[s]
[c1]p:43°22.00'N:008°23.11'W
[c2]pd:000|0.0
[d]2013-06-27 18:20Z
[t]Testing this system & update of plans
[l]La Coruna, Spain
[a]Janice
[b]
From what we see on the weather reports as of tonight we are hoping to start moving north again either
Monday or Tuesday next week. That is a few days off so things can change, but that is the tentative plan for
now. We have changed our destination and will go straight across the Bay of Biscay and go to Camaret and
then explore Brittany by car, train and/or bus.
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
tsamaya
[s]
[c1]p:42°15.64'N:008°46.96'E
[c2]pd:000|0.0
[d]2013-05-23 21:47Z
[t]test of position report by SSB
[l]Cangas Spain
[a]Janice
[b]
We are still in Cangas but hope to move this coming Sunday. This is a test of putting in a position report via
the SSB.
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[c1]p:42°15.64'N:008°46.96'E
[c2]pd:000|0.0
[d]2013-05-23 21:47Z
[t]test of position report by SSB
[l]Cangas Spain
[a]Janice
[b]
We are still in Cangas but hope to move this coming Sunday. This is a test of putting in a position report via
the SSB.
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Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Morning of May 7th
We are still at sea with winds of about 17-20 knots and seas of about 3-4 feet and things are going well even though we are "rocking and rolling some". With the direction of the wind we had to go farther out to sea to get a more comfortable ride, now that it is daylight we have adjusted the sails again and heading toward our destination. The estimated time of arrival now is anywhere between 9-11 hours from now. I am writing this at 7:30 AM our time.
We saw lots of freighters and fishing boats out last night and had a couple of hard downpours in the early, dark hours of the morning. It is much clearer now and we are looking forward to getting in to port later today.
It is funny how even though we have been to sea before there sometimes are things that "tumble" with the movement of the boat. We had a couple of very small items that we never would have thought would have fallen fall - each time you never know what movements the boat will actually make and we haven't seem to figure them all out yet. Sleeping last night was a challenge as we were rocking back and forth as well as from side to side - we definitely didn't get sound sleep, but we rested. I am sure we will sleep well tonight when at anchor. I think we will welcome a few days of "bad" weather for sailing so we can stay put for a couple of days and do alittle exploring as well. Will keep you all posted as best we can.
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We saw lots of freighters and fishing boats out last night and had a couple of hard downpours in the early, dark hours of the morning. It is much clearer now and we are looking forward to getting in to port later today.
It is funny how even though we have been to sea before there sometimes are things that "tumble" with the movement of the boat. We had a couple of very small items that we never would have thought would have fallen fall - each time you never know what movements the boat will actually make and we haven't seem to figure them all out yet. Sleeping last night was a challenge as we were rocking back and forth as well as from side to side - we definitely didn't get sound sleep, but we rested. I am sure we will sleep well tonight when at anchor. I think we will welcome a few days of "bad" weather for sailing so we can stay put for a couple of days and do alittle exploring as well. Will keep you all posted as best we can.
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Saturday, May 4, 2013
We have left Lagos!
Well, we are on our way and are really enjoying being back on the water again. We left Lagos Marina on Friday, May 3rd about 1PM and headed down the coast about 20 miles to Sagres. We anchored there for a few hours and then got moving at 2AM on Saturday May 4th as the north winds had died down. We were fortunate in finding another boat heading in our direction so we have company going up the coast. It is always nice to have another boat out here with us as we check in with each other during the day. We had to motor a good part of the day and felt as if we were sitting in a washing machine, but then later on in the day we were able to have a very pleasant sail - what a great day! We made it to Sines about 5PM and checked into the marina here. We quickly got changed and headed into town to do alittle exploring. As Bob said we are now back into our explorer mode and are enjoying it already. As we were at the dock we also go a chance to meet Chris and Toni on the other boat (Gazelle) that is traveling north with us. It was nice to put a face with a voice and start to get to know them better. Our plan is to leave here about 6AM tomorrow and head to Cascais which is close to Lisbon (about a 10-11 hour trip for us) . We will anchor out there and then the next day more again for 14 hours to Nazare. We are pushing quickly now as we have a good weather window and trying to get some northing done. It looks like some weather will be stopping our move north soon and picked Nazare to stop in as it looks like there are some things to do and see there. Hopefully the information we have read will hold true.
Take care & will stay in touch as much as we can.
May 5 - Looks like my message above did not get sent so will update you. We did leave Sines at 6:30AM this AM with absolutely no wind and it turned out to be a nice, sunny day. We had absolutely flat seas so started motoring north. While the sea was calm we had a very large pod of dolphin around the boat which was great. As Bob says I am like a little kid every time I get a sighting as love to have them play around the boat. There were quite a few and we could even see them jumping completely out of the water as well as silver streaks going under the boat. We always take a sighting as a good omen. Only problem was that about 12 noon the winds picked up in the wrong direction and the seas came along with it. It wasn't too bad and we actually did get to have our sails up and sailed for a large part of the way (but with the motor on too). It turned out to be a long day as we got to the anchorage in Cascais about 6:45PM. All in all a good day. A bonus was that Chris & Toni on Gazelle got very close to us while we had our sails up so we will share some photos with each other. It has been very nice to have company on the trip. The plan is to sleep for a few hours and then leave here at 1:00AM as we have quite a long distance to the next stop in Nazare. We picked that location as we have heard we may have bad weather for a few days and it sounds like a nice place to explore.
Best wishes - by the way we have now traveled 190 nautical miles since leaving Lagos on Friday.
Monday - May 6 - just checked my email outbox and it appears that this didn't get sent. I am not positive so hope this will not duplicate a previous blog entry, but in case it didn't go, I'll try to send again tonight.
Plans always have to be flexible with this lifestyle. As mentioned above we planned on doing a day hope up to Nazare today. When we left at 1:30AM there was no wind so we started our motoring trip north on a very flat sea. At times it is hard to remember that this is still the Atlantic Ocean! We were making good progress toward Nazare and were only about 3 hours from our goal when plans changed. The other boat we were traveling with and ourselves looked at new weather reports and it looks like the weather is going to stay calm for another day. After talking it over on each boat we both agreed that we should "make hay while the sunshines" and make as much northing as possible with good weather. We have heard and read too many horror stories of what this coast can be when there are strong north winds. This plan now will take us overnight and we should get into the Bayone, Spain (just north of the Portugal/Spain border) by tomorrow afternoon. The other boat (Gazelle) have been there before and said it is a nice stop.
About 1:30PM today we had another good omen when a pod of dolphin came and played again. I tried to capture some of it on film so will see how it turned out and share it later with you if I got any good footage. Today we have had a mixture of weather - the moon came up about 4AM today but didn't see it too long as it became overcast and very foggy. We are happy to have our radar and AIS in these situations to be able to still see where other boats are. It works very well. We had a few sprinkles but nothing much (at least not yet at 6:30PM) and better yet we got some wind out of the south so we have been able to get quite a bit of help from the wind today boosting our speed.
Yes, plans have changed, but things are working out very well and it will get us to Spain by tomorrow, much earlier than we thought we would be able to accomplish this. We hope the weather forecast hold true through the night and into tomorrow. I'll report again tomorrow.
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Take care & will stay in touch as much as we can.
May 5 - Looks like my message above did not get sent so will update you. We did leave Sines at 6:30AM this AM with absolutely no wind and it turned out to be a nice, sunny day. We had absolutely flat seas so started motoring north. While the sea was calm we had a very large pod of dolphin around the boat which was great. As Bob says I am like a little kid every time I get a sighting as love to have them play around the boat. There were quite a few and we could even see them jumping completely out of the water as well as silver streaks going under the boat. We always take a sighting as a good omen. Only problem was that about 12 noon the winds picked up in the wrong direction and the seas came along with it. It wasn't too bad and we actually did get to have our sails up and sailed for a large part of the way (but with the motor on too). It turned out to be a long day as we got to the anchorage in Cascais about 6:45PM. All in all a good day. A bonus was that Chris & Toni on Gazelle got very close to us while we had our sails up so we will share some photos with each other. It has been very nice to have company on the trip. The plan is to sleep for a few hours and then leave here at 1:00AM as we have quite a long distance to the next stop in Nazare. We picked that location as we have heard we may have bad weather for a few days and it sounds like a nice place to explore.
Best wishes - by the way we have now traveled 190 nautical miles since leaving Lagos on Friday.
Monday - May 6 - just checked my email outbox and it appears that this didn't get sent. I am not positive so hope this will not duplicate a previous blog entry, but in case it didn't go, I'll try to send again tonight.
Plans always have to be flexible with this lifestyle. As mentioned above we planned on doing a day hope up to Nazare today. When we left at 1:30AM there was no wind so we started our motoring trip north on a very flat sea. At times it is hard to remember that this is still the Atlantic Ocean! We were making good progress toward Nazare and were only about 3 hours from our goal when plans changed. The other boat we were traveling with and ourselves looked at new weather reports and it looks like the weather is going to stay calm for another day. After talking it over on each boat we both agreed that we should "make hay while the sunshines" and make as much northing as possible with good weather. We have heard and read too many horror stories of what this coast can be when there are strong north winds. This plan now will take us overnight and we should get into the Bayone, Spain (just north of the Portugal/Spain border) by tomorrow afternoon. The other boat (Gazelle) have been there before and said it is a nice stop.
About 1:30PM today we had another good omen when a pod of dolphin came and played again. I tried to capture some of it on film so will see how it turned out and share it later with you if I got any good footage. Today we have had a mixture of weather - the moon came up about 4AM today but didn't see it too long as it became overcast and very foggy. We are happy to have our radar and AIS in these situations to be able to still see where other boats are. It works very well. We had a few sprinkles but nothing much (at least not yet at 6:30PM) and better yet we got some wind out of the south so we have been able to get quite a bit of help from the wind today boosting our speed.
Yes, plans have changed, but things are working out very well and it will get us to Spain by tomorrow, much earlier than we thought we would be able to accomplish this. We hope the weather forecast hold true through the night and into tomorrow. I'll report again tomorrow.
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Wednesday, October 3, 2012
We are here in Lagos, Portugal - October 3rd
Sorry I didn't get this posted earlier, but we are safely settled into the marina in Lagos, Portugal. We had a fabulous day yesterday, Oct 2nd with great winds and with a hull speed averaging at 6 knots. The sun was out and we knew this was our final day before reaching land. About 4PM we were welcomed to the Portuguese coast by a pod of dolphin. They gave us a great show for about 15 minutes - what a treat going under the boat and jumping all around us. Just a few minutes later we could see the coast of Portugal. What a welome! Just because we could see the coast however did not mean that we were getting to land soon as that happened around 4:15PM and we didn't arrive into port until 1:30AM. The seas calmed down as we were coming into the harbor which was helpful and we had a beautiful full, orange moon to guide us in - what else could you ask for!!
As soon as we got tied up to the reception dock we got some sleep - we couldn't believe how calm it was and how the boat didn't move at all as the marina is located up a river and away from the movement of the ocean. Hard to believe the boat could be so still.
This morning, October 3rd we had another treat in being able to see our friends, Kay and Dan from Ithaca - we had been hoping that it would work out to see each other and it did - we are so pleased. Again, another great way to come into a country. We went out to lunch with them which was a treat as it was definitely more than a one pot meal that we have been eating on the crossing. Getting together again tonight as they leave this area to explore more of Portugal. We will then take our time to explore Lagos and get some of the basics done like laundry and turning the boat back into a home for the time that we will be here.
We will be returning to our regular blog and will not use this one again until another long crossing which won't be until next year. We will be here in Portugal until mid-December when we will be flying back to the US for 3 months. We are looking forward to getting a chance to seeing some of you when we do.
Take care and best wishes to you all from both of us! Hard to believe that we are finally on mainland Europe and got here by our own sailboat - quite amazing if we do say so ourselves!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Day 7 Report
Well, day 7 ended at 10:30AM on October 2nd with 149 nm traveled. We have been flying at 6-7 knots. The wind has not changed much in that it is still about 15-20 knots, but we have changed angle with the wind which increased our hull speed. We had to be sure that we were north enough before turning southeast in order to round the southwest point of Portugal. It is currentl 1:30PM on October 2nd and we are at 37.06N, 9.47W getting near to the traffic separation lanes. These are lanes that are used by the large freighters which we as a private sailboat need to cross at right angles. These lanes are about 10 miles across and fortunately as we have AIS we can easily see where the freighters are located. More importantly using that same technology they can see us! We had hoped to cross it at night as it is easier to see the ships with their lights, but this will be fine.
At our present speed it appears that we will probably get to our destination of Lagos at midnight or after. We usually like to get to a harbor during the day, but this is a wide open one so should not present any problems. We have been in contact with the marina as well to let them know we are coming late.
The sun is out and the moon has been full which has made the night duties very pleasant. Last night we had our full genoa and 1 reef in the main out, but as we were heeling at 20 degrees all the time it was difficult to make dinner,etc. As a result we took in some of the genoa but with our change of angle we didn't slow down. It is amazing how your speed can change based on the angle to the wind and waves. We have had a few waves come over the bow and into the cockpit - that definitely gets our attention, but fortunately it isn't too much.
First thing when we get to Lagos after the official business of checking in will be getting a shower and then giving Tsamaya a fresh water bath as everything is covered with salt.
All in all it hasn't been a bad passage - a few days rougher than others but not bad. We will be glad to get our feet on terra ferma again for a while however and explore a new place. This definitely reminds us that the Azores really are out in the "middle of the Atlantic" - really about 985 miles off shore!
Will let you know when we get there and then will change back to our regular blog. Hope things are well with everyone - best wishes from us both.
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At our present speed it appears that we will probably get to our destination of Lagos at midnight or after. We usually like to get to a harbor during the day, but this is a wide open one so should not present any problems. We have been in contact with the marina as well to let them know we are coming late.
The sun is out and the moon has been full which has made the night duties very pleasant. Last night we had our full genoa and 1 reef in the main out, but as we were heeling at 20 degrees all the time it was difficult to make dinner,etc. As a result we took in some of the genoa but with our change of angle we didn't slow down. It is amazing how your speed can change based on the angle to the wind and waves. We have had a few waves come over the bow and into the cockpit - that definitely gets our attention, but fortunately it isn't too much.
First thing when we get to Lagos after the official business of checking in will be getting a shower and then giving Tsamaya a fresh water bath as everything is covered with salt.
All in all it hasn't been a bad passage - a few days rougher than others but not bad. We will be glad to get our feet on terra ferma again for a while however and explore a new place. This definitely reminds us that the Azores really are out in the "middle of the Atlantic" - really about 985 miles off shore!
Will let you know when we get there and then will change back to our regular blog. Hope things are well with everyone - best wishes from us both.
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Monday, October 1, 2012
One Day Closer
It is Monday, October 1st which means that we have been "at sea" for a total of 5 days now. We had a good day yesterday with a total of 125 nm traveled. This is good news! We had heavy cloud cover with a few bits of blue sky and no rain so things are going well. We have been using "monty" (our wind vane monitor) and "otto" (our autopilot) for steering. It is sure nice to have them as extra crew members as we do not have to hand steer. The wind has been much steadier now running between 14-18 knots out of the north/north east. We are starting to see more large ships out here and have talked to a few of them. One that just passed us is headed to Turkey and came from Charleston SC. He wanted to know if we wanted him to adjust his course for us as he was close to us. We are always surprised when we see these large ships adjust for a 40 foot sailboat, but very glad that they do!
We figure that we have about 231 miles to go. If we can keep the pace that we have been for the last couple of days, we should be in Lagos, Portugal on Wednesday, October 3rd. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the winds stay with us and that will be the case.
Our friends, Kay and Dan are in Portugal right now on vacation and they fly back on Oct 9th so hope to catch up with them before they leave - it sure would be nice to get together with friends from home.
Our position as of 12:00 noon (UTC) is 37.18N, 12.52W with a hull speed of 5.5-6knots. Winds are running 14 knots and our heading is 108 degrees. Keep your fingers crossed for us that we can stay with 125 nm days so we can make port on Wednesday. It will be great to be able to sleep in our own bed again, cook a meal without strapping ourselves in at the stove and have a decent shower! We have gotten into the routine however and the days are flying by which is good. We are both getting some reading done and between naps during the day and our 4 hour on/4 hour off duty schedule the days blend into one another. At least trying to update this daily keeps us on track of what day it is!
Take care & will keep you posted.
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We figure that we have about 231 miles to go. If we can keep the pace that we have been for the last couple of days, we should be in Lagos, Portugal on Wednesday, October 3rd. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the winds stay with us and that will be the case.
Our friends, Kay and Dan are in Portugal right now on vacation and they fly back on Oct 9th so hope to catch up with them before they leave - it sure would be nice to get together with friends from home.
Our position as of 12:00 noon (UTC) is 37.18N, 12.52W with a hull speed of 5.5-6knots. Winds are running 14 knots and our heading is 108 degrees. Keep your fingers crossed for us that we can stay with 125 nm days so we can make port on Wednesday. It will be great to be able to sleep in our own bed again, cook a meal without strapping ourselves in at the stove and have a decent shower! We have gotten into the routine however and the days are flying by which is good. We are both getting some reading done and between naps during the day and our 4 hour on/4 hour off duty schedule the days blend into one another. At least trying to update this daily keeps us on track of what day it is!
Take care & will keep you posted.
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Sunday, September 30, 2012
Another Day Down
It is now 10:30AM on September 30 which means we just finished day 5 of our crossing. We originally thought we'd be in Portugal on day 6, but with the trip being slow in the beginning it will take us longer. Right now our best guestimate is that we probably have about 3 more days of sailing before we get to Lagos. We have now traveled a total of 471 nm since leaving Santa Maria and have 343 nm left to go.
We really picked up speed last night and instead of the 2-4 knot average speed we have been doing 5-5.5 knots which feels good! It was really nice to have a sunny day yesterday where we could get out of our foul weather gear, but today we are back in them. Luckily we don't have any rain, but it is solid cloud cover so with the wind it is chilly. The actual temperature is 66 degrees which isn't bad when we are tucked behind our canvas dodger, but when you stick your head out to look around you feel the cold.
We are happy to have plenty of podcast from NPR to make it easier on night duty and of course lots of music to listen to. We get to read books during the day and the biggest struggle is getting meals made with being on an angle, but we take turns and it is working out fine - just definitely not fine dining.
Take care and will keep you posted. Currently at 10:45AM we are located at 37.30.075N, 15.34.077W with winds of 19 knots out of the north. As of 10:30AM we made 125 nm so hopefully we can keep up that pace, but it will all be up to the wind and waves ahead of us!
Best wishes to everyone. - Bob & Janice PS - Sailor is moving around more and acting more herself so guess she is getting her sealegs back after being at the dock for some time
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We really picked up speed last night and instead of the 2-4 knot average speed we have been doing 5-5.5 knots which feels good! It was really nice to have a sunny day yesterday where we could get out of our foul weather gear, but today we are back in them. Luckily we don't have any rain, but it is solid cloud cover so with the wind it is chilly. The actual temperature is 66 degrees which isn't bad when we are tucked behind our canvas dodger, but when you stick your head out to look around you feel the cold.
We are happy to have plenty of podcast from NPR to make it easier on night duty and of course lots of music to listen to. We get to read books during the day and the biggest struggle is getting meals made with being on an angle, but we take turns and it is working out fine - just definitely not fine dining.
Take care and will keep you posted. Currently at 10:45AM we are located at 37.30.075N, 15.34.077W with winds of 19 knots out of the north. As of 10:30AM we made 125 nm so hopefully we can keep up that pace, but it will all be up to the wind and waves ahead of us!
Best wishes to everyone. - Bob & Janice PS - Sailor is moving around more and acting more herself so guess she is getting her sealegs back after being at the dock for some time
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Saturday, September 29, 2012
Completed Day 4 & Now on Day 5
It is now 3:30PM on September 29th and the trip is much easier now! In the night the winds and waves died down some consistently so in the morning we took the reefs out of the main and the genoa. The sky was overcast with lots of clouds, but blue sky peeked out and it has turned into a lovely day. So much so that we even have been able to get out of our foul weather bibs (like overalls) and are currently wearing shorts and short sleeve t-shirts - it is a nice break. As soon as the sun starts going in however it cools down and will add the layers of clothes back on. Previously we had been averaging 2-3.5 knots in hull speed and we are currently seeing 5 and 6 knots - definitely more like it! If this holds up we may be able to make it to Lagos, Portugal by October 3rd but lots of things can happen with the weather so we will keep you posted. Sailor is much happier now as well - she surprised us by coming out back in the cockpit more (don't worry, she has her leash on). We figured that if she was sort of sea-sick, it probably was better for her as well. Today she is back to enjoying tunafish water, some food, water and of course a few of her "treats". As Bob was saying, she never signed up for the sailing life, but has been doing really well overall.
Last night we had 2 large freighters go by - one was a mile away and called us on the radio to talk. It seemed as if the person on duty must have been bored and wanted to talk. He confirmed for us that the weather was going to get better from what his reports stated - glad it turned out to be true.
As of 3:30PM our time on Sept 29th we are at 37.35N, 17.38W with a hull speed of 5.5-6knots and heading of 72 degrees. Wind is 15-16 knots from the north. We have been treated to some beautiful sunrises, sunsets and a great full moon. Life is good!
Take care & our best wishes always - Janice & Bob
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Last night we had 2 large freighters go by - one was a mile away and called us on the radio to talk. It seemed as if the person on duty must have been bored and wanted to talk. He confirmed for us that the weather was going to get better from what his reports stated - glad it turned out to be true.
As of 3:30PM our time on Sept 29th we are at 37.35N, 17.38W with a hull speed of 5.5-6knots and heading of 72 degrees. Wind is 15-16 knots from the north. We have been treated to some beautiful sunrises, sunsets and a great full moon. Life is good!
Take care & our best wishes always - Janice & Bob
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Friday, September 28, 2012
Finished Day 3 & On Day 4
Well, we continue to have heavy seas of 10-12 feet and winds of 20-25 knots which some of you may be surprised to hear has slowed us down. You would think with heavy winds we would be moving swiftly, but it all depends on the angle you are sailing. When leaving Santa Maria we knew we would need to move east and north to get to our destination. We have been doing fine with moving east, but the moving north is what has been more difficult. With this in mind it was not a surprise to us that the total mileage for day 3 was only 57 miles! We are hopeful that we will get a change in the winds ahead so we can get a better angle and speed. Time will tell. One good benefit of all this wind is that our wind generators are working well and keeping our battery charged - always have to think of the positives!
We were surprised today after being out since Tuesday AM to see our first boat (other than the 2 that left with us). It was a large fishing boat that we called on the radio to see how the weather was ahead of us as he was coming from Europe. Unfortunately our Spanish isn't that good and his English wasn't that great but did talk for alittle while and it sounds like some better weather is ahead which matches up with what we have seen on our weather files. Once we finished this conversation, another sailboat called us just to say hi and tell us the same about the weather. He is about 15 miles ahead of us - nice to know others are out here and he said he'd stay in touch for the rest of the journey.
2 days ago our autopilot died so we moved over to our backup of the wind monitor which has been handling things well. Yesterday the wind monitor decided to break, but fortunately Bob was able to quickly fix it so it was back in business. Today Bob got the autopilot fixed so we have both systems functional. It sure is great to have a handy guy around to fix these things. He mentioned that he was very glad that he had installed these systems so he knows them quite well which helps with a quick diagnosis.
It is somewhat hard to project how long it will take us to get to our destination with the winds possibly (and hopefully) changing. With figuring at a worse case scenario we may have 6 more days of sailing ahead of us getting us to Portugal Oct 4th instead of Oct 1st. Time will tell. As of 4:30PM today we have 520 more miles to go.
Other than us having a longer trip than planned things are going fine. Sailor isn't quite as happy on this trip - we think she may be alittle seasick - she even came out back with us for some time today - she liked the fresh air, but not the movement. Guess she is like us in that regard.
Take care & will keep in touch - Bob & Janice (and Sailor too!)
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We were surprised today after being out since Tuesday AM to see our first boat (other than the 2 that left with us). It was a large fishing boat that we called on the radio to see how the weather was ahead of us as he was coming from Europe. Unfortunately our Spanish isn't that good and his English wasn't that great but did talk for alittle while and it sounds like some better weather is ahead which matches up with what we have seen on our weather files. Once we finished this conversation, another sailboat called us just to say hi and tell us the same about the weather. He is about 15 miles ahead of us - nice to know others are out here and he said he'd stay in touch for the rest of the journey.
2 days ago our autopilot died so we moved over to our backup of the wind monitor which has been handling things well. Yesterday the wind monitor decided to break, but fortunately Bob was able to quickly fix it so it was back in business. Today Bob got the autopilot fixed so we have both systems functional. It sure is great to have a handy guy around to fix these things. He mentioned that he was very glad that he had installed these systems so he knows them quite well which helps with a quick diagnosis.
It is somewhat hard to project how long it will take us to get to our destination with the winds possibly (and hopefully) changing. With figuring at a worse case scenario we may have 6 more days of sailing ahead of us getting us to Portugal Oct 4th instead of Oct 1st. Time will tell. As of 4:30PM today we have 520 more miles to go.
Other than us having a longer trip than planned things are going fine. Sailor isn't quite as happy on this trip - we think she may be alittle seasick - she even came out back with us for some time today - she liked the fresh air, but not the movement. Guess she is like us in that regard.
Take care & will keep in touch - Bob & Janice (and Sailor too!)
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Thursday, September 27, 2012
Day 2 Complete & working on Day 3 (Sept 26&27)
Hi - Well, we completed day 2 at 10:30AM today, Thursday, September 27. It was quite a wild day with lots of wind and very large waves as a result. Even though we were having winds up to 30-35 knots at times it averaged around 25. With such heavy winds you might expect our mileage to be good, however, due to the high waves it really slowed us down to an overall average speed of 3.6 knots and total for the day of 88 nautical miles. It was slow but at least it is in the right direction. We got some rain showers as well, but the moon was nice when it was not hidden by the clouds. This morning we were greeted with a beautiful sunrise and we even got to see a full rainbow with both ends in the ocean - it was quite the sight! We reduced sail quite a bit and were sailing with 2 reefs in the main and a reefed down genoa.
We are trying to go north some with our easting, but the wind has not cooperated too well in that area, but we still have time to get farther north. Luckily we don't have to go too far north as we had decided to go straight to the marina in Lagos.
Just a note, with our speed being much slower than we had forecasted we will be longer than the orginal 6 days that we planned. Don't worry about that as we definitely have enough food and water on board for an army!! Just wanted to let you know that it will take longer than projected as we are figuring on the same types of winds and waves as we have been having for a few more days. We would rather be as comfortable as possible. Yesterday eating was minimal as we were heeling quite a bit and weren't up to cooking. Right now we are moving ahead at 3 knots and not heeling as much so will have a hot dinner tonight!
As of 4PM (our time) on 9/27 we are at 36.57.425N, 20.33.979W with a heading of 85 degrees magnetic and wind speed of 20 knots - things are good!! Take care & best wishes - will call in to shiptrak again later tonight for those that are interested.
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We are trying to go north some with our easting, but the wind has not cooperated too well in that area, but we still have time to get farther north. Luckily we don't have to go too far north as we had decided to go straight to the marina in Lagos.
Just a note, with our speed being much slower than we had forecasted we will be longer than the orginal 6 days that we planned. Don't worry about that as we definitely have enough food and water on board for an army!! Just wanted to let you know that it will take longer than projected as we are figuring on the same types of winds and waves as we have been having for a few more days. We would rather be as comfortable as possible. Yesterday eating was minimal as we were heeling quite a bit and weren't up to cooking. Right now we are moving ahead at 3 knots and not heeling as much so will have a hot dinner tonight!
As of 4PM (our time) on 9/27 we are at 36.57.425N, 20.33.979W with a heading of 85 degrees magnetic and wind speed of 20 knots - things are good!! Take care & best wishes - will call in to shiptrak again later tonight for those that are interested.
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Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Completing day 1
It is just 10:30 AM on Wednesday, 9/26 which means that we have just completed 24 hours of sailing since leaving Santa Maria. The winds stayed around 15-18 knots through part of the night which was nice as it was consistent, but then it picked up to 20-25 knots. With this of course the wave size increased so it was quite a ride! Fortunately it wasn't so bad that we couldn't sleep when we were off duty, but it definitely is making it difficult to make any breakfast. Made a cup of coffee for Bob and that was enough of a challenge so think the rest of the breakfast will be an energy bar and an orange as want to stay away from anything hot that can fly off the stove easily as well as keeps us up on top out back in the open air. That definitely helps so neither of us gets sea sick!
The benefit of the wind is that we have been making good time with average speeds of 6-6.5 but we have been seeing up to 8 knots on the meter!
We are staying in contact with the other 2 boats by VHF as we are close enough together so we do not need to use the SSB. We are sharing our coordinates with each other and of course any weather information that we receive.
Our daily total as of 10:30AM was 125 nm (nautical miles). We have been going in and out of rain this AM, but hopefully we will be getting into some blue sky ahead. Looks like today will probably be somewhat of a repeat of yesterday with wind and waves so we will just have to roll with it.
It is now 4:30PM and the wind is up again - now to 30 knots so had to reduce sail again. We have to look on the bright side - the sun is out! We are doing fine, just wish it would calm down some to make the ride alittle more comfortable. Oh well...
Take care & we will keep in touch.
Bob & Janice
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The benefit of the wind is that we have been making good time with average speeds of 6-6.5 but we have been seeing up to 8 knots on the meter!
We are staying in contact with the other 2 boats by VHF as we are close enough together so we do not need to use the SSB. We are sharing our coordinates with each other and of course any weather information that we receive.
Our daily total as of 10:30AM was 125 nm (nautical miles). We have been going in and out of rain this AM, but hopefully we will be getting into some blue sky ahead. Looks like today will probably be somewhat of a repeat of yesterday with wind and waves so we will just have to roll with it.
It is now 4:30PM and the wind is up again - now to 30 knots so had to reduce sail again. We have to look on the bright side - the sun is out! We are doing fine, just wish it would calm down some to make the ride alittle more comfortable. Oh well...
Take care & we will keep in touch.
Bob & Janice
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Tuesday, September 25, 2012
We Are On Our Way! Tuesday, September 25
Well, we finally did manage to get that weather window after tropical storm Nadine went through the Azores and we left Santa Maria at 10:30 UTC (Azore time) and headed toward Portugal. Our friends, Christa and Pascal on Titom started out ahead of us and another boat we know started out after us, but all are headed in the same direction. Today 7 boats left the marina - 3 going our way and 4 heading south toward the Canary Islands. We got more wind than we thought we would and definitely much higher waves. The wind has been hitting us forward of the beam running between 18-25 knots with seas 6-8' high making for a "sporty" ride. We had 1 reef in the main and our staysail out at first, then added our genoa later in the day once it became steady at 15-20 knots. The wind and waves were taken us south of our planned route, but now at 7PM we are able to get some speed and better direction. We have set it up to talk to 2 other boats on the SSB daily so that is always enjoyable to touch base with others while on a passage.
I will not be able to provide the daily numbers of miles until 10:30AM tomorrow, but as of now we have traveled 34 nautical miles of a 6 day trip. Dinner was simple as it is somewhat difficult to make a complicated meal when you are heeling 15 degrees! We also have to get back into the rhythm of a passage which usually takes a day or two.
Current details as of writing this at 7:15PM - location 36.51.133N, 24.22.430W, wind speed 13-15k, heading 112 degrees,hull speed 6-6.5 knots. This is much better than earlier in the day when we were averaging 4-4.5 knots due to the waves.
Update - we didn't get this sent before - it is now 11:30PM- the wind and waves evened out for a pleasant ride. Averaging 6 knots with great moonlight for our night passage. Location 36.50.805N, 23.53.105W now. I did call in and report our position in shiptrak so it should show up there as well.
Will write again tomorrow - best wishes from Bob & Janice (PS - Sailor is in her "sleeping position" on the setee - lower side of course!)
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I will not be able to provide the daily numbers of miles until 10:30AM tomorrow, but as of now we have traveled 34 nautical miles of a 6 day trip. Dinner was simple as it is somewhat difficult to make a complicated meal when you are heeling 15 degrees! We also have to get back into the rhythm of a passage which usually takes a day or two.
Current details as of writing this at 7:15PM - location 36.51.133N, 24.22.430W, wind speed 13-15k, heading 112 degrees,hull speed 6-6.5 knots. This is much better than earlier in the day when we were averaging 4-4.5 knots due to the waves.
Update - we didn't get this sent before - it is now 11:30PM- the wind and waves evened out for a pleasant ride. Averaging 6 knots with great moonlight for our night passage. Location 36.50.805N, 23.53.105W now. I did call in and report our position in shiptrak so it should show up there as well.
Will write again tomorrow - best wishes from Bob & Janice (PS - Sailor is in her "sleeping position" on the setee - lower side of course!)
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Tuesday, September 11, 2012
tsamaya
[s]
[c1]p:37°44.31'N:025°39.87'W
[c2]pd:000|0.0|-1.0|0-1
[d]2012-09-11 23:14Z
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[c1]p:37°44.31'N:025°39.87'W
[c2]pd:000|0.0|-1.0|0-1
[d]2012-09-11 23:14Z
----------
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tsamaya
[s]
[c1]p:37°44.31'N:025°39.87'W
[c2]pd:000|0.0|-1.0|0-1
[d]2012-09-11 23:14Z
----------
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[c1]p:37°44.31'N:025°39.87'W
[c2]pd:000|0.0|-1.0|0-1
[d]2012-09-11 23:14Z
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Changing to this Blog Again
Greetings!
We have changed back to this blog temporarily again so we can update you while we are making the crossing from the Azores to the mainland. We are hoping to make the crossing in 7 days if the weather cooperates! We were originally planning on going to Lisbon, however, we have now decided to head to Porto. The actual marina that we will be going to is across the river from Porto in the town of Gaia. We know people that were just at this marina and as it is a new marina the reports are excellent!
We will try hard to make a posting to this blog site daily so you will know where we are located and how it is going. We will not be able to post photos but as always will add those when we get to the mainland and have regular wi-fi again.
We will also try to call in to report our position daily to have it reported on shiptrak so you can check there as well. The site is www.shiptrak.org and you will need to enter our call sign of KC2TIU in order to find out what we have reported.
Take care & will update you as promptly as we can (hopefully daily) but don't worry if you don't hear from us each day!
Best wishes always!
Janice & Bob (and Sailor too)
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
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We have changed back to this blog temporarily again so we can update you while we are making the crossing from the Azores to the mainland. We are hoping to make the crossing in 7 days if the weather cooperates! We were originally planning on going to Lisbon, however, we have now decided to head to Porto. The actual marina that we will be going to is across the river from Porto in the town of Gaia. We know people that were just at this marina and as it is a new marina the reports are excellent!
We will try hard to make a posting to this blog site daily so you will know where we are located and how it is going. We will not be able to post photos but as always will add those when we get to the mainland and have regular wi-fi again.
We will also try to call in to report our position daily to have it reported on shiptrak so you can check there as well. The site is www.shiptrak.org and you will need to enter our call sign of KC2TIU in order to find out what we have reported.
Take care & will update you as promptly as we can (hopefully daily) but don't worry if you don't hear from us each day!
Best wishes always!
Janice & Bob (and Sailor too)
----------
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Saturday, June 30, 2012
Returning to our other blog
Now that we have been back on land for a few days, we have been catching up on some sleep, cleaning the boat, taking long walks exploring Lajes, comparing notes with other cruisers and getting tips on places to sail to in Europe. We will rent a car next week in order to explore more of the beautiful island of Flores - it has been a wonderful place to make landfall!
We are now switching back to our original blog site of www.mytb.org/s-v-tsamaya so for any future postings please check in there. If you had subscribed before you should continue to get email notifications of postings.
We are now switching back to our original blog site of www.mytb.org/s-v-tsamaya so for any future postings please check in there. If you had subscribed before you should continue to get email notifications of postings.
Monday, June 25, 2012
We Made It! June 25, 2012
Just a quick note to let you know that at 4:50PM EST we put our anchor down at 39.22.818N, 31.10.055W, otherwise known as the harbor at Lajes, Flores in the Azores. It was an amazing trip with lots of surprises, but we are safe and sound, though exhausted. We will provide details in the next entry. Our first order of business tomorrow will be to clean the boat, clean the clothes, clean us and hopefully we will have had a good full night's sleep tonight. All are safe and sound on Tsamaya!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Day 19 – Heading to Flores!
Yesterday wound up being a 137 mile day bringing our grand total of miles traveled to 2,327. It appears from everything we can see if everything goes as planned (ie – weather, etc) we should be safely in the marina at Flores by tomorrow afternoon. Time will tell. If we realize that we would be getting there after dark we will wait until the next morning as we will not enter at night.
Yesterday was not the most comfortable of days due to very large seas and high winds. We have resorted to having dinners out of a can as it makes it easy with very little clean up or effort as you have to strap yourself in to the galley so you don't get thrown around. It is an interesting way to cook! The funny thing is that we continue to see Sailor walking around seemingly without much effort going for water & food – she even comes by to remind us to pet her. She has gotten into the swing of the boat and as Bob says she is in a perfect position - very low to the floor with 2 extra feet to steady her.
Last night we got in to quite a squall. Previous to this we had 15 foot seas and winds generally at the 20-25 knot range. We knew that there were possibilities of some squalls so we were ready with severely reduced sail and our foul weather gear complete with sea boots on. It hit hard with lots of pounding rain and winds sustained at 30-35 with gust up into the low 40's. At this time our autopilot decided to blow a fuse so Janice held the wheel steady while Bob quickly went down to the nav station and replaced the fuse. Things were getting quite crazy so even decided to drop our mainsail. Only problem was that it wouldn't drop completely so we had to deal with it still being partial up, luckily it was de-powered. Once the squall was finishing we wanted to get the main sail back up so we could maintains stability and speed due to the high waves, but of course it wouldn't go up. Bob had to go forward (clipped on to the safety line of course) and found out that the line to the main sail was caught around 2 of the steps on the mast. We turned the boat into the wind, allowed the sail to straighten and pulled it back up. Turned around again, put out some of the genoa and got back on course. All of this took from about 10:15PM to midnight. Luckily we only had a few rain showers after that, but the night definitely took its toll. As Bob says, who needs an exercise program when you have these kinds of things happen where you are pulling in sails in heavy winds, manning the wheel without power all while trying to balance yourself in a heeling boat. The good thing was that we were able to handle it safely and everything is OK. This AM we have quite a bit of blue sky and at 5AM this morning we were able to change our heading from mainly north to a heading taking us directly to Flores in the Azores. The seas have reduced some but are still about 8-10 feet and we have winds of 20-22 knots giving us quite a pleasant sail. We keep wondering, why is it that it always seems that the squalls happen in the middle of very dark nights??
It is now 3PM EST and our position is 38.31N, 34.05W – we are moving along at about 7 knots with winds maintaining at 25-30 knots. At this rate it appears that we should make it to Flores about this same time tomorrow.
We figure it will take a couple of days just to clean the boat, inside and out and then of course it would be nice to have a full night of sleep for a change. Janice used to think she couldn't take naps – well, she has learned that you sleep when the schedule says you should as you never know if things will happen that you won't be able to get your next rest – always want to be prepared for the next wind gust, squall or just sitting on a pleasant evening of night duty. This trip has definitely covered the gammit from calm seas to raging ones. We just feel good about being able to handle them all and will be glad to have a few days in port before we move on again. Will be back in normal email contact when we reach the Azores so will also take some time to catch up on computer work as well as time to explore the island of Flores.
Best wishes to you all!
----
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Yesterday wound up being a 137 mile day bringing our grand total of miles traveled to 2,327. It appears from everything we can see if everything goes as planned (ie – weather, etc) we should be safely in the marina at Flores by tomorrow afternoon. Time will tell. If we realize that we would be getting there after dark we will wait until the next morning as we will not enter at night.
Yesterday was not the most comfortable of days due to very large seas and high winds. We have resorted to having dinners out of a can as it makes it easy with very little clean up or effort as you have to strap yourself in to the galley so you don't get thrown around. It is an interesting way to cook! The funny thing is that we continue to see Sailor walking around seemingly without much effort going for water & food – she even comes by to remind us to pet her. She has gotten into the swing of the boat and as Bob says she is in a perfect position - very low to the floor with 2 extra feet to steady her.
Last night we got in to quite a squall. Previous to this we had 15 foot seas and winds generally at the 20-25 knot range. We knew that there were possibilities of some squalls so we were ready with severely reduced sail and our foul weather gear complete with sea boots on. It hit hard with lots of pounding rain and winds sustained at 30-35 with gust up into the low 40's. At this time our autopilot decided to blow a fuse so Janice held the wheel steady while Bob quickly went down to the nav station and replaced the fuse. Things were getting quite crazy so even decided to drop our mainsail. Only problem was that it wouldn't drop completely so we had to deal with it still being partial up, luckily it was de-powered. Once the squall was finishing we wanted to get the main sail back up so we could maintains stability and speed due to the high waves, but of course it wouldn't go up. Bob had to go forward (clipped on to the safety line of course) and found out that the line to the main sail was caught around 2 of the steps on the mast. We turned the boat into the wind, allowed the sail to straighten and pulled it back up. Turned around again, put out some of the genoa and got back on course. All of this took from about 10:15PM to midnight. Luckily we only had a few rain showers after that, but the night definitely took its toll. As Bob says, who needs an exercise program when you have these kinds of things happen where you are pulling in sails in heavy winds, manning the wheel without power all while trying to balance yourself in a heeling boat. The good thing was that we were able to handle it safely and everything is OK. This AM we have quite a bit of blue sky and at 5AM this morning we were able to change our heading from mainly north to a heading taking us directly to Flores in the Azores. The seas have reduced some but are still about 8-10 feet and we have winds of 20-22 knots giving us quite a pleasant sail. We keep wondering, why is it that it always seems that the squalls happen in the middle of very dark nights??
It is now 3PM EST and our position is 38.31N, 34.05W – we are moving along at about 7 knots with winds maintaining at 25-30 knots. At this rate it appears that we should make it to Flores about this same time tomorrow.
We figure it will take a couple of days just to clean the boat, inside and out and then of course it would be nice to have a full night of sleep for a change. Janice used to think she couldn't take naps – well, she has learned that you sleep when the schedule says you should as you never know if things will happen that you won't be able to get your next rest – always want to be prepared for the next wind gust, squall or just sitting on a pleasant evening of night duty. This trip has definitely covered the gammit from calm seas to raging ones. We just feel good about being able to handle them all and will be glad to have a few days in port before we move on again. Will be back in normal email contact when we reach the Azores so will also take some time to catch up on computer work as well as time to explore the island of Flores.
Best wishes to you all!
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Saturday, June 23, 2012
Day 17 - A Surfing Day!
Just a quick follow up as I have the computer connected to get some weather information. It has been a wild ride today still with 13-15 foot seas and 25-30 knot winds with some gusts up to 35. Luckily even though it appears as if a wall of water is coming at you from the stern, they break and roll under the boat or occasionally decide to break on the side of the boat which provides a little wash down in the cockpit. Luckily those don't happen too often. We kept expecting squalls today as well but we would get very dark clouds rolling in and then they would go by without any rain which was fine with us.
We have been very happy to have bought some smartwool body shirts and pants as they are keeping us warm on our night watches. We then wear our foul weather gear and gloves to stay dry which has worked out well. Bob had teased me that we wouldn't be cold on the crossing and wouldn't need them - he admits he is happy now!
At 3PM our position is 36.55N, 35.11 W and we are starting to angle toward the Azores. We are estimating that we should be there by Monday but we aren't holding to that - time will tell.
Take care & best wishes
Janice & Bob
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We have been very happy to have bought some smartwool body shirts and pants as they are keeping us warm on our night watches. We then wear our foul weather gear and gloves to stay dry which has worked out well. Bob had teased me that we wouldn't be cold on the crossing and wouldn't need them - he admits he is happy now!
At 3PM our position is 36.55N, 35.11 W and we are starting to angle toward the Azores. We are estimating that we should be there by Monday but we aren't holding to that - time will tell.
Take care & best wishes
Janice & Bob
----
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