Day 1 – Thursday 26 October
Lady Jane
I’ve worn out the crew
After just over four hours of sailing, the crew are clapped out down below. To be fair they are off watch and I did suggest it would be wise to get some sleep before the next watch tonight – although Chris doesn’t look that comfortable. An almost six foot bloke does not fit too well into a five and a half foot berth, but at least he is in the pink.
We have just crossed the traffic separation scheme between Tenerife and Gran Canaria. When clear of the southern end of it, we will set a direct course for Mindelo in Cape Verde.
The air temperature is pleasant, the sea state not too choppy and we have sun. What more could you want? Well, the wind from the right direction would be nice. It’s blowing from the south at the moment, even though I placed an order for it to blow from the north east. This is not gentle sailing.
As for position relative to the rest of the fleet, we are bringing up the rear. Things are likely to change though – so let’s see what tomorrow brings.
Rubicon
På väg. Känns skönt. Storseglet krånglar, men vi tröstar oss med att vi var först att få napp, en härlig tonfisk!
Translated to English by Google Translate:
On the way. Feels good. The mainsail is malfunctioning, but we console ourselves that we were the first to get the baby, a lovely tuna!
JaJapami
Noch 808 sm bis zu den Cap Verden
Die Stimmung ist entspannt, der Sonnenuntergang war spektakulär und die See ganz zahm.
Wir haben den ersten Tag Offshore ohne Zwischenfälle gemeistert. Michel war nach 2stündigen Nickerchen wieder top fit ohne seekrank Anzeichen. Unsere neue Crew bis Mindelo, Daniel und Philipp, waren zwar zwischenzeitlich etwas lahmgelegt, haben sich aber gut erholt und finden es alles in allem toll unter Segeln.
Wir rechnen mit ca. 6 Tagen. Bislang sind noch zwei von unserer Odyssee in Sichtweite und wir haben noch Funkkontakt – Krabat hat schon eine Goldmakrele gefangen!
From www.jajapami.com
Day 2 – Friday 27 October
Akouavi
I will be diverting to the port of Palmeira on Sal before heading to
Mindelo. This is so my crew can do some diving before returning to
Switzerland.
The first 5 hours were upwind with a dying wind. From then on from West
back North West and building tomF4-5. So we recovered some and did 155
miles in the first 24h. Now sustained winds so doing 8 to 10 knots top
speed 13.5 with full main and gennaker.
Krabat
First 24 hours has gone OK. Started out with winds from the S&W but made little progress tacking so started to motor around 3:00pm. But, we now have more favourable winds from the N&E so sailing along quite nicely.
Just to report: not the first in the fleet, but we caught our first fish yesterday – approx 2kg. We took photo but didn’t keep it as our small fridge is full after provisioning in Tenerife!
It’s great to be at sea again after all the frustrations and preparation.
Jajapami
We are going along quite well now and are here with Krabat, Rubicon, Mr
Grey and Lys des Mers.
Tamouré
All good here NE winds and blue sky.
Finally
Salut tout va bien, no problem, comme tu connais ma position, est ce que tu peux nous faire livrer des ice cream pour le repas de ce soir; biz
Hi all is well, no problem, as you know my position, could you have ice cream delivered for tonight’s meal; hugs
Lady Jane
Rock and roll in the Atlantic
After last night’s performance which saw me taking down the spinnaker pole on a rolling and pitching deck sans trousers as a result of another wind shift, today has brought a welcome change for the better. The sea is calmer, the wind a pleasant force 5 from the right direction and I’m hoping this state of affairs will continue.
I don’t fancy another night like last night. By the time morning came, the cereal boxes had fallen on the floor, followed by the eggs (just as well they were cooked) and I found myself sliding from one end of the bed to another.
We are now well south of the Canaries, about 160 miles off the Western Sahara, and it is getting hot.
Rubicon
Strålande sol! blåser ca 15 knop och vi gör 5 knop i fart. Vi har revat storseglet eftersom vi är oroliga att det ska fastna, men full genua! Allt bra ombord, Johan solar och jag läser bok. Inga fler napp!
Translated to English by Google Translate:
Shining sun! Blowing about 15 knots and we make 5 knots in speed. We reefed the mainsail because we’re worried that it’ll get caught, but full genoa! All well on board, Johan suns and I read the book. No more baby!
Day 3 – Saturday 28 October
Akouavi
So 188 miles today. We had great winds until 3am but now down to 8 knots.
Very few ships and even less sea life, just one flying fish and he was dead on the deck this morning.
We only see Mr Grey from the fleet on AIS.
Ariel
Wind ENE 13 knots. Current 0.2 knots astern.
ETA at current speed noon Thursday.
Otherwise all well.
Tamouré
After a slow afternoon yesterday between the islands we have 5 to 6 Beaufort
from NE now, sea is moderate, a little choppy with some big waves from time
to time.
Down these waves we had more than 10 kn of speed, even fully
loaded as we are, great fun, but the wind is dropping now and we are
slowing down.
Caught a nice fish this morning!
Lady Jane
We are now approximately one-third the way to Cape Verde. The winds are fair, the sea state slight, the watch system appears to work well and life is good aboard Lady Jane.
Rubicon
Natten var lite stökig med slående segel och rullande gång men nu har vi supersegling. Gennakern är uppe och puttar oss i 5,5-6 knop i rätt riktning. Solen skiner och vi mår toppen! Ingen fisk! //Johan och Lisa från böljan den blå
Translated to English by Google Translate:
The night was a bit messy with striking sails and rolling once, but now we have super sailing. The gennaker is up and pushes us into 5.5-6 knots in the right direction. The sun is shining and we feel great! No fish!
Krabat
Tenerife to Cape Verde day 3
It’s day 3 and we’ve had a good day, helped by the fact that we both had a good nights sleep. The night watch was uneventful with Moira taking the 10pm-3am watch and Bill 3am-8am. We have previously done 3 hour shifts but feel much better for doing a 5 hour shift and getting some proper deep sleep. We also take a nap in the day so all in all are getting 7-8 hours.
The passage was slow during the night due to lighter winds so after breakfast we decided to change our sails and put out the parasailor which increased our speed to a more respectable 5.5 knots.
Conditions were calm so we put the water maker on and decided to have a very welcome shower. Feeling refreshed Bill replaced a door handle (nothing worse on a boat than a door banging) and replaced a bulb in one of the navigation lights while Moira managed to make some delicious home made bread for lunch.
All the boats are out of visual sight of one another but we are keeping in touch via the VHF radio although it is getting increasingly difficult to keep in touch as the distance increases between the larger and smaller boats.
We took the Parasailor down before darkness and had to succumb to putting the engine on but stronger winds are forecast for tomorrow.
