Tuesday, 26 February, 2013
10 40.7N 061 37.9W
Sunday, 10 February, 2013
13 20N 057 34W
The wind has continued to lessen to the point that we’re close to putting the engine on and motoring the rest of the 130 miles into Bridgetown. We were considering going around the north of Barbados to stop at St Charles Port, a more convenient marina, to clear customs and fill up on diesel, but we’ll be pushing it to make it there before they close for the day and to clear back out upon departure a sail back would take Diatonic 15 miles in the wrong direction.
Yesterday a Minke Whale tried all his best moves on us. For three hours he followed Diatonic, surfing through the waves to pick up speed and coast alongside, turning under the water to show us his white belly and then dive down and around to repeat the same maneuver.
The lone whale, at least 10 metres long, was clearly inquisitive, doing his best to get a response out of us, including singing. Tony replied, letting out a long groan, caused by a fall through a hatch and onto his ribs. He was out of commission for the rest of the day, but thanks to a rainbow of painkillers and anti-inflammatories, and a good night’s rest he was back on his feet the next day, ready for the last supper of the trip.
Barrie outdid himself again, conjuring up a delicious steak pie, using up the last of the butter and fresh vegetables in the process. It was a fantastic winter meal to get Barrie in the right frame of mind to fly back to the cold and rain of the UK on Tuesday but the rum and jerk chicken waiting for us in Barbados might make him forgetful.
Friday, 08 February 2013
13 46N 052 57W
It won’t be long! Yeah, the last stretch is taking us longer than we hoped and our expected arrival has slipped from Sunday to Monday, but with 373 miles to go we’re in range to be able to motor the rest of the way if all else fails. The possibilities for who wins the arrival bet have opened back up, so Ian’s interest in fine-tuning the sail trim has increased as he needs Diatonic to anchor before 11am on Monday to secure his rum money.
The squalls at night have continued to roll through, and predicting when they will hit is difficult in the dark. We’ve been furling in the twin genoas in anticipation, but the resulting reduction in speed, combined with the 4 metre swell, result in a sizeable sway from side to side, making for strange dreams for those not on watch.
One of the squalls caused the starboard genoa sheet, weakened by three weeks of constant chafing, to snap with a bang. The uncontrolled spinnaker pole violently collided with a shroud until it could be brought under control and the following dawn illuminated the resulting damage. We’re continuing to use the pole for now, but it will need to be repaired when we make landfall. Luckily, the standing rigging appears undamaged.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013
14 06N 048 24W
Our sacrifice of three spilled tins of beer to Aeolus, the Greek god of wind, at the halfway party has been answered with a perfect strong, steady blow from the East, pushing us along at well over six knots. Our likely arrival date has been pushed up to Sunday, which should be good news, but seeing that Ian has all of the predicted arrival times earlier than Monday locked up, the mood is slightly melancholy. Ian’s promise to use his winnings on the bar tab at the first rum shack they find has lifted spirits back up and with only 640 miles the anticipation of landfall grows by the hour.
To accompany the spilled beer, Barrie cooked a fabulous leg of lamb with carrots, peas and roast potatoes. We’ve somehow managed to run low on milk and butter, but our filet mignon steak stock is doing just fine.
A downside to the stronger wind is a building swell and we had our first rogue wave through a hatch yesterday, giving Tony an impromptu shower in the galley. That along with the occasional night squall bringing rain makes us think that maybe we should have made a sacrifice to Poseidon while we were at it.
We gave it our best shot to find the only navigational mark within a 500 mile radius, the Mid Atlantic buoy, but as we passed it at night we weren’t able to see the expected flashing yellow light even though we passed within 7 miles of it. On the upside, we didn’t hit it, so it came off a wash.
Monday, 04 February 2013
14 37N 043 02W
We’re more than halfway between Cape Verde and Barbados. The wind has returned and it, combined with the current, are pushing us along at a constant 6 knots over the ground. With the wind forecast to stay steady for the week, we should be arriving around a week from today.
The bananas purchased in Cape Verde are ripening nicely, safely nestled in their hammocks. The oranges and apples aren’t fairing nearly as well, but most importantly, the lemons and limes are still pristine so our drinks remain well garnished.
The other thing well garnished with lemon is the massive Dorado, the largest and feistiest so far, that Ken and Barry reeled in yesterday. This one got a lesson in hurling with the winch handle, again with unlucky results for the fish.
Barry continues his practice in fishmongery, deciding this time to bake the Dorado with delicious results. 50 to 60 minutes at 200 degrees Celcius, wrapped in aluminum foil, for those that find themselves in the middle of the Atlantic, staring at a slab of fresh fish and not sure what to do. Ian used the leftover baked fish to make pad thai for lunch today, and another two meals of uncooked fish wait in the freezer.
Having barely finished dissecting the Dorado, Barry decided to check the AIS, a digital ship location system, and saw that a cargo ship was steaming towards us at ten knots. After a thousand miles of emptiness, our first encounter with another vessel was very close indeed, passing less than a mile across our bow.
After a couple of mild scuffles over the musical selections, it was decided that the honour of choosing the soundtrack that accompanies dinner goes to the chef. Ian was already in progress on a supper playlist and thinks he has perfected it, but at almost 10 hours long it will require an epic dinner party for it to be played from start to finish.
This morning Tony figured out the source of the strange knocking coming from the stern that Ian was happy to sleep through. The initial thought was that the rudder was coming loose, but luckily the culprit of the aural offence was sourced to two jugs of emergency water rations that had come free under the bunk in the aft cabin. With the knocking gone, Tony is all set to sleep off the hangover he’ll have after the halfway party tonight.
Unfortunately, even the simplest of meals are dependent on a working stove, and our diesel-powered unit has proved troublesome. Tony and Ian pulled the oven apart, but lacking any replacement parts, were forced to reassemble it without having actually done anything. This didn’t stop them from taking credit when the oven decided to start working again.
Thursday 31 Jan 2013
14 57N 034 07W
With 1470 miles to go, we’re more than a quarter of the way from Cape Verde to Barbados and even closer to the 1000 mile party we have planned. With light airs forecast between now and Sunday it’ll take a lot of motoring to get the roast lamb Sunday lunch to line up with the party. We tried to increase our speed by switching the sail plan from dual genoas to a genoa and a cruising chute, but to no avail. Our gin and tonic supply is diminishing rapidly and we’ll soon have to switch to drinking grog.
The temperature is steadily heading towards 30 degrees as the sun continues to shine down on Diatonic from dawn to dusk. The heat got to Ian and, with a pair of sewing scissors, gave himself a haircut that will keep a barber in Barbados busy fixing. A waning gibbous moon keeps the seas lit at night to give us an excellent view of absolutely nothing. Consequently, we’re looking forward to the diminishing moon giving way to a better view of shooting stars and the Milky Way.
It’s been four days since the last ship was sighted but thanks to Barrie’s aerial acrobatics installing a new SSB radio antenna he managed to tune into the BBC World Service to give us a taste of the outside world. The next goal is to make contact with another ship but we have to see one first, so it might be a while before Barry gets the chance.
Our other contact with life came from beneath the sea when Ken reeled in an energetic Dorado. Eager to make a new friend, Ken attempted to engage the fish in an improvised game of Gaelic football with a winch handle as a club, which ended in tragedy when a wayward swing or four hit the fish in the head. Luckily, Barrie is a trained fish surgeon, and the operation to fry the fish was a compete success.
Tony and Ian replaced a corroded connection on the alternator to ensure they’re able to keep their laptops powered to watch Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. To conserve precious diesel we’ve decided to convert the engine to run on whale oil and are now on the lookout for pods of whales to refill our tanks.
Tuesday, 29 Jan 2013 – Day 14
Having victualed Diatonic with all the fresh fruit and veg we could find on Sao Vicente, we were ready to set sail on Sunday morning. Our marina exit was as smooth as silk and, leaving Mindelo Harbour, we were greeted by a fresh breeze that quickly got us up to over 10 knots.
With a glint in his eye, Tony spotted Diatonic’s first victim, a catamaran, and aimed straight for her. Clearly, our reputation preceded us, and the cat quickly gave up the fight as we flew by her whilst we heartily chewed on ham rolls and quaffed refreshing beverages.
The wind died as land fell out of sight until it became necessary to turn on the engine to keep some speed and avoid the swell becoming nauseating. Despite the sporadic wind, we’ve managed to go 300 miles in 48 hours, a more than adequate start to this leg of the journey.
Our one
technical issue has been a leak in the hot water heater but with four men alone
together for two weeks, perhaps the mandatory cold showers are for the
best.
With light winds and only the one mechanical issue so far, everyone is looking for something to pass the time. Ian started watching a new TV series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and quickly became hooked, sucking Tony in with him. Barry has been fighting a battle with the SSB radio set, trying to coax something besides static out of it.
Ken caught the first fish of the trip, a suicidal flying fish that leapt up and landed on board but it was too small for even Barrie’s gourmet skills to find a use for. The flying fish have given Ken hope that a larger catch is in the neighbourhood so we’re continuing to trail two lines with dreams of our first bite.
The forecast is for the light winds to continue so the crew will continue to suffer through days of warm, gentle breezes and sunny skies.
We can only hope the beer and gin supplies hold out.
Sunday, 27th of January 2013
It’s time to leave Mindelo, Cape Verde and set sail for Barbados. Before we depart, here’s a quick update on what we’ve gotten up to since we arrived.
The 22nd was a day of great sailing coupled with some minor technical issues, such as a lack of electricity, water and refrigerated food. With land so close we could smell it, we pressed on, hoping that the scent of the land masked the odor of the unwashed crew.
We arrived very early in the morning on the 23rd and navigated our way through an unfamiliar harbor with extremely spotty navigational lights, unlit boats at anchor and unmarked wrecks. We anchored for a well-deserved sleep while we waited for the marina to open.
We awoke to a beautiful view of Mindelo and the stark mountains of Sao Vicente, along with a strong offshore breeze to make getting into our berth an adventure. With the assistance of a couple of mariñeros, some helpful Germans and many well placed fenders we parked the boat so we could get down to work on repairs.
Our pontoon buddy was this little boat, sailed by a French woman attempting to circumnavigate single-handed.
Tony was cheerful and chipper as he made sure that Diatonic wasn’t too soggy from the over-exuberant water maker.
The fault in the generator was found to be a blown capacitor, and luckily we were able to source a replacement so that we can keep our various iProducts fully charged for the trip across the pond.
With repairs to the hydrovane, refrigerator, generator and water system complete we were set loose on the town. Mindelo surpassed all of our expectations and a planned two day stop soon stretched into four, so we could set sail with bleary eyes and foggy heads.
Club Nautico is warm and friendly establishment with great live music and a well stocked bar, including the island’s local spirit, grog.
19/02/2013
24
12N 018 26W
Saturday 19th January
2013
Crew: Tony, Ken,
Barrie, Ian
Las
Palmas Marina
We
have all been very busy getting the boat ready to sail. Stocking the boat with
food for a 4 week passage involved considerable planning and many shopping trips
in and around Las Palmas. Barrie
prepared and cooked a couple of meals for first 2 days at sea.
We
finally slipped our berth on Wednesday 16th Jan to discover a problem
with the engine cooling system. Drifted into the anchorage and changed
the mangled pump impellor and during all this customs came aboard for an
inspection which further delayed us.
Eventually set sail at 15.30 with mainsail only and a beam wind of
15 knots. We were all feeling a bit
queasy for first 48 hours. Enjoyed
Barrie’s pre prepared soup and Ian’s chicken Thai curry. Since then we have all
been overeating to reduce our stores and weight and stop acting like a
submarine. The evening G&T go down well with ice from the freezer but then
forget to duck and end up with nets of fruit head butting
us.
Put
out our fishing lures but caught nothing so far. We blame the many dolphins who
spend whole afternoons with us but must be scaring the fish away. It’s probably
a good thing since every nook and cranny on the boat is
full.
So
far the weather has been kind; perhaps too kind because the wind is a gentle 8
to 15 knots giving us a boat speed between 4 to 6 knots. This means that our
passage to Cape Verde is quite slow with ETA Wednesday 23rd Jan.
However, we keep getting short
spells of stronger wind which push us along at a nice 7 knots. Hopefully we will
get better wind the further south we go. The photograph below shows our twin
headsails, each supported with a pole which is proving a great setup for
downwind sailing.
We have been using far too much power with lights burning, radar, AIS VHF and even boiling the kettle on the inverter. With only 420 amp hrs of battery capacity and using up to 300 per day we have ended up with flat batteries at 10volts. We are becoming a lot more miserly with our electric power but still having to run the generator for 4 or 5 hours per day. The Hydrovane self steering has been deployed with great success and helping to conserve battery life since we don’t have to use the autopilot.
Its G & Ttime so adios
The Diatonic Team
23 November 2012
28 07.8N 15 25.5W
16 November 2012
33 43.6N 7 23.1W
13 November 2012
37 07.1N 8 31.7W
20June 2011
43 22.0N 8 23.7W
Well things turned out a bit different. After some really bad weather David had a bad turn and decided he could not go on so diverted east to La Coruna. This took nearly 3 days only to end up in the marina with a fishing net wrapped securely around the prop. With some difficulty we did manage to berth and the snorkel and knife sorted this out.
Dave and Ian came to the rescue, dropped everything and flew down to help me get the boat back and we were off again within 3 days of arrival. Then commenced one of the best sustained sailing experience any of us had done. Once we cleared the mainland we put the kite up in SW 20 knots and took it down again of 4 days later in the Solent. We had been steaming along at anywhere between 5 and 8 knots sustained plus extra surfing speeds straight through the islands of Ushant and managing to pick up fair tides just at the right times.
We arrived in the Solent in thick fog at 4am just after the Round Island Race had finished. Managed to work our way up the Hamble by radar in a pea souper and finally secured alongside at 6am.
The family all came down to see us which was wonderful after 2 months away.
That day was the start of 3 weeks hard work clearing everything off, cleaning and repairing till Diatonic was spic’n’span. Despite the anti-sales capabilities of the Bavaria broker we finally sold her to a good home in Grimsby where she was about to start more journeys to Spain and beyond. After 12 years and 20,000 miles looking after us it was a sad parting.
Then began our quest to find a Bavaria 47 Ocean.
The last Amigo signing off.
23 June 2011
48 27.2N 5 02.0W
20June 2011
43 22.0N 8 23.7W
Well things turned out a bit different. After some really bad weather with over 40 knots of wind and very big seas David had a bad turn and decided he could not go on so we diverted east to La Coruna. This took nearly 3 days only to end up in the marina with a fishing net wrapped securely around the prop. With some difficulty we did manage to berth and the snorkel and knife sorted this out.
Dave and Ian came to the rescue, dropped everything and flew down to help me get the boat back and we were off again within 3 days of arrival. Then commenced one of the best sustained sailing experience any of us had done. Once we cleared the mainland we put the kite up in SW 20 knots and took it down again of 4 days later in the Solent. We had been steaming along at anywhere between 5 and 8 knots sustained plus extra surfing speeds straight through the islands of Ushant and managing to pick up fair tides just at the right times.
We arrived in the Solent in thick fog at 4am just after the Round Island Race had finished. Managed to work our way up the Hamble by radar in a pea souper and finally secured alongside at 6am.
The family all came down to see us which was wonderful after 2 months away.
That day was the start of 3 weeks hard work clearing everything off, cleaning and repairing till Diatonic was spic’n’span. Despite the anti-sales capabilities of the Bavaria broker we finally sold her to a good home in Grimsby where she was about to start more journeys to Spain and beyond. After 12 years and 20,000 miles looking after us it was a sad parting.
Then began our quest to find a Bavaria 47 Ocean.
The last Amigo signing off.
44 06N 18 38W
1200 UTC Friday 17th June 2011
Day 4 since leaving Azores. The voyage of Two Amigo's the sailors. After a few hours motoring yesterday we enjoying exhilarating sailng with the twins (Genoa's) and creaming along at 8.5 knots in 27 knots of wind gusting to 32. During the night winds increased to between 29 and 38 knots and deep reefed blown eastwards towards Biscay. The wind later veered to the west and we are now on a beam reach at 7 knots. Tomorrow we are expecting the wind to back to the SW and resume our downwind sailing.
Last evening It was with some regret that we finished the last of the 6 tonics those 6 beautiful Phillipino girls bought with them. However they kept their side of the bargain and cooked up a sumptious meal of fillet steak and fresh potatoes with mushroom and pepper sauce, all washed down with the finest red wine the Island of Pico had to offer. This was complimented by peeches and cream and a desert wine, cheese and biscuits and finished with Portugals finest Port.
One of the distressng parts of the voyage over the last 3000 miles has been our inability to catch any fish, not counting the flying fish that landed onboard. Amazingly just after dinner we came acrossh a stashtionary fishing boat. There were 5 French Fishermen stuck in their boat that had run out of fuel. Our painting on the wall at Horta is really bringing us some luck because they had on board 5 cans of tonic. In exchange for this we offered to take them on board and tow the boat to France. So now we have 6 Phillipino girls, 5 French fishermen and 2 boats in tow. The rum has now been finished and have started on the Martini occasionally mixed with beer.
The TWO AMIGOS are happy because they have tonic for the Gin and have and acquired 6 cooks, 5, fishermen to catch our fresh fish. The 6 girls are happy to be cooking British and French food but still do not understand why we put gin in the tonic. The 5 fishermen are happy because they have a tow and six beautiful cooks.
Read the latest update to this in our next blog.
Signing off
THE TWO Amigos
6 beautiful cooks
5 French fisherman
David and Tony - S/Y Diatonic
40 12N 25 57W
1200 hrs UTC Wednesday 15th June 2011
Part 3 Horta to Hamble Day 2 of the amazing journey of Diatonic.
On line again as the "TWO Amigos".
Fantastic!!!! After 3 weeks of headwinds, between Tortola Bermuda and Azores, soaking wet close hauled we are now enjoying downwind sailing again. With only a scrap of the 2 Genoa's winged and no mainsail we can forget about sail trimming and enjoy 6 to 9 knots of surfing in a dry boat, hot sunshine in the daytime and full moon all night. We might get bored but have plenty of films and computer games to while away the hours, not to mention the beer. We have plenty of beer supplies but sadly will be missing our G & T's as we come to the end of our tonic. This is therefore an emergency call for Tonic and Ice. If someone could fly out a chinook they can have a free bottle of Gin. We can meet in any position on the rumb line Horta to Falmouth. We have heard that Suzana of ARC Rally Control has been unable to get a flight out of Azores so we are prepared to return and offer our now spare berth in return for supplies of tonic. Sadly for Lyall of ARC, who is also stuck, we have no other berths available. Failing these options we may have to go onto rum & coke.
We left Horta at 0930 on Monday 13th June having left our mark on the harbour wall. Not the best painting but something that will ensure a safe and happy voyage. Had a good time in Horta and sorry we missed the Islands cruise due to friends flying in and not wanting to spend time sailing.
At the last minute Paul decided to leave by air and we therefore had to hang around to advise immigration of the change of crew. Paul was our Facebook user and therefore we cannot udate this, so apologies to our fan club, President Mary and director of activities Jenny.
Lady Ev a Bavaria 47 left Horta 3 hours before us and is sailing more to the west about 80 miles away. Although they have a watermaker they cannot find the on/off switch and so we are making plenty of water in the hope they will swap water for tonic when we meet them in a few days time. In fact we have so much water David is threatening to fill up the cockpit and use the last of the tonics to provide the bubbles for a Jakusi !!! So please hurry with fresh supplies.
David is up to his usual tricks and claims to have seen lots of UFO's last night but on closer inspection we established he needed to clean his sun glasses. Tony was able to confidently verify they were the lights of steam trains about to run us over so we better hurry and finish the Gin.
It was shortly after this that we came acrossh a stashtionary yacht with 6 beautiful Philipino girls on board. On pulling alongside we were asked for assistance. Apparantly they were on the way to France for a culinary course as trainee chef's, and being gentlemen offered a ride in our boat to France. This was on the condition they share the six cans of tonic they had on board and cooked for us. So we are now towing their empty vessel and looking forward to sampling their domestic skills over the next few days.
The TWO AMIGOS are happy because they have tonic and aquired 6 cooks. The 6 girls are happy to be cooking British Fish and chips but still do not understand why we put gin in the tonic.
Read the latest update to this in our next blog.
Signing off
THE TWO Amigos
David and Tony - S/Y Diatonic
13 June 2011
42 38.9N 20 15.1W
Day 12 30th May 2011 1500hrs 38 50N 31 59W
Our growing fan club base is reported to be entering into the thousands - much to the consternation of Lyall, our unpaid PA at ARC who has to forwards our fan mail. More and more realise that Diatonic the under-dog has surpassed all expectations and come good and the satphone is ringing off the hook. Thanks again to Mary & Jenny, fan club joint presidents who tried to land the Chinook on the foredeck but had to abort as our Hele-Pad was not quit big enough.
First a bit of sensible news of our voyage. We had the most amazing experience last night, moonless and misty, dark and eerie but very bright phosphorescence ,that is green luminous algae shining when the water is disturbed. The wake of the boat was leaving this cloud of green bright stars in the water and because it was so dark the effect was magnified. Then suddenly a mass of luminous green torpedo’s came haring in towards us - leaving bright green trails in their wake. We realised they were dolphins when the trails began to twist and turn in our bow wave leaving bright green starlight in their wake – magical. Such a sight must be so rare needing perfect conditions, a completely calm ocean, a completely dark night and lots of Dolphins doing their thing. We felt privileged to have witnessed this amazing green shimmering firework display by the Dolphins which was truly awesome.
A spectacular dawn came with the ocean perfectly calm like a mirror and fabulous reflected colours. The sun began to rise displaying lovely reds in the east behind cumulus clouds, and behind us in the west a kaleidoscope of blues and purples of a beauty never experienced before. All this mirrored in the water as the dark dawn sky turned to black rain clouds. It was truly breath-taking and makes us so glad that the hardships of ocean sailing are completely forgotten.
Pauls bit follows, although I hasten to say he has now had his key to the liquor cupboard confiscated.
We are now flying along on our Potato Bio-Diesel aided by a crop from between David’s toes. To cultivate these his feet are now raised towards the sun and watered every 2 hours to increase the harvest. We refrained from using them as chips. I set to and took the last 2 steaks out the freezer for the Steak Night special. This brought back memories of the last time I was on this boat on passage from Crete to Malta. Just serving up steak and chips when the Gods struck and zapped Diatonic's mast with a bolt of lightning.... the auto-helm failed, the wind blew and the Steak & Chips went walk-a-bout. Seeing white hot metal falling from the sky to the deck, and the boat behaving like a wild thing I had the dilemma of saving the Steak & Chips from the saloon floor or don a life jacket. Wrong choice. Donned the lifejacket and we had to eat off the saloon floor. On this trip we eating off the plates, steaks were delicious although they had been frozen and defrosted 25 times since leaving Bermuda.
David is on his last remaining cigarette packet and seems rather relaxed about it - we are worried Mr Jeckyll may suddenly appear. If it is a big problem we may have to inflate the dinghy and tow him behind although the potato crop may suffer.
We are having frequent stops for a swim to cool down, but seeing the occasional fin and dark shapes in the water below us ensures we don't stray too far from the boat or long enough to provide dinner !
We don't want to give our position away to the rest of the fleet but expect to be in Horta tomorrow night Tuesday. We have adopted a stealth approach ( the radar reflector isn’t much good and VHF range is 50 metres). Unfortunately ARC staff may have a late night checking us in but please keep the local bar open till about 4am.
The Three Amigo's signing off or a wild time in Horta
