Crew Changes

We have settled down in Plymouth and the transatlantic crew have departed, back to their families and boyfriends, but we have two new crew that have joined us; Madamoiselle Ensign and General Napoleon.  Two 3 month old kittens, one  black tortoise shell (Mlle E) and one black (M. N).

Full of playful kitteness, E thinks they are better than television!

Cornelius and his family have made us wonderfully welcome in Plymouth, but time constraints mean w are off to Dartmouth in the morning for a couple of day and then the run up to Cowes.

Back in Old Blighty

Well, we finally arrived in Plymouth to the welcome of Cornelius' family who came out at 0100 to stand on a headland and watch us in.  Official arrival time of 00:41 on 28 June.  18 days 7 hours and 41minutes.

All tired and now looking forward to a few relaxing days in Plymouth before heading for Cowes and the BCYC regatta.

More to follow once we have sorted the boat out, cleaned up, showered etc.

Tonight or tomorrow?

AIS website shows Croix des Gardes' last positoin before they drifted beyond the range of the base stations at 1951 BST.

This puts them with about 30nm to go but only doing 4.5kts.  It's going to be a late night for the team.

SMS from 881631669242@msg.iridium.com

1500 position 53 from Plymouth entrance.

SMS from 881631669242@msg.iridium.com

Noon position 49 49n 5 46w. Just off Lands End. spinnaker up first this passage.

Anticipated Return

For those of you eagerly awaiting news on Croix des Gardes and her crew as she approaches the UK today, the AIS Marine Traffic website has not yet spotted her our side of The Pond. We worked out that we had to be within 5nm of a base station to be 'seen'. There are stations on the Scillies and at The Lizard. James should pass close enough to the former to be picked up sometime early this morning - the latest positions and speeds suggest between 7am and 9am - and they should then be tracked pretty much all the way in.

AIS also shows the steady stream of ships making their way up and down the Channel as well as a small hadnful of other yachts approaching from the Atlantic so she should be in good company.

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/

SMS from 881631669242@msg.iridium.com

1800 position 49 32n 7 55w

SMS from 881631669242@msg.iridium.com

Noon position 49 26n 08 35w. light north wind four over the ground.

Approaching the lights of the Scillies and Cornwall

Position 1900 Day 16

Position 1900 49 15n 11 02w

From this position, CdG is making 6kts again with winds forecast on the beam until they arrive. They are now over the continental shelf and should pass their first 'land' overnight Wednesday as they sail south of Bishop Rock Lighthouse. They reach Land's End and The Lizard shortly after that and should be inshore all the way to an arrival in Plymouth on Thursday evening.

SMS from 881631669242@msg.iridium.com

noon position 49 11n 12 11w. NNW 4 and almost sunny!

SMS from 881631669242@msg.iridium.com

noon day 25, 49 11n 12 11w. now in light north winds doing 5 6 knots towards Bishops Rock. sent direct from phone. :)

Evening Update

Just spoke with the crew of Croix des Gardes. They have just passed 49.02N 14.57W which led to much celebration as they are now officially within the shipping forecast! James plans to arrive at Mayflower marina in Plymouth and will get them to arrange the customs clearance. If anyone is around that area, theyd appreciate visitors.

Cornelius is still feeling less than optimum but is coping, whilst Lidia seems to be OK but James is concerned that she barely seems to eat anything.

The children have been making dens in their cabin - the foc'sle - despite the fact that it must be pitching wildly. Elizabeth says I'd like the sailing right now as it's smooth and they're going really fast. Matthew had little to say, as usual, but thanked me for buying him a movie he'd asked for and wanting more details about the newly restyled loft complete with TV and DVD player. Neither of them were frightened in the storm but said it was a bit wild and tiring.

James is off to make supper now. They've had pizza a couple of times but Elizabeth says it's been mainly curry and she's fed up of curry now. Next update tomorrow and comments passed on to crew verbally. Sweepstake stands so long as everyone pays in!

Day 15 - seas smoother

Noon position 48.55N 15.51W and "all well. Wind west by northwest force 4" although at 6am the report was "still rough". This position means that by now they have finally left the Met Office "High Seas" area and are now within the realms of that familiar monologue, the "shipping forecast". If anyone finds themselves unable to sleep at 5.20am BST or 00.48am with Radio 4 tuned, then listen out for area "Sole" (comes after Biscay, Trafalgar, Fitzroy). Alternatively, you can click this Met Office link.

They have 460nm to run and made only 4.7kts average last night but picked up again to 6.4kts this morning. ETA now 5pm Thursday with pleasant forecasts as high pressure builds over the UK from the Azores.

Latest Position Day 14

James phoned in at 3pm BST - all well. Position at 7am was 48.21N 20.30W. This puts them significantly slower over night (back at 4.7kts) and with 650nm to Plymouth. Tomorrow afternoon they should cross 15W which puts them back inside the UK Shipping Forecast areas and officially off the "High Seas" so I'm very excited to be able to send them a more familiar forecast then.

Forecast is W'ly 20kts tomorrow (Mon), N'ly 10kts Tuesday, NE'ly 10kt Wednesday, N'ly 10kts Thursday and NW'ly 15kts Friday. Still looking like a Thursday or Friday arrival.

Position Day 13

Text from CdG:

Position 47.50N 23.24W

No other news on how crew or boat are faring but forecast is for conditions to moderate rapidly through today and into next week.

Update at 1330:
James amanaged to ring on SatPhone. He hasn't been receiving any texts either so a verbal weather forecast was passed. He explained that the damage at the stern had happened during a double crash gybe. Croix des Gardes was picked up by a big wave and went surfing off down the front. Cornelius saw a speed of 24kts on the GPS as it happened. As she went, the preventer snapped and the main gybe over and back again and they think the sheet got caught round the stern and that took off the stern light and satphone aerial. The event only lasted a few seconds and they dropped the main straight afterwards.

Other than that, the sail is no longer chafing and all are looking forward to a bit less wind. They said it only really started to blow hard when the NW'ly came through and they're still in 20kts NW'ly with a forecast for it to back and decrease soon. The children are all fine and Elizabeth was reportedly in James' bunk eating porridge. Only one bunk is properly wet!

Lost Comms

Message from Croix des Gardes - they have lost the marine pack aerial for the satellite phone and also the USB interface through wave action and salt wate ingress but at the moment the text message function still works. As such they shall no longer be able to update you all here nor read any comments until they make landfall - however do keep them coming as they'll be able to catch up next week.

I shall continue to send them what weather info I can and shall post here each time I hear from them. Their last position had them 870nm to run and sitting out the last of the storm.

Sarah

Day 12, another gale

SW gales given over to NW gales and 6-8 m seas. All crew unimpressed and waiting for the "moderating".

Two crash gybes in heavy seas have taken out the stern light and the external satphone aerial. Now running under staysail only and doing 5-7 knots. Another uncomfortable night ahead.

Position at 2000
47 39N 24 49W

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Noon, Day 12

Position
47 31 N 26 02W

All feeling a bit jaded after last nights blow. Lots of rolling, lots of water over the decks, still putting the gunnels under on the bigger rolls. Seas runing at about 6m. Wind 6-7, but teh sky is clearing and the centre of the low might be past.

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Dawn, Day 12

A bit of a wild night, but running with triple reefed main and some of the genny poled out. Averaging between 7 and 8 knots. Reasonably sized sea at about 4m and lots of breaking crest. Plenty of water over the decks and in the cockpit. More to come I suspect.

Position at 05 40 local
46 30N 27 10W

CdG took a course change south overnight to avoid the worst of the storm - averaging 7.6kts with 940nm to run

Evening, Day 1

Clocks changed and wind building up, so an early even update.

Position at 17:05 local (GMT -1)
47 11N 29 31W

Wind F6, SSW Seas about 3-4 m

Good speed and comfortable with 2 reefs and a heavily rolled genoa.

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Noon, Day 11

Another 149 miles yesterday and time for another time zone change. Swinging along quite nicely in 2025 knots and preparing for an increase tonight.

All well rested and comfortable for now!

Position
47 02N 30 14W

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Dawn, Day 11

Well a late dawn by now, I saw the sky lighten at 4 before crawling back to my bunk,

Thanks to all for the sweep stake responses so far, but please note, this is a scientific process, and we need precise times to determine a winner. The judges shall decide who is closest to the precise time at which we pass the end of Plymouth breakwater. The judges decision is final etc etc.

Position at 10:00
46 56N 30 33W

Which means we will change clocks today as we pass the 30th meridian. No jet lag for us!

We have now been running goose winged for the last three days, steadily between 5 and 8 knots. Sarah called me last night to say that the Met Office had just issue a gale warning for our area. This was somewhat unexpected for us, as local conditions did not suggest anything of the sort and the forecasts had the only gales a good distance off. We were planning to have a bottle of wine with dinner to celebrate passing the halfway point, so we put that on hold. No gale has eventuated yet, so perhaps putting off drinking wine might give us control over the weather!

UK Met Office storm warning for 20 Jun 13

Evening Position

46 35N 32 48W at 1800.

Quieter day, not so rolly. Even did some washing, although getting it dry is proving a bit of a challenge.

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Noon, Day 10

Position
46 27N 33 47W

We are past the half way mark, so optimistically Richard suggested that we have a sweep stake on our arrival time in Plymouth. Open to family and friends, £1 each winner takes all.

Thursday 27th seems to be the popular choice on board.

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Sunrise, Day 10

Position
46 15N 35 00W

Wet, slightly less windy and rough.

Almost halfway now with brisk following winds

Noon, Day 9

Position
45 48N 37 21W

The next cold wet low is upon us with SW 20 knots and fog. The "Atlantic heartbeat" according to Cornelius!

The children are watching Dr Who, I am waiting for a chance to do washing, and more so the chance to dry it. Perhaps a washing line in the engine bay is the only chance!

With 1256 miles to go to Bishop's Rock we are very close to the halfway point, and should get there before midnight.

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Midnight Runner

Position at 0130
45 33N 39 01W

Now hard on the wind since dinner time, but fortunately there is not too much of it just yet, still less than 10 knots, but giving us enough to push along at a very brisk 6-7. Smooth enough at the moment for E and M to remain in there cabin, and forecast to veer later. We had some very light winds this afternoon so it is good to be on the move again.

We are now just about working our way around the top of the Azores high and we hope that it will be warm (we did finally get to have cockpit showers today), light winds (which we have) and winds behind us (which we don't) but two out of three etc. :)



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Noon, Day 7

Position!
45 06N 40 41W

A slow slow morning. Wind about 5 knots from the west and we are trickling along in the left over swell. 24 hour run of only 117 miles. Hmmm.



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New Species Found in NE Atlantic

From this week's Guardian:

Rare frilled shark caught near Rockall.

"Fishing is expected to be banned near the Atlantic islet of Rockall after a rare methane gas vent in the seabed and two new shellfish species were discovered by British scientists.

The methane, which leaks through a so-called "cold seep" vent in the ocean floor, was found last year by scientists working with the government agency Marine Scotland. It is the first of its kind to be found near UK waters and only the third in the north-east Atlantic."

Read the full article here.


Croix des Gardes is currently headed for Bishop's Rock Lighthouse rather than Rockall, but we still know so little about our own amazing and productive seas. Here we have at least two species new to science right on our own doorstep.

Dawn, Day 8

The wind has gone but the swell hasn't. Very slow at the moment and light and variable for cast on this patch for the next few days.

Not much sleep last night for anyone due to the rolling. I was accompanied by E on watch who talked 20 to the dozen for the whole watch, despite the gale, the rolling and the cockpit filling with water several times!

I forgot to mention that the night before we had a visitor in the doghouse. A small black seabird dropped in and sat on the floor for a while before nestling down in a bunk for a couple of hours. He then perked up and flapped about. I put him on a cockpit seat, where he sat for a few seconds before flying off into the night.

Wave height forecast showing 4m waves for Croix des Gardes presently

Midday Day 7

The wind has come up again, about 30 knots from the SSW. Lumpy seas which don't seem to have affected anyone much at the moment. E and M wanted eggs, bacon and baked beans for lunch, but the conditions prohibited the cooking rather than the eating!

The mainsail continues to be less than ideal. The head board has already chaffed through my repairs of yesterday. ON closer inspection the slide is so badly formed that I can't completely eliminate chafe. The other cringes in the headboard also have sharp edges from the pressing process which haven't been finished properly. The head board itself is punched aluminium plate whioh again has not had the edges smoothed off. Not best pleased with it at the moment.

Position at 1440:
44 28N 42 57W

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Day 7 and a time zone change

We passed the 45th meridian about midnight, so a new time zone and only 3 hours of UK time.

We had a quirky position at 0735, of 44 02N 44 02W. Small things amuse you when you spend hours alone on watch!

Making excellent progress in a good southerly and no fog at the moment. With some luck we might even get to see the sun again!

Position at 0800 local
44 05N 43 58W

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Day 6, Afternoon

The fog remains, and the wind pushes us on at 7 knots. Fast and smooth, but with no visibility. Not much else to report. If we can keep this up for the next 24 hours we might out run the really windy front coming up behind.

Position
43 33N 46 00W at 1700



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Fog

I had hoped we might have cleared the foggy bit off Newfoundland by now. The sun from yesterday afternoon had us all thinking of showers and warmth and lunch in the cockpit and on deck. But maybe not today. Visibility is about a mile, we are doing 6-7 knots dead on course and seas are smooth so it not too bad.

Elizabeth and Lidia did their first watch together last night from 7-10. Both seemed quite excited by it. For that matter so were the rest of the crew it means we might finally settle into a 3 hours on, 9 hours off routine which makes life much more comfortable. However it might need a little tweaking. By the time is was dark, the wind had veered and E and L didn't know what to do with sail trim, and then L began to feel queasy. E was most disappointed when I came up on deck early and told me to go back to bed!

Position at 0730

43 15N 47 26W
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Noon Day Position

Weather looking brighter, wind moderated a bit, seas beginning to calm down but still lots of surfing and rolling.

Noon to noon, 159 miles which is good.

Position 42 27N 49 20W

Might even have to change the clocks soon!

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On course to Bishop's Rock!

We have now cleared the rand Banks of Newfoundland and gybed for the great circle route to Bishop's Rock, which will be our landfall for the UK. Now we are dead down wind and the true rolling is about to start!

Position at 0730
42 13N 49 46W

CdG's current position with grib wind overlay - 1926nm to Plymouth

Day 5 at Sea

Windy to start windy to finish with everyone trying to grab some sleep.

E and M woke to being bounced around in their bunks as the wind failed to veer as the gribs suggested. E retreated to Lidia's bunk, while Matthew just yelled, before being given my bunk.

Wind eased by lunchtime and Lidia made an appearance on deck feeling well enough to eat a bit. C too has partly recovered and made it through unch, but had to retreat to a bunk as well.

Around 1700 I noticed that the head board on the new main was not in close to the mast as it should be, and inspection through the binoculars showed that the bronze slide on the beadboard had chaffed through its webbing strap and now the next plastic slide down the main was over loading. R and I dropped the main and checked the slide. It was badly formed with two sharp edges on the inside and outside face. I filed it down and with R's help restitched new webbing round the slide and headboard while sitting atop the boom with my harness line round the mast. Photos to follow when we get them off R's camera.

Position while we wait for the pizza to cook is, at 18:50

42 16N 51 36W. 73 miles to the waypoint which is also the 1/4 way mark.

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Marine Litter

Our rubbish doesn't only end up in the sea when we chuck it overboard from a boat. Most litter originates from our streets and sewers, so next time you consider dropping waste in the loo, try a bin instead:

Position at Dawn

A fast night with the wind on the beam.

42 02N 53 42W

Midnight Position

Big thunderstorms off to the south of us, but other wise a fine evening for a sail. Biggish S-SW swell running so boat is averaging ~6 knots but surfing to 9s.

All quiet down below, but with the occasional squawk from seabird disturbed from their sleep!

Position at midnight
41 55N 54 25W

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Afternoon,Day 3.

Position at 1630
41 50N 55 22W

The seas are calming down, the rain has become less torrential and less frequent, but it's still all pretty damp.

Cornelius is still suffering,although the rest of the crew are beginning to brighten up. E is no playing with Lidia's iPad or similar in L's bunk while M plays Nintendo in mine.

Richard says "no bronzy bronzy weather!"

240 miles to our waypoint south of the Grand Banks and 2183 miles to go!

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Bloody Windy

tshe stars have gone but the sun hasn't come out! Its blowing 30 odd knots from the SSW and pouring with rain. Lovely.

Morning position at 0630
41 53N 56 50W

2160nm to run to Plymouth by great circle route!

I can see stars!

For the first time since leaving Halifax, the sky has actually cleared. This might have been proceeded by a spell of torrential rain, strong easterly winds and a very lumpy sea, but none the less it is an event to be noted.

Now that the skies are clearing the wind has also swung to the south at around 20-25 knots, and we have finally picked up some speed, reaching at 7-8 knots. Which is good, but rather uncomfortable, as the seas still have a SE component, meaning we are crashing through them quite hard.

I have also played musical bunks with E and M. It is far too bouncy in their cabin tonight, so M has my bunk, and although E could have shared it with him, she elected to sleep on my cabin floor. I have the doghouse, which is fine as long as I sleep in wet weather gear, and keep my mouth shut. The deck leaks don't taste great!

Position as of midnight.
41 54N 57 58W

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Afternoon Position

Well we had some lovely sailing for a few hours this morning, but it is back to motoring in very light head winds while we wait for the forecast blow. A bit lumpy so several crew are struggling with the motion.

Position at 16:00
41 54N 58 37W

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Dawn, Day 3

Well that didn't last long, the wind only helped us for a couple of hours before dropping away. At least it gave me time to check the oil and top it up. Motoring again and now only 40 miles from our first way point south of Sable Island. Now expecting to start sailing properly in about 12 hours as the wind fills from the west.

Sable is is a long thin strip of sand about 100 miles SSE of Cape Breton and formed from the collision between the cold Labrador current, and the Gulf Stream. y staying well south we have kept clear of the cold water, hence the fog, and picked up a push from the Gulf Stream

Position at 0530 42 32N 59 34W

All times given as local, which is GMT -3.



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Midnight position

On watch, gas run out, wind picking up. Changeed the gas, so it seems the right sort of time to update position and download a grib!

Position
42 49N 60 12W

Now for the grib.

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Midday, Day Two

A long slow night motoring, and a dead calm mirrored atlantic for this morning. Forecast suggest not much wind for the next 24 hours either. Just as well we filled the fuel tank up. Just begining to get off the banks of Nova Scotia and into deep water.

The calm day and promise of a calm night has Cornelius offering to make fish pie for dinner!

E and M are doing school work, and complaining about it, and Lidia is still gaining her sea legs, but at least had some breakfast and lunch.

Postion 16:00 GMT
43 19, 61 06W.

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First night back at sea

Position 44 00N 63 34W at 0230 GMT

We left Halifax just after lunch, with little wind and a calm forecast, suggesting lots of motoring for the first 24 hours to get clearof the next low coming through. The lumpy left over seas from TS Andrea made E and Lidia feel unwell, and M a bit off colour.

Now all are asleep except E who is feeling under the weather again.

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Ready for Departure

James reports, "Andrea has gone through very wet and windy but not for very long. Another low forecast in 72 hours, so we are going to try and get south of it before it gets here and ride around the Azores high. Planning to leave about lunch time Sunday after last of fresh stores on board."

Tropical Storm Andrea

The hurricane season has started and Croix des Gardes is about to suffer the remants of the first storm - Andrea. It is bringing record rainfall to the northeast.

From James:

"Sitting out the remains of Hurricane Andrea today and looking at the next wet blast on Tues/Weds.  Might not get away until Wednesday morning now/.  Will try for Monday if it settles down a bit. Frustrating.

Lidia seems to be getting on very well with E andM.  She took E off for yesterday afternoon, and M played lego with Cornelius. Both were much more relaxed having some time apart."

A tourist day

As we had the car to collect Lidia, we thought we should see some of Nova Scotia.  There were two places that interested the crew. The old fishing village of Lunenburg to the south west, where the famous schooner Bluenose II is based, and Peggy's Cove, a small isolated fishing village immediately south of the RNSYS.

We had a not too early start allowing Lidia and the children to sleep in after last nights dinner, and R and I to go and do a spot of shopping.  Weather today? Perfect.  Forecast through to Tuesday? Rubbish.

Lunenburg was very pretty, quite and with a good museum.  Although the Bluenose was being worked o, covered in plastic, and like all big projects it was running late.  So we made do with look from outside the gates.  However Lunenburg had what we had so horribly missed yesterday.  A very good fish restaurant! R and C had mussels, I had scallops, E and M, fish cakes, and Lidia, still recovering from jet lag had a salad.  Superb all round.  So it can be done in Canada!

Back to Peggy's Cove after lunch to see a young lad on the wharf catching squid, as quickly as he could get the line back in the water!  M wanted a go.  E wanted a go.  But by the time they had messed about with the line, the squid had cottoned on to what was happening and there was no more luck.  Ah well, an entertaining time for us all.  Pictures to follow once downloaded.

Halifax Canada

Finally, after all the trauma, we have a full crew!  Lidia arrived as planned at Halifax, and E, M and I met her with no problems.  Very nice to meet her finally and the children have taken to her like the proverbial.

E and M drawing in a new sketch book from Cornelius

When we cleared in we mentioned her to customs and they took all her details, and passed them through to the airport, so she was received without problems.  Nice to know that some countries see sense.  The customs officers also recommended restaurants to us!

Which brings us nicely to dinner last night.  Richard had sought out advice on a good seafood restaurant to eat at, and was recommended somewhere in Bedford.  Not to be dissuaded by the name 5 of us drove to Bedford leaving Lidia to catch up on sleep.  Now we were all looking forward to pan fried fresh fish, or scallops, or mussels, and the seafood platter looked like a good bet.  E and M chose pizza.

Which raises the question, why was a seafood restaurant serving good fish (recommended by several locals) also serving pizza.  Well the answer was that if you didn't want everything deep fried to oblivion, then you should choose pizza!  The Atlantic cod fillets, scallops and mussels were virtually unrecognisable under the layers of batter.  0/10.

Another from the archive

Here's a shot of James in the single hander race of the Sweethearts of the Caribbean regatta, Tortola, February 2013:

Croix des Gardes sets off in Tortola single hander race

Approaching Halifax

Now running the last 20 odd miles to the entrance to Halifax Harbour. Running fast and surfing a bit, but all the crew seemed to have recovered from yesterday's bouncing about. Destination, the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron to await Lidia.

Position as I type, at 06:30 is 44 10.5N, 63 52.4W. All crew asleep and hopefully we will make it into smooth water before E and M want their french toast and omlettes!

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Croix des Gardes as she was in Antigua earlier this year

End of Day 2

Position 43 25N 65 17 W and about 10 miles south of Port la Tour in Nova Scotia.

It has been a uncomfortable then slow day. Thw ind has dropped right down to around 8-10 kts and our speed is down to 4. We are all dead tired from not sleeping much, except for E and M who are frustrated! Ah well we should be in Halifax in the morning!

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Second Dawn

Position at 0715 2/6/13 43 00N, 66 21W

A fast if rather uncomfortable night. Lumpy seas from astern had us rolling and corkscrewing all yesterday and through the night. Thick fog came in about 2300, with vis to less than mile.

Although the children seem completely unaffected (they spent the afternoon making dens in cabins) Cornelius succumbed as is feeling very unwell this morning.

Now about 170 miles from Halifax and about 40 from the southern tip of Nova Scotia, we expect to arrive tomorrow sometime before lunch.



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Departure and first night out

We slipped away from NYYC about midday after a busy morning doing last minute jobs on a glassy water. Motoring out we started to get some breeze at the entrance, and finally started working our way back east. To give us all a calmer first night we elected to sail through Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds rather than put out to deep water and o round Nantucket shoals.

Running up Vineyard sound at about 16:00 saw the wind drop to almost nothing and the tide go foul and we though we might anchor for dinner and maybe the night. However before we could even reach the anchorage the wind came up quickly and we had to reef and the anchorage became untenable. We pushed on and had a quick pasta dinner before the children and I went to our bunks.

A rather hectic night for all ensued, as we dodge round the numerous shoals, clearing out into deep water at dawn. I think Cornelius and Richard found it a rather challenging night.

At 0900 we are at 41 47'N 69 25'W, seas are smooth, wind SW around 15 kts and CdG doing 6-7. Lovely clear skys.


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