925nm notched off. The crew of Challenger 2 have been pulling together in quite rough conditions.

Today’s blog is a collection of musings from the crew and skipper from the last couple of days sailign across the Atlantic  They have been bounced around but should now be getting some respite as this position update shows they are finally in a more westerly airlow and heading properly east.

Challenger 2’s Position 13th January at 10am UTC

Salty sea dogs

10/01/2020

I’m sitting here with salt-encrusted eyes despite having washed my face with a flannel; wearing my third pair of shorts today – and, yes, in the next watch the foully bottoms are coming on as well. It’s just that it is still so nice and warm, especially below deck, that it feels wrong putting on full wet weather gear – until you get out there and that first wave hits you in the face, drenching any part that is not in wet weather gear.

Everyone’s a Mother

Early this morning, we decided to abandon  Mother Watch for today, seeing as the sea state got rougher and rougher. This had the beautiful effect of seeing everybody work together as one, supporting each other with the little bits that each could.

For me personally, this is one of the most beautiful aspects of ocean sailing – when every movement becomes a mountainous feat, that cup of tea becomes much more precious; the curry chicken out of a tin becomes a tasty meal that everybody appreciates even just for the fact that somebody went to the effort to prepare it. At this point I can’t but express my gratitude to be on board with 15 people who each take what they have and invest it into the wellbeing of everyone – from cooking  to cleaning, filming and photographing, helming and navigating, fixing that galley cupboard door, being there to lend a hand, or making silly conversation. It makes everybody’s passage so much more relaxed to know that we all pull together to not only get to the Azores safely, but hopefully also enjoy it at times.

Looking forward to Westerlies

By now we have settled into the routine that will be familiar to anybody who has done such a passage before – dates and times become numbers you note in the log, but are otherwise irrelevant. On and off watch is what counts; and in these conditions – winds up to 40kts, waves 3-4m high – off watch means you’re in your bunk, trying to get some rest between the bounces.
We’re looking at another 24h of this weather, then it should die down, and for once, we won’t complain about the light patch which means motoring, since that will allow us to sort out the boat and ourselves. Into Monday, we’re then looking forward to Westerly winds, which will hopefully bring calmer downwind sailing, and thus even more energy for cooking, baking, reading, contemplating, conversing and simply enjoying being in this stunning environment that is around us.

Anna

Skipper Sue’s middday report

Date Saturday 11th Jan, 2020
Time : 12:00 GMT (0900 Boat Time)
Position : 27.59’N    61.23’ W
Destination : Horta, Azores
ETA : 21^st Jan
Sailplan : 3 reefs, & storm stay

Apparent wind: 32kts

SOG 7kts
Fuel : 3 full, 1 in use
Water : 3 full, 1 in use
Gas : 3 full, 1 in use, 1 empty

Good afternoon all

A bit frustrating atm. The sea state has moderated a bit but the wind is up & down like a lady of negotiable affection’s undergarments. One minute dropping to 18kts apparent, the next up to 36kts. We had a brief experiment with the Y3 yesterday evening, increasing our SOG to 9.6kts but making the helm pretty unmanageable. I’m expecting the breeze to lessen towards the afternoon so hope to repeat the experiment soon. Life on board has been challenging for the last 24hrs, with very little sleep for the skipper & mate due to a lumpy & confused sea & lots of banging & crashing. The crew have bonded well over damp clothes & endless waves joining us in the cockpit & spirits are high despite the wearing nature of trying to live in a washing machine. I think we’re all looking forward to a quiet patch tomorrow & some light, downwind sailing next week.

Big warm wave

A hippo in warm water.  Day 5 – skipper’s blog

Saturday 11^th January

Finally the wind has eased enough to safely put a bit more sail up! After a frustrating night and morning where the breeze fluctuated between 18 & 36kts apparent, occasionally 40+ in the pre-dawn squalls, Challenger 2 limped along under 3 reefed main & storm staysail, alternating between throwing bucketloads of warm water over the team on deck and wallowing like an inebriated hippopotamus.

Vegetable Tagine, couscous and banana cake fuel the watch

But mid-morning came, the skies cleared and Jane’s watch (Jane, Matt, James B & Nick) were itching for some foredeck activity. The yankee 3 went back up and the staysail was dropped & a couple of knots of boat speed were gained without making the helm too challenging in the gusts. The wind eased still further through the afternoon and, Jane’s watch, well fed with Anna’s lovely vegetable tagine & couscous and banana cake for pudding, once more leaped into action, shaking out a reef and bringing our speed over the ground up to a consistent 8 -9kts. Currently we are close reaching (we have been on a close reach since clearing Antigua 5 days ago) and beginning to make up the easterly ground we lost through 48hrs of strong north easterlies.

Close reaching out for each other

Close reaching  – not quite as close to the wind as she’ll sail but still beating into wind and waves. It’s referred to as beating for a reason. Every day functions like using the toilet and putting clean pants on become an arduous battle to be put off until it becomes unavoidable. Walking the length of the boat below decks involves sudden lurches from handhold to handhold as feet slide on the wet floor. Speaking of wet, items of discarded clothing hang promiscuously from any available rail in the hope that they might dry. But life goes on, ordered by our boat routine.

Everyone gets up and ablutes, has breakfast, make tea and dress themselves in clammy wet weather gear, lifejackets and safety tethers. People look out for one another, passing mugs of coffee, clipping a watch mate on before they step out of the companionway. People smile, make jokes, ask deep & meaningful questions, gaze at the moon, the stars, the waves, the sunset. Such is passage sailing.

But we are all looking forward now to a different point of sail. The grib files tantalise us with hints of lighter winds, westerlies, downwind sailing, a benign sea & a flat boat. We look forward to the prospect of a shower, getting a bit of laundry done, meals cooked and eaten in comfort, culinary expertise admired. More cake.

Maybe tomorrow. Or the next day……

Love to all at home

Sue xxx

Waiting for the High

Day 6 blog

12-DEC, and all is well. On deck the brilliant red background of the Red Ensign contrasts nicely with the predominately blue sky, something of a contrast from the past couple days of overcast skies. We are still sailing North on a close reach, inching East as the wind allows. We are approaching the high pressure area typically associated with the 30s N; as we engage with the high the wind will decrease and the direction will rotate clockwise until, after a day or two, we will hopefully have the wind to our backs heading toward the Azores.

High pressure is typically associated with clear skies and warm weather but, currently at 31° N and changing, our steady progress north has resulted in a moderation of the heat when below deck. This is a welcome relief when one is trying to get some sleep. Meanwhile, we rotate through watches, often punctuated by sail changes, with a separate rotation for mother watch (cleaning and cooking). As of now we have sailed 925Nm.

Luke, James B & Mark

You can read more blogs from this voyage or other Atlantic Sailing Adventures here.

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More blogs about this Atlantic Adventure can be read here: Antigua to Portsmouth

Posted by: First Class Sailing