<![CDATA[Sonas - News Feed]]> /sonas2010/index.rss Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:22:21 UTC 37:49:8N 000:15:2W /sonas2010/posts/2011/7/4/21-37-49-8n-000-15-2w
 
]]> Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:22:21 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/7/4/21-37-49-8n-000-15-2w (@author) That was hard work! /sonas2010/posts/2011/7/2/20-that-was-hard-work-
]]> Sat, 02 Jul 2011 06:56:23 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/7/2/20-that-was-hard-work- (@author) 36:08:9N 005:21:3W /sonas2010/posts/2011/7/2/19-36-08-9n-005-21-3w
 
]]> Sat, 02 Jul 2011 06:40:39 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/7/2/19-36-08-9n-005-21-3w (@author) So that was the Atlantic. /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/29/18-so-that-was-the-atlantic-
Position 36:52:1N 008:27:3W
 
Hello again.  Serious fun has been had in the past 36 hours. 
The Atlantic gave us a good send off with winds of up to 40 knots, 5 metre waves and a top speed of 12.6 knots.  It has been great to experience some real sailing again.  We have all have been grinning like Cheshire cats even though we have been getting soaked by spray.
 
However, all good things must come to an end and we are now sailing with a much more sensible 15 knots of wind.  Although the evening watch was slightly more eventful than any of us would have liked.  The kamikaze container ship was my favorite.  It seemed no matter what, those guys wanted to cause an accident.  We even tried shining the searchlight at the bridge but it seems Stevie Wonder was on watch.  Once we were through the TSS, the general consensus was that it was going to be a nice easy morning.  Not a chance!  It seems that our welcoming commitee, which consisted of the entire Portuguese fishing fleet, were in full force and also seemed to have a death wish.  Never a dull day.
 
Anyways, at the moment we can see the Portuguese coastline and its shaping up to be a nice warm day.  If the wind keeps doing its thing, we expect to be in Gibraltar mid afternoon tomorrow.
 
Until then.
 
James
]]> Wed, 29 Jun 2011 08:12:32 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/29/18-so-that-was-the-atlantic- (@author) 37:24:4N 011:06:6W /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/28/17-37-24-4n-011-06-6w
 
]]> Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:26:03 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/28/17-37-24-4n-011-06-6w (@author) Does my stern look big in this? /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/27/16-does-my-stern-look-big-in-this-
Position: 37:52:4N 015:00:1W
 
Hello again. I trust you all enjoyed Rich's last blog entry. I for one am still getting over the hilarity of it. Well its hard not to when you are reminded of it every watch! Happy days :)
 
Its a lovely sunny day today and we are sailing along nicely thanks to the Portuguese trades. We must be looking good again, as another vessel swooped in for a look. This big CMA-CGM container vessel altered course to come and say hi. They would of passed around half a mile away but ended up slowing down about 30 metres off our starboard side. It was just about enough time for the officers and deck crew to wave and shout.  Then just as bizarrely as they had turned up, the captain floored it and returned to her original course. Weird.
 
 
Other than that, it looks like we will be arriving in Gibraltar in the next 3-4 days, where we will refuel and then onto Mallorca.
 
Until then!
 
James
]]> Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:47:49 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/27/16-does-my-stern-look-big-in-this- (@author) Chug Chug /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/26/15-chug-chug
Position 38:02:09N    017:05:68W
 
After a good start on leaving the Azores we have been trying to motor our way clear of the Azores High for the past 36 hours and now seem to be getting the payoff with winds building as expected from the North, hopefully they should reach  a F5 or 6 as over the next couple of days before easing again once through the Gibraltar straits.
 
I had wanted to do the rest of the journey without anymore stops but a combination of the fueling dock in Horta only taking cash and the banks setting a limit of Eur200 per day meant that we left a little light on fuel, especially if we have to do much motoring in the Med. So a quick stop in Gib to refuel before the final leg.
 
Just noticed that yesterday marked 4 weeks since leaving Antigua with about a week or so left to run to Mallorca, think that w're all pretty happy with that considering the light breezes that have been the major characteristic of the voyage.
 
So after 4 weeks we're all still getting along, (mostly!) and I haven't found it necessary to abuse the crew (much!). All the more amazing when I have done this trip mostly tobacco free (yes intentionally this time) 
Anyone who knows me will know how unlikely this sounds but I think that the crew have enjoyed the frisson of danger that comes with being on a boat in the middle of an ocean with a nicotine free me.
 
James has even tried to up the risk element by adding a little sleep deprivation into the mix.
My favourite was when I was dragged up on deck at 02:30 to offer my opinion on how to avoid some shipping. This is a common enough occurance and I actually sleep a lot more soundly if I'm confident that the watchkeeper will call me as soon as they have any doubts as to the correct course of action and normally I enjoy the teaching opportunity and then go back to bed and sleep within a couple of minutes, which was exactly what I expecting the night before last when I was woken with "Rich can you come and have a look at this ship? It's getting really close but not showing up on radar." One glance told me all I needed to know and I did my best to put James' fears to rest.
Me       "Don't worry, it's not coming anywhere near us."
James  "but how can you be so sure? you've only glanced at it for a second and why isn't it showing up on radar?
Me      "Well.. it's a bit further away than you think"
James  "Are you sure? it seems very big and it's not even showing up when the radar is set to maximum range"
Me       "No it probably wouldn't, it's more than 24 miles away"
James  "It must be massive then. How can you be so sure?
Me      "Because it's the bloody moon! Night night I'm off back to bed."
 
Which is exactly where I'm going now.
 
Night night all.
 
 
    
]]> Sun, 26 Jun 2011 21:25:04 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/26/15-chug-chug (@author) That was Horta, this is the sea. /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/24/14-that-was-horta-this-is-the-sea-
Position 38:24N 022:28W
 
Back on the water after a well deserved rest in Horta. I have to say it is a place that is well worth visiting, as are the rest of the Azorean islands.  It was quite busy in there for this time of year, according to Rich.  Apparently during peak season over 2000 yachts descend upon Faial, which is quite impressive especially when you see the size of the island and then Horta!  Then you have to make an obligatory stop at Peters bar where all of the yachties hang out, drinking to much and over exaggerating their stories of the sea. After our departure, we sailed past the islands of Pico, Graciosa, Sao Jorge and Terceira.  We caught a very brief glimpse of Sao Miguel in the distance and then....back to the sea and sky!
 
So far the wind has been really kind to us.  However, it has been dropping in the past few hours and expect to be motoring for the next 24 - 36 hours.  After that it is looking pretty good, with decent wind coming out of the north.  Hopefully we should be in Mallorca by the end of next week.  Other than that nothing much to report, apart from a Greek tanker playing chicken with us just after lunch.
 
Just one last thing, if you ever get the chance to watch the new Robin Hood movie, don't.  Despite time tending to drag at times, I think that it was the worst 2 hours 29 minutes and 27 seconds that I have ever had to endure.  Badly cast, slow pacing, boring story.....need I continue.  I shall be watching the Kings Speech next and will let you know my thoughts on that!
 
Until next time.
 
James
]]> Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:22:49 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/24/14-that-was-horta-this-is-the-sea- (@author) 37:43:5N 34:01:7W /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/13/13-37-43-5n-34-01-7w
 
]]> Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:09:45 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/13/13-37-43-5n-34-01-7w (@author) Two weeks /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/12/12-two-weeks
36:49:7N 037:30:2W
 
We are getting tantilisingly close to the Azores now, reading about 420 nm to Horta.  Over that past couple of days there has been little wind and had been trundling along at a little under 5 knots.  However, we are currently goosewinged, bombing along at 7-8 knots, which has lifted spirits.  I finally managed to catch something on the fishing line but it broke. So it must have been at least 200lbs, probably more.
 
Other than that, we are all looking forward to drinking the island dry of gin.  Hopefully the next blog entry will be from Horta and we will all make a concerted effort to make sure it is typed before the pub.
 
James
 
 
]]> Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:04:57 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/12/12-two-weeks (@author) Day 11 - 12 /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/9/11-day-11-12
Position 33:39:90N 44:49:20W
 
After a run of at least nine hours, averaging 8 knots, the wind died! So here we are again motorsailing!  However, spirits are high thanks to a combination of Benedikt's bizarre jokes (while wondering what the Hoff would do in this situation) and Rich taking the piss out of my thermals, jealousy can be an ugly thing!
 
Aside from that we are chipping away at the miles and are all looking forward to arriving at Horta.
 
James
 
PS. Ninky, Thanks for the recipe, sorry I can't receive photos at sea will download it over a much anticipated G&T in Horta.
]]> Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:53:52 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/9/11-day-11-12 (@author) 32:04:70N 48:40:30W /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/7/10-32-04-70n-48-40-30w
 
]]> Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:16:39 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/7/10-32-04-70n-48-40-30w (@author) Day 9 /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/6/9-day-9
Position 31:10:10N 050:53:80W
 
 
We were all very pleased yesterday afternoon and evening when we hurling along between 7.5 to 8 knots.  Unfortunatey, this didn't last and we are now motorsailing again!  I have given up on fishing for the meantime after the whole bird fiasco.  However, there is always the celestial nav to keep us busy.  Today I forgot the most important rule of using the sextant, always put filters over the lens when you point it at the sun.  I am happy to report that the blindness was only temporary.  Thankfully this all occured whilst Benedikt was showering in the cockpit, so to everything there is a silver lining!
 
Aside from that it has been a pretty uneventful day.  Plenty of sun, motoring and the sound of Rich's laughter bellowing randomly from his cabin.  Until next time.
 
James
]]> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 20:54:14 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/6/9-day-9 (@author) Day 8 /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/5/8-day-8
Position 30:26:3N 053:12:6W
 
Heading ENE
 
Dawn of day 8 at sea and as the blanket of stars faded with the rising sun the wind finally started to increase and veer to the South allowing us to have a long awaited break from the sound of the engine rumbling away and set a course towards the Azores.
 
It didn't last very long 10 hours later and the donkey is once again at work as the breeze has fallen.
 
James continues with the fishing efforts undeterred by losing another lure yesterday, I'm sure that the fish are keeping them as jewellery.
 
Our progress Northwards has been marked by a couple of changes. Longer days and the vast fields of Sargasso weed have cleared to leave armadas of Portuguese men of war sailing towards the East with us.
 
The skies have continued clear which has helped James with celestial nav work although some shortcomings in the arithmetic haven't helped with the final results so far but he has assured me that we are in the Northern hemisphere.
 
 
Thanks to the people who have sent emails to the crew, it's always good to get messages from friends and family while we're out here.
 
  
 
]]> Sun, 05 Jun 2011 18:42:29 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/5/8-day-8 (@author) Becalmed! /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/4/7-becalmed-
James and I have absolutely no idea what Benedikt wrote in the blog but can see our names in there. Worrying.
 
Well, at 15:00 today it we will have been at sea for a week and if anything the wind has dropped away even more, feeling very glad to have taken on a large fuel load before leaving Antigua, we all agree  that we wouldn't like to have done this in the true age of sail, the horses would have gone over the side a couple of days ago. The weather downloads are still showing that we should be getting some more wind but nothing yet, despite all the motoring hours we still have 3/4 of the fuel we left with so I'm not too concerned at at the moment.
 
Update on the fishing efforts. We had a catch yesterday, unfortunately it was a bird, one of the Shearwaters which have been following along with us. After stopping the boat Benedikt reeled it in and James disentangled the line while I held the bird still, we were all glad to see it still following us an hour later with no apparent lasting damage, just a few mangled feathers.
 
Other than that not much to report apart from getting James started on celestial nav with his first sun sights taken yesterday.
 
 
 
]]> Sat, 04 Jun 2011 13:58:12 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/4/7-becalmed- (@author) Day 6 -7 /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/4/6-day-6-7
Position 29:10:2N 055:18:2W
 
Gestern nachmittag hat sich ein Vogel mit seinem rechten Fluegel in der Fischleine verfangen. Es war ein Manx Shearwater (puffinus puffinus) - keine Ahnung, wie die bei uns genannt werden. Ich ziehe ihn moeglichst schnell ans Boot heran und Rich nimmt den Wind aus den Segeln und schaltet den Motor in den Leerlauf, da der Vogel sonst zu ertrinken droht. Mit beiden Haenden schliesslich haelt ihn Rich fest: Der Vogel ist ruhig, haelt still und James befreit ihn von der Leine. Zurueck im Wasser macht er sogleich die ersten Schlaege, wirkt quicklebendig und fliegt wenige Augenblicke danach wieder uebers Wasser, ganz knapp an der Oberflaeche, so wie es die Eigenart dieser Voegel ist; ohne richtig emporzusteigen holt er sich mit wenigen Schlaegen Schwung, eine Handbreit ueber dem Wasser taucht er in das naechste Wellental ein und gleitet weiter ueber den Kamm der naechsten Welle hinweg. 
"Hast du gesehen, wie die zwei Voegel aus der Gruppe bei ihm gelbieben sind, als er sich verfing und du ihn hergezogen hast?", sagte Rich mir zugewandt. "Ja, ist mir auch gleich aufgefallen! Duerften zueinandergehoeren...", antworte ich ihm. 
Eine Stunde spaeter - die Gruppe folgt uns schon den ganzen Tag, die Tage zuvor war es immer nur ein Vogel - sehen wie wieder jenen Vogel, der sich verfangen hatte, leicht zu erkennen, am noch immer etwas mitgenommenen Federkleid. Diesen Voegeln zuzusehen ist ein schoenes Erlebnis, und beeindruckend. Warum sie so knapp ueber Wasser gleiten, ist uns dreien aber ein Raetsel. Jagen haben wir sie dabei all die Tage nie gesehen. Fliegen sie einen Bogen, so scheinen sie jedenfalls ein regelrechtes Vergnuegen daran zu haben, mit einer Fluegelspitze nur hauchduenn ueber dem Wasser bleiben ohne es dabei - obwohl das Auge staendig damit rechnet - jemals zu beruehren.
 
Eine weiteres kurisoses Ereingis stellte sich uebrigens vorgestern Nacht ein. Zum ersten Mal in meinem Leben habe ich von der Kronenzeitung getraeumt. Ich sah sie zunaechst aus dem Augenwinkel auf dem Korbseller einer Hotelbar liegen, in der ich zu welchen Anlass auch immer, mit jemanden Konversation gefuehrt habe. Ich erkannte sie am Fernsehprogramm auf deren Rueckseite. Als ich meinen Gespraechspartner endlich loswerde, gebe ich mich dem Vergnuegen hin, greife danach und beginne zu lesen, wobei sich ein wonniges Gluecksgefuehl in mir ausbreitet. So endete dieser Traum. Heute, beim Schreiben dieser Zeilen, bin ich mir nicht ganz sicher, ob der Traum davon herruehrt, dass ich vielleicht heimweh habe oder dass ich, ob der seit drei Tagen mit wenigen Ausnahmen anhaltenten Flaute, leicht wahnsinnig geworden bin...
 
Benedikt
 
 
 
?????
 
Rich      
]]> Sat, 04 Jun 2011 13:26:36 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/4/6-day-6-7 (@author) Day 4 -5 /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/3/5-day-4-5
Position 27:27:0N 056:38:4W
 
Still headingNNW - NNE, Winds still light and variable.
 
Tuesday saw us leave the tropics behind or rather it didn't see us because we left under a shroud of grey skies and rain with very poor visibility.
Which was just when the only ships we've seen since leaving Antigua turned up, 5 in the space of 2 watches! Not for the first time, I'm grateful for the invention of Radar.
Since then the skies have cleared and the sunshine returned at dawn yesterday and has been with us since.
Our progress Northward although not fast is noticeable, the nights are now cooler, cool enough to make a fleece necessary, each night Polaris climbs a little higher above the horizon and the daylight hours grow longer.
 
At first the ocean seems like a featureless place there is some wildlife. We're often accompanied by birds which sometimes follow us for hours at a time. Atlantic spotted dolphins ride the bow wave, each dawn brings a new haul of flying fish on the deck (just in time for breakfast) and yesterday morning we witnessed the awe inspiring spectacle of a great whale breaching 400 metres from the boat, quite close enough.
The one thing all this diverse fauna has in common is that they seem to be invisible to cameras.
 
 
Time to sign off now, I can hear the sails calling for attention.
 
Crew of Sonas
 
By the way if anyone want's to send any messages to the crew they can send plain messages with no attachments or pictures at 
 
sonas2010 {CHANGE TO AT} mailasail {DOT} com
 
 
 
 
 
 
]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:35:32 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/6/3/5-day-4-5 (@author) Days 2 - 3 /sonas2010/posts/2011/5/30/4-days-2-3
Position 22:34:1N 058:38:7W
 
Sill heading generally NNE
 
It's still hot during the days even through some very heavy rain squalls, Benedikt's example in  finding the most appropriate clothing to cope with the conditions has not been followed by James or myself.
 
 
You can see why.
 
Progress towards the Azores has been hampered by the generally light conditions but we have made steady progress with a few bursts of good speed when the wind does pick up and I'm still hoping to arrive around the 12th -14th.
 
James, our fishing "expert" has had the rod out during the day, the score so far being, fish 1, James nil. The fish scoring their point by swimming off with our best lure, this has spurred James into upping his game by putting out 3 lures on one line thereby increasing his chances of a catch, I did point out that it also increases the likelihood of a fish hat trick! but he remains optimistic that we will be having a fish supper soon.
 
Life on board has settled into an easy routine with watches being run as 3 hours on, 6 off, the watches pass quickly as we are kept focused on maintaining best speed through frequent tweaks to the sail trim and course to cope with the variable wind conditions. Yesterday I started showing James the rudiments of celestial navigation horizon to horizon cloud cover today has meant that we've had to put this on hold until we catch a glimpse of the sun again. 
 
All the best from the crew of Sonas.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
]]> Mon, 30 May 2011 20:27:00 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/5/30/4-days-2-3 (@author) Day 1 /sonas2010/posts/2011/5/29/3-day-1
Escorted by a pair of dolphins we departed Falmouth harbour at 15:15 local time yesterday, and now are in posn 18:59:2N 60:29:6W.
Which means that we have covered over 150 miles since leaving, not bad really since there is a large area of relatively high pressure which is giving us some very light and variable breezes.
Consequently the engine has been chugging away almost continuously since leaving. On the plus side, that has allowed us to have the watermaker on long enough to fill the tanks and also to get the main fridge cold enough to explode Coke cans.
I'm glad to say that Shipwrights at Woodstock and the Riggers at Antigua rigging seem to have done an excellent job of the repairs carried out in Antigua, it's reassuring to have a solid deck and a furler which runs smoothly.
The fishing efforts have started and so far it looks as though scurvy is not going to be a problem as we seem to be very adept at catching sea vegetables. (No takers so far)
Apart from that everyone is settling back into the routine of life at sea and keeping a watch system.
R
 
Hey folks! First message of crew member Benedikt on Sonas: To my mother, my father, my sisters, the whole familiy and all the friends - it's an easy journey so far. I hope we will find more wind in the north. See you in July and all the best.
 
B 
 
 
]]> Sun, 29 May 2011 21:22:16 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/5/29/3-day-1 (@author) We're away /sonas2010/posts/2011/5/28/2-we-re-away
Bit later than originally planned but we're finally away at 15:00 local time, 20:00 GMT
 
 
 
 
]]> Sat, 28 May 2011 18:34:04 UTC /sonas2010/posts/2011/5/28/2-we-re-away (@author)