At 11:30 last night we were both up keeping out the rain just in the cabin wondering if the windpilot could control a 30 knot squall.  The answer is yes and it has the max speed for this leg at 12.1 knots!  The wind changed to the NE with that squall. We thought it would [...]

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The quote in the title is from Pamela Stephenson’s book Treasure Islands subtitled “Sailing the south seas in the wake of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson” and certainly true.  David Lunt, who helped crew Giselle across Biscay, gave me this book by Billy Connolly’s wife as amusing reading which it certainly is.  Especially some of [...]

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Making excellent progress but having to work a bit harder.  Squalls coming through since the middle of the night with 10 knot wind increase.  All across the Atlantic and in the Caribbean the squalls were just 5 knots so easy to accommodate.  Other close by still struggling with low winds.  We are getting a base [...]

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Strategy of keeping north has worked well.  In much better wind than the boats 60 miles south.  We have been able to sail all day at 6.5 knots. Our second cargo boat that we have seen since the Galapagos was as surprised as us to see someone else. Kao Shen No 6 altered course 20 [...]

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Past the halfway point.  Less than 1500 miles to Marquesas Islands.  Quieter conditions, full sails and some motoring at night.  Still trying to keep north for better winds and better sailing angle when the winds go further into the east.  Next half may be slower if the forecast is to be believed. Position: [-5.775,-114.858] at [...]

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We are very proud of our daughter.  The degree results were announced today and She got a 2.1.  We will be with her in spirit at the graduation ceremony.  Celebration meal will be in some Pacific Island when she joins us in August. We had a minke whale just behind the boat yesterday.  By just [...]

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Great sail during the day and into the first part of the night but then it the wind oscillated up and down.  We took out reefs to put them back in again during a rain squall.  Then we headed nearly south to stop the main bagging about in light winds.  At the moment the radar [...]

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Wind came back yesterday morning and we had the “pinkie” up*.  I “had” to hand steer for about 3 hours to keep it full.  Great little patch.  Then the wind was enough for just genoa and has stayed that way giving us a good day’s run. Like you we have a full moon and I [...]

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Wind died yesterday lunch time after we had had a lovely pink spinnaker run.  Motored all night but now there are signs of a sailing breeze. Passed a number of milestones – 1/4 the way from Galapagos to Marquesas; pass the 10,000 miles for the trip so far from Scotland and Giselle has passed the [...]

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Wind eased back last night and went around to the east.  Not what was predicted but I suspect the forecasts in this area won’t be very accurate given the distance from any data collection and lack of anybody to appreciate the forecasters skills!  Still managing 5.0 knots over the ground just and going the correct [...]

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