sy Timoneer

Noon Position  30deg 45N 36deg  12W

Course  – 70 Degrees   Speed – 10.5   Knots        Day’s Run –  275 Miles

Weather –  Grey, lots of rain and a 6’ (2m) swell from behind

Wind  – 18  knots from  245  degrees

We had a cracking sail yesterday afternoon but unfortunately by sunset the wind dropped and went behind us. We had a lot of rain during the night with the front, I was trying to keep ahead of, catching us. We had another night of rolling, motoring with the mizzen and staysail up to stabilize us a bit. It is very wintery looking outside and very different from the Caribbean we left a week ago.

It looks like we have another 3 days of motoring ahead of us before we start to pick up some Northerlies for the final 3 days to Gib.

No one is keen to go out in the rain to fish so the line are onboard.

JC

Noon Position  29deg 45N 41deg  18W

Course  -60  Degrees   Speed – 13.5   Knots        Day’s Run – 249  Miles

Weather –   Cloudy with rain around and 6’ (2m) swells from behind.

Wind  – 28  knots from  200  degrees

Today’s News

Finally after nearly 6 days of motoring at 10 knots or less we finally have some wind. This morning we put up the full main, genoa and mizzen and have been flying reaching speeds over 15 knots. The wind picked up more and we had to take the mizzen down and put a reef in the main. Since then we have been doing speeds in the 13’s. We are all enjoying the sailing. We are also enjoying having the internet back as the mizzen has been blocking the satellite the whole trip. We had to alter course dramatically every time I needed to send emails or download weather.

This morning we changed one more time zone.

JC

Noon Position  27deg 40N 45deg  13W

Course  -60  Degrees   Speed -11    Knots        Day’s Run -236   Miles

Weather –   Partly cloudy with waves from behind

Wind  – 19  knots from  200  degrees

The wind started to fill in yesterday afternoon and we put the mainsail back up and with the genoa and mizzen we crept back in to double figures on our speed over the ground. Then after dinner the topping lift on the mizzen broke. This rope holds the weight of the mizzen boom up. Normally the sail would do this but we had just taken the sail down. Luckily we have a safety strop on it which prevented it from dropping to deck. Now we have the tricky job of mousing a new one through the purchase system inside the boom.

We threw back one skipjack tuna yesterday before I had the chance to tell the guys it is great smoked and that we have a smoker on board. Next time. We also turned the engine off for 10 minutes to check the oil. We were sailing at 2.5 knots which meant it would have taken us 35 days to reach Gibraltar. We managed to keep the mainsail up all night keeping the boat steady giving everyone a good night’s sleep.

Today we have been motor sailing at up to 11 knots with wind from behind. It is nice to have some breeze again.

JC

Noon Position  25deg 38N 49deg 03 W

Course  -61  Degrees   Speed – 9.5   Knots        Day’s Run – 227  Miles

Weather –  Sunny with 6-10’ (2-3m) swells from NE

Wind  –   Very little from anywhere

Just after lunch yesterday we caught a nice Mahi Mahi which we are all looking forward to for dinner tonight. Our progress has been slow with very little wind and up to 1 knot of current against us. At times we were struggling to do 9 knots without burning too much of our precious fuel. Everyone is looking forward to the wind filling in  and getting our speed back in double figures. Hopefully then we can stop the rolling as well.

JC

Noon Position  23deg 42N 52deg  35W

Course  – 60 Degrees   Speed – 9.5   Knots        Day’s Run – 228  Miles

Weather –  Mostly sunny with 13’ (4m) swells from NW

Wind  – 3  knots from  50  degrees

The rolling last night was not great for sleeping but at least we are not crashing into waves as well. We had a lot of rain overnight giving the rigs a good rinse. This morning I woke to glassy seas with less virtually no wind. The swell was still there though but it made for a spectacular sunrise. The fishing lines have been out since then with freshly made lures.  Yesterday we had a strike that took the lure clean off and we brought in the other line to find the hook gone but the knot still there?? Better luck today hopefully.

We are going slower than usual to conserve fuel until we know we are going to get some sailing days and have enough fuel to get to Gib. I’m hoping Tuesday the wind is going to start filling in and giving us some assistance.

JC

Noon Position  21deg 51N 56deg  08W

Course  -60  Degrees   Speed -10    Knots        Day’s Run – 242  Miles

Weather –  Mostly cloudy with 10’ (3m) swells from NW

Wind  – 8  knots from 230   degrees

We have mostly been motoring with just the mizzen up for the last 24 hours as we have had winds as low as 2 knots at times. Etienne, Jonny and Travis have been perfecting there sextant skills. So far the most accurate position was 2 miles from our actual position on GPS. Hopefully by the time we are getting close to land they will have narrowed the error down a bit more.

The fishing lines are out but no fish yet. Today we are going change the clocks forward 1 time zone, the first of 6 before we arrive in Gibraltar.

JC

Noon Position 19 deg 52N 59deg 51W

Course  – 060 Degrees   Speed – 10.5    Knots        Day’s Run – 225  Miles

Weather –  Sunny and warm with 3-6’ (1-2m) swells from S

Wind  – 8  knots from 180   degrees

Timoneers Caribbean season is over. We left Antigua Easter Sunday and sailed overnight to Sint Maarten to fix a few problems we had not managed to fix in Antigua. Sint Maarten is also a good place to provision the yacht for the crossing. We now have the tracking working again on the website if you want to keep track of where we are.

After a busy morning of fire, medical, man overboard and abandon ship drills we did the final stowing to be ready for sea. We hauled the anchor at 2pm, hoisted the sails and motored sailed away from St Maarten with uncharacteristically light winds. The seas have been fairly comfortable and we have had just enough wind to keep the sails full, stopping us from rolling.

We have headed out in to an unusual weather system which is going to guarantee light winds for at least the first half of the trip. We have decided to stay away from the storms to the north and stay much further south than the traditional route, keeping us in light winds from the south instead.

The fishing lines are out but no luck yet.

We have just over 3000 nautical miles to go to Gibraltar

JC

Position 17 deg 00N 61deg  46W

Speed – 0   Knots

Weather –   Calm!

Wind  – 6  knots from  058  degrees

Timoneer is safely tied up in Nelson’s Dockyard, English Harbour, Antigua.

We came through the entrance just after 5pm local time.

Please check our website tomorrow for our new Antigua phone numbers.

JC

Noon Position 16 deg 48N 60deg  33W

Course  – 278 Degrees   Speed – 11.5   Knots        Day’s Run – 282  Miles

Weather – Overcast with 10’ (3m) swells from behind

Wind  – 16  knots from 080 degrees

The swells have decreased and with it so has the rolling. There is still the odd big wave that catches us out and you end up being thrown against a wall or walk into something. We will all have random bruises on us. We have been busy outside for the last 2 days getting the varnish taped and sanded ready for applying a new coat after we arrive. Prior to that we spent 2 days scrubbing the decks to get all the grime from the yard period out. Over the last 2 weeks we have changed the boat from a construction site back in to a superyacht. Now we have a few days of cleaning and detailing to do after our arrival and we will be back in guest mode.

We have managed to maintain good speed motor sailing and now Antigua is only 70 nautical miles away. Everyone is looking forward to the rolling to stop and a good night’s sleep.

The fishing lines have been out since sunrise to try and get some fresh fish for our arrival.

JC

Noon Position  17deg 34N 55deg  45W

Course  – 275 Degrees   Speed – 12   Knots        Day’s Run – 295  Miles (25Hrs)

Weather – Sunny with swells from behind and the odd rain squall.

Wind  – 24  knots from   080 degrees

After the excitement of the whales yesterday we then got a fish on the line but unfortunately with such big following seas it is impossible to slow the boat down enough and we lost it. I then decided it was time to pull the lines in and give up until the seas settle a bit. It may not happen before we get to Antigua. We also passed a 48’ (15m) yacht yesterday and spoke with the solo crew member on board. He was expected in St Martin 3 days ago so we sent an email to his wife to say he is OK but still a few days away.

We have continued to motor sail with the mizzen and staysail and have been making good speed. We have been catching  the odd wave and surfing, maxing out at a top speed of 16.9 knots on the GPS. With the following seas for the last few days we have managed to keep our average speed up between 11.5 -12 knots. If we can continue to stay above 11.5 knots we will arrive in English Harbour just before sunset tomorrow.

We have just passed another yacht who is not having such a good trip after hitting something in the water and losing their rudder. They are making very slow progress towards Antigua and have a boat on its way out to meet them tomorrow to start towing them.

We have put the clocks back another hour.

JC