approaching from the wheel, must go and make ready.
Well that was a squall with a peak 37knot gust, so genny came down with Tony doing foredeck. Yes it's true, rest of Incog crew who don't believe he's ever been forward of the shrouds. In fact watch out Sam that "back to front" crew race might really be on the cards!
Day 16 - 11 December 2007 - 13.30 - Bread, cookies and heavenly bodies.
We're glad to report that after all the bad weather, normal service has been resumed - its glorious sunshine, benign winds (15-20 knots), and small waves. Yesterday was a welcome relief to the crew, giving us time to catch up on some much needed sleep, and to dry out just about everything, so that living on board is now more bearable. And the real bonus was thanks to watermaker now working we all had showers on deck, and Juliet and Sian finally got to wash their hair. So, a happy crew, and a nice smelling crew as well.
We thought that as we have concentrated on what has been happening to us on and around the boat, today we would feature more on the domestic side of life - and how we have been living for the past 2 weeks. As those of you who know Incog, she is not a huge boat, and having 6 people on board for a prolonged period of time was always going to be challenging. Luckily the crew all know each other and get along fine - so that has helped enormously. Even in the bad times, crew morale has been high, and humour has kept us going - and... hush, just a rumour at the moment ,but Juliet is even having thoughts about doing it all again....
We are using the 2 back cabins as sleeping quarters and the front cabin as sail locker/general stowage, with bags kept on the port side bunk in the saloon as in the fastnet. There have been some cruel remarks about the state of the starboard aft cabin where Dan and Sian are sleeping, but the theory is if the mess is contained in there - it can't be spread across the rest of the boat - therefore giving the rest of the crew more space to store their things. And we know where everything is. And Juliet is happy to sleep in there too - so it can't be too bad!!
Nick and Sian have been occupying their time in looking at heavenly bodies. And, not just the ones on board!! We are talking celestial bodies, and the sextant has been out taking sun and moon sights. Star sights have been planned for several early morning and twilights, but cloud, two days and three nights of storms have scuppered every single one so far... but we live in hope that we'll get one in before the end of the trip.
During the day, the crew off watch or on standby sleep, read books, laze around, prepare food, catch up with emails etc,, whilst during the night we tend to catch up on sleep.
The other bit of news to report which almost pales into insignificance with the weather, but this morning seems all the more gratifying, is the watermaker is now back up and running. We ran it for 6 hours straight yesterday to fill up our empty starboard tank. The prospect of rinsing clothes in fresh water and washing ourselves, maybe even a shower today, are all back on the agenda.
A huge thanks to all those who have been giving tech support to help fix the watermaker. In particular Dave Worswick from Spectra in California, who even simulated our installation and pinpointed the low voltage across the feed pump giving the symptoms we were reporting. Thanks Dave - you can now relax!
So this evening it's normal service resuming we hope. Celebration of the 2000 mile point was postponed last night due to risk of dilution of champers with rain and sea water. Tonight we make up for it with a triple celebration: the lifting of the weather, the fixing of the watermaker and the 2000 nm point.
Now we can officially start talking about miles to go and ETA St Lucia. Currently standing at 570 miles to go (and as Simon pointed out, less than the equivalent of one Fastnet!). We're running bets on ETA which is currently focussing on Wednesday evening.
Now for some cereal on deck in the sun :-)
Tony & Juliet
and finally a quick word on the seventh member of our crew - George, our auto helm. This trip would not have been so easy for us without George's assistance. He/She (it is out for debate) has made the standby watches life a lot easier, especially at night, when it means that the standby crews can sleep rather than be up waiting to relieve the helm.
Time to sign off for now - some more sunbathing is required. Need to top up the tan!!
Sian and Nick
As for food, we have eaten extremely well, with the standby evening watch preparing the evening meal each day. Everyone said that you would lose at least a stone on this trip, and though we have all lost weight, I think our hearty eating has stopped it being as much as that. We have only had the one fish, but Juliet has made bread twice - picture of her making today's batch is attached, and Dan has made chocolate chip cookies twice as well. These are heartily recommended with champagne.
We survived the storms remarkably well both as a boat and as a crew.
Last night standby crews were up, meaning we had 4 on deck at all times, which helped with helming relief by switching every 30 mins. Everyone has born up well and now looks back with a real sense of having come through and achievement.
Our only breakage was a broken mainsail slider, which was quickly repaired this morning with a spare purchased in Las Palmas. So today it's turnaround day, everything out on deck to dry and boat clean & tidy up.
Well there's only one thing to talk about today - the weather. This storm system has gone on and on and on. Last night we had yet another battering. Huge thunderclouds with lightning flashing in the distance. Our course was completely dominated by steering around the clouds, so I'm not sure our daily run will be that great. In particular one system lingered for 6 hours overnight forcing us up higher than our desired course to avoid it as there was no distinguishing the horizon from the sky as it all merged into one jet black blur.
The Atlantic swell had built and built over the last few days to its peak where the large waves (coming in 3's) were some 10m or 30ft in height. They weren't breaking however so in general they rolled reassuringly underneath us - sometimes looking back at one approaching it was hard to believe it would though.
So, finally this morning the sun is out and the thunderclouds are moving away. Let's hope that's it. Today's pic is the boat down below (a bit reminiscent of the Fastnet). Everything wet!
As I close the blog for the day the good news is the rain has stopped and the sun come out, we are still experiencing winds in excess of 30 knots and gusts up to 43 knots so we are not clear of the woods yet, but we now have less than 700 miles to go and are starting to count down the days to the finish.
Dan and Andrew
Big waves!
Champagne anyone?
Average speed (last 24hrs): 6.8 knots
Average speed (since start): 6.4 knots Estimated time to finish: 8.6 days Days at sea so far: 9 daysAverage speed (last 24hrs): 6.9 knots
Average speed (since start): 6.5 knots Estimated time to finish: 6.4 days
Days at sea so far: 11 days
Average speed (last 24hrs): 6.4 knots
Average speed (since start): 6.5 knots
Estimated time to finish: 5.4 days
Days at sea so far: 12 days
Average speed (last 24hrs): 7.3 knots
Average speed (since start): 6.5 knots
Estimated time to finish: 2.5 days
Days at sea so far: 15 days
Average speed (last 24hrs): 7.0 knots
Average speed (since start): 6.5 knots Estimated time to finish: 0.4 days
Days at sea so far: 17 days
Passage Facts @1200 on 12 December 2007
Passage distance: 2733 nm
Distance since start: 2670 nm
Distance to finish: 63 nm
Last 24hr run: 167 nm
Passage Facts @1200 on 10 December 2007
Passage distance: 2733 nm
Distance since start: 2336 nm
Distance to finish: 397 nm
Last 24hr run: 174 nm
Passage Facts @1200 on 09 December 2007
Passage distance: 2700 nm
Distance since start: 2162 nm Distance to finish: 538 nm Last 24hr run: 145 nmPassage Facts @1200 on 08 December 2007
Passage distance: 2700 nm
Distance since start: 2017 nm Distance to finish: 683 nm Last 24hr run: 153 nmPassage Facts @1200 on 07 December 2007
Passage distance: 2700 nm
Distance since start: 1864 nm
Distance to finish: 836 nm
Last 24hr run: 154 nm
Passage Facts @1200 on 06 December 2007
Passage distance: 2700 nm
Distance since start: 1710 nm
Distance to finish: 990 nm
Last 24hr run: 165 nm
Passage Facts @1200 on 02 December 2007
Passage distance: 2700 nm
Distance since start: 1384 nm Distance to finish: 1316 nm Last 24hr run: 163 nm
Sunrise - mid Atlantic
Time for another squall
Dan's carrot gun??!!
Looking back, we are now wondering if it was a squash at all, as the flesh was definitely tougher than we expected. We attach a photo of this innocent looking specimen to see if anyone can enlighten us to the truth.
Even with all the excitement with the weather last night, we still have not seen another boat since we ran across our Finnish friends several days ago. For those of you used to the Solent and the English channel, this can be seriously eerie at times, especially as we know there are other boats out there. Maybe as we get closer to St Lucia we might see some more, as we all start to converge on the rhumb line.
And finally just a quick line on the water situation. The watermaker has been tantalisingly close to being fixed over the past few days, and Juliet and Sian's hopes have been raised, then cruelly dashed as the promise of washing their hair is yet again broken. However, it is turning into a useful scientific experiment - how long before the hair cleans itself! We have to report at the moment - too long!
It is alright for the boys - they can use the squalls to keep their hair clean, but at least the girls have got a promise from the boys that as they catch the mooring lines in St Lucia, Juliet and Sian will be running for the showers!
Nick and Sian
The wind was quite fresh yesterday at 20-25knots,so yellow peril stayed in her bunk and we zipped along at 8 knots under poled out genoa. A backing of the wind just before dusk saw us put in a gybe onto starboard to benefit from the shift overnight and converge the rhumb line.
This morning we just passed to the north of the rhumb line for the first time and then gybed back as the wind veered around to just south of east.
Our first bit if gear failure took place today when the preventer snatch block on the bow cleat exploded on us. Nothing too disastrous. An annoying creaking noise has also started emanating from the kicker pin on the mast. Copious amounts of turbo-lube seemed to have eased the situation which was starting to send us all crazy.
Unfortunately the watermaker saga still continues. Loads of support from Spectra UK and CA as well as John Dyer from Exocet, but we still haven't cracked it. We're OK for water, as we have enough bottled water for drinking and a full port tank, which gives us around 15 litres per day for hot drinks and cooking. So washing is now reduced to baby wipes and sea water. It's really the anticipated "luxury" of the watermaker we're missing, particularly after the lovely showers we all enjoyed half way into the first week.
Andy and Dan still persevere with the fishing, but at the moment the fish have it, having now bitten off 5 lures, including a marigold glove on a steel trace! Probably didn't want to land that one anyway - better of in the sea! So today is quite squally and we're choosing our course to dodge as many as possible. Current wind coming out of nearby squall is 28 knots.
Tony & Juliet
Dan the carrot??!!
Enjoying the view
However, the revenge of the squash was quick and vicious. The four crew that ate the squash were struck down with dickey tummies, and all that entails, and if that wasn't enough, mother nature decided to throw at us heavy seas, lightning and squalls. With these conditions, and the reports of 50 knot gusts behind us, the third reef was used for the first time this trip, and the crew settled in for an unsettled night.
Morning broke, and rather than bring its customary sunshine, and quieter seas, it has still been rather heavy going, although the third reef has now been shaken out. As we write, the sunshine is just getting the better of the clouds.
There was lots of pics and video taken. The attached is the best pic we could compress to a reasonable size, but some of the video is amazing ,with lots of commentary and exclamations from the crew!
Day 14 - 08 December 2007 - 13.30 -Oh what a night!
Well at the end of the last blog we were expecting the sun to get the better of the clouds, Well they didn't. The very unsettled weather and extremely large swell stayed with us all through the day, giving everyone an experience of what the Atlantic can offer and whilst we all looked forward to the return of the now expected bright sunshine and steady 20 knot winds, I think a lot of the crew enjoyed seeing this side to the weather on the trip. However the swells continued to get bigger and the direction of the waves confused, Leading to the sails been given the three reef treatment and yet we were still making good headway at 7 to 8 knots. It was the incessant rain that made everyone miserable, but then the rain stopped Hurrah and the seas got bigger and the winds got stronger.
So getting wet in the cockpit became the reserve of very large waves breaking at just the right (sic) moment, slapping the side of the boat and deluging the occupants with a helping of salty water, Juliet who had earlier in the day washed her hair in the deluge of rain, now had it rinsed back with good old saline courtesy of the Atlantic. Oh how we laughed!!!
We had another visit from a pod of Minke whales and whilst all attention was on the ever more demanding sailing conditions, these incredible animals did not disappoint. This time however the large waves build behind the stern the whales were actually higher than the boat. Once the wave picked us for the now obligatory surf, the whales dived underneath the hull before popping up some distance ahead and circling to repeat the move! George, the ever trustee auto helm worked valiantly to control the boat whilst dinner and champagne were served, to celebrate passing the 45 degrees west point, but still found it difficult when rogue waves or gusts greater that 30 knots came through.
With stronger winds and even bigger seas expected overnight we tied down with the number 3 reef in the main only for night. Some reports from around the fleet suggest they have seen 50 knots of breeze but the most we have seen is about 43 knots but this was enough to get us up to 9.5knots surfing down massive seas with a triple reefed main alone! A coupled of large waves dumped on us and tried to get down below too so the washboards are firmly in and tied down. No signs of the winds or seas abating yet with the breeze still comfortably in the 30's but there are supposed to die off during the latter end of today. The large waves which did break straight into the boat had ferocious force and nearly washed one of the crew out of the cockpit, thanks to the rigid harness policy we had adopted on Incognito from day one and have religiously adhered to saved this rather unfortunate dunking from being a major safety crisis.
Day 13 - 07 December 2007 - 13.30 - Revenge of the Squash!
Whilst yesterday was great with seeing the whales and enjoying the sunshine (with the occasional squall), it's surprising what 24 hours can bring Firstly, Andy decided to cook the innocent looking squash which has been lurking in the netting since the beginning of the trip.
He decided that a squash risotto would go nicely with the sundowners. And it has to be said the smells emanating from the galley to those of us on watch were delicious. However, on tasting, Andy decided that the squash was a bit bitter, and that he should remove as much as he could from the risotto. This was quickly done, but we were warned that the risotto would have a slightly bitter taste. Nick and Juliet very sensibly decided that a couple of spoonfuls was all they could take (which was a shame because the risotto itself was beautifully cooked), however the rest decided to be polite and at least finish what was in front of us. Wrong decision!! The remainder of the squash was suitably dispatched into the ocean with a ferocious overarm throw by Juliet (if any cricket teams are looking for squad members?!).
Day 12 - 06 December 2007 - 13.30 - Whales
Today we had a real treat as we appeared to sail up to a pod of Minke whales. First we saw one in the distance, then a pair circled us, they then hung back in our stern wave at about 50m, before accelerating at high speed towards us and passing swiftly and silently along our port side no more than 5 m away. They were each almost the length of the boat. Finally, they accompanied us off the premises for about another mile or two then left us.
Day 11 - 05 December 2007 - 13.44 - Another day in the office
Life continues on board at a hectic pace, with day times seeing 12 hours of sunshine and temperatures in the mid 80's.
With little to see now of other yachts and no Tankers recently, watches have become a book club with some of the literary giants being consumed under the cloudless skies. Ian McEwan seems to be the most popular with 2 different novels on the go by this author.
Champagne Sundowners (for the half way point) last night were accompanied by a rather lively Chilli prepared by Tony and Juliet and Fruit cocktail was needed for dessert to calm down the mouth. In addition the famous Dan Smith Carrot gun was dusted off and a 2 carrot salute fired in celebration, see the picture for the moment, The carrot gun consists of a spark igniter, within the body of a plumbing bottle trap and a 1 1/2 inch barrel, the propellant is a proprietary secret but Lynx deodorant has been the most successful on this trip.
Yesterday was a black day on board as we lost overboard two more highly cherished items of clothing, to join the sadly missed gloves lost earlier. Juliet's gloves had been bagged up with the spinnaker, so on putting up the kite the gloves were seen to be launched into the sky landing some distance from the starboard side. Sians much loved hat purchased in Oz and travelled around the world was the next to go with a suitable gust it sailed off the stern to anguished cries. Finally Tony's tee shirt securely pegged to the rail was dislodged by the spinnaker sheet and dropped gracefully over the side. Despite a valiant effort by Dan on the helm and Andrew on the fishing rod, it was lost for good. It is rumoured that Tony was heard to say, "let alone fish you cant even catch that"
The journey continues and we expect to pass the 45 degree West point and the 1000 miles to go milestones in the next few days.
Andrew and Dan
We have been kept amused by riddles sent by Emma, and are running a competition to see which crew member can most often correctly guess the daily run rate - prize yet to be decided.
Yesterday's meal was corn beef hash, expertly cooked by Dan and Andrew, and yes, Dan can cook - we have photographic evidence.
As we write, Incognito has just passed the half way point to St Lucia! - another excuse for celebrations at sundowners tonight.
Nick and Sian
Incognito is still making good progress towards St Lucia. Yesterday we ran with the yellow peril kite up from 0830 until sundown at 1800.
We are still trying to get the water maker going, with various advice from all parts of the world, so were glad of the chance on Sunday when we ran into a rain shower, and Tony, Andrew and Nick took the opportunity to have a welcome shower on deck (see today's photo if you dare to look!!).
Yesterday morning we spotted a yacht in the distance, and by midday we were close by and to our surprise it turned out to be our Finnish neighbours from Gran Canaria, Rosinante - now what are the chances of that in all this Ocean? We have been kindly invited to a reindeer and vodka party on the 6th December, if we can find them again.
Well today's picture depicts life aboard the
good ship Incognito mid-Atlantic - sun, sea, wind, bright yellow "peril"
spinnaker and of course, the daily wash drying on the windward rail!
Last night's sundowners were our 1000 nautical mile point celebration
involving another bottle of the fizzy stuff. It suddenly seemed quite an
achievement to think of 1000 miles, further than any of us have sailed
before and over a week at sea.
Just as we were
setting the sailplan for the night, the wind started to veer about
30 degrees, meaning the poled out genoa had to be dispensed and we
were two sail reaching with the wind just aft of the beam. In a 20
knot breeze we were humming along at around 8.5 knots. Overnight the
wind eased but remains in the SE, so we're currently trucking along
with the kite up at 8-8.5 knots.
In the early hours of the morning with Tony and Juliet on the
moonlight watch, 2-5am, facing aft, almost nodding off, Tony in a
comfy position sitting against the bulkhead exclaimed loudly as what
he thought was a rogue piece of washing left on the rail swiped him
on the back of the head. Shortly after Juliet commented on the
strong fishy smell emanating from him - no it wasn't the aftermaths
of the tuna pasta the evening before, but yes it was another
incoming flying fish. We searched the cockpit of the boat for the
offending blighter but found nothing, just the pong which still
lingers on Tony's Incog top.
Finally, the watermaker status. After great support from Spectra
distributors Furneaux Riddall we've eliminated many possibilities,
but not got to a solution yet. We're now focussing on the speed of
the pump/DC motor unit. We've changed the pump head for the spare
we're carrying on board. Now Andy is taking apart the DC motor and
checking for any fried bits, brushes, etc.. Juliet is hanging over
us on tenterhooks awaiting the verdict on whether she can wash her
hair today or not. If not she's got a hotline to search and rescue
where she has arranged an emergency airlift to the Cape Verdes for a
shower and brush up, to return for sundowners tonight!
Watch this space for further news.............
Tony & Juliet
Passage Facts @1200 on 02 December 2007
Passage distance: 2700 nm
Distance since start: 1060 nm
Distance to finish: 1640 nm
Last 24hr run: 153 nm
Average speed (last 24hrs): 6.4 knots
Average speed (since start): 6.3 knots
Estimated time to finish: 10.8 days
Days at sea so far: 7 days
At the end of a near perfect day, steady and strong winds coupled with brilliant sunshine we settled down to the champagne allocated for the 30 degree west crossing and the official changing of the clocks, this had two good sides, one we could enjoy a bottle of bubbly, two we had 2 hours longer in the day to enjoy the balmy evening sun but also two downsides, Dan and Andrew had to work an extra 2 hours in their watch, it would be them, wouldn't it and you now have to endure a second consecutive blog by them too.
The meal was a delightful pasta and tuna, unfortunately from a can, dish the fishing A team have slipped back to striking out with one fish managing to bend the hook straight to escape and another just snapping the line. In hindsight any fish that can do that we were not sure whether we want in the cockpit with us. The day ended with a blow as the water maker has decided to pack in and despite the best efforts so far of the engineering contingent we have not been able to repair it. We have plenty of drinking water but the washing of bodies and clothes with fresh water has been postponed until further notice.
Night watch was again Tony and Juliet and despite seeing no other shipping of any type for many hours within an hour they had weaved their magic and a chuffing (just for you Alan) tanker steamed into view on the stern slightly to Starboard, after a period of reflection and assessment the stand by crew were brought to play as major course change was performed to avoid the vessel, which passed within half a mile.
Morning broke with another lovely sunrise giving expectations of another beautiful day, quickly dispelled by ominous squall clouds lurking on the horizon. Fortunately these turned to nothing and the decision to raise the spinnaker taken, engineers with their heads in the bilges with the water maker were summoned to the decks and the "Yellow Peril" raised, just as the seas got bigger and the wind stronger, we think it was a record for the team up and down within five minutes. The winds continued to increase to 30 knots so a reef was decided, during its installation, a cry of "there she blows" heralded the appearance of our first whale, much excitement and staring for its next appearance left Dan a little exposed clinging to the boom out over the side asking surprisingly politely "can we concentrate on the boat please chaps"!
Having retrieved Dan and the boat stable we all discussed the sighting, it was certainly very big, about the size of the boat, it was certainly very agile as it threw most of its body out of the water so that you could see clear water beneath it and it was certainly very heavy by the splash it made when it re-entered the water. The consensus of opinion from those who saw it is that we were lucky enough to see a sperm whale as it travelled on its way East.
The routine on board is still good with jobs now falling into a pattern, if but a little changed with the clocks changing it has altered the dynamics of time and a little confusing that some jobs usually done in the dark are now in daylight and vice versa.
Dan and Andrew
Our picture today shows Juliet mastering the combined talents of writing emails, balancing in the coms chair as it pitches and rolls and avoiding the strange force of attraction that draws everything animal, mineral and vegetable into the starboard aft cabin.
We are expecting our next milestone during the day with us passing the 1000 miles travelled, which may mean another Champagne moment, get those bottles in the fridge. The air temperature is 29 degrees in the shade so despite the 25 kts breeze it is good to be out on deck.
Passage Facts @1200 on 01 December 2007
Passage distance: 2700 nm
Distance since start: 907 nm
Distance to finish: 1793 nm
Last 24hr run: 166 nm
Average speed (last 24hrs): 6.9 knots
Average speed (since start): 6.3 knots Estimated time to finish: 11.9 days
Days at sea so far: 6 days
We started sighting lots of groups of flying fish gliding over the surface of the water yesterday so knowing their tendencies with hindsight it was no surprise that we had an encounter with one. In the middle of the night as Nick and Sian were on watch Nick felt something touch his arm. Suspecting it was just his harness falling off of his shoulder he casually reached down to find a flapping flying fish in the dark cockpit which was equally as shocked as he was. After a few panicked attempts the fish was dispatched overboard to continue it's journey, to much laugher from Sian who didn't mange to find herself with the capacity to assist at the time!
We passed 30degW this morning which has called for the boat clock to be turned back tonight along with the first celebratory outing of a bottle of champagne for sundowners. This is currently preparing itself in the fridge though the bitter pill that some of us have to swallow is that we have a watch which is 2 hours longer than normal!
Current breeze is an Easterly 20-25knots with clear blue skies and a 3m swell from behind allowing us to gradually converge onto the rhumb line whilst maintaining a steady 8-10 knots of boat speed. A gybe could well be in store later this afternoon as we get closer to the line if the wind veers further in order to maintain our good progress towards St. Lucia.
Dan and Andy
Freddie our freshly caught friend made an excellent dinner last night which was accompanied with tomato/avocado salsa and cous cous, superbly prepared by Andy and Juliette. Apparently the fish was a Guelly Jack and it was delicious - great to have something that you can't normally find in a restaurant. This was accompanied with the obligatory sundowners and the attached image shows the aftermath of Sian taking a tumble and spilling some of her G&T (a rare sight!)
Our intrepid fishermen, Dan and Andrew had just come on watch at 8am when they decided to reel out the rod to see if anything would bite. And around 930 am they got a bite (see attached photo for evidence). Juliet and Sian kept a discreet distance whilst the boys did the necessary. We are still determining what it is - but whatever it is will be on the menu this evening.
We look forward to many more - and no more excuses of it being 'too fast to fish!'
Sian & Nick
Passage Facts @1200 on 30November 2007
Passage distance: 2700 nm
Distance since start: 741 nm
Distance to finish: 1959 nm
Last 24hr run: 154 nm
Average speed (last 24hrs): 6.4 knots
Average speed (since start): 6.2 knots
Estimated time to finish: 13.2 days
Days at sea so far: 5 days
Life on board Incognito goes on, and one thing for sure, it's not boring.
Yesterday afternoon was that perfect combination of brilliant sunshine, good winds and great sailing. And we all took advantage of the deck shower hastily constructed on deck (well there are 4 engineers on board!). So now we are fragranced crew as well!
After a near broach and wrap (expertly avoided by Tony on the helm), the yellow peril was put to bed, and the headsail was poled out ready for the night shift. Sundowners and a tasty meal of chicken tikka massala created by Sian were then the order of the day. It was a lively night, with various squalls/clouds bringing the wind up to 30 knots at one point so the crew were rather tired this morning. However, this was all forgotten in the excitement of catching the first fish!!
Ready for the off...
Chris Tibbs on Incog!