Tuesday 30 April 2013

nice sailing

last night we had tuna sashimi and rice. full meal. and ate only 1/8th of the tuna.
Tonight we will have the same thing.
We have had nice winds from close reach to broad reach and from 8 to 18 knots for the last 24 hours.
Tomorrow we expect light winds and calm seas. We will BBQ the steaks and some tuna and have surf and turf.
and maybe finally i will upload some pics.
After the light day we expect 20 to 30 knots with 40 knot squals on thursday and friday.
WE expect to cross the gulf stream on sunday and then enjoy easy SE winds as we go up the coast from virginia to newyork.
At least thats the current wind predictions.

Monday 29 April 2013

fish

So as predicted Almir woke up and let out the fishing line.
Then the wind died and then the heavens opened up and we had a torrential downpour
and we all took showers in the cockpit.
Feels good to be clean again.
Then a fish grabbed the lure.
Almir reeled it in and it is a beautiful 20 lbs blue fin tuna.
There is enough fish here for 4 meals.

winds are up again at 10 to 12 knots and we are making 7 knots on course.
the sea is a little chaotic with an underlying 4 foot swell.

glorious night

Last night was glorious.
The wind shifted to be a broad reach and built to 14 - 22 knots.
We stayed above 7 knots speed for 4 hours. Sometimes hitting 8 knots.
This morning the wind has died a little and we are only going 5.5 and it feels like we are standing still.
Overall light winds are delaying our arrival in New York.
When we get near virginia we will take stock of our food and water and see if we have to stop.
everyone is well now and into the routine.
Almir tried fishing yesterday afternoon but we took the line in for the night. I am sure he will set it up as soon as he wakes up this morning,
I will post a sunrise pic later today.

Sunday 28 April 2013

quick update

we are all doing well.
the two newbies are almost over their sea sickness.
The winds are 8 to 12 knots from 70 degrees.
The boat speed is 6 to 7 knots.
we are heading almost due north still.
There is some storm brewing off the coast of Florida which will dissipate by the time we get near it as we go north and the storm goes north.
here is our spot tracker link which will show you where we are
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0TM4Z4RBPBRSgXW4v1msepbUdZaqQmjXY
Its sunny, decently calm seas (5 foot swell and no chop).
The solar panels are charging the batteries.
Almir has fashioned a bimini out of a blue tarp.
The auto piot is working like a dream.
We are using the auto pilot all night long and hand steering in the day in order to conserve power.

Saturday 27 April 2013

On our way!

SO we are on our way. We about 10am this morning and we are heading just west of north from the BVIs.
We are heading to a pont on the ocean at 28W 68N.
When we get there in 4 days we wil make a decision on wether to head west or head straight to New York city.
The crew is well, (the two new people have a little sea sickness) and we just BBQd some pork chops and had rice on the side.
The winds are 12 knots from the north east and were doing 7.5 knots with jib and main.
for the night we have dropped the jib and reefed the main just to be cautious.
We are doing 5.5 knots with the reduced sail area.
There is a large swell of about 8 feet but long period so its a smooth ride.
see you all soon :-)

Wednesday 24 April 2013

two stages

The boat is almost ready to set sail for home.
just a reminder to everyone.....
The journey home consists of two legs.
BVI to New York (open ocean sail)
and New York to Toronto (rivers, canals, lakes and locks)
In the second part we stop in a different small up state new york town.
Its kind of cool

And.......
I need people. So far I am alone for that part and its impossible to do unless there are 2 or 3 people minimum.

any volunteers?

expected start date is May 5th in New York city and it should take 7 days.
I will update the start date as we near New York City,
Just email me at hammertimetoronto@gmail.com

Thursday 18 April 2013

big update

ok gang.
We have not updated this blog in quite some time.
The boat was hauled out in St Maarten at the end of the trip down in late November.
We then came back down (not exactly the same team) to race in the Heineken regatta in late feb/early march. We came 3rd in the regatta in our division (CSA6). Following that I did 2 weeks of cruising with family and friends in the BVIs. Following that a different set of sailors flew down and we did two regattas back to back. We did the St Thomas Rolex regatta and the BVI spring regatta. Then we came home.

Now we are about to fly back down to sail the boat back up the Atlantic to get it home. We plan to leave Nanny Cay on April 26th. the target date for landfall in New York is May 5th.
Stay tuned for Daily updates starting next week.