17.04.187N  61.53.039W

Week 3 and we have arrived in Antigua 5125 miles since leaving Sandwich.

 

Whale sighted.

Sat Jan 14 2023

 

We have just sighted a whale alongside. About 5 meters long, grey on top with a small dorsal fin about 2/3 of the way along its back. White flippers and belly. Not sure what species it is but it has been swimming alongside in front and behind us for 0ver 30 minutes now.

Amazing experience, everyone is very happy to say hello

 

Whales, Olives and Flying Fish

Sun Jan 15 2023

 

Yesterday I gave a quick update on a whale alongside, today I can update a bit more. We have still no idea what make and model of whale they were, we will have to wait until we get ashore to research that. A single whale came up behind us about 20 to 50 meters off and then tracked along our port side before cutting under the bow and appearing on starboard. It was very sedate and completely nonaggressive unlike the Orca. It continues to shadow us always keeping 20 to 50 meters clear which was very decent of it I thought. Needless to say, we were all on the rail woo wooing every time we saw it. After 30 minutes or so it disappeared only to come back onto the stern again 15 minutes later but this time with a slightly smaller one in company. They stayed alongside us for at least 2 hours and what a privilege that was, wonderful animals and so graceful in the water.

 

Best picture that we managed to get of the Minke Whale

 

That was the excitement for the afternoon anyway. Later in the day Jan provided the excitement when he brought a bowl of black olives into the cockpit. What a treat I thought but before I could reach out the bowl slid off the bench and scattered black olives all over the cockpit floor. Now Spectra has a rather nice, varnished teak grate in the cockpit and would you believe it the holes in the grate are exactly olive size. After two or three rolls of the boat all of the olives had found their way through the grate and could be seen rolling back and forth just out of reach. Jan, Norma, and myself managed to get the grates off the floor, no easy feat in a rolling seaway and recovered all of the olives. Next step, wash them all over in the sink downstairs and try again. I would like to say they were as good as new, but I have to admit one or two had definitely gained a woolly overcoat so eat with caution was the byword of the day.

At 2000 hours the wind started to do funny things, dropping to 15 knots before accelerating up to 25 repeatedly. I decided to drop a reef into the mainsail as a precaution and a good job I did because no sooner was it in that the wind was up to 30 knots and we were crashing along with phosphorescence cascading from our bows. I was on deck while Jan worked the mainsheet and wheel from the cockpit, halfway through the procedure he was assisted by a flying fish that plopped into the cockpit next to him and started flapping around. Soon enough the fish was back in the water and the reef was in the sail, oh and of course the wind dropped to a steady 20 knots where it remained for the rest of the night.

That’s it for the day really and it was a good one, we managed 163 Miles all in the right direction, ate well, sunbathed, and had some memorable interactions with nature.

As off 1230 today we are under 500 miles to go, and I am already tasting the beer.

 

A passing ship taken through the lens of the binoculars.

 

A perfect night’s sail under the stars

Mon Jan 16 2023

 

Last night Shaun cooked a really fine Sunday roast. Lamb chops veg, roasted garlic and all the trimmings. Unfortunately, the rich lamb and gravy was too much for Hannah’s nearly full-time vegetarian constitution and she did an over the rail redistribution. Four 5-star recommendations and one 2 is still not a bad result Shaun. After the meal we all gathered in the cockpit and chatted for a couple of hours before individuals drifted off to their bunks to get some sleep in before the night shifts started in earnest. All in all, it was a rather pleasant end to a rather pleasant day.

The moon has now waned to a half moon which doesn’t come up until the wee hours of the morning. This gives the stars the opportunity to shine and last night they took full advantage. Literally millions of stars twinkled above with satellites tracking their courses across the sky all perfectly clear and oh so bright. Under starlight alone you could clearly see the horizon at 0100 in the morning as Spectra trundled along at a stead 7 knots. After a quick poll of the night’s experiences, it seems that no one touched a sail or adjusted the course for the entire night, we just glided through the water with barely a roll, in short it was probably the best night sail I have ever had.

This morning and we were all up by 8 O’clock and chatting in the cockpit again awaiting Norma’s promised scrambled eggs and fresh bread for breakfast. It was a long wait, and my spine was definitely visible as it pushed against my belly button by the time the first plateful arrived at 0930. Like a swarm of locusts, the scrambled eggs were devoured with gusto followed by, Jam, marmalade, peanut butter, chocolate spread or marmite on toast according to individual your preferences.

We are currently 365 miles to go to our waypoint which is halfway down the coast of Antigua and the ETA lottery is getting hot. As the predicted low winds have now been removed from the forecast and replaced by 12 knots from the Southeast the betting is wide open. The stats are as follows.

18th 09:00 Chris (too early unless the wind really picks up)

18th 12:00 Paul (Unlikely just a bit too far to go and the winds dropping)

18th 18:00 Shaun (probably favourite at the moment)

18th 21:00 Jan (A sneaky choice I think based on the length of time from this guess to the next)

19th 16:00 Norma (If the wind dies this could still be a late finisher)

19th 20:00 Hannah (This is just being pessimistic)

As I said the finish line is halfway down the coast of Antigua. We picked that because when we arrive, we will have to go onto the customs quay and check in, then onto the fuel berth to top up, all before actually arriving on our reserved berth in Jolly harbour. With Norma’s ability to interpret the rules of any competition in her own unique way we decided that a clear finish line was needed. There is after all a snickers bar at stake here.

 

Zooming along with the mizzen staysail set

 

We must be getting close now as a round table top just floated by which is the first big piece of rubbish that we have seen this trip. On our last crossing floating plastic was a daily sight but that has been thankfully rare this time round. I somehow doubt that is a good sign for the planet more a case of a more northerly route and good luck on our part.

That’s it for the day, I had about 4 hours sleep last night so I’m going to lie down for an hour before my next shift.

Bye……

 

17 10.870n 59 50.398w

Under 100 miles to go

Wed Jan 18 2023

 

This morning we dropped below 100 miles to go, and we can almost taste that first beer on the dockside. I have updated the arrival lottery below.

18th 09:00 Chris (no chance now)

18th 12:00 Paul (likewise out of the running)

18th 18:00 Shaun (this would take a hurricane from behind to get there on time)

18th 21:00 Jan (very, very, very, unlikely)

19th 16:00 Norma (now the firm favourite)

19th 20:00 Hannah (if something goes wrong this could still win)

We had an awful night last night. The wind dropped to under ten knots and the swell caused Spectra to roll steadily from side to side. The result 3 to 4 knots boat speed and a constant rattle bang from the rigging disturbing all of us all night. One highlight of the night came around on Norma’s watch when she heard a whale venting nearby on the starboard side. Thirty minutes later another big vent happened to port and this time she could smell the fishy breath in the air, not nice at 0200 in the morning. She didn’t see it, but it was out there in the dark lurking somewhere.

This morning started with a glorious sun rise and it has got hot, damn hot already. The order of the day will be beautifying Spectra in readiness for her grand entrance to Jolly harbour. I received an email from Patricia at the marina this morning giving us information about the customs quay and the entrance to the marina.

By my calculations we should arrive tomorrow morning.

 

Arrived Jolly Harbour

Thu Jan 19 2023

 

We moored up alongside the customs quay in Jolly harbour at 0900 this morning.

 

Land Ahoy!

 

2655 nautical miles run

18 days and 21 hours

average speed 6.2 knots

customs clearance is slow and Norma is dealing with it as she smiles more than I do.

after this we will fuel up and then go to our berth in the marina for a few days.

After that ???

 

On the Dock