CoCo / ARC – Day 6

30/11/14 12:00 UTC

DIST SAILED: 1065 nm

DIST TOGO: 1621 nm

PRESENT SET: SPINNAKER

As per present routines the spinnaker went up at 0700 this morning and we’re now really making miles, directly along the course line to St Lucia. If the present conditions prevails we will be doing well today. A welcome change from the light winds and tricky conditions through the night. The little wind we came from behind, i.e. not enough angle to get stabilising pressure from the sails. Moreover, the swell has been much too large relative to the wind, meaning that we’ve had experienced some uncomfortable rolling. The rest of the fleet has probably experienced similar conditions so from a competitive point of view we believe we’re still in fairly good shape. As we have no real access to internet you guys at home have a much better view on our progress vs the fleet, than we have ourselves. The race committee sends us infrequent position reports, in a simple text file which is time consuming and wearisome to make sense of. The IT department has therefore made some scripts and graphs, to make the information visible in a meaningful form. Who knew that being able to program in Visual Basic is a useful skill on a cross-atlantic passage?

A while after lunch yesterday (scrambled eggs with beans, bacon and toast) we took down the spinnaker, as the wind temporarily increased to 23-25 knots. We are taking tender and loving care of our big sail after we tore our gennaker a few days ago. However, we are open to experimentation with other sail configurations, namely a boomed out cutter jib in combination with the genoa flying loose to leeward. This actually generated a decent airflow on all 3 sails, so we sailed with that set until nightfall, when we cleaned up and made watches a bit easier and thereby safer. Our system of ‘day/race mode’ and ‘night mode’ has worked well so far, thanks to fair wind and angles through the night. Last night was complicated and really needed more hands on deck (purely from a competitive point of view), so we will discuss with the deckhand union ‘Spirit‘ this afternoon and propose some changes.

Otherwise, on our flying fish friend, I am embarrassed to report that rather than being given a decent sea burial, he ended up as bait in Ola’s fishing exercises. It may actually have been a good thing altogether, as some fresh fish would be pleasing to us all. Although the yell for ‘fish ON’ came through very clearly from the aft, not much was displayed. It’s always the biggest fishes that jump off, so the fishermen on board continue to try their luck. Some comments from management on drag and speed has luckily reduced the length of the line from 250 to 100 meters…

The weather is, as you may understand, a determining factor in how this passage is done. Although we are in a very stable weather system with small chances of surprise, we continue to monitor several times a day, and make course decisions on what seems to be lying ahead. To help us with that we have a satellite internet link from where we can download weather charts and GRIB files, the latter can be displayed directly in our navigation software enabling us to see our plot, projected course and forecasted conditions in the same picture. The ARC race committee also sends out daily weather forecasts to the fleet via email. Additionally, we have a very kind volunteer ashore who monitors the weather and the fleet, and sends us daily reports and views. He is of great help and comfort to us, and will be credited in a more formal form at a later stage.

For those of you following the fleet and ranking at the ARC website, note that the preliminary ranking is determined from the the boat’s distance to go, and only that. In the final ranking there will be two more variables. Firstly, because the boats taking part is of different sizes and shapes, we all have an individual time correction factor (TCF) which will be applied to our final sailing time. A slower boat will get her time reduced, relative to a bigger and faster boat. Most of the boats in front of us are bigger boats that naturally have a higher speed potential than we have. So, simply said, we don’t have to be ahead of them to beat them. The same applies the other way around, meaning that we may have smaller competitors too close on our tail to beat them on corrected time. Secondly, the use of engine is actually allowed for certain periods, but it is punished fairly hard by a complicated formula. It’s not until arrival and submission of individual declarations that this factor can be counted in. We have not used the engine for other than charging batteries, making fresh water and keeping the fridge and freezer cold. Since the engine has never been in gear and has not contributed to any forward propulsion, we can do as much as we need without penalty. Finally, bear in mind that the fleet is divided into race and cruising divisions, and in the cruise division there are a number of sub-divisions.

Most importantly at the moment; we are having a great time, everyone and the boat is in good shape, and we have a good weather forecast for the next couple of days. Happy første søndag i advent and best regards from the Atlantic Ocean!

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If you have any questions or comments you are welcome to contact us via SMS on 0088 162 141 6610. We will then set up a tread for you on our text msg system, which has unlimited use included. Your eventual comments on the blog itself will not be visible to us before our arrival on the other side.

CoCo / ARC – Day 5

29/11/14 12:00 UTC

DIST SAILED: 902 nm

DIST TOGO: 1790 nm

PRESENT SET: SPINNAKER

Variable winds the last 24 hrs. Yesterday afternoon was fairly fresh with NNE upto 22 knots. For ‘CoCo’ these conditions are excellent, as I have explained before. We were eating miles, something we hope to see a result from in today’s position report when available.

Dinner yesterday was therefore prepared at an angle of heel of close to 20 dg., hard work in a hot place. Especially when preparing ‘Salmon Symphony’, a delicious dish composed of salmon (of course), vegetables, potatoes, taste agents, stock, sauces, you name it. Everything wrapped in aluminium foil in generous individual servings, and baked in the oven. An absolute treat handed to us by Henrik and P jr. who’s skills in all departments continue to impress.

Talking of skills, one of ‘CoCo’s secrets to fast sailing is constant, fully focused hand steering. Despite sometimes resembling a 15 ton floating hotel, she is a very responsive sailing boat, and greatly rewards a constant eye on course, waves, wind angles and sail trim. ‘Seagull Johnathan’ loved flying and made it his life to optimise his movements in the air. We are trying to achieve the same thing here, and it is extremely pleasing to see how this ‘feel’ now quickly develops among the crew.

Into the evening and night yesterday, keeping the same sail set, we saw sudden drops in the wind and changing directions. It’s very difficult to keep the pace and not ‘stall’ under such conditions, which is why our helmsmen (all of us) have such an important job.

Otherwise the night was fairly uneventful, with the exception of two flying fish landing in the cockpit. They must have mistaken our navigation lights from their usual runway lights, and sadly, they wrecked. Because we did not discover them before daylight this morning, it was too late for both first aid and sushi. One of them is now hanging as a photo object until everyone has had a chance to capture it. After lunch we will give him a decent burial at sea.

At daybreak this morning, just before sunrise (0700), we hoisted the spinnaker and went into race mode. We immediately started to gain on a couple of competitors in the neighbourhood, very inspiring indeed.

The forecast for the next 36 hrs indicate continued light winds (10-15 knots) from NNE, gradually veering towards E and increasing to around 20 knots. We are well positioned for this, so on a global level we have stopped thinking about north/south positioning, and concentrate on a straight course and optimising boat speed.

To keep a day look like a day, we have started to change the ship clock with the sun. Yesterday we moved to UTC +1 (2 hrs after Oslo), adding 30 minutes to the two evening watches. For all our navigation, communication and ‘official’ purposes, we remain operating at UTC.

Good health and spirits all around, and shorts and T-shirts 24/7 from now on.

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If you have any questions or comments you are welcome to contact us via SMS on 0088 162 141 6610. We will then set up a thread for you on our text msg system, which has unlimited use included. Your eventual comments on the blog itself will not be visible to us before our arrival on the other side.

CoCo /ARC – Day 4

28/11/14 12:00 UTC

DIST SAILED: 720 nm

DIST TOGO: 1970 nm

PRESENT SET: GENOA REACHING

Another decent 24 hr run. After a good pasta salad lunch yesterday (ala P jr.) we continued with spinnaker until 1600 hrs. At that time the wind had backed to N-NW, and we went into a tight genoa reach, which is still ongoing. Similar conditions are forecasted for the next 24 hours, before we get more into the easterly winds. ‘CoCo’ can be fairly long-legged in these conditions, something we hope to see on the polls over the coming days.

With a sail set like this the boat moves gently, goes fast and is easily handled, even by a skeleton crew. Yesterday afternoon gave time for household and office work, plus a lot of relaxation for everyone. Some small maintenance and preventive work on the bow fitting after dark, and under water, brought Brian and Peter back into Skaw Race mode for a short period of time.

Ola, perhaps missing his boardroom roles, has taken on a different kind of leadership. Yesterday he organised the crew in his new formed trade union named ‘Spirit’. There were immediate attempts to renegotiate salaries, but in the end a new tariff was agreed with the only alteration from present that changing of watch shall take place 03:00, 09:00, 15:00, and 21:00, rather than on the hour before. A reasonable compromise, and ‘CoCo’ very much remains the ‘Happy Ship’ she always was.

Dinner yesterday was a pleasant mix of minced beef and rice, intended to resemble something called chili con carne. Ola and Sebastian get the credit for that one. A great meal, and we were even allowed a ration of beer to wash it down.

At 0900 hrs this morning we dropped below 2000 nm togo, something which was celebrated with yet another egg/bacon breakfast, prepared by Henrik.

Otherwise everyone is in excellent mental and physical condition!

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If you have any questions or comments you are welcome to contact us via SMS on 0088 162 141 6610. We will then set up a tread for you on our text msg system, which has unlimited use included. Your eventual comments on the blog itself will not be visible to us before our arrival on the other side.

CoCo / ARC – Day 3

27/11/14 12:00 UTC

DIST SAILED: 541 nm

DIST TOGO: 2160 nm

PRESENT SET: SPINN

We’ve had a good 24 hr run. Later today we will receive position reports to see if the same applies for the rest of the fleet.

Yesterday afternoon we sailed on a steady course towards St Lucia, mostly using our genakker. The wind was gusting to about 23 knots, and in a snap the sail came down as a result of a broken fastening strip between the sail and the halyard. Fairly exciting, with 200 sq. of clothing in the water, but very quick and professional action from everyone made for a safe recovery of the (very wet) sail. After some repair we put it back up, and continued our fresh ride. Unfortunately, only to the point of a minor broach, which overloaded the sail. This time it came down in pieces. Our genakker is now beyond self-repair, but it should be possible to get it operational with the help of a sail maker on the other side. Lesson learned – we are now very careful with our spinnaker…

Through the evening and night we were however lucky with wind and angles, and for most of the time we have been able to keep good speeds with our genoa. We had some rain overnight, just short periods, and temperatures below our expectations.

Our new watch system works well, everyone is getting more sleep, AND the boat is run better! This morning people were taking showers and cleaning cabins, a good sign of batteries in shape.

At daybreak today we went back into race mode and got the spinnaker up, but not before Brian had served everyone generous helpings of egg, toast and bacon. We have enjoyed a very sunny and pleasant morning, although the winds are yet again dropping a bit for us.

The great Atlantic (Azores) high pressure is very stable, and we will, within the next 24 hrs, be firmly in the easterly winds on its south side. From then on it will be less tricky as far as strategy and routing goes.

Otherwise all well with everyone onboard.

CoCo / ARC – Day 2

26/11/14 12:00 UTC
DIST SAILED: 315 nm
DIST TOGO: 2350 nm
PRESENT SET: SPINN

A slower 24 hrs than previous. We kept the spinnaker up until 23:00 hrs last night to try to compensate for a calm afternoon and night. Our original plan to get into night mode at 20:00 was waived, and today we have made some adjustments to the watch system to cater for longer periods of racing mode, and at the same time ensure a more (or less) stable rest pattern. We sail and we learn.

Through the night, despite a lack of pressure, a favourable wind angle gave us the opportunity to position ourselves a bit further south, based on new devevelopments in the weather. Small things in a big picture, but to evaluate, discuss and act on such issues keeps us all focused, and it’s fun!

This morning saw more wind. The spinnaker is still up, and with Henrik at the helm we logged 13.5 knots in a great surf on a decent atlantic wave. So far the voyage record. As our first in class position slipped this morning, everyone is eager to fight.

(Before the above sentence was completed the writer was interrupted by a call for all hands on deck. The wind went to 25 kn with a sharpening angle and it was safest to take the spinnaker down.)

Even without the spinnaker CoCo is making good progress, and we now have planty of spare hands to prepare lunch.

CoCo / ARC – Day 1

25/11/14 12:00 UTC
DIST SAILED: 180 nm
DIST TOGO: 2532 nm

Some hectic 24 hrs. We came out well in the start and got the spinnaker up immediately. This gave us not only a speed advantage but also the possibility to steer deeper along the east coast of Gran Canary. We were quite proud of ourselves, before the calm hit us south of the Island. It took a bit of work and concentration to get going again, this time in a re-united group of ARC yachts, on a southerly wind, not forecasted at all.

Anyway, the NE came back, and through the night we had 23 kt steady and gusting at 27 kt. We’ve been through a lot of sail changes, sail repairs and a few other pieces of drama, but nothing serious. Right now we are enjoying spinnaker sailing in 13-14 kt breeze. Very nice indeed, and the trip is starting to look like what it said on the can.

Our plan is to stay as close to the rumbline (the direct route) as possible, thereby sailing a shorter distance, and hoping winds and currents will be at least as favourable in our path as anywhere else on the ocean. The weather forecasts are with us, reality may not… In the meantime we’re doing our best to maximize progress with the conditions we have.

Our newly established watch system didn’t get it’s fair trial last night, due to the circumstances. But the un-rested part of the crew have a good opportunity to catch up through this fine day.

Gotta go, there’s melon and calypso hour in the aft cockpit.

ARC2014 Start Postponed

The low pressure over the Canaries has not taken it’s calming course as predicted, hence still very strong winds in Las Palmas. We had gusts of 40 knots overnight, and it continues this morning. Despite CoCo’s readiness regardless, the Race Committee has decided to postpone the start. A bit disappointing but understandable, consider the following message from the ARC race committee.

—–Original Message 09:00—–

Division 2: Racing. AP flag is flying. Racing division start is postponed for 2 hours. A further announcement about start time for Racing Division will be made at 11:00.

Division 1, 4, 5: Cruising, Multihull and Open. AP flag is flying. The start for all cruising, multihull and open divisions is postponed for a minimum of 18 hours. A further announcement about start time divisions 1, 4, 5 will be made at 11:00.

—-UPDATE 11:30—–

Racing division is also postponed for a minimum of 18 hours. The racing committee is looking for a weather window tomorrow morning to conduct the start. All additional harbour fees are waived and there will be another sundowner with beer and cocktails tonight.

A Letter to a Partner

Guest entry by Peter T. M. Brandt Sr.

Dear Fredrik,

Just a few words before we set off across the Atlantic. To drag me into the modern “dare and share” activities, the young department has generously opened their fine blog for my scriblings. Hope you don’t mind an open letter.

The start is at 13:00 hrs local time tomorrow, and the boat and crew is well prepared and anxious to get underway. The forecast is for some fresh and potentially wet weather for the first day or so. A low pressure has rested over the Canary Islands for days, with a lot of wind and rain in it. Luckily it’s local, so we just have to get a bit south, turn west at the southern tip of Gran Canary and then head straight into the trade winds towards St. Lucia. The Azores’ high pressure, a fairly permanent feature in these parts, has seemingly behaved and settled nicely, creating a very stable trade wind. We have enjoyed excellent presentations over several days from a meteorologist with 25 Atlantic crossings under his belt, and barred the local low over our heads, the conditions for the actual crossing ‘has not looked better in 10 years’. So to all you folks back home, no worries!

Thanks to our young crew members, “CoCo” is probably the best stocked up and prepared vessel in the fleet. They have done a fantastic job and delivered far above expectations versus our deal with them, which is sublet of “CoCo” for a long trip, against a red carpet experience for the ship owners on this regatta. Apart from some small changes in the line of command, the Brahawi spirit continues in great harmony with our Bucket List Red Trousers Justification Voyage. Cross generation fun!

Hope all is well in the office Fred. Without your support and hard work this trip wouldn’t be possible for me, so I am forever grateful and will make it up to you one day. I am sure that the young core of the Brahawi Expedition would be delighted to take you for a spin in the Carribean some time during the winter!

We’re now heading out for a last shore side meal and final boosting of spirits. Will try to stay in touch via the satelitt phone on a daily basis, and via the same you can reach me at any time. Will have a daily email exchange as well, so albeit distance both in mind and flesh I will do what I can to support you in the office when needed.

Brian and Ola sends their regards. They love the setting and the thought of what lies ahead, not only the rum on arrival, but more what we’ll go through to get there.

Very best,
Peter

VLOG Episode 3: The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers

CoCo Open

The crew overlooking hole 13. From left: Henrik, Sebastian and Peter.

After a week of maintenance and repair work the crew of S/Y CoCo decided it was time for a break. Sebastian had heard some rumours that one of the best golf courses in the world was located on Gran Canaria and the other crew members quickly picked up on the idea of golfing as a leisure activity. It was decided that we should try out El Cortijo Golf Course, a 15 minute drive from Las Palmas. Making reservations proved difficult as no phone number was listed on El Cortijo’s website, but we eventually found one after a bit of googling.  Green fee and club hire for three persons came to € 410, which the crew found somewhat steep. Nevertheless, a four and a half hour game and 18 holes were thoroughly enjoyed.

Straight in the cup.

Perfect chip.

Watch out for divots!

Measure both by Stableford points and number of strokes, Henrik was the eminent winner with 32 points and 115 strokes. Peter achieved a point score of 29, while Sebastian managed 21. It should be pointed out that Sebastian was allocated ten fewer strokes than the two other players, because of his handicap of 28, while the Henrik and Peter are green card players (no handicap). Therefore, the number of strokes paint a slightly different picture: Sebastian used 119 while Peter used 121. Conclusively, Sebastian is not as good as his handicap entails and the reason why Peter and Henrik still only have green cards is elusive.