Sailing News
All the latest news from the world of sailing and stories from experienced sailors.
Countdown… Off watch now, enjoying whales, mast climbing and also watching our arrival numbers tick down below the 1000Nm mark (were currently 980). We are all now estimating our arrival time, I’m looking forward to being able to speak with everyone at home, hearing how school, book clubs, tennis, work, rugby matches, sports and maybe… Read more
Nuns, Pirates, Greek Godesses, Mermaids, Newly-weds, Sharks , Arabs, & Ducks – A First Class Sailing Blog
The Fancy Dress Party Friday 6 December 1000 miles from anywhere and we are having a fancy dress party! Nuns, Pirates, Greek Godesses, Mermaids, Newly-weds, Sharks , Arabs, & Ducks. Loud music and sun all on a boat rolling 15 degrees either way and speeding through the quartering swell. To me it felt great but… Read more
”I can’t steer by the stars, they swing about too much” – A First Class Sailing blog
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
ARC 2019 – Day 7 – “These timeless surging seas – the lure of restless men”
Musings from Challenger We’ve had a bit more wind today and are still sailing with the Genoa and Mainsail. Having made our way broadly South, gybing downwind away from the Canaries (for the first 4 days). Our course is now c265 degrees almost directly towards St Lucia. As we move West we will move further… Read more
ARC 2019 – Day 6 – Flaccid carrots
Musings for the day The free time onboard gives one ample time for self-exploration, perhaps the reason I am attracted to such endeavours. While pondering the reason that I am here, I thought it might be interesting to pose the following question to my fellow explorers. “In one word, please tell me why you are… Read more
