![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/AO1-Sephina-3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Balancing act.<\/strong> Another issue is arrival time. We would prefer to arrive in daylight as the entrance is a little tricky with a twisting channel and possibly unlit buoys. So as we draw closer we may need to slow our progress to arrive early Tuesday 9th rather than late on the 8th. Over the coming days we will refine the plan.<\/p>\n One of the nice things about long passages is that we don’t have to think too much about arrival time during the passage. With shorter trips we always plan our departure to arrive in daylight and generally have to keep to a minimum speed to achieve this.<\/p>\n http:\/\/sephinacat.blogspot.com.es\/ <\/a><\/p>\n I became very lazy these days. The wind helped us sail in a more straight line due to a change of direction becoming southeasterly. This is a bit of an anomaly in this area where the winds are supposed to be NE. It does help us however, as now we are able to sail at 6-7 kn directly, without zig-zag-ing, to our destination.<\/p>\n It also helped me to understand, what I couldn\u2019t really understand reading weather books: this is the effect of a large air mass spinning clockwise, named \u201cthe Azores High\u201d because it has its center more or less above the Azores Islands, thousands of km away. This mass is currently moving towards the East and this makes the wind blow from a different direction than usual. It will return in a few days to its \u201cnormal\u201d place and so will the winds to their \u201cnormal direction\u201d.<\/p>\n Nothing else\u2026or\u2026ah yes, just a few squalls, one flying fish (only) and another breakage.<\/p>\n The other day, during lunch, we just saw our largest headsail (81 sqm) falling into the water. Fortunately, the metal swivel at the top didn\u2019t hit anything and got directly in the water. The halyard broke due to the constant chafe created by the movement of the sail. Fortunately there\u2019s a second halyard that we could use to hoist this large sail when the wind will get again very light. But it\u2019s annoying \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Tonight Saint Nicholas will put presents in Paul\u2019s shoes and he is very keen to clean and polish them in order to receive the nicest presents.<\/p>\n 625 nautical miles to go, the chart plotter tells us we have 4 more days to go, but I believe it will be 5 days as the winds will get very light after Saturday and we\u2019re not yet in motoring range (i.e. we don\u2019t have enough diesel to cover all the remaining distance)\u2026 just got interrupted by a squall with all the associated sail reducing manoeuvrings\u2026 the sea state (waves) behind this squall, which covered a larger area than usual, is not so nice but won\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n www.sevenseasadventure.net\/blog\/<\/a><\/p>\n 5 December<\/strong> We moved a bit yesterday afternoon with code 0 and an engine. It is\u00a0always easier to motor sail with a catamaran, I think the stability\u00a0keeps the sails in position better, don’t know.<\/p>\n Anyhow, evening comes and, as usual, things spice up. Spi is back up,\u00a0 and the wind, plenty of it, will move from 120 to 150 apparent all\u00a0night, sometimes not enough, sometimes too much, most of the time perfect.<\/p>\n From my cabin I can hear the hiss of the water and the work of the\u00a0autopilot, so, about 3 AM I got up (Anita’s watch) and started playing\u00a0in the moonshine a game with the Parasailor to who was getting tired\u00a0before the other. I think we ended square! 120 apparent is a bit tight\u00a0for a spi, so I had to give in a couple of times and ease to 140 off the I am reading Doina Cornell’s book,”Child of the sea<\/em>“, when it is not in\u00a0the hands of Indra and I am convinced it is a great book for parents\u00a0that want to sail with the young ones and learn something, not just a\u00a0book for young ones. Or maybe I am just still a child of the sea and\u00a0that is what like to read about…..<\/p>\n 6 December<\/strong> Anita very kindly is playing Barbies with Indra on deck and we are\u00a0digesting the superb pollo arrosto di Tosca with smashed potatoes.<\/p>\n Sailors at night; delight<\/strong><\/p>\n The famous saying is slightly altered, but seems to be working better than the original.(“Red sky at night, sailors delight…”)<\/p>\n Wonderful, red sunsets, followed by strange and intense winds with lots of rain the day after. At least we’re getting closer.<\/p>\n Tonight I finished reading another novel, and I feel like I’m floating through several different worlds every day, quite an interesting sensation! Another strange feeling is turning on WiFi every day to blog, never getting a response, a life sign from the world out there. (Except for mum, but she’s gonna be there anyway, right?)<\/p>\n I can’t smell the ocean anymore. Maybe I’m infested? Maybe I’m one of those real sailors with salt water in their veins? Maybe I’ll grow a beard and have a funny hat and just sit in silence, explaining my experiences in detail with my worn out face?<\/p>\n Then again, I’m just sitting here with the auto pilot, not even tanned. www.goodbyeland.blogspot.com<\/a><\/p>\n Wet sailing<\/strong><\/p>\n We had a clear goal: By noon be at less than 400 n.m. from the line. And it\u00a0 was looking good until 11:30. That’s when the showers started stealing all\u00a0 the wind. And it kept coming heavy rain after heavy rain.<\/p>\n At some point we\u00a0even thought that there was enough time for Tifille to go to the bathroom.\u00a0 So she went up, gave it a first try and had to run for cover before\u00a0anything could be achieved. Then eventually she went up again and without\u00a0wasting time to look for the proper aligment with the earth magnetic field\u00a0she did it and came back down in a hurry.<\/p>\n The afternoon looks much better.\u00a0 We are doing 6.5 knots on a direct course towards the finish line with 384\u00a0n.m. to go, so it looks good for coming in on the 9th early morning\u00a0like maybe 9 in the morning. That would be great !<\/p>\n papyjovial.blogspot.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n Pour ceux qui n’ont qu’une id\u00e9e impr\u00e9cise de ce qu’est un grain, voil\u00e0 une photo pour l’illustrer. Celui ci nous a perturb\u00e9 pendant deux heures avec dans l’ordre :<\/em> Les productions Atlantic Odyssey ont trouv\u00e9 un bon filon et nous reproposent le succ\u00e8s d’hier : la succession de grains continue. \u00c7a veut dire pointe de vent, pluie, puis calme puis rebelotte comme nous l’avons racont\u00e9. Normalement l’\u00e9pisode lll est attendu dimanche et lundi c’est fini. Nous faisons avec mais appr\u00e9<\/em>cierions quand m\u00eame un retour du soleil pour notre arriv\u00e9e.<\/em> Das sch\u00f6nste Cruisen geht weiter, Sonne satt und der Wind zwischenzeitlich bei ca. 15kn. F\u00fcr Sonntag soll mehr Wind kommen, wir sind gespannt, von den anderen h\u00f6ren wir, dass sie ca. 500sm vor uns wieder die Motoren angeschmissen haben.<\/em><\/p>\n Larrikin und Mahe 3 \u2013 Gl\u00fcckwunsch zur Ankunft und dieser schnellen \u00dcberfahrt!<\/em><\/p>\n www.anne-ahoi.de<\/a><\/p>\n Das Meer ist nun voll treibenden Seetangs. Gelblich-braune Teppiche\u00a0schweben im tiefen Blau. Zum Teil werden sie so dicht, dass unsere Angel\u00a0ein Str\u00e4u\u00dfchen einf\u00e4ngt. Leider finden sich kaum Fische, die auf diesen\u00a0K\u00f6der anbei\u00dfen. Entsprechend haben sich unsere Erfolge auf dem Gebiet\u00a0reduziert (Wir haben ohnehin noch genug Fleisch an Bord). Auch Alytes\u00a0f\u00e4ngt ihren Teil. An den Rudern haben gestern gro\u00dfe, buschige Nester\u00a0<\/em>gebildet. Uns ist das aufgefallen, da das Steuer schwerg\u00e4ngig wurde. Ein\u00a0paar Bilder mit der Unterwasserkamera von der Badeplattform aus brachten\u00a0Gewissheit. Also beigedreht, Taucherbrille auf und wieder mal bei \u00fcber\u00a05.000 Meter Wassertiefe schwimmen gehen. Das Wasser ist bei 27 \u00b0C, macht\u00a0also Spa\u00df. Und die 4,5 Meter Welle bei vier Knoten Fahrt vom letzten Mal\u00a0hatten wir auch nicht (Oups, jetzt habe ich micht verplappert. Die\u00a0<\/em>Geschichte wollte ich eigentlich gar nicht schreiben \ud83d\ude09 .<\/em><\/p>\n Die Crew ist nun optimal einespielt. Wir essen gut und viel (bis auf\u00a0Janne, der will seine Frau mit einem noch h\u00e4rteren K\u00f6rper \u00fcberraschen),\u00a0aben alle Probleme im Griff und sind insgesamt guter Dinge. Zur Zeit\u00a0lachen wir vor allem dar\u00fcber, wie uns die abstrakten und gelegentlich\u00a0willk\u00fcrlichen Wetterdaten in emotionale Extreme bringen. Mir ist nun\u00a0klar, wie das Orakel von Delphi funktionierte. Mina hat exorbitant coole\u00a0Nikolaus-Geschenke gebastelt. Alle haben stinkige Segelschuhe voll m&ms\u00a0bekommen (die dann verstohle ins Wasser geworfen wurdne, da die\u00a0Geschmacksrichtung \u201cK\u00e4sefu\u00df\u201d nicht so angenehm schmeckt) und Mina steht\u00a0jeden Morgen mit Ingo und Mir vor Sonnenaufgang auf um den<\/em> Uns fehlen zum kompletten Gl\u00fcck also nur noch ein paar Wale. Und dann\u00a0Land in Sicht.<\/em><\/p>\n Und ich kann euch versichern, dass der Nikolaus keine Wege scheut, sogar bis mitten auf den Atlantik \ud83d\ude42 allen einen happy Nikolaus!<\/em><\/p>\n twitter.com\/@OFF45392364<\/a><\/p>\n You can see the position of the boats on the tracking map<\/a>. The weather forecast is here<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sephina <\/p>\n Balancing act. The last few days of light wind we have been happy to cover 120-130M per day, averaging just over 5K, but the forecast is for little or no wind in a …<\/p>\n
The last few days of light wind we have been happy to cover 120-130M per day, averaging just over 5K, but the forecast is for little or no wind in a day or so, lasting for a few days. This puts us in the position of possibly having to motor for a couple of days, or drift around the Atlantic a few hundred miles from Martinique for a couple of days waiting for wind. Either option is OK but to give us the choice we are hoping to conserve enough fuel to have the option of motoring. We have approximately 180l of diesel left, which should allow 90 hrs of motoring at 5K, so 450M. We just passed 500M to go at 0100 so we’re hoping the wind holds for another 24hrs or so.<\/p>\nSeven Seas Adventure<\/h2>\n
Om<\/h2>\n
Dancing in the Night<\/strong><\/p>\n
wind. But by the morning I did convince the big sail to stay and pull at\u00a0120! Now we have 12 knots apparent and we make nearly 6 knots.<\/p>\n
Wind from south<\/strong>
We have the main up, jib and apparent wind of 20 knots 60 degrees port\u00a0side. The true wind is 90 degrees 16 knots. We are on more than 7 knots\u00a0but we lose some with our Speed Over Ground because of the drift. In\u00a0reality we make knots to waypoint. 1.2 knot of drift! Not exactly trade\u00a0winds eh! But the sea is pretty easy. We will have to keep an eye on
squalls, the air is saturated with humidity. We are now at 280 miles\u00a0from the channel that separates Martinique from Saint Lucia.<\/p>\nKristine<\/h2>\n
Oh well.<\/p>\nPapy Jovial<\/h2>\n
Gazel Rebel<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/AO1-crossing-20-141205.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"French\"](\"http:\/\/www.cornellsailing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Flag-French.gif\" "\\"French\\"")
5 d\u00e9cembre: \u00c7a craint les grains<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
– vent de 25 \u00e0 30 noeuds,<\/em>
– pluie forte,<\/em>
– p\u00e9tole<\/em>
– vent de 25 noeuds<\/em>
– pluie,<\/em>
– retour de l’aliz\u00e9<\/em>
Au passage prises de ris, de tours de g\u00e9nois… et largage.<\/em>
Et des comme \u00e7a nous en avons eu des dizaines depuis le d\u00e9part.<\/em>
\u00c7a met de l’animation : c’est s\u00fbr !<\/em>
S\u00e9parons le bon grain de l’ivraie : certains nous am\u00e8nent juste le vent qu’il nous faut pour nous rapprocher de notre \u00eele voire m\u00eame un peu d’eau douce.<\/em>
Ce matin nous avons r\u00e9gat\u00e9 avec deux voiliers de rencontre – Damien s’est fait plaisir m\u00eame si l’issue n’a pas \u00e9t\u00e9 celle qu’il souhaitait.<\/em>
M\u00e9t\u00e9o changeante pour les prochains jours mais pour le moment tr\u00e8s favorable \u00e0 notre progression.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/AO1-crossing-20-141206.jpg\")
<\/p>\n 6 d\u00e9cembre: \u00c7a craint les grains II<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
gazelrebel.blogspot.fr<\/a><\/p>\nAnne<\/h2>\n
![\"German\"](\"http:\/\/www.cornellsailing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/flag-german.gif\" "\\"German\\"")
\u00a0Mit den ersten Sonnenstrahlen wechseln wir die Segel und schlagen unser Parasail wieder an. Ruhig und schnell geht es bei 12kn voran. Gegen 14 Uhr sichten wir erneut direkt am Boot Blauwale. Zwei mittelgro\u00dfe Exemplare (ca. Bootsl\u00e4nge) cruisen ein paar Momente dicht unter der Oberfl\u00e4che mit uns mit. Zweimal sehen wir den so typischen Luftaussto\u00df, dann sind sie weg.<\/em><\/p>\nAlytes<\/h2>\n
\u00a0Die N\u00e4chte sind in den letzten Tagen hinrei\u00dfend. Nach t\u00e4glichem\u00a0D\u00e4mmerungsfeuerwerk segeln wir unter einem vollen Mond durch helles\u00a0Zwilicht. Wann immer die Wolken auf dem R\u00fcckzug sind, explodiert der\u00a0Himmel mit Sternbildern und Meteoriten. Wir steuern meist in kurzer Hose\u00a0und T-Shirt. Nur die Weste muss nat\u00fcrlich sein, und die Pickleine\u00a0<\/em>verbindet die Wachhabenden in der Nacht mit dem Boot. Denn wenn hier\u00a0einer \u00fcber Bord geht, merkt der Rest der Crew es vermutlich erst drei\u00a0Stunden sp\u00e4ter.<\/em><\/p>\n
Adventskalender zu pr\u00fcfen.<\/em><\/p>\nHapa Na Sasa<\/h2>\n
\u00a0Tweets:<\/strong><\/p>\n