Author: Paul and Claire

After shaking out the reef at dawn we glided along all day on an 11-15kn Easterley with swell occasionally shaking the rig. It is the occasional shaking of the rig that causes problems as during the cycle back and forth there are moments of slack. That is when things come undone. And I found a vital bolt on the boom furling universal joint about 50% out of it’s thread. Lucky! Now secured with lots of threadlock; pity the manufacturer did not enable the bolts to be pinned or locked. Uneventful, hot and bright day. Came across a trawler, two ships

We motored last night to try and get back in touch with the rear of the fleet and I think it helped. Winds were mainly 5 to 8kn so sailing wasn’t possible during the first half of the night. About 7am we went under full main and deep reefed genoa running at 155 degs in 16 to 23kn ESE wind. Making 7 to 8.5kn as the wind cycles up and down within the range every 15 minutes. Why it’s not stable in the ocean is a mystery but maybe it’s surface friction over the swell. Wave shapes and sea state

Thursday about 8am we headed for the shop in Mindelo Marina to see if our welding boy had done his stuff and the exhaust elbow was back in one piece. We have made this trip many, many times before. Ah but there on the floor is a filthy black carbon covered bag. It is…it is…and the 30 minute repair weld is complete on Day 4 in Mindelo. We bolted up, we fuelled up, and by 11.30 we slipped our berth and passed the space to incoming Zenara. We are going….fast. We motored out of the bay and clear of the

On the night of Day 6 we should have been running in 14-17kn northerlies on our way south to Mindelo. But nobody felt like committing to the weather and going up to the bow in complete dark to hand crank the headsail and let out some canvas (or dacron). So we motored south in a following sea and wind to enter Mindelo from the East. Early morning, rounding the point Ponta Salinas on the Island of Santo Antaao whilst trying to get some offing against the east wind and swell to stay clear, I could smell exhaust gas. Shutting the

Tumbling at a rapid pace in the now larger seas. Crew are lethargic, life onboard is uncomfortable and the simple unknowns pushed it all over the edge. The lead up to this point is as follows: One primary winch comes and goes which is unsettling re mainsail reefing or mainsheet control. The headsail reefing is already a Harken mini winch handle operated at the anchor roller! The sea state is a mess as the waves have been driven hard from the north west, then we spent most of today in 28-33kn Easterly, then ESE, now we are due to be

By 5am our starboard primary winch had packed up, so had the headsail furling hydraulics again, and by 8am the generator refused to charge the batteries. Running the engine for charging & the wind died. 48 deg C in the engine room so not that keen on checking the hydraulic fluid levels. Got there in the end. OK. Dull overcast day. Motoring. So started fishing. Running 2 200lb lines and it’s Priceon v.s Marigold Ray. In the port corner Priceon is a professional deep high speed trawl lure. Hold the line at 6 knots and the vibrations go straight through

Motoring toward Mindelo during all of today’s daylight hours but as soon as darkness fell we picked up a 7-10-12kn southeasterly so are doing over 6-7kn under full sail (unusual as we normally reef at night being a family crew). It’s totally dark. You cannot see 6 inches infront of you. Staring into the blue black of the radar at 1.30am and hallucinating over the pretty colours of orange and light blue which could be a boat, waves or rain! Amongst flashbacks of a Pink Panther in 12 inch heels not counting sheep but counting filters…how many are there on

Day 4 at sea Following a dawn calm reaching into a southerly wind at up to 6 knots before reefing down as darkness fell to make 4 to 5kn on a course of 220 deg. Rain showers, which missed us, disturbed wind flow and gradually reduced boat speed to 1-2kn. Motoring again until 7am when sails were set for a couple of hours before wind dropped to 5kn. Back under motor. Perhaps the downside of the ARC, as in any rally, is the fixed departure date which has not coincided with a suitable weather window. The option to divert to

Morning of Day 3. Wind overnight left the rig banging in the swell as the breeze fell below 8 knots. Started motoring. Wind now 4 knots SSE and grib files show no wind/headwinds until at least Dec 1st, about 5 days time, so we are now on course to Mindelo to wait for a change in weather. Current ETA under sail would be just under 40 days not factoring in the expected headwinds. Expect to see a large number of ARC boats at anchor unless the outlook changes suddenly or they are secretly fitted with oars. An ARC Office guide