Genoa

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
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