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Skipper’s Log – Wednesday 18th April

Briefest ever- we’re on our way to the airport, leaving the yacht with Richard. All I can say is that Gran Harbour is a fitting place to end an adventure. Good luck to the next crews!

John Jeffrey

Skipper’s Log – Monday 16th April

Tomorrow we will arrive in Malta. I may not have a lot of time to write about it after the event, because that will be my last full day aboard after bringing the yacht all the way here from Sri Lanka through 3 fascinating months. Five legs, three continents, five different crews and all of it a magnificent experience. Including last year’s journey from Darwin through Kupang to Bali, and an even earlier trip out of Gibraltar to mark the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar, that must be over 5,000 miles, with never a dull moment. And that’s not counting the 200 white-knuckle miles behind a French tug from Rangiroa to Tahiti.

What a splendid way to finish my latest session - taking Gipsy Moth IV into the spectacular setting of Grand Harbour, beneath the fortified walls that have seen so many famous vessels come and go. The second round-the-world trip of Gipsy Moth has given great experiences to a lot of people who have been lucky enough to win a place. But it has left its mark on the skippers, too; and I’m not just talking about the scratches and bruises that I always seem to go home with. I will not easily forget the experiences of the last 3 months – a good thing, really, because I have been too busy to keep my own diary up to date.,

At least this crew has been doing some work in that direction. Here’s Jean:
Jean’s log

Hi everyone,
When I first read Andrew’s article, being part of the crew for this leg was little more than a dream. I am so very glad I pursed that dream, as the past six days have been truly amazing.
From my first sight of Gipsy Moth IV, rocking gently in her berth in the Marina of Aghios Nikolaos, Crete, to sitting writing this, in her not so gently rocking cabin as we approach Malta, I knew I would have an unforgettable adventure. There are six people aboard, each with a very modest amount of belongings – except me, but then I’m the only female, so that’s to be expected! Bodies and bags move around the small cabin with incredible order. Between watches berths are slept in. During watches they become a store rooms for everything not in use. Each of us is now very adept at speedily unpacking the sleeping area so not a minute is lost getting into the arms of Orpheus and boy, do we need them!
Whilst each day is divided into four hour watches and three hour night ones. Every day has been different. We’ve had the pleasure of seasickness, blessedly brief, the pure delight of dolphin watching, the vagaries of ever changing weather (despite this being the Med), the strange feeling of slight apprehension as you watch distant lights become recognisable boats during the night watches and the utter magic of seeing stars so clearly you feel you could touch them. Seeing Jupiter and Venus, Scorpio, the Plough and the flattened W making up the constellation of Cassiopeia gives comfort in the middle of a dark sea.
Personally, I have found the language of sailors quite a challenge and I don’t mean the colourful sort! So many new words and terms, each with their own precise meaning. Halyard, cleats, topping lifts, mainsheets and genoas, sheet winches (nothing to do with bed-making), the furling and reefing of sails, not to mention the luff! Then there are knots, reef, bowline, clove hitch and rolling hitch, round turn and two half hitches, figure-of- eight and oh so many more, each to enable a rope to function in a specific way.
The in depth mysteries of weather and it’s relationship to sun, moon and water despite the best attempts of Skipper John and Mate Andrew, remain just that to me, in depth mysteries, though I did very much enjoy taking a reading with a sextant this afternoon. Perhaps a navigation course is on the horizon?
Talking of Skipper and Mate, they have had more than a few problems with Gipsy Moth IV. Three times the engine has given cause for concern as strange noises emanated. John spent a goodly part of yesterday with just his feet visible, sticking out of the engine compartment. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, we remain on time target to arrive in Malta tomorrow.
Every activity normally performed without thought, has to be planned and carried out with limited resources in mind. Washing is a cold water job, yet after the first shock, no problem. Taps are not left running, as all water has to be pumped up to the tap. It’s strange how much more responsible one becomes over water wastage in these circumstances! Perhaps the Government could learn a thing or two from ‘boaties’?
Cooking for six hungry people has been a challenge for each of us when the stove is just two hotplates. Yet, we’ve had three meals each day, always including a very tasty and varied supper. Well done to us all I think!
Lastly and most importantly, my crew mates, Charlie, Michael and Dan. They are funny, clever, kind, hard-working and a joy to be with. We each seem to see the strengths and weaknesses in each other and support accordingly. Thanks mates, you’ve made an exciting adventure great fun. As for the Skipper, thank you John for being patient, sharing of a small part of your vast knowledge and for making this green novice feel part of the team. That leaves Andrew. He has advised and helped me to achieve an unfulfilled ambition, to crew on a sail boat and what a boat! Gipsy Moth IV has been everything you said she would be and more. I’ve had enormous fun, worked hard, met super people, learnt a great deal and grown in all the right ways! Thanks Andrew, you’re a diamond.
That’s all folks. Hope you’ve enjoyed reading my log. Of course, it’s not over yet, one more wonderful day and then, Malta!

Skipper again:
That’s one person’s summing up of life afloat. Everyone sees it, and describes it, differently. But the common thread is always a positive reaction to the good parts and a satisfaction in having coped with the harder ones. We don’t aim to turn out expert sailors, but we do aim to help people find out more about how good life can be. I reckon we hit that target fairly often.

John Jeffrey

Skipper’s Log – Sunday 15th April
The gang has been busy writing today:

Mate’s Log 15-Apr-07

Another day has passed and we are now well over half way to our destination. We’ve had following winds all day, but sadly we need to keep up a speed of over 6 knots to catch our flight back from Malta and there is just not enough breeze to do this under sail and we’ve been using the engine rather a lot. However, some unpleasant noises from that department have recently encouraged us to hoist the sails again while Skipper John investigates. We’re now making 5.5 knots under just the running sail and mizzen, as the sun sets.

The highlights of the day have been the excellent meals served up by Jean who has been “mother”, however the day started with hot buttered toast all round served up by the 1st Mate! It turns out that Gipsy Moth IV has not enjoyed this culinary delight for a while as no-one onboard knew that you could make quite good toast on the diesel cooker.

We’ve seen a few ships, and a dead cow floated past this afternoon, but other than that this is a very quiet part of the world. No birds, no flying fish, not even a friendly dolphin. The actual weather has still not aligned itself with the forecast – but at least it’s not a headwind.

Andrew Eccleston
1st Mate



Michael’s Log

We are making good progress and we are now just over half way to Malta. We have spent a lot of time using the motor but started sailing again when we heard strange noises coming from the motor.

Today has been pretty quite. We have only seen a few ships and what we thought was a dead cow floating past the boat.

Andrew taught Dan and I how about Astro Navigation and how to use a sextant to calculate our position.

Dan’s Log

1 day on and we are now only 220 miles from Malta we have been using the motor a lot because of the winds not being strong enough for us to make it to Malta on time. Its 9 30 pm and I am on watch sat in the cockpit writing this and the wind seems to be picking up which is good because we are now sailing and there is not noise from the motor which is good.

Out here everything seems so dead the last alive thing we saw was an OWL but today we did see what seemed to be a dead cow about 5 m from the boat. We have also seen a few ships but not many.

Andrew taught us how to do astro navigation today which was good using the sextant to locate are position which we can use if the gps fails.

Only 1 hour left of this watch then back up again at 2 am for another 3 hours.

Hello to everyone.

Skipper John –

Don’t you just love the smooth way a professional met man says it – “The actual weather has still not aligned itself with the forecast”. I must remember that one.

The owl was a real surprise, out here so far from land where there surely aren’t any sea-mice for it to hunt? But it’s not the first I’ve seen since entering the Mediterranean. Can any of you out there throw any light? As for the cow, I’m delighted to say I missed it. I’ve sailed close to one before and the smell is like – no, I can’t, there might be people reading this while eating.

As for the engine, everything that should be tight is tight, everything that should be loose is loose, and most of the dirty bits are now cleaner than the clothes I was wearing when I started working on it. I did find that the new batteries fitted in Crete are a tadge smaller than the old ones, so were sliding about inside their protective box; I’ve jammed them with something handy that I’d rather not admit to (quite safe, honest) and all is now peaceful. Except that the wind is dropping more and more as midnight approaches, and I think we may have to run the engine again. Find out tomorrow!

John Jeffrey

Skipper’s Log – Saturday 14th April

Things started to get better when Michael presented each of us with a smart baseball cap from The Evans Bay Yacht and Motor Boat Club of New Zealand. Motor boating became the theme of the day. The bad news of the morning was that the wind never appeared. The good news was that this made the sea calmer and smoother than I have seen it since leaving the Gulf of Aden, so no waves to slow us down. Well before dawn this morning we had rounded the north west tip of Crete and turned directly towards Malta, still over 400 miles away.
But the crew are now up to speed, so let’s hear the story from them:

Mate’s Log 14-Apr-07

Here I am again! One of the lucky people who get to sail two legs on “Gipsy Moth IV”. Same boat (same quirks), new people, new destination.

Since I was last aboard, sailing up the Great Barrier Reef, she has sailed many thousands of miles and enjoyed many adventures, so I was I was curious to see what kind of shape she was in. In fact, she looks pretty good. There’s the obvious wear and tear – but all the essentials to keep her on course for the homecoming next month in Plymouth are in working order.

Right now we are sailing west with the mountains of Crete just disappearing over the horizon and with a waypoint set for Valetta with just over 400 miles to go. We have the No.2 jib, staysail, full main and mizzen set and are making speeds of up to 8 knots in a steady NE’ly breeze.

The reputation of the “Official Meteorologist” has taken a bit of a hammering recently – so I need to redeem myself whilst on board again. I am hoping that the wind will stay abaft the beam for the whole trip, and we will catch our flight on time. Keep reading the Voyage Log to find out if we make it!

I’m in the company of another great team. John the Skipper has probably done more miles on GMIV than anyone other than Chichester himself, and the crew are a mixture of ages and experience. Now that we’ve spent 24 hours at sea, we are into the routine and have already enjoyed some excellent food served up by Charlie and Dan. Jean has learnt to tie a bowline and Michael is filling in the log and plotting positions on the chart. One notable feature is that, despite being mostly novices, everyone can do an excellent job of steering by the compass.

So, I’m really looking forward to the rest of this short leg. Ending at a destination that neither I nor GMIV have visited before - and writing another small chapter in the story.

Andrew Eccleston
1st Mate and Official Meteorologist

Dan’s Log:
I am currently sat in the galley of gipsy moth IV it the 2nd day of sailing and feeling much better after being sea sick yesterday which wasn’t very nice but I am feeling much better now and seeing the dolphins made ups for the sickness. The weather today is good sun is we are surrounded by nothing but see. Last night on watch we saw a brilliant sunset and then all the stars appeared as there was no light pollution we could see all of them it was brilliant. I’m going to lie down on the back of the boat watching Charlie try and fish.
Hello to everyone at home.
Michael:
I am currently sitting in the cockpit of Gipsy Moth with Crete just disappearing from view. The weather today is really good, sun is shining and its very warm. We left the Marina in Crete early yesterday morning and headed for Crete. Yesterday we had some dolphins swimming beside the boat which was quite cool. I have just been taught how to complete the log book and plot the position of the boat on a chart. We are just about to have lunch so I better go. Hi to everyone back in NZ.
Charlie:
When leaving Crete we left in good winds with the sails filled, as we made our way along the coast the wind was against us all the way. The decision was made to drop sails and use the engine to get us going in the right direction, this was a disappointment but the wind was due to change. At 12 o’clock the watches started, four hours in the day and three hours at night, so at least there was a bit of routine. As we were motoring along the coast we were joined group of dolphins that were playing off the bow for about fifteen minutes!! Its was a awesome experience!
24 hours pasted and at about half five this morning the wind changed, at this time I was on watch with John, and Jean. We decided to raise the sails at which point the sun was starting to rise and this was the beginning of this perfect day, at eight o’clock the watch ended and it was breakfast time, I have never felt so happy inside eating my breakfast, the sun was shining, we had a good breeze, and great company!
The time came around that I had to start to see if I would have any luck with fishing, I haven’t caught anything YET but I will keep you informed!!

Charlie Hatfield

Skipper again:
You may be confused by the crew’s various versions of what the wind has been doing. That’s not surprising. It has blown at all speeds today from zero to 30 kts, and changed direction more often than a politician listening to too many focus groups. Right now it is fairly fresh and almost dead behind, which is a whole lot better than dead ahead, believe me. Jean has perfected her bowline, Dan has got completely over his seasickness, Michael has become an instant GPS expert, Charlie can apparently raise two sails at once, single handed (at least he does it so fast it looks that way), and we are on schedule to catch our flights on Wednesday. But this is the ocean, where nothing ever stays the same for long. Tune in again tomorrow to see the proof.
John Jeffrey

Skipper’s Log – Friday 13th April
Yes, folks, we set to sea on Friday 13th. It didn’t help when the marina staff said “are you really going out in this weather?” We have now parted company with all the other Blue Water Rally yachts that have been our companions for most of this round the world adventure. There was hardly a dry eye in the place, though that may have had something to do with the torrential rain.
Getting out was the biggest challenge of the day so far (and it’s 11 pm, so I’m fairly optimistic). The yacht was parked in a tight corner and she’s not noted for being easy to manoeuvre, even in calm conditions. (The secret is to use the wind, rather than complain about it). Michael Jones’ parents, who have flown here from New Zealand, were there to wave us off before rushing to the airport so they can meet us again in Malta. I look forward to asking them what their feelings were as they watched Michael, his crewmates, and Gipsy Moth IV lean over and slide sideways out towards the ocean.
Perversely, while we were still clinging on to our leaning machine, the wind dropped off almost to zero, and we started to motor. Then it started to blow a hooley again. Then it stopped again. Never a dull moment.
Well, that’s not strictly true. It is pretty dull motoring along with no wind at all, all the more so since by now the Met man had promised we would have a super duper northerly wind that would send us scurrying along towards Malta in fine style. Instead, we’re working hard to be there in time for the new crew. Ulysses wandered up and down these waters for 10 years but we don’t have that long. I have a particular interest in not being late, because I want to get home for grandson Daniel’s birthday. Much as I love sailing Gipsy Moth IV, having missed my son’s birthday and my own wedding anniversary, I feel my wanderings (3 months so far, this time) ought to stop for a while in case the family forget who I am.

So now we’re motoring on under a starlit sky, wondering how bad a free Met forecast has to be before you can ask for your money back, When the moon comes up later we’ll have (a little Cretan reference here for you film buffs) Ill Met By Moonlight. Boom, boom!

There was a non-dull moment a little while ago when the industrious Charlie was producing a splendid chicken casserole. He found something alive in a packet of pasta; I’ll spare you the details in case you are eating as you read this. We decided the extra protein was not worth the risk, so chucked it and opened a new pack. Same thing. Or things. So it’s off with all the pasta, fumigate the cupboard, and stick to bread from now on. Can’t nip to the shops when you’re on a yacht.

But the bread was fine and we’re feeling well fed. The lights of Crete are on our left, Malta’s somewhere ahead, Jean saw a shooting star the moment she came on watch, and the moon will be up any time soon. There have been worse nights.

John Jeffrey

Skipper’s Log – Thursday 12th April
It seems only a few days since I was writing “New day, new crew”. Actually, it is. And now the message is the same. Last night I drove the gang from the Ellen MacArthur Trust to Heraklion airport and met the incoming crew for Leg 27.

After an hour’s drive and a late-night settle-in we were all sleeping soundly until the torrential rain started at about 5 am. That got our attention, and so did the inky-black clouds that were being driven along by the winds of 35 knots plus. Fitting oilskins and lifejackets seemed a perfectly reasonable activity.

By mid afternoon, when all our preparations were finished, the clouds and rain had gone but the wind was much the same, with surf lashing onto the beach. I decided not to set off for Malta until early tomorrow. I would rather have a full day of getting everyone familiar with the yacht and its little ways before coping with darkness as an extra dimension.

According to the forecasts, the wind is going to be in our favour from Saturday onwards for most of the trip. This is encouraging news, which convinces me that delaying our departure by 12 hours or so is a sensible strategy. We won’t know if this was a sound decision until we clear Crete to the north and see if the winds there are as northerly and as strong as the forecasts tell us to expect. If they are, we could be in for a white-knuckle ride to the George Cross Island. But we’re not here to be bored!

John Jeffrey