Erica

in the groove
 by Erica

ARC Race Casamara are in the groove – Day 8

In the Groove

Day 8 (not sure where Day 7 went!) and the Crew seem to be having a blast and getting in the groove!

Hi everyone,

Today has been another blue sky sailing day with great trade winds.  We have sailed nearly 1200 nm in a week and no engine.  We replaced the broken main sail batten which required a piece being hack sawed off and reconnected with a new connector.  We are running with main sail, solent and poled out genoa and have been experimenting with fine tuning to reduce rolling and wear and tear. We nearly lost the block on the end of the whisper pole but recovered it just in time.  We have now had three Dorado fish on board and they are getting bigger and bigger.  We are all having showers and Iain keeps washing his smalls at an alarming rate.  Iain is doing lots of sextant sights and I have had a go as well but boy is it difficult!  Crew spirit is high and the music has been blaring out and we are getting in the groove.  I am now going off watch now and to bed! SP

 Food wise today, we planned for a Sunday roast, so started out with cereals, fresh fruit and some delicious yoghurt for breakfast. Lunch was indeed roast pork with all the trimmings, accompanied with roast potatoes (of course) and some fine beans and fresh broccoli!  We sat down to enjoy it at around 2.30pm GMT and spend the next three hours talking life stories whilst it all went down.

The members of our crew are all so diverse in their life experiences and fascinating when they get going.  The feeling of camaraderie and shared adventure that we collectively feel, is making for a truly wonderful experience!

Having tested all the GN Espace equipment in the factory numerous times, especially the marine cooker, I knew I had good equipment on board to be able to turn out so good meals and I have been extremely impressed with it’s performance at all levels.  The gas consumption is extremely economical as expected and doing a roast is, along with other more complicated dishes effortless!  Truly does deliver home from home cooking capabilities on board. JK 

So Julian’s Tahitian lure must have done the trick!

If you have just joined us please look back over the previous posts to catch up with Casamara’s sailing adventures during the ARC Race.  To see their position please use the World Cruising Club’s Fleet Viewer

in the groove

Image: Sextant courtesy of El Bibliomata’s Photostream

in Events
a fish
 by Erica

Day 6 – A fish as last for Casamara’s Crew

 A Fish, a fish, my kingdom for a fish!

A fish at last for Casamara’s crew to feast upon.

Hi everyone,

As you can see from our track we are now going west having come South to avoid the wind hole.  We will be on this tack for circa 1700nm having done over a 1000nm is just 6 days.

After the challenges of the genoa shackle and mast climbing yesterday we have had a quiet day sitting in the sun and chilling out – this is after all trade wind sailing!

Tim caught a fish, our first fish a small Dorado – a good looking fish and we will have this for supper! yummee.

We are going to try the parasailor tomorrow!

Simon P

Hi everyone, just taking a break from making bread and nursing a few bruises to update you on the menu, which today, since we have not had to do the Casamara mast impression on the Cirque De Soleil is back on track! We treated ourselves to a full English breakfast today with lots of orange juice and filter coffee, followed by a lunch of tomato,onion and avocado salad with balsamic, warm baguettes, cheese and assorted pate’s. I have filleted the fish, a Dorado Tim caught earlier on a hand line and following a consensus of the best way to taste such fresh line caught Atlantic fish, will simply pan cook that tonight in a little butter on the hob and serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon! My mouth is watering just writing about it. Before I get back to my bread making though, I should just add that we have now lost three, maybe 4 lures, with another big strike again on the rod around lunchtime, taking not only the weights and lure but this time most of the line as well!. There are some big fish out there that’s for sure!  Tomorrow we will change tactics again and go for our secret weapon, which is a beast of a lure, make up of all sorts of home made things and secured to a piece of rope, an old idea taught to me by a small Tahitian lad about twenty years ago, it worked back then in the Pacific, so will see what the Atlantic’s inhabitants make of it. JK 

No end to Julian’s talent huh?!

Image: A Fish, A Dorado (I hope this is the kind of Dorado you caught, much nicer looking than the other one I found on google which was grey and boring!)

a fish

To see the track that Casamara is following use the Fleet Viewer

And to see the specialised galley oven used to pan fry the Dorado visit GN Espace

 

in Events
mast
 by Erica

Day 5 – ARC Race heroes up the mast

Up the mast

Great excitement on Day 5, with mast shenanigans…

Hi Everyone,

Well we were going fine and Charlie and I were on watch commenting on how much fun this was when suddenly the genoa ended up in the water – pitch dark.   All hands on deck and we dragged the sail back on board, The Selden swivel shackle had failed (!!!!!!!!!). We waited until light and discussed a plan. The furler head was up the mast and we needed to get a line on it to haul it down.   First volunteer was Charlie who made a valiant effort.   Second volunteer was Paul who went for a mash and grab.   Third time lucky was Julian who with a different technique was a hero and got a line connected.  Charlie Paul and Julian are true heroes and I am lucky to have them on board.  This was a major task with 15 knots of wind and rolling seas.  Then we were able to pull the furler head down and haul the genoa back up and get underway.

Then the batteries got hot and would not accept the generator charge so we had to take the lids off and allow fresh air circulation.  We now have fully charged batteries!

 So we are all tired and will have early dinners! SP

Julian will now update you on gastro issues:

Well we had all kinds of plans today from baking fresh bread to catching enormous fish, but all seemed to go out of the window sometime slightly before the sun got up!

We ending up having bacon and beans in a sandwich for breakfast and little more than cheese and biscuits for lunch.  For slightly lucky but equally unnecessary reasons as detailed above, I have found myself with an evening off, so am looking forward to what will no doubt be a fantastic supper! from my fellow comrades.

 Despite this brief but equally challenging interlude, we will be back with a full culinary report as from tomorrow! and more news on our fishing tales and overdue successes! JK

What a hero Julian is turning out to be, cooking gastronomic delights on board and scaling masts!  One question though….were they Heinz Beans?!

mast

ARC Race progress can be seen at Fleet Viewer

Visit GN Espace to see the galley equipment Julian is using to cook up his bacon and bean sandwiches!

Image: “There’s bean a murder!” courtesy of robbophoto’s Photostream

 

in Events
ARC Race
 by Erica

ARC Race Update from Casamara

ARC Race Update

How exciting, Julian has sent in the first of what I hope to be many first-hand reports on the ARC Race (see previous post Creative Cuisine for the Casamara Crew).  Here it is:

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in Events
 by Erica

Creative Cuisine for the Casamara Crew

Creative Cuisine is possible on a long voyage.

Julian Kimberley Sailing Today Magazine’s cookery author and joint owner of GN Espace (pictured left above) is completing in this years ARC race on board Casamara, a Discovery 55.  We in the Lovesail office are very lucky to know Julian and he has agreed to send us updates from the race for our blog and about the creative cuisine he will be creating.

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in Events
 by Erica

Lovesail Competition

Autumn has definitely arrived in the South of England so time for a competition.

I am looking out of my window over the front garden, the sky is blue and the sun is peeking over the rooftops.  It is time to clear up the leaves that are falling from the Hornbeam.  November has also seen the delivery of a Lovesail dog, Milo a 10-week old Dalmatian puppy.

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in Events