The ARC Europe Transatlantic RallyMoonstruck was a participant in the 2007 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. |
Leg II of our epic voyage!
Alan's Log:
Joan's Log:
Thursday May 24th, 2007
We ended up not watching the dinghy races after all, they were canceled due to the strong wind gusting through the harbor. We checked out at customs, made one more visit to the grocery store, and prepared Moonstruck for sea. Alan cooked an early dinner of spaghetti, while I got the low down on the weather from Herb. After getting his report we made the decision to leave and cleared the start line yesterday evening approximately 30 hours behind the majority of the fleet. Into the lumpy, bumpy Atlantic we went, as the twinkling lights of Bermuda faded in the distance, the last land we will see in over a week. To me it's always a little disconcerting to leave the safety of a nice, snug harbor and enter the wild unknown, but after an hour or so the half-moon rose and the sky filled with stars. I got into the rhythm of the waves and the movement of the boat and settled in for a long, long passage.
Friday May 25th, 2007
After a sleepless night for us, our reward was a beautiful, sunny day, cool temperatures, and calmer sea. Around noon though, our wind abruptly died! So the engine was fired up and we carried on. We have been informed by Herb that a potently strong low weather system would intersect with our plotted course to the Azores in the next 48 hours and after a lot of discussion we have decided to be safe and avoid it, by changing our course and going in a more south/east direction. Moonstruck's engine rumbled through the night.It's a little disconcerting to have to use the engine (and start burning our supply of diesel fuel) so soon after departure. This will be our longest single passage yet at about 1600 Nautical Miles, slightly longer than our voyage from Baltimore to Virgin Gorda last November. This is different however as there are no potential stopping points en-route and we are therefore more at the mercy of the elements. We can receive weather forecasts for the region from ARC Europe and from a variety of government and commercial sources over the HF radio and by Satellite email (thankfully we were able to repair our sat phone in Bermuda). However the most important hour of the day is Joan's discussion with Herb on the HF radio. We have a general course planned out, but we will modify this course with input from Herb. Herb is our weather router and has the task of steering us between the various weather systems. Picking a route that has enough wind in the right direction, but not too much for us, is no easy task and Herb performs this service for hundreds of Transatlantic yachts including dozens that are crossing right now. Our decision to delay our departure from Bermuda was made based on input from Herb, it is a shame that the dinghy races were cancelled, but we still felt it wise to set off with an improving forecast. The great part about the early stages of a voyage is the fresh vegetables, salad, lettuce etc. The bad part is getting used to the watch routine. Last night was rough so we doubled up the watch and stood two hour watches in pairs with two hours off between watches. It got us safely through the night, but we are all tired today. Conditions are calmer now and we are back into our boat rhythm so tonight we will revert to 3 hour single watches. This gives us each one 3 hour watch over night and allows plenty of time for sleep.
Saturday May 26th, 2007
This evening Herb has given us a target waypoint to reach at about 29deg N 57deg W. We motored through the day in light winds, but at midnight the wind picked up and we are now (2am) sailing close hauled at around 6.5 - 7 Knots. We hope to reach our waypoint ahead of the low pressure cell then sail in the winds generated at the south of the cell back on a North Easterly course. I just re-established contact with David on Rosario, they are 75 NM behind us on a similar course/strategy.Today we saw whales in the distance (pilot whales we think) and Joan will tell you about our other bizarre sighting when she posts her log.
Memorial Day Weekend in America
Mustang in the Atlantic
We have a very sunny, warm day, with a calm almost flat sea. It's amazing how the sea changes from one day to next. Today there is just a slight swell, softly undulating beneath us. Makes for good "looking for things floating in the water", it became a game, there are all kinds of things out here. We have spotted quite a few Portuguese Man-of-War Jelly fish, even a "cute" little baby one (according to Colin). All sorts of trash; water bottles, a wine bottle with a cork in it that looked really old, even part of a dock floated by. Then I spotted something large and bright red, drifting about 200 yards from the boat. That called for investigation, so we turned around and circled it. At first I thought it was a capsized dinghy, but it turned to be the front end of a car!! Bumper and front grill still attached, also we could clearly see a few dozen, large and small fish underneath it! Alan thought they wanted the shade.We have been motoring most of the day, due to no wind and we are running from this weather system that is a concern. The annoying and frustrating part is we are going south, away from the Azores!!! This will add an extra day or two to our voyage but we are determined to avoid bad weather, when we can.
Sunday May 27th, 2007
Rainy, grey, squally, lumpy seas, the wind is increasing, we are heading south and away from the storm system. Not much fun really.Monday May 28th
We motored through the night head on into big waves. Got very little sleep due to the uncomfortable motion. We continued motoring until about 11:00 AM in very grey, squally weather but...finally, finally, finally are headed in the direction of the Azores, having been able to avoid the worst of the large low. That if had begun in the tropics would probably have a name by now, and finally, finally, finally with 15 knots of wind, Moonstruck is doing what she does best, romping and slicing through the waves in a much more comfortable motion. Despite the unpleasant weather, with the exception of the crabby, redheaded one, all are well and in good spirits and of good cheer!The crabby redheaded one hasn't had much sleep and has been preparing the most amazing meals every evening. Although she is not very happy to be here right now we are very glad to have her!
Tuesday May 29th, 2007
Great news! We have a very welcome email from Courtney. It is so good to hear from home! The Redheaded one is in a much better frame of mind today! We have been sailing for the last 24 hours which is also improving all our morale. Heading towards the Azores at 6.5 kts VMG.Still running from the storm, which continues to pursue us. Not too much of a change from yesterday, except I was able to get some sleep and feel much better today. There is something about crossing an ocean that makes one feel so vulnerable and yet so strong. It is a privilege to witness first hand the force and power of it.
St. Colin, Our Saviour!
Wednesday May 30th
We have been watching, with increasing anxiety, our freezer temperature steadily increase for the past several days. Alan has tried several times to fix it, without luck. Today it went out completely! Which meant all the meat needed to be cooked right away or tossed out. (which wasn't going to be easy considering the conditions we were in) Colin stepped in and went right to the source of the problem, a wire which wasn't soldered properly, and re soldered it! Works perfectly now, what would we do without him? :) He gets double rations of rum! except that will have to wait until the Azores. In the meantime he got a beer.The weather has not improved, if anything it has gotten worse! But...I think we are all used to it by now. It's become the new normal. The storm is expected to pass during the night.
It has been a comparatively busy day. This morning we rigged the storm staysail in preparation for the upcoming gale/storm. While working on this Colin spotted that the pin holding the stay to the deck fitting was coming out and spent half an hour on the fore-deck fixing this. Next was the freezer. Our freezer, which has been on the blink for days, finally packed in this morning and required urgent attention. We first removed the microwave to get behind it to the wiring, nothing wrong there, so back in with the microwave. Then I let Colin check the connections at the compressor (which I had already checked) and he immediately spotted a bad soldered connection on the back of a circuit board - BRILLIANT. We got out the soldering iron and it is now running perfectly. Colin's Marconi training came in handy! All the foregoing accomplished at a 30 degree angle of heel in 20 knots of wind while sailing at 8+ knots in heavy seas (7-9ft). Our 24 hour run - 164NM our best yet.
Then the storm finally caught up with us and we are in the middle of it now. It is hard to believe that I am able to sit here typing. The winds are 20-28kts gusting to 35kts. Seas are probably 10-12'. We are sailing at between 8 & 10 knots with a double reefed main, 100% jib and the storm staysail. Moonstruck is perfectly balanced with this rig, and perfectly happy . If anything she is more stable now than earlier. She doesn't heel more in the gusts, just picks up speed like a train and roars through the waves. There is almost no slamming and sleep is possible if not easy. We expect another 12-18 hours of this then following seas/winds for a few days.
Thursday May 31st
The roller coaster storm passed during the night, another tough one for me, as all my monsters came out of the cupboards. The wind got up to 35 knots and Moonstruck picked up her skirts and ran with it! Oh, but today is NICE! We have sun and a nice 15 knot wind out of the west and warm temperatures. We've got music going and I'm baking bread, how fun!The storm let up in the early hours of the morning, with a bang not a whimper. Winds peaked at 38kts then veered S where they stayed most of today at about 18-20 kts. This is a comfortable downwind reach for us and the day was spent catching up on chores and putting out the fishing lines again. We got a good ride out of the storm and were pretty pumped about our progress when we heard the sobering news this afternoon that the lead boat COCHISE has been dismasted in the same storm. We have no real information about the circumstances other than that the hull and crew are all OK. Readers will probably know more than us if they check the ARC website (link at top of page). COCHISE left Bermuda 30 hours ahead of us but had built up a lead of 300 miles by sailing a Northerly route where the stronger winds lie.
Under the Weather
Friday June 1st, 2007
After a short reprieve of sun and high spirits, the WEATHER is back! Since 3:00 AM we have had a consistent 25 knot wind blowing out of the NE (lots of rain too), exactly the direction we want to go in. So instead of heading towards the Azores we are being forced on a NW track, sailing very close to the wind and Away from the Azores! This is our 8th day out and are not even half way there. Very frustrating to say the least!
Domino's Delivers Out Here? Or was That Taco Bell?
Saturday June 2nd, 2007
The big wind has substantially subsided, the skies have cleared and it is one of the prettiest days we have had yet. We had one of those quintessential moments today when we had about 5 (not sure what kind, but BIG) whales swimming around us. Here we are in the middle of the Atlantic at one with nature, the wildlife, and the beautiful clear blue sky, and a piece of PIZZA floats by!!!!! Then about 20 minutes later a taco floated by!!!! I don't make these things up, I swear! There is no wind, and the waves have calmed down enough, we have decided to motor TOWARDS the Azores until we get some southwesterlies.Fins to the Left, Fins to the Right!
Not only have we seen whales today, but Colin got a private early morning visit from about 10 dolphins, his first ever! Due to the hot sunny weather, there has been talk among the crew about going for a swim today, which has been strictly forbidden by me in the past, out of fear of something wanting to eat them. They brought up the fact that ROSARIO's crew had been swimming already and I reminded them of my concern. No sooner had the words left my mouth when I looked up and saw the distinct dorsal and tail fin of a large shark just off our port beam!!! I swear, I don't make this stuff up! That was the end of the discussion.Sunday June 3rd
We were able to shut off the engine at 7:00 am and put up the spinnaker. Currently we are making about 6kts under sail towards the Azores, 832 NM out. We narrowly missed a buoy in the night by 10'! It wasn't very big but would have woken everyone up if it had hit the hull!! We assume that these buoys are Wx transmitters of some sort, however this one only had a metal flag on top and no radar reflector or other apparent means of transmitting. We will ride this Westerly wind till it peters out then motor again. We have fuel left for about 600Nm so at some point if the winds are against us we can just motor in. We are too far out for that currently. Joan's baking bread again so alls well aboard!A day in the life..
Monday June 4th, 2007
Not much to write about tonight so I thought I would entertain myself, and perhaps you, with a recap of a typical day in the life of Alan, captain voyager!7:00 am Wake up (I went to bed at 3:00 am). Everyone else is already up. Colin is still awake from his 3-6am watch and the others are awake after at least half a night's sleep. I check the state of battery charge and decide when and if we need to run the generator, check potable water levels, check fuel. Coffee.
8:00 am Send and receive email. A short sentence but a long and involved procedure. First I code our weather (Wx) requests in the form of an email that will trigger Wx files to be sent to us (later in the day) automatically by a robot server. I can do this by selecting a patch of ocean for which I want the Wx, then decide what information I want to receive for that location (wave height, winds, surface pressure, 500mb gradient etc). The more information I request, the longer and more complex it is to download. We connect to the internet over a HF radio modem. Sometimes in the middle of the night our connection speed is a blazing 2,000 characters a minute (yes characters!). During daylight hours it is a more sedate 100 - 400 characters a minute. So a typical 2,000 character email would take around 10 Minutes to send and a Wx file (20,000 bytes) would take 100 Minutes. Having formulated the email I switch on the radio, tune it to one of 30 stations around the world that send and receive emails for us and try to transmit. Each station has 4 or 5 frequencies and each frequency works best at certain hours. I have a propogation chart that tells me which frequency is likely to be strong at 8:00 am and I try to connect with station 1. usually I am able to get a viable connection by the time I get to station 4. Adding further complication we are only allowed 30 minutes of transmission per day with each Ham station, so we will have to make viable connections with several different stations to complete the emails.
9:00 am Wx files received and reviewed, coffee drunk. Our position recorded for our daily check-in with ARC, and I am back to bed for another hour's sleep.
10:00 am Wake up again and have breakfast.
10:50 am Back on the HF radio trying to connect with the other Transatlantic ARC yachts for the morning roll call. This takes about an hour. There are 25 yachts and all can hear at least one other yacht on the radio, but no one yacht can hear everyone. We all help relaying information from those yachts that we can hear, to those that cannot hear them.
11:30 am Review our course and strategy to keep in favorable winds. Put up the cruising spinnaker.
12:30 pm Spinnaker is up, it must be time for lunch. Joan puts out a variety of cheeses, meats and our dwindling supply of fresh vegetables and we each make our own sandwich. today we have fresh made bread - a real treat.
2:00 pm back to bed
3:30 pm awake and chatting with crew
4:30 pm Prepare for the most important task of the day. Joan talks with our weather router, Herb, on the HF radio. He is 1.500 miles away in Canada and the only way we can communicate is with a perfectly quiet boat. Quiet in this instance means electrically quiet, so we shut off everything except the radio. This can include; Engine, Generator, fridge, freezer, fans, pumps, sat phone, stereo, inverter (which we use for 120v on board). Once everything is shut down, Joan commences the 2 hour radio drill. I sit with her to take notes of the information being shared. Joan logs in with Herb, then waits while all the other yachts log in. This takes 30 minutes and involves about 60 yachts. Herb then talks to each yacht individually. Joan gives our position, wind speed and direction and course. Herb provides a forecast for our location and suggests course changes to take advantage of shifts in the winds. He also warns of storms and provides assistance to yachts in trouble. Today he coordinated three yachts to the location of a fourth yacht "Chardonnay II" with rudder problems. The three yachts, "Lizzie B", "Sarah Grace" and "Pilgrim" will change course and sail about 60 NM over 10 hours to arrive on scene tomorrow early morning and are equipped to dive and help replace the bottom bearing of the rudder skeg attachment of the troubled yacht. There will be no payment, and no thought on anyone's part of ignoring the call to help. If you are privileged to be close enough to help someone in this large ocean, then of course you do so. This is one of the truly wonderful things about our lifestyle, how people constantly go out of their way to help in ways large and small.
6:30 pm Wx information exchanged with Herb is now discussed with crew and tonight's course is planned. Tonight is one of the rare occasions when I cook dinner. Joan's meals are far better and Joan cooks almost everyday, but tonight we are having one of the few things that I can make. Thai curry with shrimp. It is a calm night with fair weather expected so I make a cocktail for the crew, then prepare dinner.
7:30 pm Martin and Colin have done their usual fine job of washing and drying the dishes, now it is time for me to go to bed (for the third time today!).
24:00 Midnight Martin wakes me up for my watch. I get up, check the batteries, water, fuel etc. Then go on deck and let my eyes acclimatize to the night. After 15 minutes or so I can see well enough to scan the horizon. Then I turn on the radar for a view over the horizon. Sails need a little trimming, but we are motor sailing and the sails are really just keeping the boat steady in the water and preventing her from rolling too much. Out in the ocean there is always a swell, even when there is no wind. With the sails up we roll once through 40 degrees every 5 minutes or so. With no sails up we will roll through about 55 degrees and keep rolling for several minutes on each swell. Enough to keep one awake unless really tired.
01:00 am This is the perfect time to send and receive email. The radio waves are clear of traffic and reception/propogation is excellent. I can send and receive at 2,000 to 3,000 characters per minute. I send emails to family and friends and update the log on our webpage. We have very poor sat phone reception this far out in the Atlantic (Globalstar says we should have no reception here, but we do get about 2 minutes worth every 30 minutes). I wait for a viable connection, with everything ready to upload, then upload the website, download more Wx information. Every 15 minutes I go on deck and have a look around.
02:00 am Back on deck to watch the stars and listen to music.
03:00 am Colin arrives on deck to relieve me of my watch. I go to bed for 4 hours sleep.
A Magic Carpet Ride
Monday June 4th, 2007
The wind is out of the west, directly behind us, blowing around 15 to 17 knots. The guys deployed the spinnaker and Moonstruck took off. We have no other sail up and are making 7.5 - 8 knots! We are all in heaven, the sensation is like floating, just incredible. The sun is shining, the air is cool, the ocean is a deep indigo color, the waves are frosted with brilliant white flying horses, and we are floating over the ocean like in a dream! To top it all off we had the most amazing dolphin visit. A group of about 15 came jumping and playing. Just before they left one jumped high out of the waves with a flying double axle as a grand finale! After enduring all those days of crazy weather this is our reward!Bad Dreams
Tuesday June 5th, 2007
All dreams have to end and ours ended last night after dinner. The weather abruptly changed when we met up with a high pressure ridge. It became what I call "crazy". Big waves, strong gusty wind, the boat began to pitch and roll, whales started ramming the hull and all my monsters came out again. Not much sleep. In the pale grey morning light the whales and monsters were gone, but the dark clouds and large, dramatic seas remained.The guys were all cool as cucumbers and I relaxed. We are now sailing away from the Azores due to a very deep low on it's way there. Once again we are forced to change course because of weather, preventing us from arriving around the end of the week as we had hoped. Now it's maybe Monday or Tuesday, we don't really know for sure. At this point it doesn't really matter. What does matter is that we are safe, and if that means an extra week on the ocean, so be it. I just hope our provisions hold out, I guess we better catch some fish. By the way, Martin did catch a lovely Mahi Mahi just before dinner last evening. Luckily for him, his will to live was stronger then our will to get him on board, he was a pretty tough guy, punched Alan and jumped back in the ocean! Watch out Mahi Mahi of the Ocean, Martin WILL be back!
Martin's Log:
You know the waves are getting quite big when the turtles are looking down on you as they paddle past your cockpit, flying in the waves. What a difference a day makes, yesterday we were floating, skiing in powder and today pounding along a mogul field! A dramatic scene indeed. Fast rolling seas with bright morning sunshine giving a turquoise glow to the space between the waves and the breaking crests. And later more dolphins are following alongside like shadowy torpedoes under the surface, then launching from the sides of the steep waves to get a better look at us, the strangers from the dust.
Miles and miles to go
Wednesday June 6th
The dolphins have become our little buddies, they visit several times a day now. They are so full of joie de vivre (joy of life). Out of all their antics and tricks they love gliding through the bow wake the most, it must feel like surfing to them. I think they are trying to say to us, " follow us, follow us, we know the way to the Azores!"I am so craving a salad right now, we used up the last of our limp lettuce about a week ago. I don't care what kind, it just must be fresh, and very cold, on a chilled plate, and crisp! and crunchy, with freshly made croutons. I also can't stop thinking about cake! Moist white layer cake, with creamy pink frosting : )
This journey reminds me of a poem I love by Robert Frost, in it a man is traveling in a horse drawn sleigh, on a bitterly cold winter evening, through a snowy field in Vermont or New Hampshire. He stops suddenly to admire the woods on the edge of a field in the stillness of the fading light. I remember bits of it, "my little horse must think it queer to stop without a farmhouse near... The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."
437 Nautical Miles to The Azores
Thursday June 7th, 2007
The faster boats that left Bermuda on time are all safely in Horta with the exception of Cochise, which we assume is getting very close. The next wave of arrivals includes Moonstruck, Gyatso, Bobo, Jsea and ReShaunta. We are all within 150NM of each other and the closest is 200NM out. We are back in radio contact with these boats which is nice after a few days of very light copy on only one boat in the fleet. We have gained on these boats as they slowed to allow the Storm/Hurricane to pass over Horta before making their approach. We all now have a good forecast of favorable winds for a beam reach to Horta and expect to be in on Sunday (we will be late sunday or early monday). Our big question is whether ARC will delay the departure from Horta (scheduled for Sunday) to allow us time to clean the boat, reprovision etc before having to leave again. It is unlikely that the last two boats, Rosario and Stella Maris will arrive before we all have to leave to get to the staging point for the next leg (unless delayed). I had a very welcome email from Kevin in France saying that he and Penny would come and visit us in Portugal when we get to Lagos!! We are all looking forward to catching up with them. It has been too long.Fourteen days ago we left Bermuda. There is talk that we MIGHT arrive in Horta on Sunday. We have been making good time in the past 48 hours, averaging 7.5 knots. Although there is a major storm in the Azores 400 miles away, our weather is great. The sea is up, so the ride is rather unsteady, but we are so used to that. We are all just really tired, and the thought of sleeping in a still bed is what we unanimously are looking forward to the most. I think Colin and Martin are looking forward to "a nice cup of tea" too. We ran out of the UHT boxed milk, quite a while ago. I was hoping to resupply us with it in Bermuda. After looking everywhere I discovered it is not available in Bermuda. The powdered "coffeemate" is not doing the trick for them.
Friday June 8th, 2007
We have beautiful clear blue skies, warm temperatures, an enormous, dramatic swell (we are guessing from the heavy weather that slammed the Azores) and no wind! So the engine is going full steam ahead to Horta!Martin and I saw a sperm whale today!!! It's head and half of it's body came out of the water to take a look at us, yikes!:-o He/she wasn't interested or impressed and took off. Much to my relief, although I feel very privileged actually be in the presence of such an amazing animal, I wouldn't want it to get too friendly or vice versa.
For the very first time on this leg, in 15 days we have had a visual on another yacht (we have seen a few freighters)! Oread, they are also an ARC participant. Alan chatted with them on the radio and they are doing fine, a little sea-weary like us, and very ready to get to Horta. Next to the whale, it was one of the highlights of the day.
You know (hope) it's the end of your passage when you can see the bottom of the fridge and the freezer. We have one meal left, and then it's beans or hopefully fish!
Last Day at Sea
126 Nautical Miles to Horta, The Azores
Saturday June 9th, 2007
Another pleasant day with everything except wind. We are still motoring and will most likely motor the rest of the way into Horta. We expect to arrive at about 10:30 am local time (UTC). We learned yesterday that although the early fleet arrivals will have already left for Terceira, ARC will leave a representative at Horta to greet the remaining yachts which is excellent news, also that we can stay in Horta till Tuesday (or longer if we wish) and then catch up with the fleet before they depart Ponta Delgada. We are looking forward to land, meeting our new friends again, and exchanging "war stories".At the beginning of this page I indicated that we had a 1,600NM voyage ahead of us... It now appears that our overall distance travelled will be close to 2,300 NM, About 45% further than we thought due to weather detours. Lesson learned...
Arrival Horta, The Azores
Sunday June 10th, 2007
We just arrived Horta, off to see the city....Next......Stopover in The Azores