Monday, July 26th 2010, 16.05
39.35N 02.16E

Yesterday, we arrived in Marina Porto de Mallorca, Palma, Mallorca at 9.45am. The entire crew spent a good couple of hours making sure that Star Chaser was in gleaming form before steaming out for a long awaited beverage and some lunch. Over indulgences was definitely the watchword as we all greedily tucked into our meals whilst witnessing the world go by along the front. Boogie had supplemented our food with a few additional dishes that he highly recommended so it was consequently decided that we should work off some of our excesses with a swim at a nearby beach.

Once back at the boat, we were overwhelmed by Jacques’ personal presentation to Boogie & Marlies for the occasion of their marriage with gifts and perfect verse. Marvelous showers at the marina followed this pleasant interlude and then we had a gentle trot towards the cathedral where tapas bars were a’calling. (Although it was a Sunday evening, the establishments all around us were doing a brisk trade throughout the balmy evening and we added our fair share to the volume level.)

None of us really felt the need to finish the night at too sensible an hour, so our skipper ‘forced’ a crash jybe into a very comfortable late night establishment for ‘just 1 more’ wee drinky.(Tsk – or sssssth for Susan!) At least we could all say that we were up early!!

This morning saw the departure of Liv and Susan and of course they did so in the same way they do everything; highly organized and brimming with goodies for the boat!! (What do you call yachty angels?) …Jane … or …… Tarzan

After refueling, we departed around 1ish and managed to get the sails up just long enough to get around the corner. You can guess what happened next. Yep, motor on & Charlie’s back in the saddle heading due north! Bummer!!

Saturday, July 24th 2010, 16.05
38.40N 0030.7E

We’re humming along nicely now….Boogie myself and Liv were on the early am shift this morning…dolphins piloting us from time to time…sun throwing flameshaped mercury shine on the water as she rose…nice speed of about 9 knts….seas a bit lumpy…but all in all good progress being made. The coast of Spain to port, and occasional cruise or cargo ships drifting past on port or starboard going about their way …rush hour around here is more pleasurable and contemplative than anywhere on land.

Mood on board is relaxed…off watches napping in bunks, reading or chatting and sunning on deck…on watch helming and enjoying ones own thoughts…if not enjoying a mind empty of all land thoughts.

Food is good or great…Jacques prepares an endless stream of not only tasty but beautifully presented food parcels. The contraband brownies that I made and smuggled on board were a big hit…..as ever Star Chaser’s kitchen is always busy….and you will understand what I mean when I say THE HEAT IS ON!!!!!!!!! in the kitchen…(see below)

WHALES!!! Was just interrupted from writing this to get up on deck and see 2 whales cross our stern….fabulous…we’re ticking all the boxes and loving it. MORE WHALES…as I write we are surrounded by a pod of pilot whales circling and swimming under us….amazing, what a treat. Star Chaser continues to provide a therapeutic and reclusive get away from it all break for those happy to shake off the unnecessary over indulgences available on land.

xx Suse

Friday, July 23rd 2010, 21:30
37.16N, 001.10W

The day started out with a hazy sky, but as the day progressed, the sun dissipated all clouds and all benefited of the bright light just liming on the deck. The afternoon was lazy enough till we had a little tech problem…the alternator strap ripped. Boogie and Curt got the problem settled in a cinch, and we were back on track in no time. Night time was as easy and cool as the day, quiet peaceful and everyone very comtemplative.

Thursday, July 22nd 2010, 12:50 Gibraltar’s time
36.07N, 5.22W, Bay of Gibraltar

We left the dock this morning at 12:30 after having a relaxed morning and a little provisioning done. Susan and Liv joined the crew at our arrival yesterday, and Johnny departed on another venture thru Europe. Before our leaving, he had already hitched a ride on another boat going back to Britain in a few days. Til’ then he will have a glance at Cadiz, a nearby Spanish city. Susan, our exec chef and mother brought on board some of her home Trinidadian cooking for the next few days…hum…tonight “roti” (chicken curry in a wrap, called skins). The roti’s skin comes from a shop in Clapham, London.

Happy Birthday wishes to Beckie from Curt.

Wednesday, July 21st 2010, 12:40 Gibraltar Thursday’s time 22nd july
36.08N, 5.22W, Port of Gibraltar

Yesterday was a very sweet day entering the Straits of Gibraltar. The morning started with a cloudless sky, and a yellow dot on the horizon. In Agne’s word, that would be the nipple of the day…that beautiful sun shinning this wonderful new day.15 knots of wind and warmer air got everyone smiling and happy to approach such a majestic strait into the Mediterranean. We chilled out right up to port, and had a wonderful Irish pub style dinner. The warm air of the night and the quietness of the port, almost created a romantic and serene atmosphere. A wonderful and hot shower put us to sleep in Morpheus arms.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 14:09 Boat time, 16:09 UTC
37.04 N, 9.27 W, 30 miles to the coast of Portugal

“Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it” might be the applicable aphorism for the last 24 hours on Star Chaser. We asked for winds, not necessarily the seas that have come with the wind which have at times made for challenging steering. All in all, however, we are much happier sailing than not and take the not-so-good with the good.

We will be in sight of the coast of Portugal before the afternoon is out and after we pass Cabo De Sao Vincent should come into the lee of the land to some degree lessening the effect of the ocean swell and enhancing shipboard life. At about the same time, approximately 1800 UTC, we may be close enough to shore to briefly have cell phone service.

We have begun to encounter increasing numbers of other vessels, including one other, very large sailboat. What at first seemed to be a paucity of sea life has been alleviated by the appearance of a large pod of dolphins.

Land ho! About 15:00 Boat time, 17:00 UTC, we caught our first glimpse of Portugal as a dark line between sea and sky. We are still 13 nautical miles from the nearest point ashore but are gratified to see it still exists!

Monday, 19th July 21:30 boat time, 23:30 UTC
38.49 N 16.46 W, 568 miles to Gibraltar, Boat speed 8 knots

If, on the off chance, the god of the sea happens to read our blogs: thanks for the wind, buddy, keep it up..! (although nothing too gusty, 15-20 knots will do us fine). More sailing and less motoring makes for a happier crew. Also (we don’t want to push our luck here) if you could send a tuna our way that would be grand, Curt would be thrilled… but if it’s a choice between the two then forget the tuna, we’ll just stick with the wind. Oh, and thanks for the safe passage so far.

For most of today we’ve been able to maintain 7.5 knots on a healthy 18 knots of wind. We’ve been passed by two large ships and more frequently now the VHF has been crackling to life with the sound of foreign voices. With stronger wind have come larger waves, testing the balance of the crew above and below deck; Boogie’s cooking skills were even more impressive given the roller coaster-like conditions in which he had to work.

There were few clouds in the sky as the sun set, casting Starchaser in a warm orange glow. Provided the wind stays with us, we expect to see land by tomorrow afternoon.

A nice thing to know about going east from the Azores to Gibraltar, just follow Neptune, bright as a star just in front of the boat at a very low altitude.

Sunday, 18th July, 13:30 boat time, 15:30 UTC
38.49 N 16.46 W, 568 miles to Gibraltar, Boat speed 8 knots

The moon set last night just before midnight boat time with the color of a section of blood orange. Today dawned mostly clear with small cumulo stratus clouds dotting the sky.

At 10:00 we were able to unfurl the genoa, and immediately gained 1 knot of boat speed motorsailing on about 8 knots of wind. The true wind speed is now 10.4 knots. One or two more knots of wind speed and we may finally be able to douse the engine and truly sail. The wind is expected to continue to increase through the afternoon, evening and night, and we eagerly await its arrival.

At 15:00 we cut the engine off, and started sailing. We still are maintaining a speed of 6.5 kts, but the difference to the ears is quite more pleasant. The sound of the water on the hull of the boat just carries you to the other side of the world. A world of grandeur, life at sea, and the vastness of the seascape brings your spirit to a comfortable state of mind. We had more turtle sightings this afternoon.

Into the evening the wind increased, which necessitated some sail changes later on.

Saturday 17th July – 13:00 boat time 15:00 UTC
39.33N 19.40W - 710 Miles to go, Boat speed 5.7 kts

A very doubtful weather condition this morning, with a very dark sky just about completely clouded. But the wind veered some 130 degrees to south east, pushed away some probable nasty squalls, and the sky cleared out to sunshine….without the expected wind!!! Still motoring and running for some wind. At around nine o’clock, an unidentified dorsal fin was seen on port side at about 50 meters from the hull, moving very slow all by itself. Some privilege but not so funny for the fish I guess.

Around Noon a whale was sighted off the starboard beam and seen to blow twice whilst breaching. It was not possible to identify the species as the animal was several hundred yards away. About 1:20 another turtle was seen basking on the surface with no apparent concern for our passing.

Generally speaking the crew is passing the time while not operating the vessel in convivial conversation with each other, observing the sea and its creatures, reading, enjoying the highly varied selection of music on board, reading, and planning and anticipating the next splendid creation of the chef of the day. Last night it was Ajam paniki ala Boogie, chicken in a red pepper sauce over steamed rice.

The sea today has been the most gorgeous cobalt blue. As night approaches the moon is already brilliant with it’s shimmering light dancing across the water; while the sunset stretches it’s orange and purple colours across the horizon. We are expecting a perfect starry night, with the moon shining as bright as light.

As we approach the end of this the third day, 23:05 UTC, the ribbons of light from the moon and Venus converge on Star Chaser. Neither ship’s light nor jet’s contrail mar the beauty of sea and sky. We are the sole sign of human existence within our kin, and we are content.

Saturday 17th July – 13:00 boat time 15:00 UTC
39.33N 19.40W - 710 Miles to go, Boat speed 5.7 kts

A very doubtful weather condition this morning, with a very dark sky just about completely clouded. But the wind veered some 130 degrees to south east, pushed away some probable nasty squalls, and the sky cleared out to sunshine….without the expected wind!!! Still motoring and running for some wind. At around nine o’clock, an unidentified dorsal fin was seen on port side at about 50 meters from the hull, moving very slow all by itself. Some privilege but not so funny for the fish I guess.

Around Noon a whale was sighted off the starboard beam and seen to blow twice whilst breaching. It was not possible to identify the species as the animal was several hundred yards away. About 1:20 another turtle was seen basking on the surface with no apparent concern for our passing.

Generally speaking the crew is passing the time while not operating the vessel in convivial conversation with each other, observing the sea and its creatures, reading, enjoying the highly varied selection of music on board, reading, and planning and anticipating the next splendid creation of the chef of the day. Last night it was Ajam paniki ala Boogie, chicken in a red pepper sauce over steamed rice.

Friday 16th July – 11.40 Boat time 12.40 UTC
39.03N 22.50W – 846 Miles to go, Boat speed 6.0 kts

Well the first night watch were subject to a bit of a squall last night (after following an extremely lethargic turtle), then the second experienced a complete gridlock…….. TWO other vessels!! The absolute cheek of it; no advanced notification in writing or anything!!

Friday has started overcast and breezy but we’re not rolling quite so dramatically and the sun is threatening to come out again between showers. Conversation has already turned to the subject of this evening’s vittles - chicken curry - fabulous. (Eat your hearts out all ye landlubbers!)

As it happens, our current bearing is pointing almost directly into The Bay of Biscay (Ooops). We’re only heading this way to find some more wind though and we should start heading further south in ‘roughly’ 1 day, 16hrs, 55 mins – if the weather remains as forecast. The computer programs and entire set-up Boogie has on board is quite phenomenal, and this allied with the 2 or 3 daily weather updates, means we are all fully aware of what’s coming. We sent in an order for Mr. Tuna…we’ll see in what weather conditions the delivery will be??? Maybe a ceviche will find a place on the menu.

Thursday 15 July – 13.20 Boat time 14.20 UTC
38.25N 25.51W – 971 Miles to go, Boat speed 6.0 kts
On our way again

This morning the sea state is still very calm, and the winds are light, but we managed to set out the head sail…the sun is out, the dolphins made a shy visit, and were all on standby for better winds. No crew mishaps to declare…yet. The soundtrack to the trip so far has been a somewhat questionable selection of music at the helm but Boogie assures us there is more to the playlist than new-age and ’60s pop.

Wednesday 14 July – Horta

The crew of Star Chaser spent the morning completing the provisioning for the passage to Gibraltar and filing the water tanks. Following another terrific lunch at Peter Cafe Sport, Boogie cleared the vessel and crew with Customs and Immigration and around 2:30 p.m. Star Chaser was moved to the fuel dock at Marina do Horta. After taking on fuel we cast off lines and hoisted the mainsail with one reef in at 4:00 p.m. and departed Horta.

Through the afternoon and evening we sailed on calm seas with light and variable winds. Jacques prepared a marvelous seafood stew including octopus, prawns and fish with potatoes, carrots and zucchini that was greatly enjoyed by captain and crew. Sunset found us near the eastern end of the island of St. George as the first night watch gave way to the second. Listening to a nice crooner music background we just glided away into this wonderful and serene surrounding.

Monday 12 July – 0745 Boat time, 0845 UTC
Horta, Boat speed 0.0 knots
Arrival in the Azores

After a very good trip we cleared in at customs and got our dock space allocated. Cleaning the boat very thorouly is part of the job after we arrive at our destination, so this crew had a go as well.

It was a very thirsty crew, so after about 2 hours of putting the boat to bed and getting her nice and clean on the inside and the outside, it was our turn to get clean.

On the inside first! Peter Sport Café was the ideal place for that. Ok it might be 1025 am here, but it’s 5 o’clock somewhere in the world! Too early for lunch so a couple of snacks and some more refreshments later, we decided that we were really in need of a shower (it started to get busy for lunch at the café and there was a very suspicious cloud of flies above our heads; yep definitely time for a shower!).

Looking back on our trip, have to say it was an excellent voyage with lots of laughter and fantastic sailing with a brilliant crew!

Up to the next destination.

Out

Saturday 10th July- 2030 boat time, 2130 UTC
38’38N 36’28W- 157 miles to go-Boat speed 7.1 knots
Excellent day for wildlife

Today was a good day for catching up on snoozing and reading; seas were calm and the wind barely a breath on our bow, so Charley (our auto pilot) took over the helm and the engine kept us going a steady six knots.

Talk has gravitated toward our plans on shore, as we progress further toward Faial. Boogie is excited for a black risotto (colored with octopus ink) at a favorite local restaurant, Jim and Matt can’t wait to get their hands around a cold beer, Helen is dreaming of her first gin and tonic, and Megwen can’t wait to see her husband at the marina. … and did I mention?!? *All* of us are looking forward to the showers!

We celebrated our proximity to shore with a doozie of a meal: Boogie’s carbonara. A decadent treat, much deserved after yesterday’s corned beef hash fiasco!

As we prepare for our last day out at sea, we continue to spy fountains of spray (evidence of whales) and to enjoy the flirtatious frolicking of dolphins alongside the boat. The temperatures remain cool and we must bundle up, even in the warm sun, but the skies have been relatively clear, guaranteeing great daytime and starlit views. Looks like we will arrive just before sunrise on Monday morning – what a treat it will be to watch the twinkling of city lights beneath a blanket of stars…

Friday 9th July- 2030 boat time, 2130 UTC
38’38N 36’28W-334 miles to go-Boat speed 7.6 knots
Excellent day for wildlife

Just prior to dawn, we had yet another visitation from a group of about 10 dolphins, all showing off their sporting prowess with great zeal; crisscrossing in front and doubling back at unreal speeds. There have been some more earlier this evening whilst dinner was being prepared, still trying to show us how it’s done.

Dinner was undertaken with a fair degree of trepidation, (well founded as it turns out) as it was scheduled to be corned beef hash. Well that was half right!! Apologies to Marlies for ruining your chances of having this included on future passages. but despite an extremely valiant effort from tonight’s chef, it will probably be omitted from the menu for quite some considerable time! Given the wooden spoon, Boogie is still working on a revenge for this one.

The temperature has dropped considerably so as the sun disappears, more layers of clothing are being produced. Megwen has really gone to town with a particularly tasteful ensemble – SJP eat your heart out! (I do hope there will be no need for a comfort break in the next 3hrs however because she could be AWOL for most of her shift!)

Thursday 8 July- 2100 boat time, 2300 UTC
38’52N 39’51W-526 miles to go-Boat speed 9 knots
Excellent day for wildlife

Another good day for all aboard Star Chaser. With the wind building nicely in the early hours of the morning we could pole out the headsail with the rising of the sun, making good progress as the wind was firmly with us from the west for most of the day. We had a terrific show by the huge tuna fish jumping and splashing in avoidance of the pod of dolphins that were bearing down on them. Unfortunately they were too busy to avoid being eaten to think about eating themselves, so our trawling lure was left ignored. With the progression of the day towards evening the wind veered to the north-west, just as we decided to put the headsail back to the starboard side of the boat so we could put the pole to bed in preparation for the night. Everybody is excited about making landfall in a few days time, but for now, life at sea will continue as normal.

Wednesday 7 July – 20.00 boat time, 22.00 UTC
38.40N 43.23W – 704 nm to go – Boat speed 6.4 knots
Excellent day for wildlife

Today was an excellent day for wildlife – it started with a night time sighting of a few dolphins, around 4am. You can just make out their shapes in the water as they glide through, disrupting it enough for a quick shine of phosphorescence. Next up was a pod of dolphins close on the heel of a few tuna – both the dolphin fins and the thrashing fish tail in the water ahead of us made for a great accompaniment to a gorgeous sunrise. Later we had a couple separate sightings of a few pilot whales, and enjoyed watching their graceful curves and the occasional spew of water as they gallivanted about.

All day we’ve had smooth water that lifts the boat only slightly as if over a bed of melted caramel. We’ve been motoring over it (not everyone is excited about this!) but took advantage of the low wind in the late afternoon for a quick dip in the ocean. The water was much warmer than expected – as was the swimming! Even with so little wind, we still had to do a few bursts in reverse in order to stay side by side with our swimmers.

After a lovely meal, we are now preparing for another gorgeous sunset and looking forward to the wind picking up later this evening.

Tuesday 6 July – 18.45 boat time, 20.45 UTC
38.04N 46.57W – 865 nm to go – Boat speed 6.8 knots
What a day today

What a day today, it started with early this morning that the wind started to drop and up the reefs disappeared, full main and headsail, Star Chaser still making a healthy 8 kts over the ground. Looking at the weather forecast we know it is not going to last and soon the light winds will appear and the long wait for more wind will start. Also today is the day we hit half way point, and at lunchtime we were exactly 900Nm from Bermuda and from our intended destination, we celebrated it with a cold can of beer. Beautiful sailing all day long we even had a brief visit from a pod of dolphins. Life onboard Star Chaser is going it’s course with cooking, cleaning, reading books, sleeping, social talking and uhhmm yep some great sailing.

Today was also the first day for fishing, nothing caught yet but looking at the tradition on star chaser we hope that we won’t have to wait long before we can say Tuna, Sashimi

Monday 5 July – 17.00 boat time, 20.00 UTC
37.08N 50.15W – 1040 nm to go – Boat speed 8.1 knots
Blankets out !

Just after dawn the chill from last night’s storm snuck into the cabin, sending us scurrying for our blankets. It’s the first time we’ve had to use them this trip, as it’s been warm enough that several crew members are staying up on deck into the wee hours, or taking refuge in the main cabin for a breath of breeze to cool them down.

Throughout the afternoon there was nary a cloud as far as the eye could see, and the horizon was a massive blend of blue as you looked up from the water… this melded into a glorious evening, with a ceiling of bright stars that created a canopy for our nighttime sail.

Sunday 4 July – 16.30 boat time, 19.20 UTC
35.12N 53.58W – 1223 nm to go – Boat speed 7.1 knots
An eventful start

This morning was an eventful start to our day, with Helen taking a dive inside the cabin when an unexpected wave threw the boat about a bit. She was a great sport about it, though, and tickled to hear that the cut on the bridge of her nose looks a bit like the mark of Voldermort on Harry Potter’s forehead! Kudos to our captain for jumping up and providing excellent medical attention, first aid and calm, all with very little sleep!

The afternoon was relatively low adventure, though some well-aimed sprays of water over the side managed to drench those of us in the cockpit (and just narrowly missed the captain’s ipad, sitting unknowingly under the open hatch in his cabin).

Around 6pm we finally liberated a dozen bananas that had turned a bit soupy from their perch inside the fruit net in the warm cabin. Hard to say if it is related or not (do dolphins like bananas?!?), but we soon saw quite a show from a large pod, showing off their stunts alongside the boat. We tried to convince them to stay for dinner (beef stew was just getting served up in the galley) but they decided to try another cuisine (sashimi). In his fluent dolphin-speak, Boogie wished them a good time of it.

Just after dinner some serious clouds rolled in and got the first mate excited for a battle at the helm, only to disappoint him thirty minutes later when they split into two systems which ultimately skirted us on either side. Heavy cloud-cover kept us from seeing too much in the way of stars, but the inky blue beneath us was beautiful.

Saturday 3 July – 14.10 boat time, 17.10 UTC
34.02N 56.50W – 1390 nm to go – Boat speed 8.1 knots
Well what to say!

Well what to say, today started with a great sunrise making the sky look very dramatic, deep red colours changing in to soft pink, from silver lines around the clouds to the deep gold.

Beautiful sunshine, 20kts of wind and a following sea, what more could you want? As the day progressed we had to put our third reef in the sail, the helm was getting very heavy and for those of us not used to steering it became very tough. As another night draws in we had all the crew up on deck for dinner, spirits were high and the talk was flowing. The sunset was framed by deep clouds which obscured the colour of what we all thought was going to be a lovely show, but alas it wasn’t to be, maybe tomorrow! The night brought with it beautiful stars with a few shooting stars completing the picture as the moon rose to give us an almost daylight view of the sea.

Friday 2 July – 12.20 boat time, 15.15 UTC
33.44N 60.26W – 1545 nm to go – Boat speed 7.6 knots
Everybody is in good spirits.

Everybody is in good spirits, even the whale shouters, enough water intake from the bottle and from above. It is very clammy and warm this time of year, water temperature is high which keeps the airtemperature high as well, so when the rain comes you start to boil in your wet weather gear. The suffering we go through, really tough! ;-)

The first boat things started to pop up today - our genie (for the non initiated, this is our generator) is showing a bit of character. Although she has had the usual service before we start a long passage, she obviously had other ideas. That meant a lot of attention / work and 4 hours later she was put back together. Now she is happy again (and so are we). Water maker running again and the fridge and freezer are keeping our food cold.

Great day of sailing, looking at a big weather front coming in from the west, looks like we have to put the second reef in and our rain clothing back on. Bring it on!

Back on the ocean is where Star Chaser likes to be, cutting through those ocean waves like a hot knife through butter, a joy to sail her.

Thursday 1 July – 21.15 boat time, 00.15 UTC
33.00N 62.40W – 1685 nm to go – Boat speed 7.8 knots
First 14 hours and going strong at the moment.

I decided to leave this morning instead of last night and this meant that we had a last night with a few dark and stormys and finger food in the pub at St Georges.

It gave us some time and a chance to think about how we got to this point: ready for departure, crew in good spirits and the boat ready for the 1800nm to the Azores. The answer to that is very simple: MARLIES is the reason we are able to leave now from Bermuda with everything in order and double checked. She worked endlessly throughout the last 3 months but especially the last 4 weeks. Thank you Marlies, you are invaluable.

On leaving Bermuda, after Bermuda radio wanted to get all our details and passing the cargo vessel which came to collect some yacht to transport to Mallorca as deck cargo (not us), we pointed Star Chaser in the easterly direction and let her do what she does best, eating away at the miles like a hungry lion who just caught her pray.

The day was slightly eventful putting a reef in the main sail, but this was more so that the crew could get used to the motion of the ocean. Needless to say that some of us were shouting at whales while feeding the fish anyway, and this all to get those much wanted sealegs.

Time to get back on top and watch the light show mother nature is giving us.

Thursday 1 July
On our way to the Azores!

After a very busy party regime following our completion of the famous Newport Bermuda Race, our first new crew for our ocean passage to the Azores arrived last weekend in Bermuda. A couple of days to explore the island and get the boat back in cruising mode, made that we left Hamilton on Wednesday to navigate our way through the reef to the north part of the island, St Georges. A trip that takes some attention, as Bermuda is surrounded by reefs; the reef area around Bermuda is actually bigger than the island itself!

We decided on a last meal ashore and a last night sleep on the island and tied up across from the customs dock to spend the night.

Thursday morning at first light everybody was rearing to go and we soon navigated our way out through Town Cut and the reef, sailing towards the rising sun. A great view to wake up to and for our first real sailing on Star Chaser.

As soon as we will have settled into a bit of a routine we will update you with more stories about life on the ocean!

Enjoy!