Continental Cooking on Challenger 2

The FCS crew on Challenger 2 are sailing to St Lucia in the ARC Rally, racing against many boats, but mainly Challenger 1. We’re expecting regular blogs over the next two weeks and this one gives you a glimpse into how they settle into their routine as they edge closer to the middle of the Atlantic.

Day 3 Tuesday 21 November 2017

Peter (myself) and Laetitia braved the 6:00am dawn to feed the hungry watch. Our combined French/Italian take on simple scramble eggs was simply described as “exceptional” even by joint European standards!

The night watch has experienced a wind-hole in the preceding hours and the second watch have followed suit.

Our impressive 4nm lead on Challenger 1 has now disappeared and as we look over the starboard stern we can see our competitor gaining. Laetitia and I are preparing to create the culinary masterpiece that is BLT… not the average BLT but the creation of a European classic formed from the fusion of the French/Italian influence.

It would appear that the wind-hole will remain for another 20 hours after which we expect once more to catch the wind on our 250 degree run into St. Lucia!(if only it was that easy)

Julian’s first attempt at fishing could only be described as a disaster. It took him 8 hours to realise he left the elastic band on the hooks. His son who is an accomplished fisherman would be severely embarrassed. We live in hope that he will be more successful with his fishing in the next few days.

With very little wind the level of boredom is such that the remaining team are practicing their knots… single handed!

Peter & Laetitia

Early Days: Challenger 2 (brown) is neck and neck with Challenger 1

Skipper’s Log – A Clean Crew is a Happy Skipper

An evening looking at a panorama of stars and marvelling at the occasional shooting star. If that wasn’t good enough we then got visited by dolphins lit up with phosphorescence.

We are negotiating our way through a light patch which hopefully we should be through by the afternoon. We are back to upwind sailing and the poles are back securely stowed on deck and sail trim has become more the flavour of the day, especially in the light changeable conditions.

The crew are all well, largely over any sea sickness and enjoying the many dolphin sightings and calm sailing conditions.

Sails are holding up well and the new Mainsail and Yankee 1 are fantastic in the light winds, pulling our steel behemoth forward remarkably quickly. Luff boxes are again the weak point of the mainsail and we have one lashed with a bit of string until we can effect a better repair.

Water maker is working well and showers will be open for business tomorrow during peoples’ off watch. Looking forward to a sweeter smelling crew.

The fruit is ripening quickly and we are struggling to keep up eating the ripe stuff. Biscuits and chocolates have taken a backseat as chopped up fruit is the snack of choice amongst the crew. The chance of scurvy is very low.

The “sticky” B&G anemometer is now rotating again giving a more sensible reading for wind angle and leading to less future chiropractor work as the crew no longer have to crick their necks looking at the windex.

Kind regards
Ricky Chalmers, Skipper, Challenger 2

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Posted by: First Class Sailing