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These are the official Lancelot boat logs from throughout the ARC (8-14):
Day 8 - Upwind
Position - 17'45'.8N 28'16'.9W
Time - 1900 GMT 28th Nov 2010
Speed - 7 knts
Heading - 278 degrees
Wind - SSW 18 knots
Well here we are on day eight on the 'storebror' boat (hi Jan) after several days of light & variable breezes, the wind has arrived at last. The only problem is that it's coming from entirely the wrong direction! This year the trade winds are not behaving themselves at all & we are now bashing upwind in moderate to strong winds with a confused & lumpy sea. This morning the dawn broke to grey sea & skies, & if it wasn't for the heat, we could easily have been in the Solent…
Life on board has changed somewhat; the hatches are all closed up & it is extremely hot down below. The deck slopes like the roof of a house which makes moving about much more difficult. The crew are coping with the change extremely well; for Linda, Rob & Paul it is their first taste of sailing upwind, but everyone is in high spirits - as I write just before my first watch of the night there are shrieks of laughter every time a wave washes down the deck & bums get soaked - it can't last - later on around 3am they will go quiet for sure!
Fishing was suspended for today, it being too difficult to land a fish in these conditions. We have had a couple of awesome meals from the dorado caught the other day & Jacko's 'special' lure made from bits of an old 'j'cloth produced nothing all day yesterday - looking at the state of it you can easily see why; if I were a fish I would be deeply insulted if someone tried to entice me with such a vile looking object. That isn't the end of today's fishy story however, as quite soon after our splendid dinner of chilli con carne (nice one Deb) Jacko was hit three times by flying fish that came on board in retribution for the lure - more girly shrieking from him, as if we don't have enough of that already!
We are a happy team & there is much laughter on board. My watch of Deb, Linda & Paul are excellent company, & they are improving on the steering & general sailing stuff as the days go by. For Linda & Paul I have to remember how difficult a new environment can be so I have tried not to pile too much on them at once - & of course they have to contend with my occasional 'Victor' moments! Paul's record for not bashing his head on something is currently 15 minutes. The record for the longest time when there is no talk of food is 10 minutes, & the record for no talk at all stands at 15 seconds!
As for Jacko, the thief, I currently owe him $US 1,000,000 for the ransom of a pencil eraser I have been using daily when working out my sights….
So that's about it from me - a difficult day but hey, the show must go on, as they say.
Love from everyone on board to all at home, & on a personal note, one in particular….
Mick
Day 9 - 40 Degrees as I type….
Position - 17'20.3N 30'11.7W
Time - 1645 GMT 29th Nov 2010
Speed - 6.4 knts
Heading - 215 degrees
Wind - SW 15 knots
Well this might be day 9 but it is really day 2 of the ARC - Upwind! Large swells and a stiff South Westerly wind have been against us now for a couple of days, this has made life aboard a little uncomfortable for a time as we are sailing along leaning over at a 20-30 degree angle with the very occasional wave crashing over the deck soaking anyone who is sat in its path. Although all crew (including myself!) are looking forward to a sedater point of sailing, everyone has stayed cheerful and is mucking in where needed.
The one problem with upwind sailing this far south is the heat below decks, as we have waves crashing over the deck all the hatches are shut (but not till after a little soaking in the girls cabin :-). It must be over 40 degrees below decks... as I type this the cooker is being lit as well just to add insult to injury!! However that probably does mean we are being treated to another great meal from Debs.
The attack of the flying fish has not stopped, I have now been hit 4 times at night by those smelly, half swimming, half flying vermin that people may know as flying fish! It is not nice when you feel that hard wet slap from a fish then you hear it flapping about on the cockpit floor, you know then that you are going to have to pick it up and send it back home.
I want to break free from these strong upwind conditions so we have tacked now and have started to head South to look for some downwind sailing again, hopefully the wind and sea will die down a bit as well before night so everyone can get a little more rest than last night.
Anyway, I am frying below decks in this sauna so am keeping it short and sweet, love to everyone back home and I look forward to speaking to you all soon.
Jacko
Day 10 - Calm after the Storm
Position - 15'53'.9N 31'07'.0W
Time - 1800 GMT 30th Nov 2010
Speed - 0.0 knts
Heading - 250 degrees @ 1.3 knots on the current
Wind - V 2 knots
Hello again log readers!
Today is my birthday and what a way to spend a 33rd birthday. We are drifting along in 29 degrees centigrade with the speedo reading 0.00 knots as it has been since early morning. However, after a day or two of upwind sailing, it has given us a chance to tidy the boat and do jobs. The water maker has been working hard and the tanks were topped up in a flash. Gordon the flying fish has been retrieved from under the life raft and everyone has managed to have a shower. Baltic Swede buoys are great to lean against when you have a salt water rinse. We have even managed to do some clothes washing and so now Lancelot looks like a Chinese laundry. A day of wet splashy up wind sailing meant we all ran out of shorts so we did a night of sailing in knickers and foulie jackets - not often you get to do that in RORC races in the English Channel.
Yesterday, we saw six other yachts . Amazing to be ten days out from Las Palmas but still be seeing other ARC yachts.
Last night was a great night sail. Jacko got hit in the head by his fifth flying fish. Whilst laughing at his misfortune, I also got hit by one which promptly disappeared under the life raft so we left it there to become the next lure for our fishing rod. We saw our first squall but managed to avoid the rain. Amusing night sail accident - Mick's watch made tea for us as the oncoming watch but managed to use the orange squash in the dark. Universally agreed as disgusting. I think that it is no accident that Twinings suggest water in their instructions.
Back to the birthday fun. We've just had a lovely banquet of peppers, feta and pita with champagne. Later my birthday dinner will be my first ever Fray Bentos pie! The girls gave me a pedicure and wrote 'Happy birthday' on the heads mirror in lipstick in lieu of a birthday card.
We got an email from Disco 3 saying that they are quite a bit further south and now enjoying the trade winds and to wish me Happy Birthday. Right back at you Liz! We'll toast our FB pie to you.
Emails from home report that it is snowing and cold. We are just pleased to be able to have the hatches open again as the boat has been a sauna the last couple of nights.
Time to sign off. Paul is watching a film on his i-pad, Mick is doing the sight reductions from sights taken three days ago, Debs and Linda have gone for a nap, Rob is chilling after the effort of finding the torch he lost ten days ago, Lia is reading some Dutch book, Jacko is reading Master and Commander and steering with his foot and I'm going back to enjoying a lazy birthday afternoon while we wait for the breeze to fill in again this evening.
Much love to all at home. The Raymarine is giving 7th January as our ETA so see you some time in the new year!
Prue x
Day 11 - Pop Pickers
Position - 14'14'.8N 32'35'.2W
Time - 1630 GMT 1st Dec 2010
Speed - 7.4 knts
Heading - 250 degrees
Wind - E 12 knots
Welcome pop-pickers to another edition of Lancelot's Radio Gaga, a round-up of musical accompaniment to a transatlantic crossing, coming in at number 40 with…
- A calming Sunday Afternoon cruising over misty water but tired of waiting for a consistent breeze to send us onwards and upwards westward;
- At 30 our watery world is in motion again, brave Lancelot and her crew tacking upwind into a south westerly and choppy seas as the rush comes in;
- And at 20, helming into a Waterloo Sunset, the conditions really getting Lancelot going, course metaphorically and literally set for another Blue Monday;
- Moving onto 15, sailing through the storm into a dark and damp dawn, some of the crew were wishing they could fly like Superman, far away to a Lavender Hill in Lincoln County together with a Rosemary Rose. Praying for someone to offer the words, call on me and resisting the temptation of an escape jump into the ocean.
- And the top ten, a new dawn across some velvet morning, a Mr Songbird playing his tunes to help keep the troubles at bay and the crew's dedicated followers of fashion doing their laundry. Usual routines kick back in on board; thieves like us are after certain pieces of drilled stationery invoking acute schizophrenic paranoia among some crew members, verging on turning them Japanese.
- And at 5, with Lola's favourite theme and shifting Atlantic shapes and sounds, Lancelot cruises on doing 7 knots average on Wednesday afternoon and currently leading, yes first place, in her racing division B and fourth overall in racing class.
- Nine days is the estimate for ETA in St Lucia, well in time for a top charting number one Father Christmas, families and friends and flights home…
With all recognition to the great work of the Kinks, New Order and various other artists whose name escape!
Rob
Day 12 - Orange Squash Tea, Toilet Rolls and the Tradewinds (Now I'm Here)
Position - 13'25'.6N 35'07'.5W
Time - 1832 GMT 2nd Dec 2010
Speed - 7 knts
Heading - 275 degrees
Wind - ESE 12-15 knots
OK, it was me with the orange squash tea, my only excuse was tiredness together with tomfoolery, Mick planted the squash bottle there instead of the bottled water before my tea making exercise..... a lot of moaning followed together with ruined kettle etc etc...
Justin, Beth, Jack and Scott, the tradewinds have finally arrived and Lancelot came into her own last night she was flying and knows how important it is for us to arrive as quickly as possible. I hung on for half an hour then capable Mick stepped in and took the helm for the rest of the watch; we were all relieved and promised no ends of treats to our gallant helmsman.
We woke this morning to our first squall we couldn't outrun it and anyway thought it an ideal opportunity to shower in the rain, to an onlooker we must have looked really funny lathered up and slipping all over the shop; Jacko joined in and chose to also wash his hair, in fact he kept his clothes on and washed those on him at the same time....sorry Jacko's mum but we told him he was a lazy b*****.
I have had to change my flights due to the slow crossing and fearful Perry would be left behind so apologies to all for inconvenience especially Justin and Ruth....promise to treat you to a ski weekend if I still have a job to return to.... triplets please make a start on the Christmas baking for me as I'm going to need all your help.
I am rushing as I am melting here down below and will need to serve dinner shortly, wet ones stored in the fridge then applied to hot brow are very useful in this heat.
One final note, my berth partner, dear Linda still managed to sleep on no matter what, while I struggled to pull something on to help on deck with our first small broach, she merrily stirred and returned to full sleep mode - unbelievable and extremely lucky.
Love to all family and friends and thanks to Dad about the current tip over the satellite phone.
Debs XX
Day 13 - Where are the Trades?
Position - 13'07'.6N 37'00'.6W
Time - 1740 GMT 3rd Dec 2010
Speed - 5.5 knts
Heading - 270 degrees
Wind - ESE 8 knots
Last night was a very dark moonless night, black clouds hanging low, very poor visibility, thunder and lightning. It started raining very hard, but also brought us some more wind, which we needed very badly. No more than 10-12 knots though, but this was enough to make Lancelot move ahead again.. On the wheel it was hard to see anything and Rob read the instruments while I was helming, which was marvellous.
Everything got soaking wet and we were soaked to the skin, after some hours the rain died down and so did the wind, unfortunately. The winds are very light, it seems that the Arc 2010 is all about finding the wind and being in the right region at the right time.... but where are the trade winds???
Finding your own gear and kit on board is sometimes very hard, especially with 4 girls in a cabin. We share our beds, but sharing lifejackets is a big issue. Some life jackets are more attractive than others. Linda's is the most attractive. As soon as she takes it off and puts it away, it won't be long before it is on someone else's body, fitting perfectly. After the shift the surge in the dark starts, who is guilty this time of grabbing the wrong jacket again. This morning we had a meeting discussing the issue, and preventive actions were taken. Hope for the best that it's a Breakthru.
Otherwise no worries whatsoever, we are in a routine of steering, sleeping, happy hour with good music, having a shower etc. The meals are fabulous with two very enthusiastic cooks on board.
This morning the wind was very good again, and the boat is covered with clothing and gear to be dried in the sun. The buckets which were hanging at rear were filled with free rainwater, so Jacko washed all our dirty underwear, t-shirts etc.
We have a lot of fun, so far so good. No whales yet, lots of shooting stars.
Lucas , have a good flight to Canada.
Love and see ye. Lia.
Day 14 - Still Waiting for the Trades
Position - 13'10'. 3N 38'47'. 1W
Time - 1730 GMT 4th Dec 2010
Speed - 8 knots
Heading - 275 degrees
Wind - NE 15 knots
Day 14 aboard Lancelot and we are yet to encounter the trade winds, despite daily predictions and reassurances on the part of Jacko and Mick.
As a complete novice and newcomer to the world of sailing, I can't wait for the encounter. Not because of its fabled power and strength and the thrill of true downwind sailing but because it will get me to dry land quicker and to that pint that I have been promising myself for the past two weeks so here's hoping that we encounter it soon!
We have encountered one or two light patches of wind over the last couple of days and progress has been slower than expected. The day of upwind sailing proved eventful and made moving around extremely difficult, I personally added a couple of bumps to my head despite being known on board for my stealth and cat like movement around the boat.
Despite the light winds etc, life on board has settled into a routine and spirits remain high. Whilst we have moved onto tinned food, the dishes being served on board defy belief, especially when you consider that they are being prepared in a 1 metre square area of the boat cockpit and with a cooker that is slightly larger than a Lego brick, so special thanks to Prue, Debbie and Lia for their culinary expertise.
The latest ETA is for Saturday 11th December and we'll probably arrive at Rodney Bay during the day although this is being reviewed daily.
That's about all for now but rest assured we will keep you abreast of developments as they happen.
Love to all friends and family back home
Paul
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