Category: Expeditions
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Two Good Things About an Oily Calm
It’s 05:45 and we are motoring through an oily calm. I’m taking the opportunity to charge everything up. While we were sailing downwind for the last three days or so, the Aerogen wind generator was not often generating any power as so little wind was passing over the boat. I use a bungee strap to…
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Magic Carpet Ride
Position N68,39.8 x W008,00.4 Wind F2 Easterly We have had an amazingly smooth ride for the last twelve hours. The wind eadsed off a bit and we gybed the genoa so we are now gliding through a smooth sea at about 3 knots. There was even a bit of warmth in the sun at lunchtime.…
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Going Like a Bat Out of Hell
Position N66,57.43 x W007,25.2 Wind force 4-5 southerly. We have had some great sailing maintaining a speed of around 6 knots. It is mighty rolly polly with the boom and yankee pole dipping alternately every few seconds. Occassionally Sumara does a mad death roll and everything flies around but it is great to be making…
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Magic Carpet Ride
Position N65,08 x W006,57. It is 1845 and it is curry night. I asked John what type of curry and he said “a nice curry”. We are sailing at 5 kn bang on course through a calm sea with a little bit of sunshine. Soon we will make up time as the grib files (digital…
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Where do Seagulls come from?
N64°15.7 x W007°22.5 Force 2 SE. Sarah caught a mackerel yesterday evening. She chopped its head off and gutted it and threw those bits overboard. Within seconds a small flock of seagulls had swooped down to feed on the scraps. The strange thing is that we haven’t seen a seagull for 24 hours until then.…
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N63,39.65 x W007.41. Force 1 Northerly. Sunny. 451nm to Jan Mayen
Well who would have believed it! Its a lovely day up here, the sun has a bit of warmth (15C)and it is pretty much calm but sadly no wind. Sumara is chug chuging along but I think we can see Thembi to our port beam so I suspect they are making a gallant effort at…
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62,58.94N x 007,24.49W Speed 2.8 knots. Course north. Wind F2 West.
Sumara set of at 03:30 this morning and was followed later by Thembi. We have just heard from Thembi over the VHF and they have spotted us on the horizon. The wind has been fair for several hours and we have made a very pleasant run of about 40 nm with air temperature of up…
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We are underway!
62N x 007W. Force 3 Southerly.It’s 0450 GMT and we are just clearing the massive Faroese Cliffs which I believe are some of the highest in Europe (but don’t quote me on that). The tide was just right giving us a bit of a lift and sweeping us along in the calms under the lee…
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Departure Imminent
As the winds are easing now we are thinking of sailing on the next tide at 2am with Thembi following the next day. We went for a fine walk out to the island point this afternoon where I asked everyone to pose for a photo looking miserable. I had completely forgotten that we had Dan…
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Thembi Stops off at Eidi!
Thembi have just joined us in Eidi. They were going to sail on to Jan Mayen but saw our flourescent yellow radar reflector sheltering behind the harbour wall and decided to stop off to see us.The best laid plans thwarted!I have just recieved an email from Siggi: Hey Alasdair The best anchorage is normally in…