THAT AWKWARD STAGE - 15/11/2005
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 What up THERE, AGAIN !!!!!!
Position: Santa Cruz
Date: 15/11/05, D –2
Weather: Calm, sunny
That awkward stage, by James Jermain, Consultant Editor, Yachting Monthly
The crew for Antigua is assembled, here in Santa Cruz, and we are at that awkward stage when nobody knows anyone else and we are all tiptoeing round each other: ‘Who’s that old fart? Who’s that young whipper shapper?’ Apart from skipper, Richard, we are all on a steep learning curve as well with silly mistakes and other idiocies coming thick and fast – mainly from the mate, who should know better.
But the two-day countdown to Thursday’s start of the second leg of the Blue Water Round the World Rally is going well. Kirsty (15,) and Kimberley (also 15), members of the Pompey Study Centre are being restrained from a water fight as I write, and Richard in pleading for help getting the boat ready – could be a familiar story. The third youngster, Anthony (15) also from the Pompey Study Centre is already proving a tower of strength volunteering for everything and getting properly stuck in – He’s been up the mast three times, into the forepeak and down into the bilges.
Clare is the final member of the team – she teaches the three youngsters at the PSC, which she also manages. She is, as if that wasn’t enough, a very competent yachtswoman with several long passages to her credit. The PSC is worth a quick sentence; it is a place for youngsters to do extra curricular studies in support their school work. At the moment the centre is based at St Luke’s School while Pompey’s ground is being redeveloped. When Clare returns from this trip she is faced with a major fund raising effort to raise cash for the move back to Fratton Park.
I promise I won’t rabbit on too much about food, but on a trip where we are all going to experience a range of firsts, I have to thank Kimberley for my first first – a tomato, cheese and frankfurter, sandwich followed by a poached egg made in boiling water – hmmmm!
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Our first shopping trip was a bit worrying. The Blue Water Rally Crews seemed to have got there before us and the shelves of the supermarkets were stripped of tinned meat products. On the other hand there were 60 varieties of tinned tuna.
Oh! And it appears Blackbeard is back with us for the transatlantic trip. Our pet gorilla has so far behaved himself and is testing in his hammock.
NEARLY OFF - 16/11/05
Finding Space
Position: Santa Cruz
Weather Sunshine and showers
Nearly off. From James Jermain
D-1 started with lots of hard work and the longest shopping expedition since Eddie and Patsy cleared Harvey Nichols. Even I, who has witnessed provisions for a family of five for a fortnight disappear into a 7m Sonata, was taken aback by the tins, packets, sacks and bags Gipsy Moth has absorbed in the last 24 hours. Shopping has not been helped by the early pond hoppers who had gathered not just the worm, but anything else edible within a 10-mile radius of Puerto Santa Cruz.
While part of the crew fought the battle of the supermarket aisles, the others continued preparing the boat. Anthony has been up the mast again while Kimberly did some candid camera work at pontoon level. Then it was ‘all hands on deck’ for the big stowing fest – marking tins, emptying and refilling lockers and sorting everything into the sort of order that means we won’t be cooking chocolate pudding instead of tinned mince and, more importantly, the chocolate Hob Nobs won’t go missing until we reach Antigua.
Of course, in all this activity tempers got a little frayed and the younger half of the crew had some interesting fall-outs. But by late afternoon Kirsty had a moment to put some music on the CD player and an impromptu disco, or as I might have said, a thé dansant, restored good relations all round. Anthony did a cabaret with clothes pegs on his eyebrows (don’t ask!) and Kimberly and Kirsty produced and directed the documentary evidence.
At last the days work was done and a run ashore was ordered by skipper Richard. The prospect of spending their final night in Europe with the Saga section was too much for the youth who went off in search of a Chinese, or Macdonald’s or something. Meanwhile, the after guard sought out a ‘Spanish’ restaurant via the Internet café.
So we are about to settle down for our last night before the great adventure begins. Tomorrow Gipsy Moth has the honour of leading the great Parade of Sail before the Blue Water Rally heads off for Antigua. Unfortunately, they may be heading off without us, for in the maelstrom of preparations, Richard has not yet managed to give us our full safety briefing or run the instructional video - ‘In case of accidents, emergency doors are situated here and here…’ So we will be returning to the marina for a moment or two. Frankly, it won’t make much difference as the forecast is for next to no wind for up to three days
I’m told loyal groupies of Blackbeard need to be kept informed of his doings. Well, the poor chap was driven out of his hammock by a shower of oranges and was last seen taking refuge behind a tottering tower of tuna. His present whereabouts are unknown but we suspect he may be imitating Flat Eddy in a dark and remote locker.
Next report will, I hope, be from somewhere south and west of the Canaries. Good night.
OFF AT LAST - 17/11/05 – Day 1
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 Position: 28o 17.4N; 16o 19.03 W
Distance to go: 2,680nm
Off at last says James Jermain of Yachting Monthly
At 1030 this morning after herculean efforts by everyone, final safety briefings, rig checks and last minute repairs, GMIV slipped her lines and led the way as the Blue Water Rally headed out of the sailing base in Santa Cruz. All we had heard about GMIV handling under power seemed true as we prized this wonderful yacht out of the marina.
The anticipation leading up to our departure was incredible. After the visit to BT last week to meet the execs, flying out to Tenerife and then all the work when we got here, our head were spinning. You can imagine that it was quite a contrast when we drifetd out on a flat calm sea and hoisted the sails on GMIV for our first time!
It’s extraordinary to think that it was exactly a year ago today that GM was lifted out of her concrete tomb in Greenwich. So much effort has gone in to making this voyage a reality since the initial campaign by Yachting Monthly. The GMIV Team at UKSA have worked tirelessly to raise the funds required for the refit and now the voyage - as the lucky ones onboard at the moment we would just like to say THANKS!!
Kirsty, Claire and Kimberly cooked spaghetti bolognaise and, with wonderfully full stomachs we drifted slowly into the twilight. In a fitfull north-easter we crept along, first on one gibe then on another then on a beat. It was all a bit confusing for the guys but they coped with the conditions as stoutly as they have the myriad other new experiences that they have been presented with of late.
The forecast is for not very much wind for the next 48 hours but if we get well south, the NE Trades are apparently settling in nicely down by the Cape Verdi Islands, so we may have out transatlantic conveyor belt fully working in a couple of day time – its what we’re all here for.
I am beginning to develop a great deal of admiration for my predecessors as authors of this piece. We are bouncing and rolling in a surprisingly awkward left over swell but it’s nothing to speak of yet. I am finding it almost impossible to type more than one word at a time which doesn’t contain a fistful of missed keys. How they coped in the gales the previous two legs experienced I cannot imaging. Time to activate the spell checker and say good night.
Oh! Just two final thoughts: it appears the teenagers think my dancing is just the thing and have the evidence on video and Blackbeard has tuned up in the apples, apparently in rude health.
TAKING IT EASY- 18/11/2005
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 Day 2
Position: 27o 44.6N; 16o 45.8W
Distance to go: 2,570n
How slow can we go? Asks James Jermain of Yachting Monthly
Don’t be confused by the distance to go (above), I have used a slightly less imaginary way of calculating it which makes it look as if we have gone further than we have. Iin the last 18 hours we have covered about 55 miles, most of them in the right direction – our problem is lack of wind ! On the Blue Water Rally radio net this morning all the other yachts in the fleet reported similar conditions and the forecasts are all agreed that we have at least three days more of this light, mainly northerly stuff to come.
Unlike many of the other yachts in the Rally, we do not carry vast amounts of fuel, so we do not have the option of motoring endlessly. This makes the challenge more interesting; for us the plan is to get as far south as fast as possible, ‘cos that’s where the wind is – well sort of. Even so we may have to stop off at the Cape Verde Islands to re-fuel before making the crossing.
At least our team is having an easy introduction and Richard is finding plenty of time to introduce us to all the technicalities of sailing our venerable steed. It is a steep learning curve for all of us, but particularly for Anthony, Kirtsy and Kimberley. I am so impressed with their enthusiasm to learn every detail they can get from Richard. The conditions are totally different to when they had their training at UKSA – Force 7 and above constantly – but then the complexities of Gipsy Moth are keeping them busy. It’s also salutary how much the more experienced members of the crew and having to absorb in double quick time.
It’s always fascinating watching a new crew settle in and onboard roles develop as personalities and talents overlay the assigned job titles.
Richard: is THE SKIPPER , for 95 per cent of the time he is so laid back it’s hard to imagine him getting out of bed. But for that other 5 per cent he has us all buttoned down and sorted. He is a fantastic coach for the youngsters and tact personified with the older crew.
Clare: is going to hate me for this but she is without question Mummy Clare. Her rapport with the cadet squad is inspiring. She is a teacher by training and instinct.
Anthony: is super hero. Destined for the army, he loves a challenge and is first in any queue of volunteers. I have no doubt that he will be an invaluable asset to us throughout the crossing.
Kimberley and Kirsty: are more reserved about tackling the boat handling side of the trip at the moment, but are both coping with the rigours of ship-board life well. As they get to feel more at home, their naturally cheerful natures will entertain us all.
James Jermain: the writer-in-residence is struggling to get his aging brain round the ship’s computing and communications procedures and is in awe of Richard’s consummate seamanship and boat handling skills. The less said about the state of his scalp the better. But it’s all good fun and better than a day in the office!
Well that’s about all for now. We hope that you are all enjoyin the video footage and the pictures. Keep the comments on the Forum coming it lets us know that we are not alone out here!!
SUNSHINE & SHOWERS - 19/11/2005
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 Learning the Ropes
Day 3
Position: 26o 39.4N; 17o 44.2W
Distance to go: 2,508
Sunshine and showers, reports James Jermain of Yachting Monthly
We have had some gentle but extremely pleasant sailing in the last 24 hours. The day’s run has been nothing to write home about – so I won’t - but we are making progress, the sun is shining and Richard has promised us showers,. We have solar showers onboard – essentially it is a black plastic bag that you hang up in the sunshine for a while and then you just open the tap – ingenious really. Despite the light winds our fuel consumption is good and the watermaker is working well so we can relax a bit on the conservation of resources.
Talking of conservation, one of the projects being carried out by Gipsy Moth is an oceanographic survey which is being beamed back, live, to Plymouth University. Some of the things we are measuring make sense, such as salinity, others, like ‘turbidity’ are perplexing. The work is being carried out by the young adults who take measurements three times a day – at 0600, 1200 and 1800. One of the tasks is to measure clarity, which involves stopping GM and lowering a sechi disk (a white disc on a measured rope), noting when it is no longer visible. Yesterday we went to the end of the string. It was still visible at more than 32m! In today’s report we will also be able to record that we spotted two small whales at around 0830 but they were too far away to identify. No dolphins yet.
On the daily roll-call with the Blue Water Rally fleet, we discovered that a fair bit of successful fishing has been taking place. Top angler at the moment is Fleur de Mer with 1 dorado, 1 large tuna and an unidentified 1m long something. As yet we have had no luck with our fishing efforts, but I am sure that will change.
The last of the crew has now qualified as a helmsperson, which is not only great for them but a bonus for the others on watch; the work load is much reduced. Watching the young people absorb the intricacies of working GM, inexhaustibly imparted by Richard, is a reward in its self. I am already starting to see just how much of a psoitive impact an experience such as this can have on the personal growth of the young adults involved.
The drift of conversation during long night watches always mystifies me. People divulge things they would never dream of mentioning even in the hothouse of a small boat during daylight hours (I see I have your attention now). But as they say, what’s sais on tour stays on tour!
Disaster was narrowly averted this morning after a crisis over supper last night No; I’m not going to give you the menu in detail. Clare was in distress over the delay in producing shepherds pie (damn! I’ve done it) because we had lost a burner on the cooker. At this rate we’d be eating cold pasta and raw onions by the end of the week. Richard to the rescue; a burst of flame, a dull explosion and we were in business again. I should mention, perhaps, that we cook on Sir Francis’s original primus stove which has been lovingly restored by a Primus addict..
Talking of the great man, he was in these waters on 8 September in 1966. After this he headed south for The Cape of Good Hope, while we, lucky people, head west for the Caribbean. He had recently experienced severe weather and a ‘super-shemozzle’ passing Madiera. His account of the Canaries passage suggests he was in a foul mood. He had nearly lost a sail under the boat, his damaged leg ached and he was convinced already that GM was too big for him. He wrote this in his journal and book:
‘There was a time when I thought sailing would be no good to me because it provided no physical effort and exercise! At that moment, that seemed a pretty good joke… The sea here gave a curious impression of being like a desert, a Sahara, lifeless and empty, instead of teeming with fish and bird life as I believed it to be. The water was pale blue-black like diluted blue-black ink’.
He had a brandy to cheer himself up.
Cheers
THERE MAY BE TROUBLE AHEAD… - 20/11/2005
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 Self Steering In Charge
Day 4
Position: 25o 03.09N: 19o 30.77W
Distance to go: 2,047
James Jermain, YMs on the spot reporter.
I was disturbed, in my off watch slumbers yesterday afternoon, by the unmistakable sounds of a boat being reefed. ‘. ‘Funny! There’s not a sniff of wind over10 knots in the entire south-eastern sector of the North Atlantic’. But there was no mistake. Richard, Anthony and Kirsty were putting the finishing touches to a double reef in the main and replacing the big running/reaching jib with the No2 yankee jib.
I donned T-shirt and shorts and climbed on deck to see the horizon ringed with squall clouds – one clump of which had our name on it. There was a scramble for the oilskin locker. ‘It’s all your fault, James’. And indeed it was. I had been the one who, in giving the pre-departure safety briefing had told the crew to select a set of oilies each, but they’d probably never have to use them. The prospect of rain was a bit ironic in view of the showers Richard had arranged only an hour of so earlier.
As it turned out the clouds produced a capful of wind but almost no rain and that soon dispersed. But the wind – mainly Force 4 but rising to 5 at times, and on the nose - has remained with us since. A low pressure cell over the Canaries has sunk far enough south to catch us in its outer tendrils. This morning’s weather chart showed this clearly and also the deep hole of windlessness just ahead of us. Ahead of that again is a wall of strong south and southwesterlies – very unusual and unwanted, but a long way off yet.
So we have been adjusting to Gipsy Moth at 30 to 35 degrees of heel overnight and it has not been a pretty sight. First tastes of seasickness have been distressing for our novices, but bravely faced and no one has missed a watch. Today, conditions have eased a bit – not that they were particularly severe - and good humour is being restored.
As I type at the saloon table, Richard is interviewing Anthony on GMTV ready for the evening transmissions back to the base; this videoing and associated photography is an ever-present ghost which haunts Richard until he can hit the transmit button in the evening watch. In this endeavour the mate has been less than a tower of strength. I only have to look at the video editing program for it to crash or reset itself. Still I managed a mean scrambled eggs for Skip’s breakfast this morning.
By the way, forget the distance to go line at the top of the page for now. We haven’t broken the 24-hour run record for a long-keeled, 40-year-old ketch.. We have actually covered 130 miles during the last 24 hours – a respectable total even if not all of them are in the right direction.
Well, it’s just after 1300 GMT so its time for a spot of lunch and then back on watch. We are operating a two watch system with three on each watch. We are on duty for six-hour stints during the day and four-hour spells during the night. It’s not a system I’ve tried before but so far it’s worked well.
One thing has happened this morning which will make life much more relaxed for Richard and I as the watch leaders, Richard has got the Haslar windvane steering system hooked up and helming like a pro. Sir Francis had all sorts of trouble with the kit, mainly before the keel modifications made in Australia. But conditions at the moment are ideal for self-steering, a steady breeze just free, and a moderate sea. It’s been in sole charge now for a couple of hours.
Time to go to work.
THE RAF PAY GMIV A VISIT - 22/11/2005
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 Nimrod Noon
Day 4
Position: 23o 43.2N; 20o 17.4W
Distance to go: 2,363
Nimrod noon, with James Jermain.
.At around noon today an RAF Nimrod reconnaissance plane over flew us for nearly an hour filming and photographing. The whole episode began bizarrely for we were already on the VHF trying to contact a container ship, which looked at one time that it might pass quite close. Before they could reply a voice cut in saying it was the Nimrod. Reception was bad so it was a moment or two before I realised I was talking to an aircraft not ship. The pilot must have been a bit non-plussed by being asked what ship he was!
We had our sponsors cruising chute flying proudly – which was no easy task in such light winds. The event caused huge excitement here on Gipsy Moth. Kirsty almost combed her hair; Kimberly was overwhelmed despite the fact that there wa no colored smoke involved. We all entered into the spirit off the thing and waved madly; all except Clare who had her hands full trying to keel GM pointed in the right direction and the cruising chute full.
The Nimrod made a dozen or so passes, some so low we ducked instinctively and sheepishly. Halfway through a whale appeared astern but it was camera shy and dived before it could be recorded. All the while we were in contact with the radio officer, receiving instructions and giving information. Finally they were done. On the final pass they ignited the afterburners and soared away to the northeast. On the way home they had a few unimportant boats to shoot that are involved in the ARC race.
Last night, I came on watch to be told first, that a dolphin was chasing us, then, that we were about to be attacked by a shark and finally that a whale was going to head-butt us. All their little joke, of course. What had happened was, we had picked up a line, probably on the prop, with a small red buoy on the end, which was bobbing about some 20 metres astern of us looking quite like the fin of a shark/dolphin/whale. The strange thing was, at the end of my watch I checked that it was still a-bobbin’ and it was. So I reported as much to Richard as he came on deck. But by the time he got to the stern to see for himself… it had gone! Its disappearance was good news, because at best it was slowing us down, at worse we couldn’t put the engine in gear for fear of wrapping the rope inextricably round the prop shaft and seizing the engine.
Richard the skipper has designated today ‘clean-up and general maintenance day’. This meant that Kimberley and C;are had to get down on their hands and knees to scrub the cabin sole while Anthony checked all of the standing rigging. Richard has also been busy taking his sun sights and talking through the concept of celestial navigation with those of us less familiar with this black art. One moment of great excitement during the cleaning was the announcement” We have a baby jelly fish on the cabin sole” . It arrived via a bucket of cabin washing water. Kimberly suggested Richard pick it up to see if it would sting. Richard used a pair of spoons to throw it overboard.
The forecast today is extremely unpromising. There is absolutely no sign of the trade winds establishing themselves this far north for at least seven days. We are in for 12 hours of drifting then some light airs from the south followed by stronger winds then a spell of south westerlies before the wind backs into the east at about Force 4. On the Blue Water Rally radio net this morning most of the fleet was becalmed or nearly so, so more precious fuel is being burned. We have to restrict our consumption to battery charging only so we are slipping further behind the bulk of the yachts.
SUBLIME TO SUBMARINE - 23/11/2005
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 Downpour
Day 7
Position: 22o 27.2N; 23o 41.4W
Distance to go: 2,168nm
Sublime to Submarine, says James Jermain of Yachting Monthly
First things first. We have made good progress in the last 24 hours – 120 miles with no engine assistance and the wind only really kicked in yesterday afternoon. At that stage I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to write about in this edition of the Daily Moth. It was one of those days at sea when you just trundle along, the wind stays constant so no need to trim sails, the steering gear is doing the work and the crew are all chilling out (an odd phrase in 28 degrees C) around the boat, despite Richard’s best efforts to keep the activities going. We scan the horizon, run the engine for charging, wonder why there are no dolphins, take video footage for transmission home, snap a few pictures and eat concoctions you wouldn’t give cooker room in a Dickensian workhouse (eg tuna and sweet corn pasta with cauliflower cheese ).
My watch went below at 2000 when the wind was a useful 16 knots from the south and Gipsy Moth was flying along under running jib, staysail, main and mizzen. A jolly good end to pretty good day.
We were woken for our next watch to thunder and lightening, torrential rain and a rising Force 5 south easterly. Gipsy Moth was beam reaching at up to 8 knots. The rain lasted just long enough to get both watches thoroughly soaked before moving on. The rest of our watch passed more or less uneventfully except for a sail change as the wind rose to Force 6. Lightening flickered around the horizon like poorly wired Christmas lights. We were averaging 7 knots.
But for the next watch was the graveyard watch from hell. An hour after changeover the squalls struck with a vengeance. At one time Richard had himself, Kirsty and Anthony all in the bows handing and reefing sails while the Haslar steered the boat. After an hour of this I looked out into the streaming, lightening-lit cockpit to see a set of oilskins steering the boat. A handless sleeve was draped over the tiller, long, floppy legs trailed on the sole. The hood draw string was pulled up tight and I could see no face except a pair of big, white eyes. ‘Are your frightened of thunder,’ I asked. ‘Yes’ Kirsty replied.
By morning the wind had eased and the rain stopped, but the massed armies of squalls still patrolled the horizon. Clare, Kimberly and I played bold and put the big running sail up but an approaching black wall made me heed Clare’s advice and we replace it with the small working jib. The wall promptly collapsed and we were left rolling around in a complete calm.
And boy, can GM roll. She sort of lifts then, finding nothing under her, flops over on her side. The roll is then abruptly halted for a moment before she gives another lurch and adds a further five degrees of discomfort for luck before jerking upright like a guard caught asleep at his post. After a few minutes of this I took the third way and hoisted the no2 jib which steadied her up a bit. The wind grew gradually and we were soon powering along at nearly 6 knots in 18 knots of wind on the port beam.
All this weather is the outrider of a huge and unseasonable depression, slow moving in the middle of the Atlantic. We will be passing, south of it where the winds are not too strong but we can expect them to be on the nose for a day of two.
It’s just started to pour again and my watch looks as if it could use my presence so I’ll leave you for a set of oilies and a dripping cockpit.
DONNER UND BLITZEN - 24/11/2005
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 Life at 30 Degrees
Day 8
Position: 21o 57.83N 26o 17.06W
Distance to go: 2,019nm
Donner und Blitzen, exclaims says James Jermain of Yachting Monthly
For 48 hours or so, now, thunder storms have been our constant companions with their associates, shifty winds, squalls and torrential rain. But, by and large, the wind has allowed us to head where we want to go. Up to now this has been south west in search of the Trades, which we have now had to accept, won’t be joining the party for the foreseeable future – snuck out the back with Monsoon no doubt. We have also been trying to get south of this depression which has definitely been the party pooper. There seem to be mixed ideas about what’s happening with it at the moment. Our best info suggests it is going to drop south a little and weaken. But there are those who believe otherwise.
Gipsy Moth has adopted a permanent angle of heel of 30 degrees, occasionally dipping towards 40. With the wind and seas on the beam, her motion is surprisingly comfortable so living conditions on board are not too dire – just trying and at times hard work. Typing this on a keyboard that periodically slides to the far side of the table is both trying and hard.
The state of chaos below decks also seems to have stabilised. On Richard’s insistence, the working parts of the boat are pretty tidy and organised but as you go forward the jumble of discarded clothes, lifejackets and oilies deepens (see the photos in the gallery for proof). Our greatest discomfort is the humidity. Everything has a film of damp on it. Even clean clothes feel clammy. Our fruit and veg supplies, hanging in hammocks by the forward saloon bulkhead are beginning to suffer but there is no fear of a shortage of fresh stuff yet. There is a foul rumour that our friend Blackbeard is secretly making off with the bananas but there have been no reports of discarded skins. Having spoken to the lad I can quash these accusations.
Our youngsters are coming along in leaps and bounds, competent crew wise. They are quite happy on the foredeck tackling headsail changes on night watches. On the other hand it’s proving almost impossible to wean them off a diet of biscuits and squash.
I am probably signing off for a couple of days. By popular demand Clare, our crew manager, who, in civvy street, runs the Pompey Study Centre from where out cadet crew have been selected, will be taking over.
Chin Chin
GHOSTLY HAPPENINGS - 25/11/2005
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 Not my finest moment
Day 9
Position: 21o 2808N 27o 5838W
Distance to go: lots!!!
Ghostly Happeneings by Clare Martin from Pompey Study Centre
Today began at midnight when our watch was awoken by ghosts in the night, or Kimberley and Kirsty dressed in their bed sheets doing their best to haunt our vessel. Anthony, primed and at the ready with the camera, caught the moment on film. Not at my best when first woken this photo does little for me – think I’d rather be the one in the sheet!
An extremely quiet watch followed with little sail changing and the wind vane steering for us…. Things began to liven up at about 3am with a wind shift meaning we had to change direction entirely and even call on Richard’s assistance with the self-steering. It didn’t seem quite so mean to wake him when James realised he’d read his watch incorrectly and it was actually ten past four!!! We woke the others and they took over just as we were hit by a squall with winds of over 30 knots. I listened from below in my bunk and could hear crashing and banging as I left my bunk regularly with the larger waves. Every now and then I could hear the watch scuttle back along the deck shortly followed by an outburst of giggling from Kirsty – needless to say I didn’t sleep a wink but at least I was in my relatively dry bunk during the downpour.
Eight o’clock arrived all too quickly and this time I was awoken by tales of the flying fish that had landed on the deck and (rather too graphically) of how Richard had gutted and filleted it ready for breakfast. The thought of frying flying fish after a night like that I found completely bonkers but as he started peeling the potatoes that were to go with it I realised he was being completely serious. Richard assured us that this is what Chichester enjoyed for his morning victuals so how could we argue with that! In the end, with some hilarity, we all tasted the delicacy and had to agree it was quite delicious! Eyes and ears open on watch tonight and we’ll all be feasting on flying fish tomorrow!
Strange to be sat here typing, sheltering from the rain, I had expected by now to be enjoying blue skies, favourable winds and to be working on my tan. Haven’t seen the sun for three or four days and every thing is damp and a little smelly but still haven’t seen any thing but a smile from the youngsters. Their attitudes are incredible and although things haven’t been all that easy at times they have done themselves proud. Think I am finding the conditions a lot more challenging, partly as I have had the worst sea sickness I have ever experienced, and partly the “mother hen” in me, worrying about how the kids are, have they eaten and drunk enough? Etc etc. As I type, the three of them are on the coach roof (in the warm rain) discussing who’ll be able to eat the most hot dog sausages for lunch, so clearly my concerns are unfounded – perhaps I should be more concerned on how I will continue to sleep through the giggling! Still, at least at this rate I’ll be going home for Christmas a size 10!
NOT THE TRADES WINDS - 26/11/2005
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Going Well
Day 10
Position: 20o 27.89N 29o 59.63W
Distance to go: 1,813nm
Not the Trades Winds says James Jermain of Yachting Monthly
It feels like the North East Trade Winds, it looks a bit like the North East Trade Winds, but it’s not the North East Trade Winds. We are bowling along at 7 knots in a lively Force 5 from aft of the beam, fluffy white clouds float above us, the sun is hot and the sextant and GPS tell us we are in the tropics. So what’s wrong? The wind is what’s wrong. It’s in the south east. The other thing that’s odd is the sea. We should have a regular wave train with a south west running swell. Instead we have a choppy and confused sea with bits left over from squally winds from all directions.
What we are experiencing is the edge of tropical storm Delta, or perhaps more correctly, sub-tropical depression Delta, because the wind strength never got up to Storm Force. Either way, it is now declining and heading north. We, meantime, are heading west as fast as we can because in the gap left by the departing Delta is a huge swath of light, or very light headwinds. And after than we get the Trade Winds, right? Wrong! After that we get another depression.
But we are consoled by the fact that, untypical though the weather might be down here, at least it isn’t snowing, as we hear it has been in Britain.
The strength and path of depression Delta was variously forecast. We rely on the OCENS grib files we receive over the internet and they have been spot on so far. Other members of the Blue Water Rally had different information which encouraged them to head for shelter in the Cape Verde Islands a couple of hundred miles south east of us. There was some discussion aboard Gipsy Moth about doing this too, but it has proved to be the right choice to keep going – so far.
The Blue Water round the world rally has been a great supporter of the Gipsy Moth project and we have had a very warm reception at the stop-overs so far. While on passage the rally operates a radio ‘net’ so we can keep in touch with each other and report any problems we might be experiencing. Unfortunately the rally is now so scattered we are only able to hear from a couple of other yachts.
We haven’t seen another yacht for about four days now. The last sight of civilisation we had was the disappearing bulk of a container ship just after we had our pictures taken by the Nimrod reconnaissance plane. Nor have we seen much wildlife. Of dolphins we have seen just a few individuals, who have been outnumbered by the whales. Flying fish land on deck regularly but the only one of any size is the one Richard had for breakfast yesterday.
The worst thing about life on GM at the moment is the heat and humidity below decks. She was not designed for tropical cruising. We are also at that moment of the passage when clothes-washing is a major priority – thank you watermaker. But anything hung outside gets soaked in squalls or spray and any thing hung inside remains dank and ends up as smelly as it started.
As we pass the one-third distance mark, we are celebrating the fact that for three successive watches we have not had to change or reef the sails. This is a record. In the previous few days sail changing had been an hourly activity as squalls followed calms. It always happens that one watch gets the worst of this. In our case it has been skipper Richard, with Kirsty and Anthony, who drew the short straw. Clare, Kimberly and I have had it comparatively easy. It can take from 10 to 15 minutes to change one of GMs big headsails, but the real pain is having to reef the main which is fitted with an antiquated (ie original) rolling boom system. It takes about ten turns of the handle to rotate the boom once and it’s not the smoothest of mechanisms either. One reef requires five or six rolls of the boom. I remember this sort of system when it was common in the 60s. The sail always set very badly afterwards, but I must say, Richard has the knack with it and GM’s reefed main sets very well.
Our worst squall came through yesterday evening. From next to nothing it picked up to 30 plus knots in half an hour or so. It stayed like that for most of the night before dropping slowly back to almost nothing. We set and dropped every sail GM has except the mizzen staysail and the storm canvas.
But, for now, we are just hoping that this fair wind and sunshine will stay with us.
Bye
THE CREST OF A WAVE - 27/11/2005
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 On The Nose
Day 11
Position: 20oN 54.33N 37o 32.32W
Distance to go: 1,666nm
Riding along on the crest of a wave, with James Jermain
We’ve 26 knots of wind on the nose, as I write but - the sun is out, the sea is blue and there’s only a couple of clouds to spoils the view.
We’ve recently been headed again and the latest forecast suggests there are heavy winds just to the north of our latitude so we have tacked to go due south for a bit. Most of the Blue Water rally yachts, which haven’t put into the Cape Verde islands, are already down there and are reporting excellent sailing conditions. The danger in this course is that the winds will fall calm shortly so we need to avoid that trap as well – tricky one.
What can we report from GM today? We passed a ship at some distance this morning and the flying fish have been playing in the growing south westerly rollers but we have still had no significant sightings of dolphins. The mate is ashamed to confess that he broke Chichester’s compass off its mountings last night when he was picked up by a large wave and cast across the cockpit. Mate undamaged, compass minus two replicable split pins. From a sailing point of view it is not much of a disaster because we hardly used Chichester’s original. It is mounted aft of the helm and has no night light at the moment. So, for this leg we have been relying on a Plastimo hand bearing compass mounted on the cockpit bulkhead to do the steering by. Not ideal, but better than nothing and actually working very well.
Today has been designated ‘watch change day’. The younger crew have also been given the day off so they can start the new regime fresh this evening. Kimberly is going to join Richard’s watch, with Anthony, so that she can benefit from his professional tuition. Kirsty joins Clare and me. I’m not sure what she gains from this but she might have to work less hard as we appear to be the watched favoured by the weather gods.
The mate, in a pre-start interview remarked that he expected to be given the run-around by the more sprightly youth on board, and he is beginning to appreciate the wisdom of this comment. Light weight and flexible joints are what’s needed on GM at the moment. Watching young Anthony skip about on deck with the short footedness of a goat makes the mate wistful of days long gone by. Kirsty and Kimberly too can contort themselves into corners and make their way about GM’s narrow interior in ways impossible for 16 stone and 6ft 2in to even imagine – good luck to them. I am not insulting them when I recall Chichester’s words about GM needing a chimpanzee (or was it a gorilla) with extra long arms to cope with her accommodation. I am beginning to understand why.
See you in the sun.
TENACIOUS MEETS GIPSY MOTH - 28/11/2005
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 What a sight!
Day 12
Position: 19o 21.16N 31o 01.32W
Distance to go: 1,699nm
Tenacious meets Gipsy Moth, with James Jermain from Yachting Monthly
Two famous ladies met in mid-ocean at noon today when Gipsy Moth crossed tacks with the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s sail training barque, Tenacious.
Looking stunning under full sail in a light breeze, the sunlight reflecting off her snow-white canvas, she was struggling to make up to windward. She must be one of the few vessels on the Atlantic crossing this year than which we can both go faster and out-point. We spoke to her master briefly on the VHF radio telephone. He explained they were on their way to Barbados and then Antigua. We said we might see them in Antigua. If ever a vessel needed the Trades to fill in it is Tenacious
Both Tenacious and Gipsy Moth are giving once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to young people to experience adventure at sea. In the case of the Jubilee Trust the crews include youngsters with disabilities. GM includes among her crew deserving young people from all backgrounds, very few of whom have previous experience of sailing.
As our ETA (estimated time of arrival) goes further into the future we need all the morale boosters we can get. Frankly there have been a few major wobbles of late with heavy weather in darkest hours before dawn - the ‘graveyard watch’ the most testing time. Gentle sailing over the last 18 hours, lower humidity and sunshine has worked wonders in this department. We are now well-rested, washed, aired and decently fed (hot dogs, sauté potatoes and peas). As the morning warmed up, the hatches were opened, the travel wash came out, and dobying was done in the galley sink while bedding was hauled on deck for an airing. The galley and heads were cleaned out, the sole (floor) scrubbed and personal spaces tidied. The solar showers were lined up on the weather deck ready for much needed ablutions. Richard also ordered a complete inventory of ship’s stores so we have a clear idea of any shortages. The good news is that we have more than enough staples for over 30 days. Chocolate might have to go on ration shortly, though, especially as it seems a certain amount is unaccounted for after each watch – no names, no pack drill. You know who you are Blackbeard.
Tenacious gave us a weather forecast which predicts the north east trades might fill in shortly. Our own weather services, including valuable forecasts passed on over the Blue Water Rally net, which we can still pick up weakly, suggests the worst of the weather might be behind us - although we are still faced with a few days of lightish headwinds. The first or our tropical depressions, Delta, has now hit the Canaries and Madiera with winds up to Force 10. Tenacious’s sistership, Lord Nelson is currently cruising in that area, so there are definitely people worse off than ourselves. The second depression is also moving north, out of our way, but is threatening to grow into a subtropical cyclone.
Anyway, the upshot of all this is that we have tacked back to the west and are currently heading straight for Antigua. The bad news is that the computer is saying we still have 20 days to go at the present rate of progress. All the sailing south to clear the second depression means we actually have further to go today than we had yesterday. That’s theoretical, of course. The reality is that we will make much better progress from now on so we should catch our flights home!
See you in a jiff.
GOOD VIBRATIONS - 29/11/2005
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Cruising in Style
Day 13
Position: 18o 52.26N 33o 19.21W
Distance to go: 1,627nm
Good Vibrations rock James Jermain from Yachting Monthly
What a good day yesterday was. After our brush with Tenacious a new excitement settled over Gipsy Moth. Were we in holiday mood? Or were we just stir crazy. Was it good humour that kept us laughing or hysteria? The facts suggest we have little to laugh about – thirteen days sailing and we are still well short of the half distance mark. The logistics team at UKSA had suggested the leg would take 17 days – but that would have needed trade winds!. But we were slipping along effortlessly in sunshine and a balmy breeze. I think we were all just happy to be aboard and sharing good company.
The afternoon was spent mainly sunbathing. Then, in the fitful headwinds, Tenacious passed us again, sails furled, motoring for all she was worth for Barbados – they have deadlines too. We don’t have enough fuel to motor anything like all the way so when the wind drops we just have to sit and wait. In late afternoon we had our first serious visitation by dolphins – about 20 of them – but they were the dull sort that doesn’t leap out of the water much. But they played with us for a while and brought squeals of delight from the crew.
Then Richard put some country and western/rock music on and we had a sing and dance-along in the cockpit. We reminded ourselves that Christmas will be just round the corner when we get home so we chatted about what we’d do, where we’d go and who we’d see. Then we sang some carols – not always with the traditional words. I’ve been voted the man most likely to be Santa Claus. I guess the usual winter round of ghastly toys-for-Christmas ads and trailers for wall-to-wall Eastenders specials have begun to appear and Ladbrokes odds on a white Christmas are shortening. Maybe we’ll just gill about here for a bit ‘till it’s all over!
Richard then decided to challenge the world record for producing fajitas for three. In a blur of peppers, and onions, his knife flashed, Chichester’s oven box appeared from its resting place and a griddle was laid over the other burner of the Primus stove. In moments succulent vegetable wraps were passed round just in time for the change of watch.
Over night we had the closest encounter yet with another ship, and had to take avoiding action – good watch keeping guys!
This morning there was hardly a breath of wind but it was coming from the south east, which is good – very good. In the morning watch Richard, Anthony and Kimberly had popped the cruising chute and mizzen staysail (for the first time on this leg) and GM was ghosting along in the lightest of breezes. Throughout the morning it waxed and waned. Now it has filled in to a decent 11 or 12 knots and we are broad reaching at 5.5 knots in the right direction.
Happy Christmas
THE THINGS YOU HAVE TO DO - 30/11/2005
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Helming again
Day 14
Position: 17o 31.24N 35o 33.37W
Distance to go: 1460nm
The things you have to do, with Richard Baggett Skipper from UKSA
Hello Every one it’s Gipsy Moth’s cook, cleaner, rigger, sail maker, engineer, plumber, electrician, navigator, child psychologist, dad, mum, video production manager, nutritionist & now doctor. Today mate & onboard journalist for Yachting Monthly James Jermain’s Blood blister on his left knee developed into a huge pussy mess & I have had to send him to his bunk. After referring to the ships captains medical guide & taking advice from TheFirstCall International Centre for Maritime Medicine based at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (A&E) via the NERA sat phone we decided it was a blood blister & that it needed to be drained of puss oow! We set about extracting all the medication, dressings & surgical instruments from the onboard 2 huge MCA medical supplies bags & got cracking. The operation was a great success & the patient is on the mend after a shot of penicillin followed by more penicillin tablets. The things you have to do!!!!
For me this trip really is turning out to be one of life’s challenges. If you said what would be the worst kind of weather for a transatlantic this time of year then I would more than likely say something close to what we’ve got. Two tropical depressions right in our path has sent us way south & substantially lengthened the trip. We have been heading Southwest for nearly the whole trip now trying to keep what wind we have & say south of the ugly stuff. In the last four hours I have had to un-wrap the cruising chute from the forestay six times simply because the course we are having to hold is making steering for the guys a little awkward to say the least, but I am sure they will get there.
The youngsters are well but if left to their own devices we would be totally out of chocolate, crisps & they would be in bed ill due to dehydration & malnutrition. I now fully appreciate the issues that Jamie Oliver was facing during his recent adventure into school canteens throughout the UK. I hope that having had this experience all of them guys will appreciate food of any kind a little more.
Anyway onwards we go into the unknown, the mate in bed ill three fifteen year olds & Clare my saviour in all this. Thanks Clare you help keep me sane. Right mid Atlantic party to arrange must go.
Your dedicated Skipper.
Richard Baggett
A DAY TO REMEMBER - 01/12/2005
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 Yacht on the bow
Day 15
Position: 15o 31.37N 38o 18.22W
Distance to go: 1330
A Day To Remember with Clare Martin from Pompey Study Centre
Only those of you that have experienced a 4-on, 4-off watch system will appreciate the start that my watch had today – Richard put the ships clock back an hour at 8am meaning that Kirsty and I had an extra hour in our bunks! Bliss!!! James hadn’t joined us on watch due to his knee problems so the graveyard shift was for us girls alone – calmish seas and favourable winds meant the watch passed with few incidents.
We were finally shaken from our bunks at nine by a rather chastened Anthony and Kimberley. Skipper Richard has been trying to instil in the youngsters the importance of steering a consistent course with both the cruising chute and the mizzen stay sail hoisted. His watch managed to wrap the spinnaker around the fore-stay once too many times through lack of attention and constant chatter and he finally, and understandably, lost his patience! There is no doubt now that the whole crew finally grasp the importance of concentration when on the helm especially in these conditions!
Richard, and his watch, retired below and we took over on a beautiful blue, breezy morning. Anthony, it being December the 1st, rather than sleep decided to create Gipsy Moth’s own Advent Calendar. Two cereal boxes, a few sucky sweets and a mars bar later the creation was complete – a brilliant effort of which any Blue Peter viewer would be proud. He celebrated by opening the first window!
A quick lunch – more hot dog sausages lead us into the main event for the day – the live telephone conference with BT in London as well as parents and friends in the Pompey Study Centre. We kitted-up in our BT gear and gathered in the saloon to prepare. Kirsty began the proceedings, talking to David Green of UKSA and Jeremy Thompson of BT – she answered like a real pro, really coming alive for the camera. Proceedings continued with all four of us having the opportunity to talk to friends and family who had all gathered for the occasion. With much hilarity the final call continued for over an hour and we were all very grateful for the fair weather as “hanging on” in the saloon for all that time became quite hard work. I had been a little nervous about the conference as being this far from home and talking to loved ones could have produced many emotions and responses but, yet again, the youngsters rose to the occasion and the event was nothing but positive. Phew!
Following a quick post mortem of the events and conversations a yacht was spotted on our bow – the closest encounter yet! We headed up wind a little to avoid their direct path and as they crossed our bow we were able to wave “hello”. We couldn’t make radio contact, which was a shame, so she continued unidentified into the evening sun.
The sun has now finally set, supper is on the stove, which just leaves Richard with the challenge of editing all that video footage – it looks like another long night at sea in front of the computer screen. Let’s just hope we can all steer Gipsy Moth on a true course throughout the night to continue with the great progress we are currently making.
Clare
I'LL BE BACK ! - 02/12/2005
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Coke at last
Day 16
Position: 13o 59.8N, 40o 04.6W
Distance to go: 1,276nm
I’ll be back! – Well, I am, says James Jermain with Yachting Monthly
Good to be back doing this log after my little holiday from the world. Reality is quite weird enough without the overlay of hallucinations I enjoyed for 24-hours. One moment you’ve got a silly little blood blister on your knee, the next you’re Chancellor of the Exchequer responsible for solving the nation’s pension problems. Strange? Well, how about this for my solution – a translucent, golden, hologramatic egg, suspended by a golden cord, one for each citizen, representing the money set aside by the government for his/her pension?
OK, so there’s nothing more boring than other people’s dreams, even delirious ones, so let’s move on.
Lots of good news, the greatest is that we are well past the mid-distance point and on the home run. We are having a party this afternoon to celebrate. Before me as I write, the galley is laden with cake and crisps and cake and err… crisps and sweets and cake and biscuits. We are going to get a bit high on Sri Lanka’s finest brew, open our halfway goodie bags and play silly games. Meanwhile the sixties best music is blasting out of the CD – kids these days; all taste, all heart.
PS: (can you have a PS in the middle of a letter?) We have just started the party and have got a little high on a can of beer/coke while opening presents. Thanks to you all who sent us off with little goody bags – Antonia your bag of miscellany caused suitable howls of embarrassment as we opened the unmarked parcels – in some cases in ways you could not guess – thanks. Phillida, Katie, Abi and Ele – loads of love and thanks – what a wonderful selection! Top marks for dates, cards, orange cordial and spec wipes – all sweeties also enthusiastically received.
In the last 24 hours we have passed a stream of yachts all heading west towards the Caribbean and almost certainly part of either our Blue Water Rally or the ARC. Unfortunately none of them has had its VHF radio on so we have been unable to make contact. Still they all look a lot less comfortable on the direct course and sailing a lot slower than us because we are still heading a little south to keep the wind on the quarter. This stops us rolling and gives us an extra couple of knots of speed. We are currently covering the ground at over 7 knots with an ETA of 11 December. There is a good chance this will improve when we gybe onto starboard tomorrow and head more directly for Antigua in a strengthening and backing east-northeasterly – fingers crossed. Our best day’s run so far has been 180 miles which is pretty good going for this old girl and close to Chichester’s best of 189 miles reaching in the Southern ocean – then a record for a single-handed sailor.
I must admit to having entertained some seriously unkind thoughts about Gipsy Moth during this trip but, with the wind over the quarter and all sail set from mizzen through mizzen staysail and main to cruising chute, she goes pretty well. We have had eight knots on the clock regularly and averaged 7 knots for several hours.
But the greatest thing for us, since the wind settled into a reliable easterly, is that we haven’t been faced with a constant round of sail changing. The current rig has been set for over three days with no more than a tweak on a sheet. Before, we were changing sails at least once, sometimes two or three times a watch.
One of the really encouraging aspects of life on GM is that the youngsters are still genuinely enjoying the experience. It got tough at times and there are still some difficult moments in the early hours but the days bring fun and laughter and a very positive outlook on the shrinking number of days we have on the great Atlantic
So, as we hurry on our way west I wish you all;
God speed.
An Invitation - 03/12/2005
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 Day 17
Position: 14o 04.1N, 42o 41.6W
Distance to go: 1,120nm
An invitation: from James Jermain from Yachting Monthly
Ahoy there! Yes, over there.
Let me invite you aboard Gipsy Moth this morning. It’s 0900hrs GM time, so the morning change of watch is safely out of the way and the crew are all settled to their duties. The Watch Below are mainly asleep below decks while the Watch On Deck is mostly asleep on deck. At the helm is Clare – the tall, good looking blonde in the cockpit – say ‘Hi!’ Clare. Ah! Good, she is awake. She’s steering 300; that’s about north west and as near as a flea’s knee directly to Antigua. Her job is quite easy at the moment because the wind is light and just aft of the beam, which is a point of sailing GM enjoys. We’re ploughing across this azure sea at around 6 knots; see, it shows you on the black dial over there beside the wind direction and wind speed indicators. The other dial? Oh! That shows the depth – no, its not at the moment ‘cos the ocean is about 5,000m deep here and the depth sounder only works down to about 70m.
The slip of a girl on the weather deck is Kirsty. She’s 15 and from Portsmouth. She’s studying hairdressing and beauty and wants to open her own beautician salon. She’s a bit worried at the moment because she is due to | 
