Asolare News

ASOLARE funny Fishing Video (Link to Utube)

2009-12-18T14:31:00.001Z

ASOLARE funny Fishing Video (Link to Utube)

Filmed during the ARC 2009.

Sallyanne Bought the Lure - nicknamed Yozuri
Mark and Stephen both caught a fish on each line at the same time.
Yozuri on Stephens rod had caught a monster... it took 2 of them into battle....

Enjoy ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOB1WyX5-s0

For the rest of the Logs gcapturing our Race across the Atlantic visit the ARC website (www.worldcruising.com/arc) and look for Daily Logs - and select boat ASOLARE. :-)

or follow the link directly.. http://www.worldcruising.com/arc/dailylogs.aspx?EIValue1=286

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Eschatology..

2008-07-03T01:10:00.001+01:00

It is Sunday again and this morning we are to be found in Bible class at the Christian church on Makogai. While we probably would not have chosen to learn about Eschatology, being half an hour early for the church service this morning gave the rather fervent pastor the opportunity to teach us something new.

The local kids are well up to speed, unprompted they tell us that “Eschatos” is the Greek word for “Last”, that Eschatology is the study of (I hope I remember correctly) the “Last Phase” before Jesus returns, the World ends and we are led to heaven or hell as deserved. Fortunately, and before we are shown up completely, the service proper soon starts. Children and adults sing each hymn as if it were their last, the likelihood of which is reinforced by both Chief Watson and aforementioned fervent pastor at every break in song. It is not long before we have had our fill.

Motoring out of the bay to a dive site carefully selected by our Skipper, we find someone else already there! Not phased by this we nose up to within 20m of the reef face. Showing as a seabed-to-surface wall ahead of us on Asolare’s forward facing sonar, standing on the bow Tim and Suzi need no electronic aids to spot this hazard! The anchor is lowered and we drop back to a more comfortable 60m from the reef.

This is my 4^th and final dive of the trip. Peter and Clare giant step into the water then swim to the anchor chain. Memories of our last dive still fresh, we are diving on the condition that if there is a current when we reach the seabed we will return immediately. On the surface there is a small current against us. Descending using the anchor-chain as a guide I muse the space around me, today the underwater scene extends away like the hills and sky above. This shouldn’t feel strange but it does, we must have 60-70m of visibility, it is amazing!

On the seabed and with no current to worry about we take a bearing and swim towards the reef. As we approach it towers above us and we spend a happy half hour swimming among now familiar clown fish, box fish, parrot fish and a whole host of new particularly huge fish that take no notice of us at all! We swim up down and though the various “bommie” (Australian word for pinnacle of coral) that make up the reef. Just before my pressure gauge reads 100bar indicating it is time to turn-around and make our way back. Peter indicates he has a problem.

I had noticed Peter was heading rather quickly to the surface. Now he is holding on to a piece of coral to stop himself rising further and is fiddling with his BCD. While I am new to diving I do know that a speedy non-stop trip to the surface here is not just a bad idea, being 14 hrs motoring and several reefs away from the nearest decompression chamber, it is downright dangerous! Fortunately just a couple of minutes pass, Peter regains control of his equipment and we continue with our dive.

I later find out that the main dump valve in his BCD had jammed so he was not able to release air from his BCD and maintain neutral buoyancy as pressure decreased in his tank, a situation made worse as we moved upwards exploring the reef. Having failed to un-jam it, he was forced to use one his 2 alternative dump-valves to release air. While Peter has the experience to recognise and deal with these problems, I quietly add this to the list of potential problems I am now aware of!

Safely back on the surface we recount the tale, the amazing physical structure of the reef, the near perfect visibility and sighting of Mola Mola or Ocean Sunfish. These, often giant, fish are one of the top 5 fish to see according to Tim. While he sadly was not diving with us, Tim had his day with an earlier dive to a bommie in the bay and later diving to see Giant Clam an amazing 3-4ft wide at the mouth!

Good Morning Savu Savu....!

2008-07-02T23:22:00.001+01:00

It is 0830 a fact warmly and enthusiastically announced 5 out of 7 days by Curly Carswell on VHF Ch14. A long-term cruiser, Curly has found roots in the South Pacific and Fiji in particular, he is currently based in Savu Savu from where among other activities he runs the local cruisers radio net.

I have been told that wherever you find a congregation of sailing cruisers you will also typically find a radio net. My first experience of this was in Vavau where I was bowled over by the lively, informative and truly interactive session run each day at 0830 on Ch06 or Ch26 by a guy called Baker providing an eclectic mixture of weather, local activities and information exchange between cruisers as they pass through Tonga. Walk through the town at the right time you can hear the net being listened to by almost everyone as it plays out in the shops and café's.

Savu Savu in Fiji is no different. Curly starts with weather information for the region from a variety of sources. Weather prediction is something of a black art right across the Pacific so more often than not, several forecasts are read out followed by a punt on which one may turn out to be correct! When you consider that the Pacific Tropical Convergence Zone, which dominates the weather extending for 1000's of miles east to west, is represented on the official weather charts with a squiggly line just like a child would draw a cloud in the sky, it is amazing that anyone gets it right! In this area riddled with small islands and reefs, weather is critical to safe navigation. In strong sunshine between 0930 and 1530 it is possible to see shoal patches clearly as aquamarine spots in the otherwise deep blue sea, however, under grey skies made even worse with rain, everything beneath the surface is rendered invisible. Prevailing trade winds swing from NE to SSE sometimes southerly, strengthening from zero to 35knots in a matter of hours and as Curly advises, we must remember to add at least 5 knots to the forecast in acceleration zones around islands. How the early explorers managed without the benefit of engines to bail them out is hard to imagine!

After weather Curly gives his take on World News, we all stop whatever we are doing to listen to this part of the net. He gives a headline from each continent reading them deliberately and accurately, then we are kept hanging just for a long half-second before Curly delivers a suitably apposite comment on the subject. We laugh! The rest of the world could be in a different galaxy it all seems so far away.

Moving on to activities in and around Savu Savu, Curly makes mention of "Chart Marking Sessions" and sessions on Fiji Cruising Permits alongside Friday Happy Hours and Curry Nights. Everything a cruiser could want seems to be laid on for us. For the newcomers the usual warnings of wake free dinghy speeds and tying to the dinghy dock with long painters are delivered with the same enthusiasm as the need to comply with local customs check-out procedures, a requirement that applies to boats moving just 200m from the wharf. How restrictive is that!

Curly has been working in and around Fiji for nearly 40 years, and there is nothing he likes better than exploring and charting a new area. Often single-handed in his 65ft 40 tonne yacht he has not put it on a reef yet! He is slowly building up enough data to publish a new pilot guide to Fiji and this gives him just the excuse he needs. Often he will anchor outside a new area, visiting it first by dinghy charting its depths, establishing waypoints and bearings to visual reference points before he attempts an entry by yacht. While his pilot book might be some way off being published, all those clearing-in to Fiji in Savu Savu should certainly visit Curly's Bosuns Locker and pick up a set of his chartlets.

At the end of the morning broadcast the airways are opened to all the cruisers in the creek to exchange information, offer and request help or advice on everything from co-ordinating gas supplies to the location of the nearest sail-maker. By 0900 the broadcast is complete and we are left motivated to fill and enjoy our day with rather more activities than we intended.

Savu Savu

2008-06-27T00:27:00.001+01:00

1700 (Fiji time) turns out to be a perfect hour to arrive in Savu Savu. We have been chatting to fellow World ARC yacht Cleone on VHF during our approach so we know what to expect, we have safely rounded Point Reef Light and can see the cruise liner Pacific Dawn marking the Nakama Creek entrance. With 4 miles to run and 10 knots of breeze on our starboard beam for the first time today, the evening sunshine picks out the deep greens of the forest, the blues and reds of houses on stilts and just to finish off the picture, a flower patterned green and white bus is trundling along the coast road. Someone comments; we haven’t seen a bus for a while!

Our pilot notes from Cleone are perfect. We enter the river, avoiding the big steel mark in the centre, passing the ferry dock on the right, ahead of us we see the Copra shed where we will meet our friends later. The river is a busy place with maybe eight World ARC yachts here already. All the moorings are taken, but we knew this, nosing our way in carefully we try to find a shallow spot in the river. Sadly this is not to be, so we return closer to the entrance and anchor in 20m giving ourselves plenty of room to swing.

The Copra Shed is clearly the place to be tonight. We thank James from Cleone for his advice earlier. Jus do it and Cleone crew are in fine form arriving dressed in sari costumes. Tallulah Ruby laugh loudest, we suspect the dresses may be a continuation of earlier frivolity! Windflower, Graptolite and Andante are all at the Copra Shed. Maamalni we see in the river, but not yet on shore. Peter is particularly pleased to see Quasar V with who some great times were had earlier in the rally before they fell behind with technical problems.

Savu Savu is a curious place with 40% of the population being Indo-Fijian and 20% Chinese-Fijian although most of these people are 4^th or even 5^th generation settlers there are strong Indian and Chinese influences here. Only indigenous Fijians are permitted to own land, so others must rent or make their money through trade. Indian and Chinese shops and restaurants line the street of Savu Savu.

Hot springs are very much in evidence, where the hot water meets the river it steams. Just 35 minutes will cook a chicken buried in the river-bank apparently!

Avoiding near death experience is all a matter of judgement!

2008-06-25T21:02:00.002+01:00

It is raining again! This time we have the full works; thunder, lightening and torrential rain. As the front goes through the wind has risen briefly to 35 knots, just long enough to consider starting the engine to ease pressure on our mooring. However, we are in a perfect place, we have taken one of Fred Fisher’s moorings for the night in Viani Bay, and with our lightening conductors out we should be safe enough.

The compressor is on again, but somehow the noise seems less, maybe I am getting used to it’s diligent hammering or maybe the results of its work make the whole process more agreeable. Thinking about it, the “schwsssss” of the last air-tank being disconnected is identical to the sound of our first gin and tonic opening. No wonder it is a mighty fine sound!

Back to today’s adventure …

With our local knowledge Fred Fisher on board we set out to dive this morning about 1030. With the top of the tide at about 1200 the conditions should be perfect for an hour or two. Anchoring Asolare in a safe spot 30m outside the reef, we transferred to dinghy for the final half-mile. After a few minutes Fred stopped the engine and announced, “we are here”. Looking down all became apparent; we could see a white buoy attached to two small tractor tyres submerged about 3m below us marking the start point of our dive.

Tim, first into the water, checked the strength of current against the white buoy, there was none. Peter and Clare joined him and together we made our descent to the tyres and coral shelf at 8m below. From there we could clearly see the dark entrance to a tunnel. 2m in diameter and just over 25m long we swam down and through it. In the low light it was difficult to see much, a few quite large fish hiding in the corners, grey-white coral fans and more fish silhouetted against the exit.

We emerged at a depth of 25m onto the flat face of a large underwater cliff known as The Great White Wall and turned right. Extending either side as far as we could see, the vertical face dropped into the dark beneath us and up to the sea-surface above, with no horizontal reference points this felt very weird and strangely exposed. While physically spectacular the cliff surface was quite plain supporting little marine life. We moved easily up and down exploring the wall and around the corner before turning back on ourselves. Passing our tunnel exit we moved to the aptly named Purple Wall to admire the rich Papal purple soft coral, simply beautiful. Then we started to notice a current.

Gentle at first, we saw a small shoal of silver damsel fish holding station but swimming up against the current; we added air to our BCD’s to compensate for this downward current. The stream started to carry us along the wall.

In a planned drift dive this would not have been a problem, in fact it is an amazing feeling to fly along with the sea. But changing our plan underwater without being able to communicate to our support in the dinghy above, in unknown waters, the drift may have taken us over a mile from our original location. On the surface three little heads just 100m away would be very, if not impossible to spot from the dinghy, at best we would be in for a long wait.

After just a few minutes we re-grouped on the wall holding onto pieces of coral with our fingertips, very aware that we shouldn’t be touching it at all. In the strengthening current it was important to stay together, we made our way back to a gully not far from our original tunnel. Out of the main stream we decided to return to the start point of the dive.

Typically divers do not choose to swim against a current. Just 3 knots of current is almost impossible to swim against, vulnerability is obvious and air is consumed at an alarming rate when swimming hard. We moved from rock to rock balancing exertion with air-conservation, faced with a common threat we shared the space closest to the coral with fish also doing their best to keep out of the stream. We have been so careful allowing them their space, watching from a distance without scaring. Now eyeball-to-eyeball they don’t seem worried by us at all!

After a few minutes we are just 10m from the tractor tyres, and with one swim across open sand we re-group on the line. It is just 35 minutes since we were here before. Then we experienced no current at all, now there is probably 1.5 to 2 knots of current. Amazing how things can change in such a short time. With Peter and Tim’s skill and experience I am reminded of my more familiar winter mountaineering environment. There, our experience and respect is rewarded a thousand times over with amazing moments. In the under-water world I feel it will be the same, the more we get out into it, the better it will be!

We made our ascent remembering to do a 3-minute safety stop on the way. The deepest point of our dive was 35m on the Great White Wall and while our ascent via the gulley had been slow, despite the current, stopping was still a sensible precaution. We could see the dinghy above us, Fred had in fact followed us all the way, and having 11 years of diving experience here himself he knew what was happening below.

Safely back on Asolare with just a little coral-rash to the fingers and a mental note to wear gloves next time, we regaled Suzi with our adventure. When asked if we would go again ... “Of course” was the unanimous reply!

Vanua Levu, Rainbow Reef and Sharks..

2008-06-23T00:02:00.001+01:00

Just over half the size of Viti Levu (The Big Island) Vanu Levu is Fiji’s second largest island. Again volcanic in origin it is apparently home to nearly 140,000 people although so far we have seen just one, Fred Fisher.

A big draw for us is diving and the 32km Rainbow Reef here on the south west coast of Vanu Levu is apparently one of “the” places to dive. Approaching Asolare this morning in his aluminium dory, Fred Fisher, son of Ned Fisher the authority on these waters quoted in our trusted pilot “A Yachtsman’s Fiji” by Michael Calder, was about to shape our day.

With Fred’s tales of the Great White Wall drift dive and it’s glide through cave, Blue Ribbon Eel Reef, The Zoo and Cabbage Patch it did not take long before we were planning an adventure with him. After agreeing to meet again just after 10am Fiji time (we took note and put our clocks back another hour from Tongan boat-time) Tim quickly started the compressor and began the noisy process of charging our air-tanks.

Yesterday as we came through the 75m wide and 6m deep break in the reef to enter we knew these waters would be good. The disturbed sea escaping the lagoon gave way to smooth swell and crystal clear visibility, the never seen by us before, bright blue and yellow bi-colour angel fish were just pin-clear as were a squadron of grey bottom-dwellers holding station on the sea-bed beneath us.

Tucked into a small lunchtime anchorage behind the main reef we managed two dives yesterday. The first was a pretty dive of coral gardens with exceptional soft coral, beautiful blue-tipped stag coral and thousands of reef fish. The second dive after lunch involved a long surface swim to the reef edge itself. We were not put off but with the tide change and lower visibility but it was not long before we headed back towards Asolare.

Back on the boat Suzi’s afternoon read was interrupted when her sunglasses inexplicably fell into the sea! With no-one around she leapt in after them and executed a deft recovery. Still fresh from her success, Tim and Clare returned with photographic evidence of sharks! In a shoal patch just 50m from the boat we had seen both white and black tip sharks. Caught in shallow water with several dead ends, Clare was pleased to learn only when she returned to the boat and after an unaccustomed expletive from Peter, that the gentle reef sharks she was taking pictures of were not quite what they seemed!

The compressor has finished, Peter has returned with Fred. We are about to head off for the day…

Not so desert island .

2008-06-20T19:24:00.000+01:00

Our arrival boldly announced by a single cockerel made us doubt we were alone on our desert island. We had slipped into the flat waters of a remote atoll shortly after dawn cruising the 15 miles across it’s diameter to an anchorage behind a small island.

From our chart it is clear our atoll is the remains of an ancient volcano, being an almost continuous and quite circular ring of reef and small islands. The ring is broken only in two places, one of which, American Passage formed our entrance (deep and wide), the other a narrow gully Qilaqila Passage, will provide our eventual exit. Once over the lip of the volcano, the water depth in the crater is generally a comfortable 27- 40 meters rather less than the 5000+ m of the seabed outside! The platform for an atoll is a volcano that is slowly sinking into the sea, what gives the atoll its character is the coral that grows on top. The coral goes on growing towards the light as the volcano sinks beneath it. Knowing this, perhaps we should not have been so surprised at the number of (often uncharted) isolated coral capped pinnacles, shoal patches and linked reefs that we found in this otherwise quite benign sailing-crater. These hazards, just at or under the sea surface turned casual cruising into quite an adventure. It is no wonder these are called the Exploring Isles!

Our island 2 miles long, 3/4 mile wide and maybe 150m high, is topped with a thick forest of coconut palm and notable variety of tree species. At high water the island looks quite impenetrable, at low water a 25 metre shelf of coral emerges, sufficient for two native-backed horses to come galloping by!

Temo and Nada are from the local town of Loma Loma on another Island, they are two of eight people working on the island harvesting copra. None live here permanently, they come and work for 2 weeks before a boat arrives to collect the copra and take it to Suva for sale. Then they either move to another island or return home, depending. Their party is made up of six young guys an older man and a woman who, as they put it, cooks for them.

While his mate cut coconut deftly with his machete, passing the opened fruits to us at intervals, Temo went on to explain a little more. He knows these islands well, when he is not harvesting copra he dives for “Sea-demons” which we later discovered are a particular type of sea-cucumber, a local delicacy. Temo has scuba-dived all around these islands and while foreign travel is just a dream for him, he knows the rich coral and sea life here are something extra special. Our own brief snorkelling trips revealed curtains of coral, shoals of brightly coloured fish, a small turtle (apparently there are many) but no whales. Temo advises that no big whales come here, pretty much like yachts, which he has also never seen here before.

After tales of the English-man who once owned this small island, which he “bought with his gun” chasing the locals away to the other islands, and a gentle comparison of life on Fiji compared to life in London, it was soon time for the boys to get back to work. Mounting their horses bareback they galloped off across the re-submerging coral shelf just before the tide got too high for the horses to return.

Left to our own devices we planned our evening entertainment. A BBQ on the beach, it just had to be done even in the inevitable rain. It has rained here in the South Pacific almost every day for a month. And it rains well here! Just like on those childhood camping holidays in North Wales, Devon or Cornwall, continuous heavy downpour for hours gives way to sultry low cloud occasionally. However when the sun does eventually come out, everything changes, the scene is transformed to one of sparkling blue ocean spotted with aqua-marine edged coral reef, and coconut palm-fringed beaches just like on the screen-saver images people long-over in city offices across the world!

Our BBQ, in the dark, in the rain, covered in insect repellent, on a beach diminished to the point of non-existence, a truly British experience, was deemed a success by all. We returned to Asolare happy!

2 May 08 - Bye Bye Dad!

2008-05-29T02:52:00.001+01:00

Unfortunately my weeks holiday with Dad came to an end on the evening of the Bus Tour. Fortunately Dad was left in good hands with the other World ARC Boats that now act like a family towards each other.... but I felt very sad to be leaving. Thanks Dad for a fantastic week! Lots of Love Sallyanne xxx

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01 May 08 - Bus Tour

2008-05-29T02:27:00.000+01:00

My last day with Dad was fun. 3 Coach-loads of Sailors from the World ARC went on an Island Bus Tour for some historic sight seeing. There was much evidence of the many 'tiffs' between the French and British. We saw a waterfall, some old ruins and had a nice meal in a restaurant that was able to seat all ARC Participants at the same time. Fortuitously, it also gave Dad the opportunity to Celebrate his Birthday with all his World ARC friends.

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30 Apr 08 - World ARC Tahitian Welcome Party

2008-05-29T02:15:00.001+01:00

World ARC organised a day of Tahitian fun. Sailors were able to feast on local fresh fruit, admire some Pearls, have a go at coconut palm weaving and Outrigger Paddling. Later that evening was a wonderful Welcome Party hosted by the Tahitian Tourist Board. The Dancers (pictured above) were a group of roughly 16 young ladies who managed to carried out 4 costume changes during their display.

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29 Apr 08 - Irish Soda Bread on Blue Flyer

2008-05-29T02:05:00.001+01:00

It was great to re-join the other World ARC Participants.

Val from Blue Flyer gave me an on-board-baking lesson - how to make Irish Soda Bread using basic long-life ingredients and no yeast - winner! It tasted fantastic.

Get Started!

27 Apr 08 - Good bye Apataki - 2 Days Sailing to Tahiti

2008-05-29T01:40:00.001+01:00

Sad to leave our new friends - we set sail through the centre of the Atol (uncharted) and waved goodbye to Apataki. The photo above is of the most inhabited part of the island (!) next to the airport (you can see the windsock between the palm trees).

2 days of rough sailing followed. The sea state and conditions not disimilar to that of the Atlantic for a few hours - I was lucky not to have my life jacket inflate when a very large wave broke high across the cockpit and absolutely drenching me. Of course I thought it was great!

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27 Apr 08 - Good bye Apataki - 2 Days Sailing to Tahiti

2008-05-29T01:38:00.001+01:00

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26 Apr - Dad's Birthday - Part 2

2008-05-29T01:25:00.001+01:00

We were invited to join the Laau's at 7:30pm. The only problem was we didn't actually know the correct time! Boat time, GPS time and Daughter's watch all disagreed! This had become a standing joke on board - but it had not really mattered until now! When we arrived by dinghy from our boat by torch light (30 mins early)we were welcomed ashore on the jetty by local instruments and singing. It sounded amazing and made us feel very welcome and special.

We all sat around a large table whilst a grand feast was gathered. The family, farm workers, neighbours and sailing couple had spent the entire day preparing for the evening. Dad was placed at the head of the table and presented with a crown of fresh flowers and a garland. We ate the fresh fish we had caught earlier - 'cooked' for 5 mins in lemon juice then marinated in coconut milk, with clam curry and BBQ chicken. Then Dad was presented with a wonderful Birthday Cake made by Karin and Jean aboard S/V INTIAQ. The locals sang Hapy Birthday in their own language, then again in French led by the French Couple, and finally in English.

It was the most amazing birthday celebration I have ever been to and Dad looked very very happy! :-)

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26 Apr 08 - Dad's 70 Birthday! Part 1 -

2008-05-29T01:00:00.001+01:00

Dad's Birthday turned into an absolutely amazing day.

We had anchored overnight next to a deserted island - part of the Apataki Atol. Dad opened his birthday presents and particularly liked an engraved tankard from his older sister Connie. With no Lobster in the lobster pot over night we set sail to visit the infamous Assam Laau and his Pearl Farm (when in Rome...). We had intended to purchase some fresh eggs and stay for only an hour but with Dad sporting his '70 Today' badge - Assam (pictured), his Wife Nini and Son Alfred insisted that we should stay for a grand evening celebration.

Assam and his family live on a part of the Atol that is very remote. Just him, his wife and son, the farm workers (3-5) and one Couple described as their only neighbours. The Son was dispatched to source fresh chicken, the farm workers for fresh clams, Nini for fresh Coconuts and we were taken fishing! Another Sailing boat 'Intiaq' with a lovely french couple Karin and Jean Francois had become local friends and offered to make a Birthday Cake......

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25 Apr 08 - Shark for Lunch?

2008-05-29T00:32:00.001+01:00

This friendly Nursery Shark visits Nini and Assam Laau at midday everyday for lunch. She has been visiting for over 8 years and enjoys being tickled and fed by hand. The Shark feels safe on the beach immediately infront of Nini's home and gave birth there last year.

Sallyanne

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24 April 08 - Sallyanne flies into Apataki - Tahiti

2008-05-29T00:14:00.001+01:00

Sallyanne flew all the way to Tahiti for a few days to celebrate my 70th Birthday. It was a fantastic surprize! We last sailed together whilst crossing the Atlantic last Nov-Dec and waved goodbye after a lovely Christmas in St Lucia.

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World ARC Yacht "Asolare" In Marquesas

2008-04-07T00:24:00.001+01:00

Now on the Island of Nuku-Hiva, again a beautiful Island. In an idyllic anchorage on the north coast. Photo of a traditional Polynesian boat in the large anchorage.

Will be going to the main Taiohae Bay later today so we can fuel and provision up on Monday.

After that setting sail for the islands of Tahiti.

Capt. Peter

www.asolare.co.uk

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" In Marquesas

2008-04-06T19:06:00.000+01:00

Thursday 3^rd April 2008

The Islands of the Marquesas are truly stunning! They have majestic towering peaks, generally in the clouds and beautiful sandy bays, fringed with coconut palm trees. Most of the island have small villages and at Vaitahu on the Island of Tahuata there is this charming Church with exquisite stain glass windows. Not quite what you would expect for a small village with a population of 89!

We have now left the bay of Puamau on Hiva-Oa and heading for Ua-Huka. From there we will go to Nuka Hiva.

Capt. Peter

www.asolare.co.uk

World ARC Yacht Asolare in Marquesas

2008-04-01T19:32:00.000+01:00

Tuesday 1^st April 2008

Asolare is now in Fatu Hiva, the southernmost island in the Marquesas. We are with three other ARC yachts, Branec IV, Into the Blue and Chantelle. The anchorage is stunning as you can see in the attached photo.

We are refilling diving bottles for ourselves and Into the Blue as the water is teeming with fish and very clear. Later this morning we are going to walk and climb with Into the Blue for about two hours to a waterfall and take a packed lunch to enjoy after a swim in the waterfall pool. Not sure if I can stand all this excitement! Just seen three of four very large Tuna leaping high out of the water with a ring of Dolphins all around them. This was right next to the yacht and the frenzy and foam was amazing! All went suddenly quiet so either the Tuna got away, or more likely there are about 12 happy dolphins!

Capt. Peter

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Marquesas Cruising

2008-03-31T05:23:00.000+01:00

Sunday 30^th March 2008

Now in a beautiful bay on the Island of Tahuata along with Jus’Do It 3, Storyteller, Southern Princess, Branec IV, Harmonie and Into the Blue.

The gorgeous beach is fringed with coconut palms with coconuts galore!

The attached photo shows Yachts Jus’Do It 3 and Into the Blue. Notice the colour of the water and the white soft sand beach. We invited Southern Princess for sundowners last night but by the time the session was over it was two dark to put out our Lobster Pot, so we will have to wait another day for my speciality of Lobster Thermadore!

Capt..Peter

www.asolare.co.uk

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" In Marquesas

2008-03-28T17:28:00.000Z

Friday 28^th March 2008

Over half the yachts have now arrived in Hiva Oa and there have been some great parties! Two nights ago everybody that had come in, went to a hill top restaurant for a superb meal and entertainment. Today’s photo was taken at the restaurant and is a local dancer in traditional dress and movements to match!

There are very unfortunately three yachts still in the Galapagos awaiting spare parts all “stuck” in Ecuador in customs! The parts have been delayed there up to three weeks and one of the owners is flying today to Ecuador “to start World War III”. This is a totally unacceptable situation and the peeked capped customs officials with gold braid applet’s, need to be told very firmly that they are doing thier country immense harm as yacht will not stop in mainland Ecuador with this totally unnecessary hassle. We all hope that this will be resolved very soon to allow the three yachts to leave and catch us up!

Capt. Peter

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" In Marquesas

2008-03-28T17:12:00.000Z

Friday 28^th March 2008

There are very unfortunately three yachts still in the Galapagos awaiting spare parts all “stuck” in Ecuador in customs! The parts have been delayed there up to three weeks and one of the owners is flying today to Ecuador “to start World War III”. This is a totally unacceptable situation and the peeked capped customs officials with gold braid applet’s, need to be told very firmly that they are doing there country immense harm as yacht will stop in mainland Ecuador with this totally unnecessary hassle. We all hope that this will be resolved very soon to allow the three yachts to leave and catch us up!

Capt. Peter

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" In Marquesas. First in Class!

2008-03-27T03:44:00.000Z

Wednesday 26^th March 2008

“Asolare” is now safely in the Marquesas after a very fast crossing of 16 days and 20 hrs.

We came 5^th overall and 1^st in class! This was actually, for us, the first leg that we competed in as we stopped off on the first Leg in the San Blas Islands and on the Ecuador Leg in the Las Perlas Islands. The leg to the Galapagos was almost all motoring for the whole fleet.

We arrived in the dark – Asolare does not seem to know any better – so anchored outside the harbour until daylight.

It is sunny but very heavy clouds and some rain but the small supermarket stocked Tonic Water as we ran out halfway across the pacific as there was none to be bought in the Galapagos!

The photo is a “sunset” time photo in the anchorage with ARC yacht settling down for then night.

Capt. Peter

www.asolare.co.uk

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 17 to Marquesas.

2008-03-25T16:33:00.000Z

Tuesday 25^th March 2008

After yesterday’s roll call on SSB radio at 1200hrs local time, it was amazing to work out that there were five yachts within 20 miles of each other after 2700 miles of Pacific Ocean! We clearly like each other’s company! More interesting to note is that we have not seen any of them since we left The Galapagos Islands. At that time we had 356 miles only to go and now at 1230Hrs GMT we have just 210 miles. We should therefore be in Hiva Oa early tomorrow morning, local time, as expected. No “yacht” photo today but a tranquil evening shot of Pink Flamingos roosting for the night on one foot on the Isabella Island in the Galapagos. I certainly would like to return to the Galapagos Islands as they are truly an amazing and beautiful place to visit.

Capt. Peter

www.asolare.co.uk

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 16 to the Marquesas.

2008-03-24T15:04:00.000Z

Monday 24^th March 2008

Mr Amel, your perfect yacht has developed TWO faults – the wind speed indicator reads zero and the wind direction shows that we must be sailing backwards! Could it be something to do with the fact that we are closer to land as the attached photo shows!

At 1355 UTC today we have just 389miles to go to Hiva Oa and expect to arrive there on Wednesday afternoon. The winds are still very light but have now increased to around 12 knots so we have put up our Parasailor again. With this wind there is little chance of getting the wing cords caught in the rigging – hopefully. I well remember when, during the ARC 2004, Sallyanne went up the mast in mid-Atlantic to free the wing cords from the rigging. I know I was more relieved to see her safely back on the deck than Sallyanne was. Apparently, a piece of cake, compared with the tough physical exercises and challenges that an Officer in the RAF has to put herself through to keep fit!

We have been looking out very hard, but we have not had a visit from the Easter Bunny despite putting out the last of our precious lettuce. We also did not have Chocolate Easter eggs for Easter, nor Guinness for St Patrick's Day, so our provisioning needs some improvement – you did not cover these items Sallyanne in your provisioning lectures!

Last night I cooked four of our conch I collected in Anegarda in the British Virgin Islands. I cooked them in a mild curry sauce with lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger and Olive Oil. They were absolutely delicious on a bed of fluffy white rice!

There is a lot more wind further east where most of the fleet are so the whole fleet are closing up. This is great as it will mean that there won’t be too much of an interval between first and last yacht arriving in Hiva Oa especially after a 2950 mile leg

Capt. Peter.

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 15

2008-03-23T14:49:00.000Z

Easter Sunday 23^rd March 2008

Another Gran Prix day I am going to miss! My son Simon, in the UK, faithfully DVD’s all Gran Prix races for me and sends them out by courier or friends later. Being a major fan of motor racing this is always something I look forward to immensely. As a thank you to Simon and as a tribute to his successes in motor racing, as a complete contrast, today’s photo is of Simon leading the field in his very modified Honda Civic! He actually won the UK Road Saloon Car Championship recently in the same car.

Shortly after yesterday’s log submission when it became light, the Parasailor was limply collapsing too near the shrouds and cross trees for comfort, so we reluctantly took it down. As soon as we had finished this and put standard “white” sails up, would you believe it, the wind picked up again after nearly 30 hours of very light wind and rose to about 15 knots. We did not expect this wind strength to last too long so we left the white sails in situ all yesterday and last night. Now, at dawn, (1445 hrs GMT) the wind is averaging 15 knots so when my crew wake up we will fly the Parasailor again!

Capt. Peter

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 14. Pilot Whales!

2008-03-22T16:05:00.000Z

Saturday 22^nd March 2008

As expected the wind has almost died on us as we have only between 8 and 10 knots of true wind providing 4 to 5 Knots of apparent wind and about 4 knots of yacht speed. We do expect the wind to pick up very gradually over the next few hours so we are leaving our beloved Parasailor up for the time being. However, if the wind lulls a little we run the risk of the parasail wing cords getting caught in the rigging so we have lowered the sail a little so that the wing, if it collapses, will fall below the lowest spreaders and minimize a hang-up possibility. At 1328 hrs UTC (lunchtime in UK) it is still fully night time here but we have a full moon in an exceptionally clear sky and the magnificent Southern Cross star group to keep us company. The moon is immediately behind the centre of the Parasailor and it appears to glow lovingly in the dark begging to be left up! At sunset last night I took another “sunset” photo but the sail kept hogging the frame!

Enough of the sailing – we spotted at least three large pilot whales leaping their way in the direction of the Galapagos, as normal unlike dolphins, they took no notice of us at all and carried on past us.

Capt. Peter

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 13. Good Friday!

2008-03-21T15:59:00.000Z

Good Friday 21^st March 2008

Perhaps it is a good thing that there are no shops out here to buy lots of Easter eggs but plenty of places to hide them – other than the orchard!

We also are unlikely to have a celebration dinner featuring the “Catch of the Day”. We tried fishing all day but did not get a bite!

The association of Good Friday, Mount of Olives and 5 fishes brought BREAD to mind so I set to and baked a great loaf of bread. The photo is the closest thing we are likely to get to our wayward fish so we are going to have Fried English Bacon between well buttered slices of fresh bread! – Just like our great party with friends on “Asolare” sailing out of St. Lucia at 5.00am last Christmas Morning to watch the sun rise. We had Champagne with our “bacon butties” then so we shall do so again – just to keep the tradition going you understand!

The wind has held up a little better than expected but it is still slowly reducing with only 8 knots true occasionally. The average wind strength is 13 knots so we are still able to make 6.5 – 8.0 knots with the favourable current of nearly a knot.

On the 15^th March we were 15^th overall and 8^th in our class as we had not used our engine very much. We have now climbed up to 8^th Overall and third in class so we are very pleased with our progress across this beautiful sea. Just 888 miles to go at 14:15 UTC today so may reach Hiva Oa, in the Marquesas on 26^th March. These logs are also posted on the yacht’s own web site at www.asolare.co.uk

Adios Mon Amigos,

Capt. Peter

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 12.

2008-03-20T15:13:00.000Z

After two good sailing days of over 200 miles a day (415 in two days) we now have much reduced wind speeds of between 12 and 16 knots at 150 Deg. on the port quarter, giving us an apparent wind of only 7 to 11 knots. We are however making a respectable speed over the ground of between 7 and 8 knots as we also have about ½ knot of favourable current. Our weather Grib files show that we can expect a gradually diminishing wind all the way to the Marquesas, now 1079 miles away. In many ways we will be sorry to arrive as this passage has provided some exciting and beautiful sailing conditions, always being able to sail on the course you want to, a favourable current all the way, no more than a maximum of 22 knots of wind and no squalls. Although we always have a constant watch, day and night, we have not seen another vessel for days – the Pacific Ocean is HUGE – and we have only really begun crossing it!

No sailing photos today but we are going to fish later today as we now have enough space in our well stocked very large deep freeze to accommodate another large fish. So, hopefully a fish photo tomorrow!

Instead I attach a photo taken in the Galapagos Islands showing the remarkable variety of wild life there and the fact that Penguins happily live almost on the Equator!

Capt. Peter

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 10. THE REMARKABLE LURGI SPOTTED!

2008-03-18T15:41:00.000Z

Tuesday 18^th March 2008

We are all so excited on “Asolare” as we have spotted the mystical South Pacific LURGI.

We first spotted it on our port beam about ½ mile away and remarkably it came closer until it was about 200 meters behind us. We then noticed that it was accompanied by a baby Lurgi that also leapt, always in synchronised leaps, near its “mum”. They then did a final leap and were gone. Their last known position was 09.241S 114.024W at 14:07 UTC 18^th March 2008.

We will shortly be sending a sighting report, No. 0104, to the World Wildlife Trust (rare creature spotting section) and it will be very interesting to find out when the last one was spotted as we now can expect press and TV eagerly awaiting our arrival in Hiva Oa. Very little is known of the life cycle and territorial coverage of the Lurgi but it has only been spotted in the South Pacific where the water is particularly deep. It is thought therefore that it lives mainly on the ocean floor where its translucent, gelatinous structure, very much like a jellyfish, will not be affected by the enormous pressure at 5,000 + meters. Its head, which is about 1 meter (3 feet) wide, has two extremely large and bulbous eyes, and two pairs of much smaller eyes. This eye feature is totally unique in the marine world and this makes it so fascinating. It is thought that it uses it’s very large eyes on the sea bed where it is almost totally dark and so as not to damage their remarkable sensitivity, closes these eyes and uses the other two pairs of very small eyes for seeing near and on the surface. Most of the above we have gleaned from the Internet and are still following several Internet threads to learn more of this elusive creature. Apparently, the first authenticated sighting reported was at 08:37 on April 1, 1892 by a Captain Nemo.

We were all so fascinated that we did not think to grab a camera until it was about 200 meters behind us, but caught the attached photo as it was just starting one of about seven leaps in total. If you look very closely you can see the baby behind its “mother”.

We have had some exciting and wondrous moments on board “Asolare” since we started the World ARC but we know we are not going to top this for originality!

Capt. Peter

World ARC yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 9 to the Marquesas

2008-03-17T14:23:00.000Z

Monday 17^th March 2008

Got the day number and date right this time! My excuse is that the ships clock is set to local daylight time, all the navigation instruments work and display UTC (Greenwich Mean Time) and displays the next day’s date currently 7 hours before it happens on board! This means that after 5.00pm in the afternoon the instruments show that it is tomorrow! I am clearly in a perpetual state of confusion on board, but this way, I know when it is time for Dinner! At least it keeps you all out there on your toes!

The BIG news is that we have our Parasailor up and flying, proudly displaying the World ARC logo but only seen the right way round to another boat. As we have not seen a single other vessel for 7 days there is no one likely to see it until we get close to the Marquesas, now 1689 miles away.1303 miles from Galapagos or 193 miles to half way!

Attached photo shows only part of the sail as it is so big – the sail silly!

Capt. Peter

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 7 to Marquesas .Boeing 747 landed on the yacht!

2008-03-16T15:27:00.000Z

Sunday 14^th March 2008

A Boeing 747 landed on our deck today! Yes really – look at the attached photo!

By the time we had recovered from the shock and retrieved the big blue flying “bird”, the Boeing’s engines were unfortunately dead.

You can see clearly where Boeing’s designers got there design from - and I thought the Americans had designed the 747 from scratch – silly boy!

After all that early excitement we settled down to a more leisurely sail as the wind has reduced in strength and backed a little more making the time to launch our Parasailor a lot closer. By the time of writing tomorrow’s log it should, hopefully, be accompanied with a photo of this beautiful sail!

With this down wind sail, our daily average distances should increase from about 185 to well over 200 – we shall see!

Capt. Peter

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 6 to Marquesas

2008-03-15T17:19:00.000Z

Saturday 15^th March 2008

Continued great sailing!

We are now well into the Pacific trade winds, as are all the fleet that have left the Galapagos (five yachts are still in Port there).

We are heading a little to the south of the Great Circle route to the Marquesas as the winds to the south of this track will be a little stronger and this course will enable us to use our Parasailor down wind sail quite a bit earlier! We are certainly looking forward to using the Parasailor sail!

I am planning to make a microwave meal of Beef in Black bean sauce with avocados and prawns as a starter. Our choice of DVD tonight is “Through Hell & High Water” The Story of Cracknell and Fogle’s conquering of the Atlantic in a rowing boat! Knowing that they were on dried food rations for nearly three months and could not use any sails, make us very grateful that we can have the food we chose and the luxury of great sails and an engine if we need it! I know which boat I would rather be in!

A very clear sky last night at sunset, but apart from not having a few clouds to enhance the picture, the dynamic tranquillity can be seen in today’s attached photo. We were actually doing 9 knots at the time.

Capt. Peter

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 5 to Maquesas. Great Sailing!

2008-03-14T15:52:00.000Z

Friday 15^th March 2008

Great Sailing!

The whole fleet will now be enjoying good sailing now that the wind field has filled in with generally SW winds of 15 – 18 knots. “Asolare” is making between 9 and 10 knots over the ground as we also have ½ knot of favourable current. The weather is partially cloudy but very sunny and warm with no showers or squalls in sight. Now at 1515hr UTC we have 2236 miles to go and the computers tell me that at this speed we will be in the Marquesas in just 9 days time! This is most unlikely to be achieved as the long range forecast indicated light winds and therefore speeds for the last week or so. “Make hay whilst the sun shines” – and it is shining brightly. We are on a broad reach with the apparent wind squarely on our port (left) side. We have all our “white” sails fully deployed – Genoa, Stay Sail, Main Sail and finally the Mizzen Sail on our second mast.

Sailing just does not get any better than this! Great sailing, company, sunbathing on the aft padded coach roof, food, wine, sleep, DVD’s in the evening with microwaved popcorn and when the sun sets over the “yardarm” a celebratory drink! It is remarkable that there is always something to celebrate! The minor drawback is the fact that there was no tonic water on any of the Galapagos Islands that was available to buy. You could get it in an ordered drink but because of the very limited supply not available sold separately. The same went for buying eggs – a staple long life product on any yacht – eggs were only mainly available to hotels and restaurants. However my very talented and persuasive crew, Steve and Deb (Steve is a very tall and big guy) managed to persuade a small lady supplier to part with two dozen eggs but could only collect them in a large plastic bag! The bumpy water taxi ride to the yacht took its toll on two of the eggs but they were soon consumed!

Today’s photo is of Blue Footed Booby’s lined up to wish us “Bon Voyage” as we left the harbour for the Marquesas. The fact that they are all so fascinated with our yacht and facing away from us is just a sign of great respect!

Capt. Peter

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 5 to Marquesas

2008-03-13T17:00:00.000Z

Thursday March 13^th 2008

Sailing Again!

After 18 hours of motoring we have now just got sufficient wind of about 6 knots to sail again. The quietness and beauty of a serene sail in idyllic seas after a long time of motoring has to be experienced to fully appreciate. We had a few showers in the night, but the grey dawn soon gave way to partially cloudy but mainly blue sky with an intensely clear and hot sun!

When you sail long sea passages you don’t sail in a straight line as drawn on a chart because of the curvature of the earth and the projection used in making a map on a flat chart. You sail what is called a great circle route which is the shortest distance between the two points. When you look at this route on a large “flat” chart it shows up as a long distinctive curve. For the WARC fleet, the relatively short sea passages so far in the southern hemisphere and the fact that they have been either due south or due west did not show up this curve. It should not have been a surprise, but when we left the Galapagos the curve went well south before it came back up north to the way point. In the northern hemisphere the curve goes the other way, north before it goes south again. Anyone who has flown across the Atlantic and have looked at the route taken by the plane will have noticed this pronounced curve.

Modern yacht have an array of instrumentation all fed by a multitude of small computers giving the most precise information and making navigation and route planning so much better than even a decade ago.

As an example of the sort of information you can download, today’s photo, which I hope you can make out, shows Asolare on a computer screen as a small red boat. The pattern from the boat in the direction of the Marquesas show lines at 4 hourly intervals and the fastest route to follow is shown as a solid red line with waypoints shown on it every four hours. The great circle route to the Marquesas is shown as the upper dotted line but because of the small scale does not show up as a curved line!

I hope you can see that we are tracking the lower red line fastest route that is calculated by knowing the wind strength and direction every four hours for the next three days, and the computer program has an immense data file specifically for Asolare and all the sail configuration possible and with all the “special” sails like our magical Parasailor included in the complex program.

If you look closely you should be able to see the wind arrows that indicate the direction and speed of the true wind at the time the photo was taken. I can progressively scroll forwards every four hours to see what we can expect in the next three days. Wind arrows with more and a longer “tail” on show stronger winds. You can tell that we are just on the northern edge of more wind to the south with little, if any, wind directly to the north of our position. Hence the wind field we have just gratefully gone into.

You see sailing is really very simple nowadays – just follow the yellow brick road!

It is really red but sounds much nicer in yellow!

Sorry about the rather tutorial type of email today but nothing else special to report!

Capt. Peter

World ARC yacht "Asolare" Leg 4 day 4 to the Marquesas

2008-03-13T01:20:00.000Z

Wednesday 12^th March 2008

The wind has, as expected, died down to below 4 knots so we cannot sail. Since 10.00pm last night we have been motoring and expect to do so for the next day or two!

The whole leg is about 3,000 so no yacht can motor even half way across so we all will need some good wind soon. Fuel is also needed to keep the batteries topped up so it is a logistical exercise to ensure you have enough fuel to get safely to and anchor in the Marquesas. We also know that we will have to jerry can all fuel to the yacht by dingy and with a tonne of fuel needed for an empty tank this is going to be quite an exercise!

No dramatic photos of the sailing so far, and with a freezer full of fish no fishing photos – yet!

I took the attached photo this early morning as sunrises and sunsets are generally always so beautiful and full of vivid colour. You should be here to share and enjoy them!!!

I tried to take inspiration from my daughter Sallyanne’s great reflection photo shown on the home page of Asolare’s web site at www.asolare.co.uk but it is a poor attempt by comparison. How can a mere male and Dad possibly compete with such a talented daughter!

Hope to be able to report some actual sailing – hopefully downwind tomorrow!

Capt. Peter

World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 3

2008-03-12T14:02:00.000Z

Tuesday 11^th March 2008

The sailing is still good with 9 to 10 knots of gentle breeze from the SE and a very useful current in our favour of 1.3 knots. Despite the low 5 knot apparent wind we are doing about 6 knots over the ground.

It is interesting to note that all the yachts to the north of our position have the same or better current but less wind, and all the yachts to the South of our position have less or no current but more wind!

It is a bit of a balancing act but I favour getting to the higher wind area despite loosing the current. We are therefore sailing at 225 deg rather than the 252 deg which we would need to steer to go directly to the Marquesas still, 2650 miles away!

I could not find out yesterday how to put two photos into the same “frame” despite several hours of frustrating trials with Abode Elements 5. The instructions always seem to leave out a vital step that should be obvious to any computer savvy photo programme user – which clearly does not include myself! Please see yesterday’s log.

I am therefore attaching a photo of myself very shortly after my too close encounter with a white tipped large shark who seemed to think my right glove was edible (and me inside it). You can see the glove is almost fully off my right hand!

“Go and see what the Tiger’s can do” Harry Ramsbottom’s famous request to his son Albert! – comes to mind!

Adios Mon Amigos

Capt. Peter

World Arc Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4 Day 2

2008-03-12T14:00:00.000Z

Saturday 10^th March 2008

Continued great sailing for all the fleet today with gentle 10 to 14 knot SE winds and a positive helpful current of 0.3 to 1 knot. This means that most yachts are making about 7 knots over the ground (3500 meters below us!).

I expect the wind to die a little tonight so making the most of it while it lasts.

I will attach a photo of several great white tipped sharks; one took an edible interest in my yellow gloves! If I can work it out, I will try to put two pics in the same frame, one of a startled me in my bright yellow gloves and the other of the sharks. If I cannot work out how to do it the second pic. will follow tomorrow. If you look closely you might just be able to make out a small fish directly in front of and below one of the sharks. ½ second later the fish was a nice tasty morsel for the shark! Sharks get into a feeding frenzy which seems to affect all the sharks as a group and it is best not to be amongst them in this state!

I unusually put on the high grip gloves to hang onto the vertical the rock face as I knew we would have a 2 knot current against us and would have to hang on tightly from time to time.

My normally well developed sense of self preservation eluded me on this occasion – never again!

Capt. Peter

World Arc Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4 Day 1

2008-03-12T13:56:00.000Z

Sunday 9^th March 2008

After an amazing stay in the Galapagos we are now sailing again, this time en route to the Marquesas about 3000 miles away. Eight rally yachts are still in the Galapagos getting repairs completed and enjoying the islands a little while lomger. The main fleet however are enjoying good breezes of 12 to 15 knots and even a little helpful current. We have had a strong adverse current on both leg 2 and 3 of up to 2.8 knots so this is much better and much more typical for this time of year. In about 4 days we should be far enough south to be able to take advantage of the Pacific Trade winds which should be from behind us for a change and enjoy some good down wind sailing! Attached photo is one of a series of underwater photos taken in the Galapagos. Amongst hundreds of fish and mammal spieses, sharks are always exciting to watch – this is a Hamerhead shark, named after the shape of its head, swimming past at about 3 feet away! I will attach a photo later of a much more scary moment – a very close encounter with several excited great white tipped sharks! I have all my fingers left to write this text so I escaped unharmed!

Capt. Peter

Asolare - Leg 3, Day 4 to Galapagos. Auditioning for the Royal Ocean Ballet...

2008-03-07T12:12:00.002Z

Hi Folks, Thursday the 27^th February sees Asolare crew auditioning for the Royal Ocean Ballet while sailing the Pacific….

Just kidding, but the picture looks like it! It’s actually my attempt to keep the crew and of course myself fit from all the food we seem to consume onboard. I have introduced Yoga, stretches and some ballet exercises that I have to admit are not going down too well at the moment, but by the time we arrive in The French Polynesia Islands we are hoping to look far more healthy and definitely thinner… Weight watchers, watch his space!

Joanne

Asolare - Leg 3, Day 3. Who says fishing's for the boys!

2008-03-07T12:06:00.002Z

Tuesday Feb 26^th…I was on my favourite watch, the early morning and was delighted to be entertained for several minutes by dolphins doing their ‘early morning dolphin dance’ just 10 metres away from the boat. The ‘early morning dolphin dance’ is far more entertaining than dolphins on the bow as it involves lots of intricate jumps and leaps out of the water and appears to be a dolphin competition between themselves. They jump really high and even do some short hops over the surface, well worth watching and I will be waiting in future with my camera set to video.

It was an especially eventful day as I also caught my first ‘flappy’ of the trip, third one for the boat. A dorado that matched Captain Peter’s in size, shape and battle to get the fish to the boat. Having caught a few fish in my time I was determined to bring the fish to the boat by myself (who says fishing’s for the boys!) Then the oddest thing happened. I tried to hold the fish by the tail for a photograph but it was too heavy. Deb lifted it by the gills and offered it to me to hold, but I couldn’t do it. I went all squeamish and girly and just couldn’t hold it, hence the photo with Deb holding it up for me and the one with it put on my knee. Deb started the butchering process but in her enthusiasm, cut her finger so Steve continued while Peter found antiseptic cream and a band aid. After sushi salad for lunch and 4 large steaks for dinner that were wonderfully cooked by Deb, the freezer is now full of fish and the rod has been put away until we have eaten more.

Asolare - World ARC Leg 3, Day 2, to the Galapagos Islands

2008-03-07T12:00:00.002Z

Today started with a chorus of “HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE, 52 TODAY”. Peter wanted to let him off all duties today, but Jo and I decided we weren’t allowing that.

After the opening of cards, presents and many photographs we settled into our daily routine. We had light winds. cloudy and unfortunately had to resort to engine power to make any way. Meanwhile Jo secretly made a birthday trifle. After our showers and sunset photographs of us on the bow Steve was banished to the cockpit to enjoy a beer, whilst Jo and I festooned Peter’s immaculate saloon with birthday tableware, paper cups bearing lollipops, balloons and streamers, then sat down to enjoy Jo’s meal of steak, mash potatoes, broccoli, onion sauce followed by the fruit trifle - excellent.

It was enough to be on a beautiful boat sailing to the Galapagos on Steve’s birthday, but this certainly made it a special day for him thanks to Jo and Peter.

Deb x

Leg 3 Day 1 24th February 2008

2008-03-07T11:43:00.002Z

It was a great pleasure and relief to leave La Libertad and the Lucia Yacht Club Marina! It was truly the worst marina I have ever been in. We spent two nights out of the marina due to the conditions. There were two very unacceptable problems – oil and swell.

The oil was everywhere and coated the warps, yacht hull and tender in a thick black goo in just a few hours. The Marina did a great job to elevate some of the problems by hiring warps and cleaning hulls etc. but the ever constant heavy swell kept the yachts in perpetual motion tugging very hard on the warps with every lurch and making horrendous noises as the yacht’s cleats took the full strain of a 27 Tonne Yacht being brought to halt from a wild swing every 5 secs or so. The space along a rock wall allocated to Asolare was totally inadequate in length as, with the fore warps attached to the wall, as close as was possible, the two aft warps had to be attached to two buoys that where actually in front of the stern and could not therefore hold the yacht back away from the wall adequately. After a long night of watching and adjusting, we were obliged to leave to anchor out of the harbour for the following night.

We entered the harbour the next day to a much better berth just vacated by a departing yacht but by then we had provided our two hired warps to “rescue” a wayward yacht that had broken several warps and was being damaged badly. We now had to use our own warps which are now, having left the marina, in buckets and large carrier bags awaiting our cleaning.

The facilities in the marina were excellent however with a good bar and restaurant, gym, swimming pool, hotel and meeting rooms.

Despite problems I was able to leave the marina for a short time and the attached photo was taken on the very Western Point of Ecuador and South America.

Capt. Peter

Leg 2 Day 5

2008-02-22T08:59:00.000Z

The weather today is disappointing with rain, heavy grey skies and low wind. For a yacht that thrives on good wind it is frustrating and we are having to use the engine most of the time. Wind for a yacht is like a good woman for a man, when the wind is light and variable it is like a fickle woman never knowing what she wants or what's great for her man and never giving true satisfaction, when the wind is too strong it is like a tempestuous woman keeping you "on the edge" demanding your unrelenting attention with sudden shifts of mood and aggression, but when the wind is just right it is blissful, the passage is progressive and exciting, always producing even more passion and excitement and affording the ultimate pleasure of being able to change the sails at will and with each change, admiring and appreciating the subtleties and joy of a true, perfect and satisfying relationship!

Thinking, every two minutes, of the same thing does not help!

Last night and this morning where overcast and dull so no great sunsets and sun rise photos. Instead I hope to attach a photo of the sand colours I mentioned in my previous log describing the magnificent Las Perlas Islands that we left just a short few short hours ago.

Capt Peter

Leg 2 Day 8 THE EQUATOR!

2008-02-22T08:46:00.005Z

The big news is that we crossed the equator today!

As by tradition we all sacrificed overboard something personally special to Neptune the God of the Sea as we crossed into the Southern ocean. For me it was a mars bar!

The crossing was not accompanied with good weather as it continues to rain from very heavy grey skies. The wind remains light so we are continuing to use our engine. We have used more engine hours on this single short leg than the entire engine hours recorded since leaving Gibraltar! Across the entire Atlantic we only used our engine for 42 mins.!

The grey skies and rain could not dampen our spirits as we are all very excited at crossing into the southern `Hemisphere! I could not possibly tell you what we did and what happened to me just after the attached photo was taken – anybody can read this log!!

Suffice to say that we had a great time and the clothes washing machine and water maker are working overtime!

We have calculated that we can only enter the La Libertad, Ecuador yacht harbour at near high water and we will be arriving just outside the required tide height this evening so we will have to anchor outside the harbour until midday tomorrow. The next log will be our first impressions of Ecuador!

Peter

Leg 2, Day 7

2008-02-22T08:43:00.001Z

Another great fish catch! Again a Mahi-Mahi but not quite as big, but still could not fit in the cockpit floor!

Gutting, cleaning and filleting is always quite a task with such a large fish but on this occasion we had a surprise in store as the fish’s stomach contained another large fish!

This time, having produced scores of fillets we cut the huge tail section into 15 or so vertical steaks, each about 1” (25mm) thick. We used our machete, normally used for cutting and opening coconuts, to chop through the central bone. We tested our creations this evening with a rich fish soup followed by the fish steaks nestled on a bed if spicy chopped carrots and served with sauté potatoes.

All this on an otherwise literally dull day! The wind continued very light, but for some tantalising few hours, light from behind rather than dead “on the nose”. We tried our three “white” sails in a triple goosewing, then our Gennaker with the Genoa, and finally the Gennaker with an asymmetric spinnaker. In all cases, apart from a blissful period of two hours, the wind was just too light to make any real sailing sense, but it was fun trying – very trying!

So no great photo opportunities – and when you have seen a photo of one Mahi-Mahi you have seen them all!

Instead I attach a photo taken when leaving the Las Perlas Islands of a monster rock guarding and defending the Islands!

Capt. Peter

Leg 2 Day 6 BIG, BIG fish!

2008-02-22T08:38:00.002Z

The day dawned again with an overcast grey sky. The wind was very light – about 6 knots “on the nose” so we continued motoring. Even the sea was uninviting as we were motoring through large patches of dark brown water. We put a sample white bucket over the side and had a large quantity of brown and white particulate in the water. For interest we will leave the bucket to settle overnight. As we are 125 miles from the coast this cannot be river sand but possibly tanker tank washing effluent. We came across several such large patches of very brown water. Tomorrow it should be interesting as, although we cannot do a “group 6” analysis, we should be able to deduce the source.

The “big” news for today is that we caught, AND LANDED, a huge mahi-mahi (or non – porpoise type “dolphin” fish). It had superb colouration of very bright green and yellow but this very soon fades. It took a real effort to lift it over the side and put it in the cockpit. We have a large cockpit but it was still too small to lay the fish out across it!

We have now fully filleted the fish and have probably 7 kilo (18lbs) of filleted fish in the deep freezer. We also made a great raw fish sushi using soy sauce and lemon juice and freshly boiled rice – what a treat!

The winds are continuing very light and most yachts in the fleet are reporting been low in fuel after many days of continuous motoring. We have a large 900 litre fuel tank so we have no such worries – fortunately.

We are now working out what sumptuous fish meal we can concoct for his evening – we already have a bottle of great white wine in the fridge. Life on board does not get much better from an eating point of view!

I again hope to attach a photo of the fish but please view the photo very briefly before I drop the fish!

We are now only just above 4 Deg. North, and heading due south so we will be crossing the equator in about 2 days time. We will be celebrating this with individual “gifts” over the side to Neptune – a long established custom where all sailors, on crossing the equator toss one of their favourite items for good luck. For me that will be a Mars Bar! By now there must be quite a ridge of goodies encircling the globe on the equator sea floor!

Capt. Peter

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-15T10:31:00.003Z

Today we reluctantly left the Archipelago de Las Perlas to give them their correct name. Over one hundred islands, mostly small and uninhabited, others with air strips and great hotels and restaurants. Most with fantastic, dreamy beaches. The tidal range here in the Pacific Ocean is about 7 meters, compared with less than one meter in the western Atlantic/ Caribbean so the beaches are long and beautiful soft sand, fringed with both Coconut Palm and Deciduous trees. Gentle freshwater streams meander down the long sand making fantastic patterns with the separation of the intensely black volcanic and golden sand colours. Some beaches have low cliffs with freshwater waterfalls falling right onto the beach and orgasmic sailors! Bounty TV advertising - eat your heart out!

Couple this with clear, intensely blue skies, warm sunshine and cooling breezes and you have a cocktail for heaven! I am sure you can see why we were reluctant to leave - but we have greater delights and new experiences ahead - so sail on!

The wind is light and we are now about 30 miles from Las Perlas Islands with 650 mile to go to our next landfall in Equador. Progress is slow so we are motor sailing but will pick up better winds before nightfall in two hours time so we will be sailing through the night - a night sure to be absolutely full of stars, brighter than you could possibly imagine, and with the added bonus of the rise and fall of the inspiring Southern Cross star group.

We have multi-spotted dolphins on the bow, a brief glimpse of a whale making a huge splash, and a stowaway bird on Sallyannes's seat, feeling so relaxed with the calm and beautiful scene, so much so that even the bird is yawning! He has clearly seen it all before and looks down casually, ever so often, at the prancing and leaping dolphins.

Capt Peter

Gap in "Daily" Logs!

2008-02-15T10:01:00.002Z

Sorry about the gap in the "daily" logs. It has been extraordinarily busy with the arrangements before going through the canal, the canal transit itself and the tiresome chase around Panama to locate even the simplest item of yachting gear! Now ordered from the states, for delivery in Ecuador! Panama had a Carnival which effected almost all of the time we were there including two days after the Carnival had officially finished. I also had to chase two courier deliveries and a very large new Parasail being shipped from Hong Kong. The return of the repaired Genoa sail was
delivered at 8.00pm on the evening before departure in the morning at 8.00am! This coupled with an average of 15 business emails a day, and crew who do not want to do daily logs, is my excuse. I am now going to include daily log
writing in crew's daily responsibilities! It was a great relief therefore to leave Panama. We are now in the Pearle Islands off the coast of Columbia only about 40 miles from Panama but will be leaving here later today. Yesterday we were on a deserted Island and had several coconuts cut from the Palm Trees to keep us cool with the delicious coconut milk. Very romantic but nobody to share the romance with!

I have attached a photo of the central lake in the Panama Canal, flooded to make the canal, with only three huge locks up and three locks down with short sections of actual canal at both "ends".
Next log should be a press ganged crew!

Log Day 4 & 5

2008-01-31T22:06:00.000Z

So many times people ask crews on long sea passages “don’t you get bored!” The vision clearly is that once you have set the autopilot all you do is eat, take watch and sleep!

Comments like “I hope you have lots and lots of books to read” amplify this notion.

Nothing could be further from the truth as you are running your own tiny Principality, concerned with waste disposal and management, water making and monitoring, electrical generation and power management, laundry and ironing sheets and clothes, cleaning decks, cabin and galley (Nautical term for Kitchen), food store monitoring of fresh fruit and vegetables, turning over eggs daily, catching fish, filleting and barbequing, baking bread daily, monitoring deep frozen stocks and using oldest stock, changing and reefing sails, recording ship’s log every hour, writing this log, entering pages onto the ship’s website (www.asolare.co.uk), communicating with the rest of the fleet by VHF and SSB radio and checking that everybody’s OK and recording every yacht’s position, sending daily position to World Cruising in Cowes, helping in sea rescues when called upon, administering cold cures, sickness cures, stomach upsets and toothache tablets, and the biggest and most enjoyable “task” of all, making and eating sumptuous meals enjoyed with great wine – the washing up is done by a dishwasher!

Hence two day’s logs in one!!!

At sea, well away from land we get amazing sun rises and sunsets, together with stunningly clear night skies with more stars than you ever have seen before.

Today’s photo is of me on the pulpit bow seat at sunset where we had been watching about 12 dolphins leap and cavorting around the bow at the end of Day 4.

Serenity was interrupted in the evening of Day 4 when I was awakened with the noise of rapidly increasing wind strength. I knew that this meant potential damage to the rig which was set for very modest winds that were forecast to reduce if anything. I donned my lifejacket and was just coming up on deck when Disaster struck again!

The very sturdy Genoa came falling down into the sea on the starboard side as its halyard had parted. We struggled to get it back on board as the wind continued to increase. It was a race against time as the large gennaker was being overpowered on the port side. We partially released the sheet and halyard for the gennaker as we struggled with the Genoa. We eventually got it back on board. By now the wind was gusting to 45 knots and we tried hard to furl the gennaker but the wind was far too strong and this in a completely clear night with no rain or squalls that could have accounted for the very sudden and rapid increase of wind speed. We lost the battle and the halyard for the Gennaker parted and the sail fell down the port side into the sea. With the rapid slowing of the yacht still, however, doing 7 knots under bare poles, it was relatively easy to pull it back on board. The photo shows the calm conditions and the two actual sails and that went into the sea only hours after the photo was taken. It is going to be a slower passage to Panama now as we cannot launch any downwind sails and we also do not have a head sail any longer!

A good hot shower followed by a good sleep prepared us for all the duties and activities scheduled for the next day as listed above!!!

Capt. Peter

Log Day 3

2008-01-31T21:57:00.000Z

Another great day’s downwind sail although much slower because we have no spinnaker halyard to hoist our Gennaker or Spinnaker. We have a considerable swell from the north east combining with waves of about 3 meter height making it a difficult, and in my view, too potentially dangerous a task to go up the mast to replace the spinnaker halyard. We will do this when we reach Panama.

We concentrated instead in fishing and cooking great meals. Our attached photo shows Marcel having energetically just brought a big fish to within 2 meters of the yacht when it did a giant leap and got away – fishy story if you ask me!

For our evening meal we had a variety of canapés as appetizers with a good white wine, followed by rice, bolognaise sauce and broccoli with a great red wine! The bolognaise sauce was actually made and frozen by my daughter, Sallyanne, for use during our Atlantic crossing with the ARC 2007. We toasted Sallyanne, and Rabbie Burns – it was Burns night and with a Scottish lady on board – very fitting and a good excuse for a wee dram!

The evening’s entertainment was rounded off with part 1 of “The Godfather”, during which, Lyne turned down the Bose sound system fully as, during a very noisy gun battle, she was worried that the yacht was under attack by Pirates!!! - not unheard of north of Venezuela!

This was written on the 26th Jan. during which there was a dramatic sea rescue attempt for four sailors who had to abandon a sinking boat. The boat was not a World ARC yacht but three World ARC Yachts were soon on the scene joined later by three more WARC yachts. Asolare was instrumental in monitoring and relaying vital position reports and identifying WARC yachts in a position to reach the search area before nightfall. We, unfortunately were too far away to render assistance. At the time of writing one sailor had been rescued and a search pattern was established for the other three.

More information on the World ARC web site. We pray that the three others are quickly found and rescued!

Capt. Peter.

World ARC Log Day 1 and 2. Great Start from St Lucia but Disaster on Day 2!

2008-01-31T21:34:00.000Z

All yachts made a good start in St Lucia crossing the line at 1210pm rather than 1200pm as a non-ARC yacht went aground in the entrance channel to the Marina blocking three World ARC yachts trying to get out!

We all enjoyed very good conditions for the first afternoon, but three yachts had to return to port with various minor mechanical and electronic problems.

The conditions remained very good into the second day where all yachts achieved good distances in the first 24 hours. We made a credible 188 miles, just short of the magical 200 miles a day!

At 1900, just as we were enjoying a pre-dinner drink, disaster struck!

With a dull thud sound that is now getting all too familiar on Asolare, I watched the 100sq m Gennaker descend rapidly into the sea at the side of the yacht!

“ALL HANDS ON DECK”. Being a well trained crew they came rapidly up on deck having donned life jackets and harnesses and quickly furled the main and the mizzen sails and proceeded to haul the trailing Gennaker back over the rail.

“Asolare” is an Amel 54 with a solid stainless steel upper guard rail and this makes this procedure very much easier that most yachts that are fitted with an upper guard wire. The Gennaker was quickly back on board undamaged and stowed safely in the sail locker.

The problem was a broken halyard, see photo, that was the same halyard, with the same sail, that failed during our ARC 2007 Atlantic crossing, dumping our Gennaker then unceremoniously into the sea.

The halyard was made from new Deema 14mm rope purchased in Las Palmas at Euro10.45 per meter so it should have been well up to the task! It is now relegated to a 40 meter hand ship’s line to use in the Panama Canal and then will be discarded!

24 hours is a long time on a yacht in challenging conditions – (35 knot squall fronts right now) so keep reading! Sailing is great fun punctuated with short periods of panic and feverous activity!

Peter Turner
Capt., and with three great cooks at 45 deg, chief bottle washer!

Mon 24 Dec 07 - Christmas Eve on ASOLARE

2007-12-24T18:00:00.001Z

It is Christmas Eve and all aboard ASOLARE (Dad, Clare and I – Jonathan escaped Rodney Bay shortly after arrival in order to meet up with a girlfriend in Martinique) have awoken to wonderful sunshine breaking past the Pitons. We stayed at Rodney Bay until all the PARTIES had finished and Friday evening prize giving completed. (We came 3rd in Division and 1st out of all the AMELs). Leaving Rodney Bay sat morning - we set off to enjoy some quieter (and earlier nights) – whilst conduct a short tour of some of the best Restaurants on the island by Sea! The three of us had the pleasure of three guests – Pauline – a St Lucian friend of mine that I worked with 3 years ago on the ARC. Also Caroline and Nunu from Yacht FARAWAY. The three of them joined us for the sail down the coast and sundowners before catching a taxi back to Rodney Bay

Saturday night we moored in Marigot Bay where we managed to book a table at Chef James Verity's 'Rainforest Hideaway' (Known as RFH) restaurant. The restaurant overlooks a pretty view on the waters edge set into a beautiful 'rainforest' garden with a quaint purpose built (underwater lit) dingy dock. The price of a 2 or 3 course meal is set - so we had great pleasure in ordering exactly what we wanted without comparing prices. Even better - a 2-course meal turned out to be the 2 courses we selected supplemented with 3 additional interim dishes chosen by the Chef to compliment our order. So content – but not wishing to miss an opportunity to taste one of the desserts we had a Cheesecake and three spoons – probably the best cheese cake I've ever tasted! Just as we were leaving we spotted a dingy from 'HIPPOPOTAMUS' (another ARC boat) approaching us declaring that in the bay with the full moon it was possible to the sea bed and fish …. So we did … followed by Gin 'n' Tonic on ASOLARE – so another late night!
Sunday morning we explored Marigot Bay and its Marina development. Conducted some panic Christmas shopping, managed to book a table at the famous Lindera restaurant and bumped into 'TROY' – a Marina Manager who recently moved from Rodney Bay to Marigot Bay. Having worked along side Troy the past 3 years it was great to see him again. By late morning we were on our way to the Pitons – a race against time in order to make our table reservation of 1830hrs.

We arrived at the Pitons mid afternoon and decided to moor between the two at Jalousie Bay. A quick swim before getting ready to go out - we made it just in time and watched the sun set over the Pitons from the famous 'Lindera' Restaurant high up on a ridge between the two Pitons looking down on Jalousie Bay. The view was spectacular so 10/10 for location but we were a little disappointed with the food. As nice as it was we thought the food at RFH was outstanding in comparison.

This afternoon we plan to return to Rodney Bay for Christmas Eve Sundowners with other ARC boats. ASOLARE has extended an invitation to all other ARC boats to depart for an early 0500hrs morning sail to watch the sunrise and enjoy a Christmas Bacon and Egg Buttie and Glass of Champagne. We plan to deliver everyone back to Rodney Bay shortly after 9am to enjoy Christmas morning in their own way!!!

Breakfast Invitation

2007-12-20T12:56:00.001Z

The crew of Asolare cordially invite our Skipper Peter and anyone else
who can make it, to breakfast Cafe Ole, Rodney Bay Marina, this morning
at 9am

Asolare in Rodney Bay

2007-12-19T12:30:00.000Z

This is the morning after Cuthbert Didier's Marina Manager's party, so a slow start for Asolare crew this morning!