Sailing News
All the latest news from the world of sailing and stories from experienced sailors.
Midnight gybing, showers on deck and fancy dress. The crew of Challenger 2 have passed the half way point to the Caribbean. The daily report from Skipper Ricky below is actually yesterday’s and Kirstie’s blog below came in at 01:54 this morning. Midnight Gybing Date : Wednesday 5 December 2019 Time : 12:00 GMT (10am… Read more
ARC 2019 – Day 11 – “Whoa we’re halfway there” (nearly)
Halfway to paradise Today is day 10 of the ARC, we have close to 1,600 nautical miles of Atlantic Ocean behind us and we just encountered our first real squall. At this time last year I had never even heard of the ARC. This past April, while visiting St Lucia with Molly, we happened into… Read more
Butterflies mid Atlantic – well, just one actually – A First Class Sailing Blog
Whilst watching a pod of fin whales the crew of Challenger 2 were treated to something else, also rather special. N 20.36.88 W035.14.345 We are scooting along at a decent rate of knots and it feels a bit odd to think we are almost half way across the Atlantic. There’s been a lot of chatter… Read more
ARC 2019 – Day 10 – Having a whale of time
Tuesday 3 Dec 2019 – Jason As I sit at the PC we have 1672Nm to St Lucia and we are currently travelling at 10.5Kts I won’t write our estimated ETA as it is a little optimistic and the one thing you learn on-board is that things change regularly. As mentioned in some of the… Read more
ARC 2019 – Day 9 – The 26-Hour Day
Over a week out in the big blue now for the crew of Challenger 2 and they’ve begun to find their groove as variable winds dictate multiple sail changes – likened to the Waltz. Meanwhile, Paul explains the daylight savings phenomenon that led to a 26-hour day. The 26 Hour Day It’s 02.00 boat… Read more
ARC 2019 – Day 8 – A few of our favourite things
A week in…. It’s exactly a week after the start that I write this, so we have been out of sight of land for a whole week. For horny sea-dogs that may not be much, but for most of the crew of Challenger 2 it’s pretty significant, especially since have perhaps ten more days before… Read more
Fig Rolls and Thoughts on Thanks Giving – A First Class Sailing Blog
Will today be Tuna day? With the continued light winds and clear nights full of stars (and a great view of the sweep of the Milky Way) our thoughts turn to food and fishing. Jason’s Dorado lure worked as advertised, we hope the Tuna lure will be just as good – sushi for lunch? The… Read more
ARC 2019 – Day 5 – Dorado fishing quotas not yet breached
Thursday 28th November – Day 5 – Hook, line and sinker Just coming off the night watch and reflecting on the journey so far and the last 24 hours. It has been great to get to know the rest of the crew and share stories about our lives and to get a sense of why we… Read more
Wednesday 27th, Day 4, Challenger 2 in quiet waters
We’ve just received word back from our boat Challenger 2 currently crossing the Atlantic in the ARC Rally 2019 and you can read all about the progress and some of the more information on the day to day running of the boat. Mates Blog After a fast and rolly blast south from the Canary… Read more
Tues 26th, Day 3 – “We’ve looked at clouds from both sides now”
Music and stars in the Atlantic Night two on the Challenger. This got me thinking about that line from a Joni Mitchell song “but clouds got in my way.” As these finally cleared, we could see the full extent of the universe unhampered by any light pollution. On my next turn at the helm I… Read more
