940AST 2219n 6504w wind light ene motorsailing at 6kts seas large swell at 11 seconds
Here we are in the Tropics and hoping for Trade winds soon. We had useful winds the last 2 days and have averaged 6.8kts going exactly where we wanted - down Longitude 64. We are now motoring in a light air hole sitting between the Northers we have been riding and the Trades. All well and N Shaub Knight "can see the barn" !!
Best, Nancy and John with Bob and Matt Glaser.
In 2014 Adventuress sailed to Europe. She made landfall in Muxia Spain; then England. After cruising the English South Coast, and the Channel Islands, she wintered at Woodbridge, England. The next three summers we cruised England, Holland, Norway, Denmark, France, Spain, Portugal, and Gibraltar. For the foreseeable future Adventuress will sail in Europe. UPDATE: it's October 2021 and we are sailing her back to the USA: Transat passage will be Nov/Dec: expect to be in Florida end of January.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Change of Plan
1030 AST Thur 2445n 6358w wind N 20kts rain
Riding down towards the Trades on a predicted Norther and we have changed our destination from St Martin to the British Virgins: just seems a better plan and more convenient for Bob and Matt. All well as we enjoy our first downwind sail in 8 days. Best, John & Nancy with Bob & Matt Glaser
Riding down towards the Trades on a predicted Norther and we have changed our destination from St Martin to the British Virgins: just seems a better plan and more convenient for Bob and Matt. All well as we enjoy our first downwind sail in 8 days. Best, John & Nancy with Bob & Matt Glaser
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Beating Against Southerlies
0745AST Wedn 2650n 6355w wind 15kts S speed 7kts under double reefed main double reefed jib and staysail wind 55 degrees off starboard bow seas 3ft sunny
Plenty of breeze even if it is from S. Having a grand sail out here and Adventuress is romping along in her element. All well as we wait for a shift to North winds; and we have an ETA Saturday.
Best John and Nancy, with Bob and Matt Glaser
Plenty of breeze even if it is from S. Having a grand sail out here and Adventuress is romping along in her element. All well as we wait for a shift to North winds; and we have an ETA Saturday.
Best John and Nancy, with Bob and Matt Glaser
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Mystery in Mid-Ocean
0830 AST 2825n 6716w wind SSW 15kts course 130 sp 7.5kts at 66 deg off the bow under full sail; partly cloudy some rain squalls around.
Weird stuff happens out here...and then you wake up. But last night's oddity was real. Matt, on watch, spotted a green light ahead on the port bow and no other lights, and nothing on radar. Correctly calling JFK to the cockpit we pondered the question together. Had to be a sailboat. But we were heading SE and his green light told us he was heading westerly...but from where? Europe? Africa? Made no sense, as from there you would be further South, in the Trades. On the radar finally appeared a small target 3 miles ahead; and a minute later his AIS radio signal popped up and it told us he was heading NNW at just 3 knots. Then another target appeared on the radar some 5 miles away on our starboard bow. Immediately Matt and I started hashing out our plot...a drug rendezvous into which we had unhappily intruded....and we were captive...and then ransomed...and, well you get the idea. Some ten minutes later we passed, and we could clearly see just 400 yards away a sailboat, without sails, under motor. We did not receive a call from her on our VHF radio, and I decided not to call them. Were they just poodling around mid-Atlantic; or in trouble; or making trouble? If the former we figured they were just drunk or asleep and the autopilot had stopped working. If they were in trouble, they would have called us on vhf or signalled us. Anyhow, they did a 180 ten minutes later to fall in behind us, which was really strange as minutes later it put them right in the middle of a big rainburst that we had just dodged. Maybe they were short on water and intentionally driving into rain to catch some? A mystery it shall remain.
The winds have been, amazingly, exactly as forecast on our downloaded weather charts and by our wx man Chris Parker; and so after some light winds last night as we passed through a trough, we are now enjoying a glorious dawn sail on forecasted South Westerlies, and our navigation plan thus far is working perfectly: we should be turning South at about 27n 64w and then looking for the Trades to head to St Martin. John and Nancy, with Bob and Matt Glaser.
Weird stuff happens out here...and then you wake up. But last night's oddity was real. Matt, on watch, spotted a green light ahead on the port bow and no other lights, and nothing on radar. Correctly calling JFK to the cockpit we pondered the question together. Had to be a sailboat. But we were heading SE and his green light told us he was heading westerly...but from where? Europe? Africa? Made no sense, as from there you would be further South, in the Trades. On the radar finally appeared a small target 3 miles ahead; and a minute later his AIS radio signal popped up and it told us he was heading NNW at just 3 knots. Then another target appeared on the radar some 5 miles away on our starboard bow. Immediately Matt and I started hashing out our plot...a drug rendezvous into which we had unhappily intruded....and we were captive...and then ransomed...and, well you get the idea. Some ten minutes later we passed, and we could clearly see just 400 yards away a sailboat, without sails, under motor. We did not receive a call from her on our VHF radio, and I decided not to call them. Were they just poodling around mid-Atlantic; or in trouble; or making trouble? If the former we figured they were just drunk or asleep and the autopilot had stopped working. If they were in trouble, they would have called us on vhf or signalled us. Anyhow, they did a 180 ten minutes later to fall in behind us, which was really strange as minutes later it put them right in the middle of a big rainburst that we had just dodged. Maybe they were short on water and intentionally driving into rain to catch some? A mystery it shall remain.
The winds have been, amazingly, exactly as forecast on our downloaded weather charts and by our wx man Chris Parker; and so after some light winds last night as we passed through a trough, we are now enjoying a glorious dawn sail on forecasted South Westerlies, and our navigation plan thus far is working perfectly: we should be turning South at about 27n 64w and then looking for the Trades to head to St Martin. John and Nancy, with Bob and Matt Glaser.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Monday Morning Happies
0900 AST 2920n 6940w wind N 10kts course 110 speed 5.5 sky overcast
Here in retirement land it's an appropriately grey dawn yet we are enjoying our Monday morning! Seas are calm and we are making an excellent heading East South East; under full sail we are on Island Packet Autopilot, with the helm locked down almost centered and the sails balanced, she is tracking very true. Just as well we found some wind at 6am, after motoring for 16 hours, not because we are running low on fuel - we are not- but because the darn B&G autopilot was playing up and then stopped altogether at 10pm. So thank you Island Packet for the full keel and the well-balanced cutter sailplan!
All aboard are well and we are looking forward to mostly fair winds now until we find the Trade Winds for the sleigh ride down to St Martin.
John and Nancy, with Bob and Matt Glaser.
Here in retirement land it's an appropriately grey dawn yet we are enjoying our Monday morning! Seas are calm and we are making an excellent heading East South East; under full sail we are on Island Packet Autopilot, with the helm locked down almost centered and the sails balanced, she is tracking very true. Just as well we found some wind at 6am, after motoring for 16 hours, not because we are running low on fuel - we are not- but because the darn B&G autopilot was playing up and then stopped altogether at 10pm. So thank you Island Packet for the full keel and the well-balanced cutter sailplan!
All aboard are well and we are looking forward to mostly fair winds now until we find the Trade Winds for the sleigh ride down to St Martin.
John and Nancy, with Bob and Matt Glaser.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
A Seaman's Simple Pleasure
1105 AST Sunday 2951n 7131w wind SE 10 course 175 5kts under full sail sunny and seas smooth 4ft long swell
As they plough their shallow keel clean across the waves
Through the wine dark seas etched with frothing bright white foam,
And though grim inside the crew stoically behaves
And craves the calm when the anchor's set in the loam.
The wind builds and thus the silvery waves pile steep,
They cling onto the ship as their stomachs revolt.
The keel lurches now up and suddenly dives deep
They test their strength like riding an unbroken colt.
The red dawn breaks! The storm's past! They're renewed with hope,
And like butterflies fresh from the chrysalis' grime
They take glad glee from a sweet drenching with soap
And relish the coming feast at eve's supper's time.
JFK
Adventuress, 400nm South West of Bermuda
Copyright JFK 10 November 2013
As they plough their shallow keel clean across the waves
Through the wine dark seas etched with frothing bright white foam,
And though grim inside the crew stoically behaves
And craves the calm when the anchor's set in the loam.
The wind builds and thus the silvery waves pile steep,
They cling onto the ship as their stomachs revolt.
The keel lurches now up and suddenly dives deep
They test their strength like riding an unbroken colt.
The red dawn breaks! The storm's past! They're renewed with hope,
And like butterflies fresh from the chrysalis' grime
They take glad glee from a sweet drenching with soap
And relish the coming feast at eve's supper's time.
JFK
Adventuress, 400nm South West of Bermuda
Copyright JFK 10 November 2013
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Crunchy Enough
0850 Saturday 3134n 7258w wind NE 20-25 seas 6ft heading 105 at 6kts under reefed sails.
Smooth is a relative term and we are still on the crunchy side of the 'peanut butter curve'. The ship is doing well, and most of the crew are in robust health. We are hoping to report a complete absence of mal de mer in our next report. The navigation is working so far to plan: we have made 390nm of easting, and even though we are now headed with the winds clocking to NE, we expect to be able to make longitude 65W far enough North before the Trade Winds would block any further easting. What was a deviation from plan was last night's dinner: heating anything on the bouncing stove was too scary, so we made do with ham and cheese wraps with olives and tomato.
If you are reading this you are on our blog: please spread the word to family and friends, as 'we' (JFK) failed to send out a global email with our blog's address. Best, John and Nancy, with Bob and Matt Glaser.
Smooth is a relative term and we are still on the crunchy side of the 'peanut butter curve'. The ship is doing well, and most of the crew are in robust health. We are hoping to report a complete absence of mal de mer in our next report. The navigation is working so far to plan: we have made 390nm of easting, and even though we are now headed with the winds clocking to NE, we expect to be able to make longitude 65W far enough North before the Trade Winds would block any further easting. What was a deviation from plan was last night's dinner: heating anything on the bouncing stove was too scary, so we made do with ham and cheese wraps with olives and tomato.
If you are reading this you are on our blog: please spread the word to family and friends, as 'we' (JFK) failed to send out a global email with our blog's address. Best, John and Nancy, with Bob and Matt Glaser.
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