We are going to be leaving Martinique today or tomorrow to head down to Bequia, possibly dropping into St Lucia for a rest on the way, in transit with the yellow flag up. We have been in Martinique for long enough and now it feels time to make a move. We have corrected a few bits that needed correction, such as putting hooks on the backs of the doors to stop them slamming on passage as the ones supplied by Jeanneau were not up to the job, replaced the uphaul line that I robbed Peter to pay Paul when I had to cut the jib furling line that jammed. We put sail repair tape on the parts that had some wear from the passage, and I have been along the waterline to remove any critters that were trying to establish a hold on the line where the coppercoat ends and the gelcoat starts.
We have sorted out some of the larger issues too - we found out that the solar panels were not performing as we had expected, and on investigation it appears that the ones fitted were way under powered from what we expected, so we have had to get some more powerful ones to do the job. This will require a steel arch to be fitted 22/12/2014 Martinique.
We are going to be leaving Martinique today or tomorrow to head down to Bequia, possibly dropping into St Lucia for a rest on the way, in transit with the yellow flag up. We have been in Martinique for long enough and now it feels time to make a move. We have corrected a few bits that needed correction, such as putting hooks on the backs of the doors to stop them slamming on passage as the ones supplied by Jeanneau were not up to the job, replaced the uphaul line that I robbed Peter to pay Paul when I had to cut the jib furling line that jammed. We put sail repair tape on the parts that had some wear from the passage, and I have been along the waterline to remove any critters that were trying to establish a hold on the line where the coppercoat ends and the gelcoat starts.
We have sorted out some of the larger issues too - we found out that the solar panels were not performing as we had expected, and on investigation it appears that the ones fitted were way under powered from what we expected, so we have had to get some more powerful ones to do the job. This will require a steel arch to be fitted on the stern of the boat on which the new panels will sit, and this is being made in time for our return to Martinique on the 16th January so that it can be fitted. The whisker pole solution will involve new ends and/or new mast fittings. We are being sent a mixture of ends and mast fittings from which we need to achieve a proper working solution. It will be good to be able to use the pole again for downwind sailing. Fortunately, during the next few weeks, we shouldn't need it as the winds are more on the beam.
We had a really good sailing day yesterday, moving from Grand Anse d'Arlet to St Anne. 35 knots of wind at times and we were buzzing along at speeds up to 9 knots with reefed sails. It was a really good feeling helming when Tumi performed like that. Hopefully we will have many more such days going forwards.on the stern of the boat on which the new panels will sit, and this is being made in time for our return to Martinique on the 16th January so that it can be fitted. The whisker pole solution will involve new ends and/or new mast fittings. We are being sent a mixture of ends and mast fittings from which we need to achieve a proper working solution. It will be good to be able to use the pole again for downwind sailing. Fortunately, during the next few weeks, we shouldn't need it as the winds are more on the beam.
We had a really good sailing day yesterday, moving from Grand Anse d'Arlet to St Anne. 35 knots of wind at times and we were buzzing along at speeds up to 9 knots with reefed sails. It was a really good feeling helming when Tumi performed like that. Hopefully we will have many more such days going forwards.
Atlantic Odyssey
Day 4 - Sailing tonight has been just like riding on a rollercoaster blindfolded. Exhilarating to say the least. We were on a beam reach with a scrap of sail out in a force 8 skimming across the water at over 8.5 knots, not being able to see anything ahead of us, but hoping that the ride would never end. The weather has been challenging to say the least, we were almost knocked down yesterday morning when were hit by a sudden squall and the blast of wind that took us broadside reached 52 knots in an instant.However Tumi pulled herself back upright and we reefed down the sails PDQ.
Day 5 - The SSB radio has proved to be invaluable. We have joined the AO cruisers net with enthusiasm and we appear to be able to hear most of the other users' transmissions so we end up relaying positions etc through the net. It is already establishing a bond between the sailors and we will build on this as the voyage unfolds. Most of the boats suffered some discomfort in last night's storm and the forecast tonight was for a weather front to pass through. We made a conscious decision to head west and meet this front head - on with a view to getting through it as quickly as possible. It didn't materialize so it looks like we have made a good call. We found that one of the ends of the whisker pole had twisted and was springing off the bracket on the mast. This is a fault in the product and we will be looking to get it replaced under guarantee when we are back near land and able to sendphotographs to the broker for him to sort out. In the meantime we will try to jury rig a solution to be able to use the pole during the rest of the crossing.
Day 6 - Today was a day of two halves. It started quietly with zero wind and we were running the engine to make some headway. It continued like this until dusk when we finally got a blow and could sail again properly. However, the day wasn't wasted. There were a few housekeeping chores to be done to make right the few things damaged by the storms we have been through. That said, we are really pleased with the way Tumi has performed throughout the trip to date. She sails fast when the conditions suit, and remains stable and solid on the water.
Day 7 - We were visited by a large pod of dolphins today, and they stayed with us for ages, showing off while skimming through the water just under the bow. They seem to glide effortlessly through the water at great speeds with the merest flick of their tails, really are a joy to watch, and they seem to have a permanent grin on their faces. We are making reasonable progress and according to the daily position reports, we are not doing badly at all. I have developed a spreadsheet that takes the daily position email and plotsthe relative positions of all the boats in the fleet. It somehow makes it more tangible to know where the other boats are. The daily net is something we look forward to participating in too, and we are active contributors to the exchanges, although some of the calling stations are difficult to hear at times and relaying of details need to be done.
Day 8 - Today started well, with steady northeasterly winds and we bowled along at an average speed of over 7 knots. The cruiser net was a failure as no one could hear or talk successfully with the net controller. Then overnight, the winds died down nothing and we slowly crawled along with the sails flaccidly flapping overhead. We topped up the fuel tank from the jerry cans today too, so we are back up to 7/8 full with a further 66 litres in reserve just in case. We still have just under 2000 miles to go to Martinique so we can't be frivolous running the engine too much. We need to be able to recharge the batteries every day.
Day 11 - The jury rig snapped on the whisker pole today so we rigged a different solution from a safety harness this seemed to work ok and we were back in business. Hopefully this one will last us the duration of the crossing. The internal door magnet catches are clearly not up to the job when the boat is heeling over, and as a result they have been slamming shut. This in turn has caused the frames to shift and the doors won't close at all. Trusty tool box and me to the rescue ... All sorted and working properly again.It's amazing what you can achieve with a Magnum ice cream stick!
Day 13 - We are beginning to realize that we are not going to make it to Martinique in time for Andy to get his planned flight home. Without the whisker pole we are having to sail much of the time under mainsail alone as the winds are pushing us from behind, and the jib just keeps collapsing in on itself. However, we are still making reasonable progress. The issue for today was a reefing line jam in the furling mechanism. We couldn't shift the jam, no matter how hard we tried, so I had to cut the line to remove it. That meant having to find a replacement from somewhere. As the whisker pole is out of commission we don't need an uphaul line to stabilize it, and so I robbed Peter to pay Paul and fitted that instead.
Day 14 - Without the whisker pole we have not been able to sail Tumi as well as we would like with the wind behind us. The mainsail has been the main driver and the jib has been furled away. However, we rigged up a barber haul today, tying a line between the jib sheet and the mainsail preventer to keep the jib inflated. It seems to work and our progress has improved. We estimate that we have 1100 miles to go and that the remainder of the trip will take us between 6 and 7 days. This is cutting it fine for Andy to gethis flight home. Hopefully the winds will continue to blow for us. Some of the boats reported only 5 knots of wind today during the daily radio net, but we have been lucky by comparison.
Day 15 - Something of a depressing day today. The winds have been flaky at best and right from behind which has meant that we couldn't really use the barber haul properly. We have tried to maintain speed but it has been a struggle. Less than 1000 miles to go. We were so down this afternoon that we had a g&t each to perk ourselves up. No cruisers net today either.
Day 16 - A really slow day. Not much wind at all, and so thank goodness for the equatorial current that pushes us along at a steady 1.5 knots. At least the weather is warm and the tan is improving, even though we are not sitting in the sunshine. Papy Jovial, one of the AO boats passed within 20 feet of our stern, then tacked back away to the south. We were in sight of them for most of the day before they disappeared over the horizon with their spinnaker flying.
Day 17 - We finally managed to get the whisker pole jury rigged today by binding the end to the mast fitting. It is a very temporary solution but it appears to work with a reefed jib so that there is not too much pressure on the pole or the mast fitting. The webbing rig I fitted to the outboard end is still operating too, so hopefully it will last for the remaining 600 miles. At least we feel that we have done our best to sail there. I spliced the fender lines to the fenders as well today with some help from Andy who washaving a masterclass. He did pretty well for his first attempt.
Day 18 - The wind returned today, most unexpected but very welcome, and from the south which put us on a beam reach. We have been able to set the sails without the need for preventers or barber hauls and we have made good progress throughout the day. The miles to go are dropping away and at last it feels like we are getting there. Long may it continue.
Day 19 - Another bonus day with the winds. We came close to a two-masted sailing boat with a square rigged foresail that we left behind us. It looked as though it was heading farther north than us, maybe Antigua. We dodged a few showers today, including lightning off to our starboard this evening. Hopefully tomorrow will be kind to us weather wise too. One more good day's sailing will see us very close to Martinique.
Day 20 - There was a terrific lightning storm all last night, sheet and fork lightning bolts at very regular intervals off to starboard. This continued a short distance from us seemingly on a parallel track Tumi. However, the morning brought a change and the storm closed in on us from all around. We looked at the radar and realized we were hemmed in on all sides with no escape, so we chose the point of least resistance and went for it. One and a half hours later we came out the other side, unscathed. Sadly for Papy Jovial who were in the same storm they were hit by lightning and suffered a complete wipe-out of their electrical instruments.