The joy of sextant,,,,,,,

DAY FOUR BLOG

DAY 4 - 28th November 2007

Position: 25º 11' N 24º 00' W
Bearing: 260º
Distance to go: 2190 Nm

2 minutes into our 02.00 watch and we carried out our first gybe...with the wind shifting a bit further to the East our heading was edging towards 300º rather than the desired 270º. With Julian and Kate both on deck we made short work of a difficult manoeuvre with the genoa still poled out. As we settled into the watch talk inevitably turned to ghost stories as it was dark and we are currently in the middle of nowhere. My attempts at passing the time with some knot practise didn't quite work out as the rest of the watch felt that none of my masterful knots were any use to anyone on a boat!

The good news is Jeremy is feeling much better and we now have some more great humour to contend with when we're on watch. I've been impressed with the way he hasn't complained but worked hard to acclimatise bit by bit and it's paid off, so welcome to the watch Jeremy.

We changed watches at 06.00 with a more favourable wind shift which gave A watch their first taste of sailing with a spinnaker. They worked very hard for a couple of hours even in the slight drizzle which accompanied the low cloud. They also kindly gybed at the end of their watch as we came on deck for our afternoon shift.

The afternoon was spent continuing our on/off relationship with celestial navigation. Kate (2nd mate) and myself were assisting Mark with ongoing calculations. Our conclusion was two-fold, the first being that sailors 200 hundred years ago were very, very clever, and the second that we should have done the five-day clelestial navigation course before we left the UK. Undaunted, we persevered and finally concluded we were in the Atlantic. At least we weren't on dry land. Stand by for a position any day now.

We are keeping our position in the head of the fleet really well and are continuing to open a lead over many boats close behind us. The rhumb line is still delivering the goods.

The gourmet kitchen, ably run by Susie is continuing to produce some fantastic food and tonight's Thai Red curry was received with gusto.

As we all get more used to the sleeping patterns both watches are beginning to mix in the afternoons and we're getting to know the guys on A watch quite well. No doubt resident joker Billy will appear more than once in this log.

We had some really consistent winds from the evening giving us an average 8.5 knots in the right direction. It's quite exciting to be speeding along in the pitch black just trying to feel for the swell as it comes up behind you.

No ghost stories on the watch tonight. Scaredy cats.

From the left, Tim, Marc, Steve with the camera, Jeremy helming and
Dave the watchleader on the right.

You can track the progress of Northern Child, which is updated every hour, on their web site at: northernchild.com

3 star sailing with a 5 star menu

DAY 3 - 27th November 2007

Position: 26º 04' N 21º 09' W
Bearing: 260º
Distance to go: 2381 Nm

On watch at 06.00 very, very, very tired even after a good, deep sleep. How do these professional sailors sail solo such huge distances on so little sleep?

We had some low cloud first thing in the morning with the wind dropping. Time for more sail so we put the No1 genoa up aswell. With the No3 genoa already flying we put the new sail on a spare groove on the roller furling gear. By putting the second sail on the same halyard we would be able to furl them both together. With the 2 sails now goosewinged we reaped the benefits immediately bringing our average speed up to 8 knots. Steering a course of 260º we were sailing on the rhumb line.

The sun came out and we were living the high life. Even when you're sailing on coastal passages there will be times when you're out of sight of land, but when your world shrinks to a 4 or 5 mile horizon it takes some getting used to. At times you feel you could reach out and touch the edge. We spied one or 2 boats during the morning and the definition of a sailing race being "2 boats on the same ocean" Dave proposed we give chase. As they disappeared ahead of us we consoled ourselves with thought they must have been a lot bigger than us.

There is a great mix of backgrounds on our watch and today we reaped the benefit of Mark's software/IT background, not in fixing the computers but reading the celestial navigation book I brought with me. His mathematical brain made short work of the process and so we took our first sights. At present we are finishing the calculations so stand by for our first reduction. We would be pleased with anything in the Northern Hemisphere.

Although Jeremy was feeling better throughout the morning he went downhill again later in the day. Everyone on board is hoping he'll be up and about soon and most of us just feel lucky we've escaped so far...maybe we should call him Nelson as it's said that the famous captain was often seasick.

With the boat sailing well in the sunshine what could be better...Susie's lunch of course...homemade bread, cherry tomato and goats cheese tart with salad...how does she do it? I'm just glad the other watch were on washing up duty!

We were back on watch for the 18.00 to 20.00 shift. With the sails still goosewinged there wasn't much to do but as the wind dropped and veered it made for some frustrating helming.

A quick handover to the next watch, followed by a dash for my bunk and 4 hours sleep felt like 10 minutes.

You can track the progress of Northern Child, which is updated every hour, on their web site at:
northernchild.com

No sleep 'till Rodney...

DAY 2 - 26th November 2007

Position: 26º 56' N 17º 49' W
Bearing: 260º
Distance to go: 2542 Nm

We feel like we're really on our way and making good progress. We had the 12.00 to 18.00 watch and luckily for us not too much to do. There was a noticeable difference in the sea state as it got a lot smoother at times making the helm easier. It takes practise to second guess the swells coming up behind you and steer gently down, great fun.

Jeremy was perking up and hopefully on the mend, at least able to join in the watch with us. It's always difficult to know what's best when someone is seasick, the most frustrating thing is that he's missing out on some good sailing. Dave, our watch leader, is the most experienced sailor and a definite racer, we have to keep correcting him and reminding him the ARC is a rally not a race...he is definitely our expert at sail setting.

Tiredness was starting to kick in and when we swapped watches I couldn't get to my bunk quick enough, incredible how a space 6ft by 2ft can be so cosy. It's even more incredible how quickly four hours can fly by and I can't really remember getting up again at 02.00 for our next watch. As the moon appears from behind a cloud it's just like turning a light on, although we got concerned with some ominous looking clouds from our stern and starboard quarter. Like coiled springs we were ready for 2 reefs to go straight in and of course it all came to nothing. We haven't experienced any squalls yet and hopefully the first one will come during the day so we can learn how to spot them.

Julian got news that Pindar, an open 60 has had to turn back with damage to either the boom or the vang. Once they fix it back at Las Palmas they'll head out again. So it could be that we beat one of the racing division boats and the only time I will ever be ahead of an Open 60.

The other watch are having all the luck when it comes to marine wildlife having seen flying fish, a turtle and some sparkling plankton. It could be that they are just far more awake.

Just 2 days in and the crew are all settling into boat rhythm but my requests for longer sleeps are falling on very deaf ears, perhaps we could all have a joker to play once during the trip.


You can track the progress of Northern Child, which is updated every hour, on their web site at: northernchild.com

2700 nm to our next beer...

DAY 1 - 25th November 2007

Pos: 28 06 1.8 N 15 24 0.8 W

After a lot of briefings and anticipation we're off. We slipped our lines a couple of hours before our official start time of 13.00 so we could spend a bit of time sailing together. I think we woke a few people up as we were leaving the marina with Rick on deck playing the bagpipes. The alarm call went down well and we left the breakwater with a round of applause, probably the first time Northern Child has been clapped for leaving a marina (although I can't confirm that!).

With a few tacks and gybes under our belt, Julian the skipper, took the helm and we crossed the startline in a great position in the head of the fleet. We stayed quite close to the Island as we headed South watching the majority of other boats head further out. A few spinnakers went up but as the wind crept over 17 knots they soon came down again.

The rest of the day was a mixture of winds from 10 to 20 knots. We now have 2 watches and I'm in B watch whose illustrious members include Dave (watch leader), Tim, Mark and Jeremy. More to come from all of these guys during the crossing, although Jeremy has our sympathy at the moment as he is still finding his sealegs and being sick.

We had 2 watches on the first day, 18.00 to 22.00 and 02.00 to 06.00. We are definitely getting better at putting reefs in and taking reefs out and putting them back in taking them back out. Unfortunately by the time we finally got in our bunks our speed was down to 3 knots. The only saving grace was that we were heading in the right direction.

Overall a great first day spent getting the know boat and getting to know the crew. Full marks go to Susie, our cook and second mate, for a fabulous lasagne that went down very well.

We were reaching most of the day as we sailed clear of the Canary Islands. No downwind tradewinds sailing just yet.

5...4...3...2...1

This time tomorrow I will be trying to write the blog on a rocking and rolling boat. Weather guru Chris Tibbs has predicted 15-20 knots of wind for the start increasing to 30 in the acceleration zone down the side of the island. This will be a great start for the fleet and please the racing division no end. It also means that we won't be using the spinnaker for the start on Northern Child! Due to arrival times our first sailing time together will come approx 3 hours before the start.

We finished our briefing sessions yesterday and today was put aside to shop for the last minute items we may have missed or couldn't do without like chocolate or stugeron!

The past week has been a great mix of parties and preparation but there's no mistaking the quiet atmosphere as sailors prepare for an early night. The racing division starts at 12.40 with the main cruising division heading over the start line at 13.00. Our skipper Julian talked us through his plans for the start and a stategy for the crossing but unfortunately we are sworn to secrecy so I can't repeat any of it here for fear the other boats in our division are scouring the internet as I write...

I'm ready for my last full night's sleep in a few weeks...

tomorrow brings a great adventure...

Steve

2 days and counting..

As we had our first full crew brieifngs today, it has started to hit home that in just 2 days we will be on our way.

It's great to finally get to know the other guys on the crew and yes, they are all guys! Apart from Kate and Susie who are full-time onboard Northern Child. Kate is Julian's "first mate" and Susie is cook and all round helper. Judging by the smells form the galley today the omens are good for our taste buds.

There's a real sense of anticipation now as we walk around the pontoons with supplies arriving from many different shops. Quite clearly there are some astute shopkeepers who plan for a busy November each year.

It doesn't matter whether your boat is big or small, everybody is keen and willing to share ideas, although I wouldn't want fashion tips from some of the crews after seeing them at the jungle fancy dress party the other night.

It was the farewell party tonight as Saturday evening will be an early finish for most people in preparation for Sunday's departure. One last repack from me and we're off....it seems no matter how much I try to reduce my clothes or equipment my bag keeps on growing...

Just 2 more nights of good sleep before the watch system kicks in..

So goodnight...


Steve

5 days to go

Here we are in sunny Las Palmas waiting for the start of the ARC.

I've been here for a few days doing some prep and getting everything ready for our start on Sunday. All the boats are here now and it's a great sight seeing all of the flags flying. Throughout the week there have been seminars covering everything from rigging, weather, provisioning and first aid...a lot of info to take in but all of it well presented and thought through.

A lot of crew are arriving day by day and the rest of the crew on our boat Northern Child should be arriving today. As it's a charter boat none of us know each other which can be a good thing as there won't be any close groups to try and break into. I sat down with Julian, our skipper, the other day and talked through all the things I would like to film and I'm sure that he will offer up some great ideas too as this is his 10th ARC crossing.

A key reason for joining the ARC is to take part in the organised activities and parties. Tonight's event is a fancy dress Jungle themed party. Unfortunately I left my Tarzan loincloth at home and so will have to go in my civvies....

I listened to Chris Tibbs' weather seminar today and he said at present it's unlikely that we will encounter any hurricanes...I'm sure you're right Chris...remember you heard it here first.

So more prep and filming and we'll soon be off...