More pics

Servicing the winches. 

Cutting up the plastics to recycle 

No burns in our galley

Shorts over board time. Must have been sitting too much!!

Danny and Tanya's turn in the galley

10 minutes after our arrival. Rum punch in hand. 

A fine pair! 

Jack sparrow . Not

Our route

More to come soon

Photo time

Atlantic Blog#19 - Saturday 13th December 2014

We have finished - time of 18 Days, 23 hours, 26 minutes, and a few seconds.  That's 18 DAYS across the Atlantic.  Very well done to Team Laros, and especially Laros herself.  24 years old this year, and she carried us through thick and thin.  Congratulations to James at the helm too!  We are elated.  Rum punch on the dockside was fab.  Breakfast is calling - seems to be the priority over showers. Today is a St Lucia holiday, of all days to arrival.  Call that timing.  Big party and fireworks tonight, just for our arrival.

That's it, I guess !!

Atlantic Blog#18 - Friday 12th December 2014

This our penultimate blog of the crossing is, uniquely, composed as we sit together over tea in the cockpit, with light drizzle coming in over the back deck - that's not lemon drizzle!  We must report a sad and emotion occasion.  Today at 11am we stood, silently, while Danny said his last farewells to a favourite pair of shorts, torn right through the back after 18 days of constant wear and tear, mainly through falling A over T on the foredeck so many times.  Johnny went up the mast - again - not quite so far this time, though at sparrow's and still in the dark, in a pitching sea, to re-secure the lower end of the spinnaker pole stuck up the track.  The weather was dreich (that seems to be Scottish for s***ty weather, according to Danny).  Another Team Laros job well done, and yes Danny was the trusty winchman again.  We've learned a new dance called the pole-ka.  It involves moving the pole from one side of the boat to the other on a regular basis.  We have not been able to hold a steady course direct to St Lucia (which seems like the thing to do to us, this close in) because of the enormous swell hitting our stern quarters, and the wind directly down the line.  It's like a rollercoaster in 4D, pitched, rocked, rolled and yawed, all in one.  So we have tried one course, then another, then a variant of the first - I guess you get the picture. The trip into St Lucia is now showing one decimal place on the mileage, so we are into double digits.  We are likely to come in behind Little Pea as she has kept her pace and lead, and we are just that little bit too far away from her to catch her on handicap now.  It is most appropriate at this moment to say a big thank you to all those who have helped and supported us across the Atlantic.  The land-based Team Laros members are split between Australia and England.  Susie and Nick in Sydney have been our tacticians, watching the competition and guiding us onto the wind.  Laura has been our trusty blog-master, converting our plain texts across the radio waves, to the blog for your consumption, as soon off the press as possible.  All of you for the cake recipes, they have been morale boosting.  And, of course, all of you who have been encouraging us on with your comments and emails.  We are told we have a fan base similar to that of One Direction, that's because we are only able to go in one direction, that's 260' .  We close, earlier than usual, to make the most of the transmission slots this evening. We will transmit once more tomorrow morning (hopefully), as we cross the line. You will probably see this as we do, on Yellowbrick.  So, for now, after 18 days and some hours (can we scrape in under the 19 days?), TTFN.  Catch us next on Facebook, after the rum punch, shower, shave, and a huge fat-boys' breakfast!

Atlantic Blog#17 - Thursday 11th December 2014

A day of surprises!  After a glorious latter part of the night, we sat down to breakfast as usual.  Muesli, honey nut crunchies, milk and orange juice, and Danny baking par bake rolls in the galley with coffee.  A dull thud.  A door banging closed in the heads perhaps.  From Deb 'Did anyone notice when the mainsail came down!'  What!! Thank goodness for the lazyjacks (guides down each side of the mainsail to pack it onto the top of the boom when lowering the sail).  Yes, the main had come down all of a sudden.  Chafe on the halyard cutting through it?? Luckily not, because we could see the remains of the shackle which used to be attached to the top of the mainsail in the pulley at the mast head.  Well, we could have used the topping lift as a makeshift halyard.  But Johnny thought best to retrieve the stronger proper halyard if we could.  Yes, that meant going up the mast.  So duty called on the skipper and up he went.  Stalwart winchman Danny was not prepared for a long slow pull up the mast, so on fast speed on the manual winch up J went.  He doth proclaim it was a bit wobbly, and you could see he was clinging on with muscles bulging.  But he got there, grabbed the halyard, and inspected everything at the top too!  New shackle, and back up she goes.  Back to normality.  Well, would you believe.  No sooner had calm returned, than the generator spluttered, coughed and stopped, during the battery charging double hour.  Phut!!  I don't think that was quite the word.  Pre-filter changed in quick time, only to find the electric pump with heart attack.  Into the spares, and yes, that cylindrical round thing, of which there are 3, is NOT a spare pump.  No spare pump.  Note, to self - buy 2 as replacements.  So we progress through our penultimate day without the aid of the generator.  Batteries charged with the engine alternators this evening, will keep us going 'til morning.  We have plenty of water, both in the tanks for washing and bottles for drinking, so we are fit for the next 48 hours.  But an interesting start to Thursday!!  Chocolate brownie made yesterday for tea, and cassoulet from the bilge tins for supper.  We are ready for another night of good winds and moonshine.  We are making good speed, but for one 5 knot/hour we have been in the 6s and 7s each hour today.  We passed into the 100s (199) just after midnight (Thu/Fri) so look set for a Saturday morning (UTC -4) arrival.  Yippeeeee!

Atlantic Blog#16 - Wednesday 10th December 2014

There are some experiences you only come across once or twice in a lifetime.  Danny and Tanya do not accord this statement to their night of torrential rain storms and strong winds.  They seem to get the worse watches for weather.  But tonight we have been blessed with a clear night's sky full rich with all the stars and planets you could wish to see, plus a golden yellow moon 3/4 on the wane which has lit up the sky for the majority of the night.  We are speeding along at an average of 7 knots/hour with our usual sail rig, headsail poled out and one reef in the mainsail. We must remember to knock the reef out in the morning!  The wind is a consistent 15 knots form just south of east.  We are just hoping that since our course has been direct to St Lucia, Little Pea will have to come up to our line and therefore lose time doing so (wishful thinking?).  More micro-waved cakes today.  A cinamon tea cake, for tea, and chocolate brownie for tomorrow!  May it last!  We will crack the 300 miles by watch change at 8 tomorrow(Thursday).  The islands of St Lucia and Martinique are growing bigger by the day.  All good.

We have passed the 300 mile point just now, so counting the hours down to a Sat morning finish, fair winds assumed.

Atlantic Blog#15 - Tuesday 9th December 2014

Today we finally managed to track down a very curious noise coming from the foredeck.  It appeared yesterday intermittently, and got louder and more frequent this morning.  It was like an incessant whine from a car brake left on.  After breakfast we couldn't stand it much longer so we scoured the front deck.  It was coming from the cruising chute bag, and when we opened it, it was plain to hear;  'let me out, fly me before I wither away!',  was the whine.  So we did.  And cruised along for 4 hours at 8+ knots.  In the glorious sunshine, it lifted our spirits to see the red, white and blue stripped pattern of the chute pulling us along.  We sacrificed a little north in our course, but it was worth it.  Little Pea, eat your heart out.  The rest of the day returned to routine headsail poled out to port and back on 260' heading for St Lucia.  We crossed the 600 mile line last night around midnight, and the 500 mile just as dusk drew on and sundowners came up.  Including tonight, 2 long watches and 2 short left for each watch pair before our day of arrival.  We added an extra hour to our day with clocks going back at 5pm.  Now only one more change to get us on St Lucia time.  As provisions are becoming ad hoc, evening meals are a complete surprise - whatever Deb and Tanya can put together from storage in the bilges for the chef of the day.  The home-made pizza and sweetcorn salad went down a treat.  Micro'd chocolate brownie was an interesting concoction.  It turned into a sweet desert consumed from a glass and spoon with afternoon tea!  The chocolate monster appearing in the microwave oven window as it cooked was something else.  Maybe we'll try another recipe next time.  Our daily YellowBrick ping shows us to be roughly in the same position relative to Class G fleet as the last few days.  We are staying a little north of the red line to hold onto the winds we have, with the option of some more south in our course over the last few days.  Beards are becoming very itchy, and razors sharpened.  Have no fear, there will be plenty of beard exposure on camera before the cut on Saturday, but it will be quick.  We are salivating at the options for our first 'I missed that so much in the last 3 weeks' .  Will it be a long hot shower, a cold beer from a real glass, or surf and turf with baked potato and green salad?  Maybe all 3 on the same day!  It's just 3 days away ...... wooooeeeehh!

ATLANTIC BLOG#14 - MONDAY 8TH DECEMBER 2014 (2 WEEKS AT SEA!)

You might think that living on top of each other for days on end, you'd become accustomed to fellow travellers traits.  Well, yes, I think so.  But every now and then, something new appears.  For example, Danny has not before been noted for his avid reading style - owl glasses on, head down, almost literally buried in a book (the paper type).  Yet the Atlantic experience, or the air, or something has turned this usually enthusiastic helmsman into a quiet, withdrawn, contemplative character who is to be found curled into the corner of the sprayhood disturbing no-one.  Perhaps the young fella is slowing down after all!  Deb, on the other hand, has taken up station on the rear deck with mighty fishing rod in hand, a new swanky type with a big drum and lots of line.  Today was the big one.  Yes, really, it was thii-----iis big.  Yes, it was - was being the operative word.  The recovery, they say is the most difficult part.  Bring on the next lure! Tanya has installed herself as the resident masterchef.  A mean vegetable curry was enjoyed by all, exhibiting a genius only working with leftovers can bring out.  Umhh, those chickpeas are something else.  Sea weed is on the menu tonight, there's much of it around.  It must be the confluence of many currents bringing lots of swirling masses of green in our path.   Deb's micro'd lemon drizzle cake went down a storm.  If the night watch snack time had not been enforced, it would have been consumed in one very short sitting.  Washing, winches, and water making took up the remainder of our day, and still we seemed to be lazing about the cockpit for most of the day.  It was rather cloudy, I was going to say uncharacteristically, but we have experienced quite a few cloudy days.  The moon last night was shrouded in a self-lighted halo effect, obscuring the best of her brightness.  Nonetheless, her relative brilliance through the night has a warming effect on the darker hours of the night watches.  Heat in the cabins below is beginning to tell.  The thermometer read 28' today, which doesn't seem much in the greater scheme of things (I'm sorry if that sounds inconsiderate to you all shivering in the wintery British conditions), but even with most hatches open, the effect is debilitating. Makes cooking a labour of love.  The sunshade currently residing on the port side of the bimini has been renamed the Glaswegian screen saver, just to accommodate Mr McCulloch's sun-hiding habit. We apologise to our readers for the late arrival of yesterday's blog.  Transmission airwaves appears to be overloaded at the appointed hour, so an afternoon transmission had to suffice.  Better luck today.  As I finish the blog this morning and prepare to transmit (Tuesday @ 8am), the trip is showing 598 miles to go.  Early Saturday morning, 18 days 23 hours and 59 minutes, is still looking possible, at 150/day.  We are currently on UTC -2 (Universal Time Co-ordinated, Greenwich Mean time in old money), so 2 hours behind our British readers.  We change to UTC-3 today, and UTC -4 on Friday, to bring us in line with St Lucia time (we should really be horizontal on Saturday to be in tune with Caribbean time).  So a finish time before 7am our time, and 11am your time is our aim.  How exciting is this?

Atlantic Blog#14 - Sunday 7th December 2014

Today has been one of the quietest and relaxed of the trip. The winds continue to blow from the SE at a steady 15-20 knots. Initially we have been maintaining a just-south-of-westerly course, as satnav tells us St Lucia is about 260' .  The weather forecasters are predicting lighter winds to the south, so about lunchtime as the wind shifted slightly to the south we changed our course more to the north.  Little Pea, Class G leader, has headed to our south.  This is not a race, you understand. Yeah, right!  So keep your fingers crossed for fair winds to the north.  Thank you to all for the microwave cake recipes, especially the Lemon Drizzle Cake again.  We are on our last gas bottle so trying to conserve on cooker use.  Generator is doing sterling work with water making, battery top up and washing, so in between our favourite cake, apart from Tanya's chocolate brownies (we're saving that for the last but one day), will be zapped up tomorrow.  There have been few notable events today.  Much book reading in evidence.  The daily routine of chopping plastics, wiping through the cockpit (main on-deck crew area) and saloon (sitting room) floors, and making sure everything is shipshape (tidy) in the galley (kitchen) in preparation for the next watch's (shift's) brew stop (tea break), has continued.  Last night and this morning we were down to our 2nd reef (sail size reduction) in both the main sail and the big sail at the front.  Progressively today, we have knocked out both, to a comfortable 1st reef in the main only, and that mostly because we have become accustomed to protecting the 1st batten car.  It remains firmly unattached to the mast (the main sail has thin strips of stout plastic running the full width of the sail maintaining a pre-stressed curve to aid efficient wing shape; the batten is attached to the mast track by an articulating arm and runner, the car).  Although our fresh food stocks are depleting rapidly, we continue to maintain the highest of culinary standards, with today's offering starting at late breakfast, with freshly squeezed carton of orange juice, scrambled dijons of ham and eggs, sautéed premier cru pomme de terres in a butter joue, served with crusty bread rolls and a selection of red berry jams.  Tea of coffee to complement, of course.  Lunch at 2pm:  finely rolled wraps with a thin coating of mayonnaise, the last of the fresh tomatoes and lettuce, a flavouring of mild tomato salsa, spiced with chorizo and salami slivers.  Finely selected Mr Robinsons' blackcurrants blended with mountain spring water to accompany them.  And for supper, vegetable ragou on a bed of cream of mashed potato.  Mouth watering menus!  How are we surviving the rigours of the Atlantic?

Atlantic Blog#13 - Saturday 6th December 2014

As Day 14 approaches, and the 1000 miles to go mark passes, it is beginning to dawn on the crew of intrepid Laros that the adventure is coming to a close.  We are not wishing our time away but the miles are seemingly skooting past. Each day brings its own trials and tribulations, but also its highs and memories.  We celebrated with warm bubbles 1800 miles under our belts, and 1000 to go, at 4.20pm this afternoon, a little earlier than predicted.  The wind swung to the south east last night, as Tanya and Danny grappled to keep Laros on course amid dramatic changes of wind direction and strength.  We have enjoyed fairly constant southeasterlies on our beam ever since, romping alone at 6s and 7s, and occasionally 8s.  We should be back to 150+miles/day.  Saturday in Rodney Bay seems a realistic prospect.  We each are selecting our chosen arrival time.  The day was glorious sunshine and relatively flat seas, and 3 of Laros' 10 winches were cleaned, greased and reassembled (making sleeping in the aft cabin when reefing the headsail soooooo much quieter!).  Plastics were chopped and stowed.  Meat in vacuum packed bags checked and thrown.  Sheets washed, dried and beds remade (how do you survive without a washing machine?).  And the bucket and cloth refrigerator tried - without success.  There are no fish in mid-Atlantic, fact, though the hardy among us continue to try their hand with the fishing tackle.  We caught sight of another boat on our port quarter perhaps 6 miles away.  She moved to our stern for the afternoon and was gone as dusk fell.  Today Danny found the music machine on board.  The only song appropriate, and I know many of you will be familiar with this, was The Mighty Atlantic by Runrig, followed, of course by their show-closing By the Banks of Loch Lomond. A fitting herald to dusk. Now we are enduring the Atlantic swell again, with a vengeance.  Corkscrewing at 7.5 knots under a cloudy moonlit sky will be one of the challenges remembered when it's all over.  The moon this evening at moonrise was the biggest, yellowest and brightest we have seen it. Full round and huge. It is with us all through the night.  We shall enjoy it each of the remaining 6 nights to StLucia.  How lucky are we!

Atlantic Blog#12 - Friday 5th December 2014

Laros has experienced almost every point of sailing in the last 24 hours, more precisely in the last 4 when Danny and Tanya fought torrential rain, and blows from the north all the way through to the south.  Unusually, we are striding along on port tack, at a good 6-7 knots, which we have named the washing tack. 6-7 knots has been about standard for today, thankfully, as the 4-5 knots was getting tedious.  Still, we covered 117 miles in the last 24 hours.  Fingers crossed, the stronger winds will now stay with us across the remainder of the passage.  We are looking forward to celebrating crossing the last 1000 mile mark tomorrow evening around sundowners, for which a bottle of bubbles will be chilled (OK, cooled) in the bucket on deck. Lots of water making today, some into bottles to go back into the front 2 water tanks which seem to be self-depleting over time. The fridges were cleaned out and plastics crushed and cut into empty water bottles. The 'Jerry the Rigger daily 3 minute rig check' proved its worth - we would still be straining to replace the boom gooseneck pin if not for a judicious eye over the all visible parts of the standing rigging this afternon.  Moon and stars have been much in evidence.  As the sun sets, so the moon rises, and vice versa during the 4-8 watch.  We are lucky to have a full moon now which will stay with us on the wane as we approach St Lucia.  Skies at night are a mixture of wind laden clouds and clear starlit skies.  During the day, we always seem to be in the middle of clear skies with weather clouds 360'm around us - an optical illusion no less.  We are resigned to less cakes on the last third of our crossing as we have just changed onto our last gas bottle, though micro-wave cake making is promised as the new alternative.  The culinary standard of meals just gets better and better.  Danny has become accustomed to serving fantastic breakfasts of fruit juice, mixed serial with fruit, followed by coffee and crusty bread and jam.  Deb served superb  lasagne and salad (the last of the fresh) this evening.  It might just be the day for a celebratory bread and butter pudding this evening!!

Atlantic Blog#11 - Thursday 4th December 2014

Spectacular sunrises and brilliantly coloured sunsets mark the two ends of our days.  Light airs are hampering fast forward progress, so we are down to scraping 5 knots per hour across the ground.  Keen to increase the pace, we flew the cruising chute in a number of guises this morning, first on the starboard tack, then on the port tack with the pole out to starboard, then as a spinnaker with the pole.  None proved devastatingly better than the genoa poled out, and all took us to the north of west.  So we eventually reverted to our standard rig, and took to doing other things around the boat.  We did pull the genoa down and inspect the halyard for chafe - all very good, as the leather sheath has done its work.  And a small tear in the UV strip at the foot was stitched to prevent any further damage from the frequent flogging of the sail.  Today was the first fishing day, though the extent of the catch was a tangled line between spool and fishing rod.  At least the lures were retrieved in tact.  You should see the size of Debs'.  If she catches a tuna with that, we shall be eating fish for the next week!  Tanya cooked an amazing pork and apple supper, a concoction which we named Pork Atlantique.  Johnny seems to have caught sleeping disease, as not only did he sleep through his off watches last night, but also 3 of the 4 hours on watch, Deb was oh so good to him.  James is making up for all those hours he lay idle in the first 10 days, now he is an almost constant helmsman.  And the fridge and freezer have been cleaned of the food past its sell by date, over board.  There has been much reading in evidence today, as our free time seems to be more now.  We put that down to less hands-on helming.  If we could just please have a little more wind, we would certainly sacrifice down time for the strictures of the helm.  Come on wind, do your best for us!  Our Yellow Brick pings show we are still maintaining what looks like a second position in Class G, though where the rest of the Cruising Division boats are, is obscure to us.  We saw 3 distant lights last night at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock from us.  That has been the extent of any contact over the past 48 hours.  The peaceful seascape and the brilliance of the sun though the day with its colours at sunset are truly magnificent and complement the lack of external human contact.

Atlantic Blog#10 - Wednesday 3rd December 2014

We are definitely in the tradewinds belt today as we have experienced consist NE/ENE winds all day. The swell has been much calmer than the last many days, though the wind strength has also lightened. We are averaging 12 knots of wind with full genoa poled out to starboard and a 1st reefed mainsail.  Big celebration today at 1540hrs as we passed our halfway mark - all downhill from here.  We are still maintaining around the 150 miles/day despite what appear to be light winds. Tanya and Deb baked more cakes, thanks to the Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe writers. The washing machine came into service for a mammoth 3 loads of washing, the back deck looking like a Chinese laundry on payday. And the moon, nearly full, is shining tonight across the water ahead of us like a searchlight.  The casualty of our battery situation is the fridge/freezer which, due to excessive power consumption, has been switched off.  Our meat is vacuum packed so will last to St Lucia, but most other things are melting away, especially the butter as we have now turned west. UHT milk cartoons are in plenteous supply so daily milk for breakfast and teas present no problem.  We shall try the bucket and evaporating cloth trick to see if we can reduce the temperature of the sundowners, a priority for high morale.  Hardship comes in many forms depending upon how you view life.  We may not have chilled consumables, but we have sun, sea, food, clean air, and great companionship.  Our greatest fear is that our last 10 days will fly past.  We shall make the most of them.

Atlantic Blog#9 - Tuesday 2nd December 2014

My blog spot is usually in the wee small hours, either before midnight in the 8-12 watch, or just after.  Every Atlantic crossing blog has mentioned the swell.  I tell you these things because timing is everything.  Last night (Sunday/Monday), at the appointed hour, I posted my blog for transmission (usually around 8am).  All reads well, don't you think.  Then came the swell.  Team Laros agree we have not experienced anything like it.  Coupled with bouts of very strong wind (30-35 knots), we were bounced around as if in a washing machine. Danny and Tanya endured a 90 degree lateral roll (as the log records) with a gopher that covered the bimini and soaked Danny to the core.  Then came the most beautiful day we have had.  Sunshine, yes, glorious sunshine, relatively flat seas - none of the excesses of swell of the night, and good winds.  The team solution to the broken pole gooseneck was applied, and after much pulling and pushing, rigged up.  Awesome! And just in time for sunset, for we were not going to ride the waves like last night again.  And so it has been, pole fixed with a bolt from the rudder jury rig kit (how bizarre is that), a piece of gash white hose, and lots of whipping cord, and we are poled out heading west in an  orderly fashion.  The swell is still quite evident, and those in the stern cabin confess to bouts of sleeplessness as a result, but we are heading directly to our destination at between 6-8 knots.  We have been very lucky that the winds have not died, for we still have no solution to the broken bottom mainsail track car.  But our batteries are back up to snuff, and James (the autopilot) is doing sterling work.  Water was made again yesterday, so showers today (I don't know why nobody did showers yesterday!). If the sun shines, and the skies hold the NE tradewind clouds again, we shall be sailing along on cloud 7.5 (let's keep 9 for the last few days).  We promise ourselves an 18 day finish (that's probably 18 days 23 hours 59 mins 59 secs!), though tomorrow round about sundowners, we shall crack the half way point (9 days and 7 hours).  So I sign off at 4.45am.  Back to my usual blog spot tomorrow!  Thanks to you all for your blog comments.  We read them with great interest yesterday after the download.  (p.s. beards are very much in evidence, of the salt and pepper variety, and the dog bowls are taking a major hammering - the swells!).

Atlantic Blog#8 - Monday 1st December 2014

Pinch, punch, first of the month.  Well, it's a bit of pinching oneself to realise we are one week through our ARC experience already.  We have promised ourselves we shall celebrate half way through the passage which, if winds keep up, will be on Wednesday at the 9 day point.  Not counting chickens but that puts us in St Lucia on 12th December at 18days.  We have experienced continuing strong winds today, more easterly than up to now, and have taken a more southerly route overnight tonight, to settle Laros down a little for a more comfortable night.  We have changed tack (to port) which has upset the dynamic of boat; those comfortable in their port bunks are now rolling to starboard for the first time.  Dirty clothes are lining up in droves to jump into the washing machine first thing in the morning.  The watch routine is becoming written in stone, with little nuances of timing - breakfast has now become brunch, with a competition between watches as to who can come up with the most original use of defrosted items, and then leftovers for lunch. Is it to be the pork, or beef, or chicken or lamb for supper this evening?  Big decisions. The short night watch (only doing the 12 'til 4 watch) support the long night watch (8-12, and 4-8) in the morning, making the breakfast and moving aside for the first showers.  Oh, the intimacy of a small boat on the ocean waves! Yesterday a small piece of fractured metal caused consternation, found idling on the deck as we swept the cruising chute into its bag.  Today we found its brother, as the inboard end of the spinnaker pole come down in Danny's hands.  We shall see what whipping chord and judicious placement of leather strapping can do to keep the pole in action. Rather spookily, we have achieved yet another 157 miles yesterday, right on daily average.  The chart plotter is showing 1622 miles to St Lucia (0230 on Tuesday).  Thank you for your blog comments.  We can't see them instantly here but are hoping we can get a download every now and then.

Atlantic Blog#7 - Sunday 30th November 2014

A day of medical experiences, not the highlights but nevertheless noteworthy.  Deb's broken toe was unstitched by Doctor McCulloch amid shrieks of pain (low threshold).  Danny's head injury, caught against the panelling above the sink bled profusely (not), and his burn blister on his arm  caused severe pain (I don't think so).  Flying fish lept on the deck kamikashi style during the night and early morning, so the bbq is open for business tonight. The filet steak, the only meat not vacuum packed in the freezer slowly defrosting, is on this evening supper table, with brandy pepper cream sauce, flambéed of course.  Fishing lines are out and only a single bite, huge fish (yeah, right) but not landed.  The sun did come out at last, so up went the cruising chute, only for an hour before clouds and squalls rolled in to block out the sun and overblow the chute.  Danny is in his element at the wheel when the waves and the winds get up.  A steely determined look comes into is eyes, especially when catching a boat dead ahead, as this evening.  Either we're flying or they are chugging along.  It's exciting to be in such close contact with anotherboat; some seen on the horizon, lights by night or sails by day.  Watermaker has performed very well again today, filling the tanks for showers all round tomorrow.  Please keep your emails coming in ( mnem9@sailmail.com).  It's great to hear from you all.

Atlantic Blog #6 - Saturday 29th November 2014

Still more strong winds today, but thank goodness for wind to blow Laros along.  We are looking forward to some sunshine as the dull leaden skies bringing occasional drizzle during the day and squalls during the night, and it is becoming tedious.  It is colder than we expected, so some sun please!  We have continued our SW progress well and look like we shall clock up our usual 150+ miles/day.  Reef in and out of the main and furling reef in the genoa are commonplace every 3-4 hours.  Battery management seems to be under control as we now have an almost constant 12.3v from the main house battery - that at the expense of turning most things off.  Thank goodness for LED bulbs on the masthead!  Fuel pre filters in the 2 engines were changed today, to ensure smooth diesel flow for the rest of the passage.  We have consigned the 240v battery charger to the metaphoric bin as it will and then it won't change.  The main engine alternators will suffice to keep up what we use, oh, and the solar panel when THE SUN STARTS TO SHINE!  Today we completed 5 full days sailing and passed into the last 2000 miles to St Lucia - sounds good, that!  We are pleased as it means we've cracked 800!  The galley continues to produce firsts - of course, that's people in the galley, well 2 people actually.  Danny and Johnny sail, and Tanya and Debs create firsts in the galley.  Today's first was a 'never fail fruit cake'.  I can't answer your question yet, as it's still in the oven. Watch routine is very well settled in.  Just the sun to sort itself out.  Have I mentioned the sun needs to get its act in gear?

Atlantic Blog #5 - Friday 28th November 2014

Today was characterised by strong NW winds gusting to 30 knots.  Consequently, we were sailing with 2 reefs in the main and the genoa, and sailing nicely at a steady 7+ knots.  We have been able to average 155 miles each day, with 2027 miles to St Lucia.  As I write we have covered 767 miles so far and are positioned about 300 miles to the north of the Cape Verde Islands.  Batteries have been a cause for much deep thinking as we cannot trace what appears to be a rogue discharge from the house batteries.  We are conserving as much power as we can, so continue a 24 hour manual helm.  Good for the sailing soul!  Huge highlights of the day came from the kitchen.  Tanya's chocolate fudge brownie, AND, her stew and mustard dumplings are to die for.  Deb kept up the standard with baked bread which looks and feels fantastic.  Danny and Johnny just looked on, salivating.  Role on breakfast when we will at last be allowed to taste it.  We are promised lighter winds and moving from NW to NE in the next 24-36 hours.  It will be a welcome break from the pounding of the swell on the starboard sides of Laros.  No doubt we will be wishing for stronger winds in 2 or 3 days!

Atlantic Blog #4 - Thursday 27th November 2014

Squalls overnight last night were a significant part of the passage, and after hasty reefing and judicious helming, we came out the other side of rain and high winds unscathed.  We have taken to manual helming through the night the give James (the autopilot) a rest, and more importantly the batteries topped up.  It was a make and mend day today, with mainsail car glued, big batteries separated to give the charging system a better chance at doing its job (found a major error from the electrician in Las Palmas !!), and chocolate brownies homemade from the oven.  A large pod of dolphins were a highlight of early this afternoon.  The clouds seem to be becoming NE trade puffs, a sky Danny calls the Simpson sky (can't think why?).  We are sailing in company with 3 other yachts of the Rally, Soulmate being out on our starboard quarter in sight.  Showers were had by all today, the fragrance of perfumed bodies has been wafting around the cockpit.  We are eating like kings, although we shared some vegetables with the fishes today.  Fishing has yet to begin.  If tomorrow is like today, I am betting it will be fresh tuna on the barbie for tomorrow's supper.  Beards are in evidence, rather stubble more than anything else, designer stubble designed by a blind man, adorns Danny and Johnny's merry faces.  The end result will not be sex symbol of the year!  Morale will significantly boost if the washing machine gets going at the weekend (we need the port tack for the waste, as the basin outflow floods on starboard - hence the sea-cock closed normally).  Thank you for all the support from home.  Keep your letters and requests flowing in.  We sing each day.  If there is a special song let us know and we'll sing it on 'Laros Sings Friday@.  You can tell it's horrendous here, can't you!

Atlantic Blog #3 - Wednesday 26 November 2014

We are already into our third day and routine is settling down.  Our watch system has fallen into a 4 hour paired watch overnight (8-12 midnight, then to 4, then to 8 am).  Deb and Johnny, Danny and Tanya.  Makes for less disturbance at watch change.  Seems to be working.  Sundowners leads into supper, leads into an hours rest for the oncoming watch at 8pm who do 2 watches overnight.  Today we had brunch at 10am, a recipe of fried potatoes, beans mixed with cheese and worcester sauce, and fresh damper, which was out of this world. Thanks go to Susie for the beans recipe, and the Australian bush tuckerman for the damper (Deb's traditional fare).  We have enjoyed great winds today, steady at around 18-20 knots.  This morning we headed mostly SSW with our poled-out genoa goose-winged.  This afternoon we put a little more west in our course, and now are romping along at an average of 8 knots on a broad reach.  The moon is quarter full on the rise and casting a long glow on the waters, leading us on a 250' course.  It is superbly quiet down below.  With a hearty diet, lots of air, sleep is deep and fullsome.  Battery power has been an issue today, though we managed to bring the State of Charge back up to working level, and with his electrician's expertise, Danny sorted the solar panel supply.  A broken mainsail track car is our one outstanding casualty to which we will apply G5 tomorrow, otherwise it's one reef in the main all the rest of the way!  St Lucia is 2376 miles away.  383 miles under our belt as I write (9.15pm).  We are in good heart.

Atlantic Blog #2 - Tuesday 25th November 2014

Appetizing aromas of frying chicken waft up the companionway stairs as I type this blog. Tanya is chef of the day (well, for supper anyway) as she proclaims an enthusiastic desire to cook every meal - OK by me!  We experienced a stop-start-terrific gusty night last night, caused primarily by the wind shadow to the south of Gran Canaria.  Nevertheless, we seem to have been reasonably successful in keeping the wind in our favour as we understand from you all that we are up in the front third.  The first HF radio schedule with position reporting at 1200hrs today also indicated that we were only a handful of boats back from the westerly front runner (from those who answered).  Must mean we are doing some things right! This morning and afternoon have been bright sunshine with big seas, but still chilly.  No dolphins today.  We still see the odd boat of the fleet here and there, but they are becoming few and far between.  HF email comms is good, and thank you all for quick responses.  Good to get mail from back home up here in the front lines.  Weather forecast from ARC control has shown a low pressure front coming from the north, so the advice is to head south, then turn west again in a couple of days.  So that's what we are doing.  Danny has suffered mal de tum, out of character, but he has chirped up this afternoon after our first shower session of the crossing. Two clean, two still pongy.  Just hope the watermaker works tomorrow, otherwise we're in the ....  Fishing line not yet deployed as we are gathering ourselves together after an impromptu watch rota last night. Really, only the after effects of our first night at sea.  All is good, and morale is climbing.  Tea this afternoon was accompanied by yoghurt cake - yum! Sundowner drinks are in the fridge, and the damper mix is being prepared! My, what an experience this is turning out to be!

Atlantic Blog #1 - Monday 24th November

This is the first blog from Yacht Laros on the high seas as part of ARC 2014 comes to you via HF radio link and the good offices of the Blogmasters Jane and Laura McCulloch. We have been delayed from starting by almost one day due to a tropical low pressure storm pashing through Las Palmas creating unseasonal waves.  It nearly washed out the crew dinner, out on a patio overlooking the marina with sunshade canvass as our only protection.  Monday morning started early waving off our fifth crew member to the airport, Chris Austin, who very sadly has had to return to UK at short notice. The crew consists of Tanya (CJ), Danny McCulloch (sweet tooth), Debs and Johnny. We managed a creditable start in the top third of the pack, and choose to head south with first sighting of dolphins of the trip under our bow when most others headed southeast. We have made up considerable ground over the afternoon and are looking forward to a more westerly routing during the first night.  Sails will be reefed for a comfortable sail to get into the groove.  Swell currently 3-4 metres and Sweet Tooth is surfing us down the waves at anything between 15.4 knots/hour (tops) and 7.  We are swiftly loosing sight of Gran Canaria and the rest of the fleet.  Surprising how quickly we become one of one visually.  The AIS though gives us a good picture of others, and we look forward to the Yellow Brick update which, thanks to an early Christmas present from co-owner to co-owner (iPad Air - wow) can give us a picture of the other boats, as you see them! We are looking forward to further wind tonight after Tanya's chili con carne.  A very good first day and more to come, for sure.  The forecast is for stable NE tradewinds which will bode well for a fast crossing.

Six days to go

Getting very exciting now. 168 of the 180 boats taking part have now arrived in LP. Meeting lots of people from all corners of the world. Opening ceremony yesterday in glorious sunshine. 

Boat passed safety inspection and we are now preparing to provision the boat for three weeks. Finding  spaces for everything is a little tricky. Our three extra crew arrive on Wednesday. 

We will have access to email while crossing. The email address is mnem9@sailmail.com please don't send any pics. 

Also, you can follow us by downloading the APP yellow brick. You will have to pay to down load the race. About £1.99. Don't download until Sunday. Make sure it is ARC 2014. NOT ARC+2014.

We will try to update the blog daily. 

Some pictures from our time in LP

Opening ceremony

LP old town

Tony caught another fish - nice tuna

Las Palmas

Morroco to Canary Islands

A good catch

Well..... We are here.  The Canary Islands.

After waiting in Gibraltar for over a week for a weather window we decided to have a change and sailed across the straight to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta (on the Morrocan side). Had a great three days and nights touring this lovely city. Lots of history. A great mix of Spanish and Morrocan flavours.

Back to Gibraltar for a few days then finally the wind stopped blowing from the west and we set off. Started with a good blow from the east then as we came out of the straights and started heading south the winds died and we motor sailed for 24 hours with a 3 mt swell. During the night the winds picked up and up go the sails and we managed to sail some miles before the wind died again. Having had enough of the engine, we decided to head into Rabat on the Morrocan coast. Sadly the port was closed due to the swell and we had to keep going another 30 nm to Mohammedia. A truly Morrocan fishing harbour. Stayed here for two nights. Caught the train into Rabat next morning and had a wonderful day discovering this capital city. So much nicer than Tangier. Made some new friends sailing on a Nicholson 35 across the Atlantic, though not with the ARC. 

Next thought is to head south to Agadir and a bit more of Morocco. After a couple of hours out and great winds we decide to head straight to the Canaries. Three nights and four days later we arrive in Arracifie on Lanzarote. Land was a welcome sight.

 Having recovered from the sail we hired a car and toured this amazing island. Such a diverse landscape. So volcanic, arid and mountainous. Almost desert like in some areas.

After five days we decide to head to Las Palmas on Gran Canaria and check out the  ARC marina. 

Great friends Fred and Debs Threadgold arrive for four days so we decide to hire a car and tour the. island.  Even more mountainous than Lanzarote and with roads that wind forever. Johnny kept saying what great roads they were for motor biking. Too wiggley for me! 

More to come soon - promise!! 

Mahamedia early morning as the fishing fleet come in. 

Lanzarote. 

Lava flow on Lanzarote. 

More waste land.

Top of the volcano 

Vast sand dunes on Gran Canaria.

Two days in Tangier- amazing colours

Cartegena

An impressive and historic city with a protected and safe port situated very close to the centre of the city. It felt very different to most places we have been as the history over 2000 years oozed from every street corner.  The Castilla and retored ramparts gave a most impressive 360 degree view of the city off to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.  The reconstructed Spanish civil war air raid shelters and the circular glass walled lift to the castle were all part of the representation of the broad history of the city from modern times right back to pre Roman.  The re-building of the roman theatre as is was in AD56 was for us the height of the historical tours. The city council has done a great job in the last 10 years of promoting Cartegena as a distinctive historical tourist attraction.  The Cathedral restaurant beside the Roman amphitheatre with its three levels of glass encased Roman remains is worth a table booking (which you need to do).  Consequently our planed two day stay in the cheapest marina for miles for winter lay ups, turned into four days.  Our friends Tony and Jane Dowsett joined us on the last evening. Next morning we bade farewell to Cartegena and sailed down the coat to Garrucha.

Maintenance Month

Garrucha is an odd sort of place.  A Junta de Andalucia run marina with recently extended pontoons with a capacity of 700 and next to zero boats, served by one porta cabin accommodating two loos and two showers.  So much for the standard J de A pricing structure, however well situated for a comfortable stop over and a swim off the beach in water of 31 degas. The picturesque and underwater sea life of our Cabo de Gata anchorage made up for it twice over. There were more varieties of fish than we have seen anywhere in the Med.  Even spotted a ray. Apparently a marine preservation area too, as the Guardia Civil fast boat patrol captain explained to us when trying to move us on. Fortunately we had anchored right on the boundary of the park and his will weakend quicker then ours.  Next morning we motored in light winds to Almerimar in preparation for our planned long maintenance stop.  Generator was duly inspected by the local Nauticomobil mechanic and pronounced suitable for in boat repair. Phew! So next day and four hours later he had removed the aluminium oil sump which had failed along the salt water channeling and off to the welder it went. Two days later everything refitted and the generator serviced and working again. Lucky because the day after we had booked flights to UK to sort out a number of administrative matters.  The British September weather was kind to us (the driest September on record??) and the introductory programme of Strictly Come Dancing series was a delight. A bit of normality in our lives. We returned to Spain on the 18th September to do battle with the water maker.  Our German engineer of many talents was able to strip the membrane housings down and find new replacements while we were away. Alas, when refitted and under high pressure it became obvious that one of the resin end caps was leaking slightly and having stripped it down again exposed a hairline crack. Sch...a he said! After five days and potentially another five for spare parts from Holland we decided on a complete refurbishment in UK to arrive for us in the Canaries at the end of October. The water maker saga will continue......  So, after 26 days in total in Almerimar we departed on Sunday the 28th September for Gibraltar. Two days behind schedule (not the adventure training schedule that is!).  We said a farewell to our German friends on Blue Bear and Zora completing final preparations for their winter out-of-water lay up.

Island life

After a great sail across the 50 mile stretch between Mallorca and Ibiza, we followed the current wind rather than our instinct and headed to the east coast where we anchored for the night in Cala de San Vincente. The wind turned and we spent the most uncomfortable night bobbing like a cork, so next day round to the west and back to our favourite Portintatx. It is a lovely small bay surrounded by family oriented hotels and we enjoyed two days of doing nothing much. Then on to San Antonio and an anchorage in the bay for a couple of nights, restocking from good old Lidl and water from Club Nautico at €24 a fill.  From there we pushed south round Isle Vedra and into the "Rapper" bay where we spent our first night on Ibiza.  There we positioned ourselves for a beach extraction of our visitors on Saturday night 17th August.  It must have been surreal to land with Easy Jet at Ibiza airport, catch a taxi to the restaurant,El Torrent at Vista Alegre, and walk to the beach and meet your parents in the dark with the Mediterranean lapping at your feet.  That's how Pop and Ben arrived on Ibiza and after a short 200 mt dinghy ride they were aboard Laros.  The next morning brightened with its typical sunshine and brilliant blue sky, which Pop later described as the best scenery and location of her holiday.  It was like swimming in your own aquarium, although she had to conquer her fear of swimming with fish very quickly.  Sandy beaches and turquoise blue water continued through their stay.. We spent their second night at anchor on the island of Formentera along with some amazing super yachts. We then back tracked to San Antonio to pick up Hatty "Hurricane" Allen, a great school friend of Pop's who was spending time with family in Alicante. Two generational themes split at this stage, one to club and party through the night for the last two days of their stay, and the other to head back to the Spanish mainland in the relative peace and tranquility of the sea.  A generator problem arose just before departing San Antonio making a very expensive and enforced stay in San Antonio. Marina (€157 per night). More serious than a quick fix so the repair awaits more specialised expertise at our maintenance base in Almerimar.  An exhilarating and fast crossing from San Antonio to Moraira, averaging 7knts, commenced the day sailing down the south west coast.  The historic and developed town of Alicante produced a good two day break and some well earned sight seeing. Two days was enough though.  Onward to Cartegena and more history and culture!