Author: bensimplicat

Heading in the right direction

Position. 21 10’N. 21 58’W (A moment of great excitement this morning when we were exactly 21 30.648N and W. Picture counting down to New Year’s Eve at the turn of the millennium. You can tell there’s not much going on!)

Wind. NE 15-20 knots

Course. 260

Daily Run. 165 miles. Again!

We gybed late morning, having made enough progress south to be in reliable trade winds, so we are now pointing at Martinique. Still more than 2,000 miles away but good to be heading right at it.

Update below from Daisy:

After being at sea for five days we have really begun to know the animals who are following us on our voyage.

We have been visited by dolphins several times and it’s a wonder to watch them play in the waves. On our third day at sea, we had a rather unexpected visit from a sea turtle who was also surfing the waves! And yesterday we briefly spotted a whale coming to the surface to breath, but sadly he didn’t stick around to play.

Entered the Tropics at breakfast time ….

Position: 23 14’N. 020 08W

Wind ENE 18-20

Daily run (noon to noon) 165 Nautical miles

Course. 235 degrees

Dora’s 3 A’s of the Atlantic

. Awful

. Abominable

. Amazing wildlife

So all going well then! To be fair they are both feeling better with each day and managing simple food (not that any other kind of available!). Spirits generally high. Sun is shining. Wind is constant. Great excitement each day when we spot a solitary other ship. That’s about it though for company.

First roller coaster of a day

Position: 27 18’N. 016 37’W.

Wind: E 15 knots

It has been a real rollercoaster since we left Lanzarote. We motored for the first five hours but winds then filled in enough for us to sail round top of Gran Canaria and then south, leaving Tenerife to starboard during the night. We decided not to refuel but have pushed on and now we are finally clear of the islands and the confused seas and accelerated winds they produce.

We are now broad reaching at around 7 knots, which is comfortable.

Crew morale certainly improving. Both girls have been terribly seasick for a good 24 hours but am hoping they’re just coming through. Ginger nuts and tangerine segments in small quantities have been requested. In the depths of their sadness we were visited by dolphins at sunset yesterday and again this morning. This morning they stayed with us for well over an hour, playing under the bow, surfing down waves and generally putting on a spectacular show to cheer up the crew.

We also had an incredible view of Mount Tiede at dawn this morning, a towering mountain even at 40 miles away. Never seen the like.

Monday, Monday

Puerto Calero

Well, there’s no wind at all this morning and precious little forecast for tomorrow so we’re staying put until Wednesday morning, busily laying in provisions (four PotNoodles per head per day for a month?), checking systems mechanical and electrical and occasionally wondering wether it might not have been more sensible to stick to an annual cruise to Ostend and back.

Our course will take us down the East coast to Papagayo Point (the SE corner of Lanzarote) into the Estrecho de la Bocayana which separates Lanza from Fuerteventura. Then we’ll sail a little South of West to pass North of Grand Canaria and towards the Southern tip of Tenerife then, leaving the Canaries astern, in the direction of a more or less arbitrary spot at 25N20W near the Endeavour Bank where the seabed rises from a couple of miles deep to just 150m. The best trade winds to blow us West are found (roughly) between latitudes 5N and 20N so the old saw runs that you should sail South from the Canaries until the butter melts then turn West. I’m hoping up cut the corner a bit, hopefully shaving a few miles of the 3000 odd that lat between us and Martinique.

T.

Questions & Answers

Puerto Calero

Lanzarote

Sunday

Hi Jude,

Thanks for the questions! When we were yacht hunting the basic criteria we were looking at were for an ocean capable boat of between 45-50 feet, of medium to heavy displacement (more comfortable than a light boat, less likely to fall to bits) but with enough sail area to make her sail well. I looked at dozens of boats all over Europe but inspiration was in very short supply before we came across Cherubino. It’s fair to say that because we had previously owned her sistership we immediately felt a strong affinity with her. She’s massively strong and correspondingly heavy but carries a lot of sail to keep her going even in relatively light winds. The interior layout and finishes are improvements on our last boat and although we’ve had to do quite a lot to make ready for long ocean passages I think buying the sister of our last boat could reasonably described as ‘lovely serendipity’.

As far as getting going is concerned, it’s a question of waiting for a decent bit of wind from the NE to get us away from the Canaries and down to where the trade winds blow strong and true – down at around latitude 20N, or about 600M South of where we are now. I’m to be found each morning looking at the output from various on-line weather prophets, purring at the ones who tell me what I want to hear and snarling at those with less welcome predictions. Originally I’d hoped to set off on Monday (25th) but with a flat calm forecast for Mon/Tue it looks like Wednesday – we’ll keep you posted.

Tom

LUMPY LANZAROTE

Hey welcome to my blog I’m just going to tell you what’s been happening. We have been really busy exploring Lanzarote. Lanzarote is in the Canary Islands (which means canine in latin) and has loads of volcanoes. We went on a camel ride up a volcano it was absolutely amazing. We’ve been on lots of long hikes and plenty of museum trips. I’ve realised how much I miss the cold, wet climate of England because here is like a huge, scorching, volcanic desert. I start home school on Monday which I’m really excited about it. It’s been really hot recently and I’ve been lounging round in the hammock listening to the hunger games on my iPad. We have visited Timanfaya national park and stumbled upon many lizards . In Lanzarote they speak Spanish so me and my family are practicing this language. This island has black sand as the lava has dried and disintegrated . I hope you will read my blog again.

Dora 🙂