Day 13
Posted: under News.
Day 13, Position 17 01.9N 57 14.8W Log 2542
We’ve had an interesting night, lots of squalls and no moon in which to be able to see where your going whilst hand steering in the worst of them. Some entertaining moments as we surfed at over 12 knots into the blackness with some heavy reefs!
Day light broke with Concerto going like a train and an ominous black yacht following us through the squalls. It caught us very quickly and looked quite “Wally” like through the binoculars. They called us up on the radio but I didn’t catch their name. They did say they were 122feet long and were going at 18knots, a little bit faster than Concerto!
Not long after the wind totally died and we had torrential rain. It has been like this all day, around 10knots of breeze, no sun, heavy clouds, very humid and lots of rain. It had better be nicer than this in Antigua.
We are currently 256nm to go to English Harbour, Antigua and are now back into the breeze doing 10.3knots so there is a chance we’ll make it in by tomorrow night before it gets dark, its going to be very tight though.
Saying that, just as I write this Clare just hit 12.8knots!
Gordon
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Nov 30 2010
Day 12
Posted: under News.
After a very rolly night during which none of us got much sleep we awoke to a confused sea and the wind turning towards the south. This meant the head sail wouldn’t fill as it was blanketed by the mainsail and the whole lot was crashing around in the swell. I got the troops up and we set the pole and goose-winged the headsail. We prefer to have the pole independently secured with its own guy, brace and up-haul to enable us to get rid of the headsail in a hurry in a squall or a man over board situation and not have the pole banging around the foredeck. It takes a little longer to set up but is safer in the long run.
The auto pilot is not quite clever enough to be able to steer the yacht when it is goose-winged so we all had to hand steer through our watches making sure to be far enough downwind to keep the headsail filled but not too far as to cause a crash gybe!
Day 12 Position: 16 58.6N 53 55.7W Log 2411.6
After around 10 hours of this the wind came around far enough for us to put the pole away and get the genoa on the correct side for a broad reach. We felt we were a little under powered and as we had set the babystay the day before in order to help stop the mast pumping we decided to set the storm jib on it. Concerto’s normal headsails are too close together to fly both at the same time but the storm jib set further back flies easily. Not sure how much extra speed it has given us, but it definitely looks good. It looks so good, that Rob went up the mast to take a photo of it just as the wind got up and we were pushing through he waves at over 11 knots. He was uncharacteristically quiet when he got down!
Gordon
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Nov 29 2010
Day 11
Posted: under Atlantic.
Logged miles: 2149.2
Position as of 20:00UTC 17 12.0N 050 12.4W
And another fantastic sailing day! Our speed over ground rarely dipped below 8 knots and was normally well over 9 knots so we’re making very good time so far. Have come to realise that my oven will only lean a certain amount to counter the boat’s heel and not nearly enough for our current heel!
We went through a couple of squalls overnight too with lots of rain, poor visibility and a huge increase in wind speed. The yacht coped very well though and, with a bit of sail adjustment, managed to stay relatively calm and happy throughout each squall.
Today was the first day we haven’t caught a fish because we’d decided it was a bit too difficult to reel in fish whilst sailing especially when we have so much food to eat due to freezer collapse. Today’s menu consisted of the last of the defrosted items; beef burgers for lunch and mahi mahi fish pie for dinner so have certainly been eating very well!
We now have 640 miles to go and at this speed we are hoping to arrive in Antigua on the eve of 1st or early on 2nd. Unfortunately customs closes at 5pm so we’d need to arrive before then on 1st if we don’t want to sit outside the harbour overnight! It’s going to be tight!
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Nov 29 2010
Day 10
Posted: under Atlantic.
Today we woke to a beautiful sunrise followed almost immediately by something much more important, Wind!!
So today we have been sailing on a beam to close reach at around 8-9.5 knots with occasional bursts into 10knots, this is much more like it! The whole yacht has become cooler with the engine switched off and has a much nicer motion.
We had the lines out again but had no luck until mid afternoon when I hooked something large on my rod. The clutch on the reel has been giving us problems over the last few days and this time in failed completely meaning Nick and I had to pull it in by hand. After a bit of a fight, we managed to land a medium sized Mahi Mahi. As we are still working away through the contents of the freezer she was put back.
Just before dinner, whilst Anna was on watch, a squall appeared on the Radar, it was getting larger and larger quite quickly and we realized there was no way of avoiding it. 15 minutes later I was on the helm in 25knots of breeze with Rob playing the mainsail and Nick on the headsail in the pouring rain. We were a bit over powered but managed to keep her on her toes and with a top speed of 11.4knots we sailed through to the other side to met with a big swell and no breeze! Thankfully it filled in again after dinner and we are now sitting at 9.0 knots. Hopefully this wind will keep up for a while as we have 850nm still to go.
Gordon
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Nov 27 2010
Day 9
Posted: under Atlantic.
Sorry for the silence the last couple of days we seemed to have no satellite coverage.
So there is still no wind, we had very little in the last few days with some motor sailing but mostly just motoring.
We were talking on the radio to a large classic style schooner this morning and his weather software was predicting 15-20nots northeasterly (tradewinds!!) due on the 27-28th which he was happy about as he was running his engine on fumes. He’s not the only one, Concerto is supposed to have a 1500nm range under engine. We have managed to eek that out to around 1600 and still have about 600litres left, around 350nm or so.
The weather just gets hotter and hotter with temperatures inside the yacht of around 35-39 degrees depending how close you are to the engine room. The freezer has died as its water pump appears to have split its housing and I don’t have a spare. So we’re eating the contents over the next day or so, rather frustrating!
Fishing is still going well with us getting at least one on deck everyday. Yesterday I landed a good sized Wahoo after quite a fight, we put him back as we still had plenty of Tuna left. Today Rob hooked a Mahi Mahi for too large for the small rod and reel. Somehow he managed to persuade it to the surface and get it on board for the obligatory pictures before it went back, not before managing to bite Rob!
We also had a fantastic swim today, lots of flying fish around!
Fingers crossed for more wind tomorrow, we really deserve it now!
Gordon
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Nov 27 2010
Day 7
Posted: under Atlantic.
The wind gods don’t seem to be hearing us as there is still a fairly major lack of puff. Our fuel calculations have been going full throttle as we attempt to decipher whether we can still make it by engine. Calculations done, answer – wishful thinking…
We would manage to get about 300nm away from Antigua before only having enough for generator use for the rest of the way. This means we are somewhat relying on a few windy days. We are now in the ‘trade winds’ (non-existent at the moment) which normally blow from a north easterly direction giving a nice broad reach/reach the whole way to Antigua. We did have a small amount of wind yesterday for some motor sailing but from the south west, giving us a very close reach with main and staysail up. This is turning into more of a ‘not your average crossing’ scenario every day!
On the fishing front, our tiniest little lure seems to be attracting all the attention, bar yesterday which saw not a single fish onboard. This morning started off with a bit more punch. I was sitting happily on watch (whilst the rest of the crew were still snoring) when one of the reels started flowing out, very quickly. Throttle down and a quick shout to crew mates when reel number two starts whizzing out uncontrollably, and seconds later, rod three. Another slightly more tense cry (“lots of fish!”) and help finally arrives. We lost one fish, but landed the other two on deck. One very feisty mahi mahi which was put back and another small tuna, hurrah!
Dinner time!
Clare
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Nov 24 2010
Day 5
Posted: under Atlantic.
Position: 19 57.0N 30 08.1 W Log since we left stands at 971nm
Another HOT, sunny, windless day in the trade winds belt. Where is the wind? We have come very far south to look for the wind but there appears to be none, nor does it look like there will be any for the next few days. Concerto is doing a great job of being a power boat! Rob and I both hooked some small (arms length) Mahi Mahi’s this morning, Rob got his onboard for a photo but I lost mine before the net could pick him up. It was big enough to eat but as we’ve had enough Mahi Mahi we put him back to save ourselves (and the freezer) for a large Tuna!
Lunch was another fancy affair from Clare, the last of the Mahi Mahi steaks, with a lime, garlic and coriander Grantin, salad and some freshly baked bread, was rather tasty!
We had another swim this afternoon whilst waiting for fuel to transfer and the engine to cool down to do its daily checks. Good to get some exercise after all the good food and to cool down from the hot tropics sun!
Here’s hoping the trade winds will pick up at some point!
Gordon
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Nov 22 2010
Day 4
Posted: under Atlantic.
Position: 21 48.1N 27 04.1W
After our second large Mahi Mahi yesterday we decided to turn our attention towards Tuna. Last night after dinner we had changed all the big lures for small brightly coloured squid types that we had made up ourselves to try our hand at Bonito or small Tuna. Rob was on watch this morning at sunrise and we have a standing order that who ever is on watch at sunrise sets the fishing rods. Sunrise was at 07:20 ships time so Rob duly set the three lines out the back of the boat. 07:35 we had our first bite! I ran up on deck to give a hand, Rob had already throttled down and was fighting to get the fish in. luckily it was on the rod with the biggest reel and heaviest line. After 10mins Rob had managed to get the fish close enough to net which I duly did and welcomed him aboard with a knock to the head with the bat. It looks like he is a small 3-4kg Yellow Fin tuna. Nice! After it was prepared it was put in the fridge and we had some beautiful sashimi for lunch.
There has been no wind all day, around 4 knots from straight astern so not any good for sailing. It has been incredibly hot though. Just before lunch we stopped the engine and all bar one, jumped in and had a swim. It’s quite a weird feeling swimming in 5000meter deep ocean. The water was incredibly blue and over 26 degrees so very comfortable. So it looks like tuna steaks on the BBQ for dinner tonight, we eat like kings on Concerto! Here’s hoping for more wind tomorrow.
Gordon
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Nov 21 2010
Left Tenerife
Posted: under Atlantic.
We left Tenerife on Wednesday evening after having suggested a fishing competition with our fellow crewmembers as to who could catch the largest fish. Being our suggestion, we thought we’d better get cracking! We decided, however, that the hours of darkness were probably not the best of times to be reeling in fish so waited till daybreak. There was no wind so day one was spent motoring steadily south westwards towards our first waypoint. We have enlisted the help of a weather router who helps us decide on the most economical and fastest route so our waypoints have been meticulously planned out by him after studying the weather and the yacht’s average speed. We have enough fuel for roughly two thirds of the journey (as well as generator for five hours per day) which means we have a little leeway if the wind is non-existent.
Day two (Thursday) dawned with a nice breeze coming from port aft so up went the sails and we had a great day’s sailing with main up and headsail poled out on a goose wing. We were making on average 7 knots in 10 knots apparent wind speed so not too bad! This was obviously prime fishing speed because no sooner had the reels gone out at sunrise, we managed to get two bites on two of the three fishing rods. In they came but to no avail, both got away. It gave us good hopes though for the rest of the day. Lunch was approaching and the crew were beginning to feel peckish when hey presto, another bite! And this time, it didn’t get away. Gordon reeled it in, Nick was standing by with the net, and Rob with the knife and baseball bat whilst Anna and I were concentrating on staying on course. The glints of blue under the surface as it came closer revealed a large dolphin fish (mahi mahi), fantastic! Lunch followed with some as sashimi (a little bit on the chewy side) and then some more lightly seared with a nicoise salad. Dinner that night was mahi mahi steaks cooked to perfection on the bbq (the wind had died down a bit by this point!). The remaining mahi mahi made a good base for a fish pie which went nicely into the freezer for another day.
Saturday started off fairly calm but the wind soon picked up again and the sails came back out but it wasn’t quite enough so the engine was switched back on and we motorsailed for much of the day making a steady 8.5 knots. Our course was changed slightly by our weather router who suggested we make our way slightly further south to ensure we caught the stronger trade winds. Today was also the first attempt at bread making on this particular passage. It was all going perfectly until the sound of the reel going out made everyone jump to attention on deck. Another dolphin fish! Once the catching and filleting had been done, the bread had been slightly forgotten about. Nevertheless fresh bread rolls can rarely be beaten (but they will be even better next time!). Dinner time was another feast of mahi mahi on the bbq, again cooked to perfection by the Captain (otherwise known as resident bbq chef). Still three more fillets, anyone want any?!
Clare
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Nov 21 2010
Cartagena to Tenerife
Posted: under News.
fter waiting for a 30 knot westerly to die down we departed Cartagena on the Spanish mainland with our three extra crew Nick, Anna and Irish Rob. It was an easy first night as we motor sailed towards Gibraltar. The morning greeted us with no wind, flat seas and sunshine, ideal weather to service all the fishing reels and gear. None of us had any idea on how to service the reels but we managed to not have springs and cogs flying everywhere and now have three perfectly working reels with drag clutches. These have been teemed with two heavy duty rods and one light one for Robs little “sea boy” reel. Nick has devised a mounting system that allows all three rods to be in action at once and with a range of lures, some homemade, fingers crossed for lots of Tuna!
We approached the Gibraltar straits that evening and it was incredibly busy. We had three crew on deck calling bearings and reading lights on the various ships as well as a fourth down below confirming bearings and ranges on the radar. There was a strong west going current left over from the gale and the fact that the med looses more water to evaporation than the rivers draining in can provide it. We were lucky to have the tide with us though so the two canceled each other out a bit and we made good speed through finally exiting into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in nearly three years.
The next few days were a combination of motor sailing and motoring in a very flat Atlantic and we made good progress towards the Canaries. The weather was beginning to warm up a little too, which was very welcome after the November cold of Europe. Our first day in the ocean provided no fish, but the second day was different. First thing in the morning I was on watch and heard the tell tale whiz of the line running of one of the reels, after checking the two big reels a couldn’t believe it was Rob’s little “seaboy”. I adjusted the drag and started to reel it in. few minutes later we had a small maybe 1/2kg Bonito on board. We decided to put it back in the sea to appease the fish gods, as he was only little, after the obligatory photographs. That evening we caught another Bonito also on the “sea boy” but put him back also, thinking if we had kept the other one, the two would have been plenty to feed us all!
On our last night before Tenerife we had slowed down as to not make land fall in the dark we were motor sailing. On of the reels started running out fast, this time it was one of the big reels. Nick jumped on it and had to fight quite hard with the fish that alternated between swimming away then turning and charging the boat. We landed it and took a look at the very angry fish in the net. It was long and thin and had an incredible mouth of huge teeth. It didn’t look very tasty so we decided to throw it back but getting the hook back was proving difficult. It was thrashing around with its teeth bared. Que three large lads squealing like girls! We finally got him back in. We found out later that he was a local type of Barracuda, and only a baby!
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Nov 19 2010