sy Timoneer

We arrived safely in West Palma Beach around 10am yesterday after a very calm last 24 hours. It then took us two and a half hours to do customs. I will never complain about the inefficiencies of Caribbean customs again. We then had the rigger and carbon specialist on board determining what is required to repair the mizzen boom.

We took the lines in Monday afternoon after catching another Tuna and another Mahi Mahi. Plenty of fish in the freezer now, so a very successful fishing trip. That evening we hope on the Gulf stream and had up to 4 knots of current with us at times.

Hopefully by the end of today we will have US phone numbers which I will put on the website http://www.timoneer.org/contact  We will be here for at least 10 days. Then…..? Watch this space.

Cheers JC and the Timoneeros

Noon Position 23 deg 03N 78deg 42 W

Course  -322  Degrees   Speed – 11 Knots        Day’s Run –  216 Miles

Weather –  Sunny and calm

Wind  -6 knots from  107  degrees

The fish processing vessel Timoneer has been busy. Kyle got the ball running with a Mahi Mahi during the afternoon. Then after dinner we had reached calm waters and we slowed down for half an hour before sunset. It worked Robbie got a Mahi Mahi and Jonny got a tuna.

We all had a great night sleep in the calm conditions. Just before sunrise we passed 5 cruise ships going through the traffic separation scheme off Cuba. Once the sun was up I put the lines out and not top be out done by the crew I caught a Mahi Mahi as well. We are all looking forward to sushi for lunch and fish and chips for dinner.

At the moment we are motoring along the edge of the Bahama Bank which has bright blue 6m deep water and we are in very deep, dark blue water. Fish are jumping so it might be time to put the lines back out and see what we can get.

Cheers JC

Noon Position 21 deg09 N 74deg 32 W

Course  -295  Degrees   Speed – 11   Knots        Day’s Run – 271  Miles

Weather –  Sunny with 2-3m messy seas.

Wind  – 22  knots from  100  degrees

Happy Easter. It is amazing where the Easter bunny can find you. The crew  are enjoying a basket full of chocolate Easter eggs.

The last 24 hours has been a roller coaster ride. In the afternoon the wind did turn a little but not as much as we had hoped. We did manage to get the main and staysail full and knocked off some good miles. Most of the afternoon and evening we had 35-40 knots and a 4m swell from behind. Around 2am we had to take the main down as the wind shifted too far behind. By this stage we were getting in the lee of Great Inagua Island, in the southern Bahamas, which allowed the seas to flatten a bit. Soon after sunrise we were back out into the swell and are rolling along again. We are all looking forward to getting in the lee of the Bahama bank tonight and having calmer seas.

It has been too rough to keep fishing lures in the water so no fish still.

We have been making good time and at this stage should be arriving Tuesday morning at West Palm Beach.

JC

Noon Position  19deg 43N 69deg 59 W

Course  -288  Degrees   Speed – 11   Knots        Day’s Run – 269  Miles

Weather – Partly cloudy with 2-3m following seas

Wind  – 20  knots from 110   degrees

We passed within sight of St Croix, US Virgin Islands, and then closed on the coast of Puerto Rico. As we entered the Mona Strait we had a shark following one of our lures for a while. It had one bite and then left it. It was just after sunset and Robbie and Jonny were just getting ready to bring the lines in when they saw it. So still no luck with the fishing.

Around midnight we got enough wind to put up the main and genoa and made good speed for the rest of the night heading along the coast of Dominican Republic. After turning the corner we had to furl the genoa and go back to the staysail making the ride a bit rolly. We are hoping the wind will turn more north this afternoon and we will be able to steady the boat up.

JC

Noon Position 17 deg 39N 065deg 57 W

Course  -280  Degrees   Speed – 10.5   Knots        Day’s Run -255   Miles in 23 hours

Weather – Mostly cloudy with rain squalls. 2m swells from NE Wind  – 20  knots from 100 degrees Today’s News The trip did not start well yesterday when we had the mizzen sheet break and the boom swung into the rod rigging. We got the boom under control and took the sail down.  We are now rolling along with just the staysail up. The wind has pretty much been directly behind us the whole way making it difficult to use.

We have had the fishing lines out but no bites yet.

Cheers JC

Timoneer is on the move again. Today we are leaving Antigua and heading back to West Palm Beach, Florida. This is a 1200 nautical mile trip mostly down wind. The conditions are looking light so it will probably mean motoring the whole way. Bring on the fishing! More updates tomorrow.

Cheers JC

Good morning everyone,

We had 20 knots of breeze from behind which gave a good push to motor sail at 12 knots meaning we made it to Newport Shipyard marina just in time before the marina staff headed home at 8pm.

We are now waiting for customs to come and clear us in so that we can go ashore and get our communications set up for life in America.

We managed to average 11.3 knots for the 1500nm trip which is pretty standard for our long trips.

Now it is time to get Timoneer dressed up for guest mode.

All the best

JC

Noon Position  deg N deg  W

Course  -355  Degrees   Speed –  11.5  Knots        Day’s Run – 274  Miles

Weather –  Sunny and calm

Wind  – 20  knots from  200  degrees

It has been another day of unsettled winds but we have managed to motor sail a lot of the time. We also had to negotiate currents and counter currents caused by the Gulf Stream. Now that we have crossed the Gulf Stream the water and air temperatures have dropped. We are now approaching the shipping lane from the North Atlantic into New York. We have only seen 3 or 4 boats in the last 5 days and now we have traffic all around us.

With 90 miles to go we are hoping to arrive in Newport just before 8pm.

Cheers JC

Noon Position 35deg 33N 70deg  19W

Course  – 338 Degrees   Speed – 10   Knots        Day’s Run -271  Miles

Weather –   Calm conditions and sunny skies

Wind  – 7  knots from  44  degrees

We have had periods of good sailing weather  followed by light conditions and then wind on the nose. We have had a bit of everything in the last 24 hours. Now we are starting to feel effects of the Gulf Stream. Earlier this morning we had a knot of current with  but now we have a knot against us. We are hoping to get some more favourable currents soon.

At this stage we are going to be struggling to get to Newport tomorrow before dark unless we get a good push of 2-3 knots from the Gulf Stream for several hours.

JC

Noon Position  31deg 19N 68deg  26W

Course  -340  Degrees   Speed –  12  Knots        Day’s Run –  261 Miles

Weather – Cloudy with rain showers around and 1-2m swell from NW Wind  – 18  knots from  035  degrees

Still no fish and Penny even took fish out of the freezer for dinner. That nearly always guarantees fish on the lines. There has been very light winds from behind and we have been motoring most of the time with no sails. We are now waiting for the wind to spin 180 degrees and fill in meaning we can get some sails up and speed up. It is due to happen in the next hour or 2 if the forecast is correct.

The sea temperature is slowly dropping. It was 26 C when we left the Caribbean and we are now down to 21. We will be following it closely in the coming days as we approach the Gulf Stream. We may see temperatures as much as 28 C as we cross the main stream of it.

The wind change has just come. We wend from 4 knots from 240 degrees to 18 knots from 35 degrees in a matter of minutes. We are now charging along at 12 knots into a 2m swell and it is pouring with rain. The pleasant downwind Caribbean sailing is over.

Cheers JC