Wind! Gale! Action! Mother Nature’s Welcome Home

No mention of the FCS crew getting the Channel jitters – a known phenomenon that sees people go slightly loopy as excitement of land builds! However the Chain Locker in Falmouth gets another mention…

Date :31 January 2018
Time : 12:00 GMT
Position : 49.37.82N 5.37.62W
Destination Falmouth
ETA 31 January

Morning all

At last really good news from the good ship Challenger 2 as of 1400 yesterday we have been sailing, off went the donk, peace and quiet was once again restored to challenger 2. Unfortunately after 1000nm motoring in flat sea the crew had forgotten how to steer , after some interesting courses we have now settled down to steering proper course.

This is the first gale of the voyage so once the shock of big seas with lots of white streaks had subsided we are now really enjoying the challenge. When I asked Howard how he found it on the helm he replied, exhilarating and quite terrifying… he is still smiling (not something he dose a lot).

Other than that a pretty normal day all looking forward to landfall in Falmouth estimated arrival now aprox 14.30

I expect many story’s of the big storm to be recounted this evening over a warm beer in The Chain Locker.

Regards,
Neil, Skipper, Challenger 2

Good Morning

Still motoring, we have an apparent wind reading of 9knts and we are travelling at 7.7 so not a lot of wind. It is predicted to build by midnight tonight and we are still holding out hope of sailing the last 100nm or so. Spirits are still high on board and the crew are being very patient although everyone is expressing the same feeling of excitement at reaching Falmouth.

We are currently going over the Continental Shelf which has increased the sloppy yawing motion to the extent that the contents of the boat are just sliding from port to starboard and back again every 30 seconds. There are some wonderful names for the bottom of the Ocean and the ridges and holes that make up the jagged line of the continental shelf: Canyon Shamrock, Canyon Black Mud, King Arthur Canyon and an area further north than us known as the Porcupine Sea Bight, which of course contains the Porcupine Abyssal Plain and Pendragon Escarpment.

We have had some more sunshine and a beautiful bright almost full moon, however the last hour has seen the cloud cover increase to 7/8. The intention for the remainder of this watch is to monitor the wind speed and if appropriate shake out the 2nd reef and trim the sails to try and cut back on revs a bit.

Everyone is looking forward to communication with the outside world on reaching Falmouth, we should be very close by the time the next mid day report is due.

Nick XXXX

Mate

We are sailing !!!! as of 1400 30/01/18 after 1055 nm motoring we are sailing … yah

www.alexbringyourmum.com

#alexbringyourmum

This is our last night before we arrive at Falmouth so finally a little something from Steve.

A  Year of Sailing Adventures.

I was wondering around the Southampton Boat Show a couple of years ago with my fellow boating buddy John and his family. I had not long had ‘Moonfleet’ my Leisure 27, so naturally the Boat Show was to be my shopping paradise. The day was going well, the kids having fun, and me spending too much. Johns plan was to book a trip in the Mediterranean for the family on a self-charter.

I went elsewhere. You see for years I have had this notion to sail as part of a crew across the Atlantic, but was not sure how to go about it. I think you know where I am going with this. I came across a stand and started chatting to a very smart gentleman named Richard. He explained all about this ‘Deep Sea Challenge’. The show was coming to an end, so I gathered all the relevant information and home we went, full of trinkets of the day and me babbling on to John about this five week adventure.

That evening at home I put this crazy notion to Sarah, explaining all the pros and cons, and that there was an availability in the New Year. Before I could finish she said, ‘Go and get it out of your system, come home safe and finish all the decorating you promised. I love that woman.

With the trip booked and a training weekend planned in November it was time to prep. I am sure my work team will manage without me for a while. What do I need, Thermals, Foulies, more Thermals.

The weekend went well, meeting my fellow novice crew mates and our training team. One evening I am chatting to Nick our Mate for the weekend in a bar in Cowes with the music in the background. We both related to the song and the group, only to find out we had both been to the same gig back in 1981. The start of a long term friendship from there.

My first Atlantic crossing 3rd January 2017. I said a painful goodbye to my family and depart to Antigua, one way. We have our usual few days prepping, training and naturally team bonding, sampling the local Rum & Ting and other beverages.

Our skipper for the voyage on Challenger 4 was Ricky and Amelia as Mate. We had a fairly busy start on our first leg to Horta. There we were joined by Nick and Sam to assist us on the second leg. The standard few days rest and re stock at Pete’s Bar then followed by a rollercoaster ride back to Falmouth. For five days we had it all thrown at us, with tail winds up to 55Kn.

We made Falmouth wet and tired but so overwhelmed by what we had achieved. We still had a 24 hour leg to Weymouth which again was like being thrown in a tumble drier. Then Gunwharf Quay, what a sight. We arrived in good time when a little later Sarah and my boy Harry came down to meet us.

To say this was an emotional moment would be an understatement. All I remember is dribbling and hugging Sarah saying I have had the most amazing five weeks of my life, but never again.

A couple of weeks had passed when I received a letter from Tall Ships offering me a position as a Volunteer Watch Leader. This had been recommended by Ricky, Amelia and Nick. Again tail between legs I put it to Sarah who knew deep down this I where I wanted to go.

This followed with a potential volunteer W/L training weekend with our skipper Sue and Amelia as mate. The weekend was a great success which now gave me the opportunity to work with different groups over short periods through the year. I was quite nervous to start, knowing I was the grown up now.

The more groups of different backgrounds I became involved with and the continuing support from the Skippers, mates and fellow watch leaders the more confident I became. Plus the idea of giving back to the youngsters who sometimes just need a positive form of guidance. With this came new friends and colleagues I have gained over this past year, which has been very rewarding.

I had no intention of taking on the Atlantic crossing for a few years as I felt I needed more confidence and experience with older groups. Problem was I still had this urge to take the role as W/L. The opportunity came up so I spoke to Nick who told me to man up and get on with it. I then found Neil and Nick were running the trip so that was it.

One problem, I made a promise to Sarah after the last voyage that there would be no more. She simply said, ‘You took your time, now go and get out of your system, come home safe and finish the decorating you promised to finish last time’. This time I knew she was more worried knowing how the last trip went. But as always she let her daft old man be daft again.

This time I am now a Watch Leader with a bucket full of responsibility. Our first training weekend I arrive a day early and meet my fellow W/L Leo. We hit it off well, which is always promising. Now not to mess up in front of the bosses, Neil and Nick. The following day the crew join us. Everyone in the situation as I was a year before. The weekend went really well with a really promising team and I was looking forward to meeting them again in January.

This time I am all prepared with more thermals and some waterproof speakers. It was harder departing this time, knowing what I was heading into and knowing how long I will be away from my loved ones again.

Tomorrow we dock in Falmouth, kissing our home soil. Then a few more days along our beautiful south coast to Portsmouth, where we end our epic voyage. I don’t need to go into our adventures as it has been done so eloquently on the blog by the rest of the crew. What I will say is thanks to Leo for your support and to Neil and Nick thank you for your leadership, guidance and support.

As for the crew, you have all been fantastic. You have all worked so hard and new friendships have been made through all of us. Remember the washing machine in full cycle, then open the door. And please don’t forget Kevin the Duck, as we all need our own little rubber duck at some point in life.

Question, will I take on another Atlantic Challenge. As in the words of Sir Steve Redgrave, ‘If you ever see me in a boat again you have permission to shoot me!’. Sarah I promise.

I may not take on the long voyage again, but as long as I am required I will give my support to Tall Ships and all who sail with them.

Steve x

W/L Challenger 2

Hey Lesley,

So woken up at 02:45 for the last nights watch of this leg back to the UK, and after motoring on a bearing of 060 for days, we are finally sailing with wind up  the wazoo, going directly between the Scilly isles and Ushant traffic separation zones and dodging the fishing boats.

The latest log says we have done 1160 Nm and we have around 90 left to do, so making 7-8 knots over ground and 3 hours left on our watch, we should leave the next morning watch with approximately 66-69 left to do, their watch is 6 hours, so if they also make 7-8 knots they will knock off 42-48 Nm, leaving us somewhere around 20-40Nm left to do in the afternoon.

We might get a last 6 hours in our bunks, and I’ll think we’ll need it just to build up some stamina for the pub.

But in all of that above it’s the 02:45 wake up that seems to be the most generally despised wake up call, even though on this watch you usually get to see the sun rise, so with this being our last awful wake up time, this is probably also the last blog post from me.

So some more rough figures at this sleep deprived time of night, over the course of sailing back from Antigua we have done around 50 watches 10 of each one,  Morning 7am-1pm, Afternoon 1pm – 7pm, Evening 7pm-11pm, Night 11pm-3am, Sunrise 3am – 7am.

Tins of sweetcorn eaten, too many, miles of Chorizo sausage eaten, lots. Bruises, many.

And still on our last watch when Nick asks for the main to be brought in and the preventer loosened off, because the wind dropped, we all jumped to it, to get the job done as quickly and safely as we could. Then sat back down and called for a cup of Tea/Coffee/Chocolate, along with the opening of the biscuit tin.

Now I don’t think I’ve covered the importance of Tea and Biscuits yet, but I think it’s safe to say, the boat runs on them, and the biscuit box is always kept topped up, however on this last leg we have nearly hit disaster, we ran out of sugar on board, this has led to various different options being explored to sweeten our drinks, Honey, Syrup, Chocolate spread, we’ve drawn the line at jam, although steve does put it in the gravy when he does bangers and mash.

So I guess what I’m basically  saying here is that even though we are nearly home in England we still have some sailing to do, nothing has currently changed and won’t do either, until we moor up. So it’s time for another brew, can someone get the kettle on please and I wonder what biscuits are currently in the jar.

Budgie

06:00 Weather Forecast Falmouth Coastguard: Gales all areas except Biscay.

The Sailor’s Consolation

By Charles Dibdin

One night came on a hurricane,

The sea was mountains rolling,

When Barney Buntline turned his quid,

And said to Billy Bowling:

“A strong nor-wester’s blowing, Bill;

Hark! Don’t ye hear it roar, now?

Lord help ’em, how I pities them

Unhappy folks on shore now!

“Foolhardy chaps who live in towns,

What danger they are all in,

And now lie quaking in their beds,

For fear the roof should fall in;

Poor creatures! How they envies us,

And wishes, I’ve a notion,

For our good luck, in such a storm,

To be upon the ocean!

“And as for them who’re out all day

On business from their houses,

And late at night are coming home,

To cheer their babes and spouses,–

While you and I, Bill, on the deck

Are comfortably lying,

My eyes! What tiles and chimney-pots

About their heads are flying!

“And very often have we heard

How men are killed and undone

By overturns of carriages,

By thieves, and fires in London;

We know what risks all landsmen run,

From noblemen to tailors;

Then, Bill, let us thank Providence

That you and I are sailors.”

Posted by: First Class Sailing