This is just a quick one as I’ve been too swamped to write a proper log documenting our landfall. We arrived in form after 16 and a half days in Trinidad. Incredible sail- our good luck carried us through to the end. Jody joined Discovery from the States last Wednesday the 24th, the crew disembarked…
We’ve had a catastrophe aboard Discovery. Nothing broken, no one lost at sea, but still a disaster. We lost our best lure. Besides that we spaced getting proper swivels, so the remainder of our lures our useless – they just spin around endlessly until the fishing line is so screwed up (literally) that a fish couldn’t get it even if he wanted it. We have had a few flying fish hit the deck at night, so we’ll have to use one as bait if we’re to land any more fish. Gruesome tale, I know.
Not much drama to report. With easing winds we’ve slowed enough to finally nab a couple nice Mahi-Mahi, or Dorado as they are called in the Atlantic. A gorgeous fish, both to look at and to eat. The first was caught and on our plates with an asian salad accompaniment within an hour. My kind of sailing.
Day 4 out of Lanzarote. 2200 miles to go. We’re experiencing about the most steady trade conditions I’ve sailed in. Last year I made a solo delivery from Santos, Brazil to St Maarten in the Caribbean which was 33 days at sea, and the last 10 days of that trip we’re certainly great sailing conditions,…
We made Lanzarote on the afternoon of New Year’s Day after a fantastic 9 days at sea, primed and ready for a nice fiesta but we forgot that in Spanish culture people don’t got out until WELL after midnight. In fact the only people out as the New Year rang in seemed like the bloated…
Day 8. 190 Miles from Lanzarote. We cleared Gibraltar two days ago on a nice force 5 Northeast wind. I hadn’t sailed in that kind of traffic since passing through the Torres Straits, between Australia and Papau New Guinea back in 2004. Tim actually took a picture of the radar screen on his watch, with…
I woke up this morning as if in a different world. Gray wicked skies, lumpy and confused seas and howling winds were replaced with a cloudless warm sky and calm. The seas had subsided to a light swell and while I don’t usually get excited to motor, sliding along under power is a welcome respite.…
Closings are never easy and Discovery was no exception. Our scheduled closing date, December 15th came and passed with almost $600,000 in two separate wires lost in the murky world of international wires. For a week and I half I paced the docks, called my bank repeatedly, cussed and drank an inordinate amount of very…
What a crazy week. I arrived in Nice France after a cancelled flight out of JFK, long night in a shady hotel, missed connection in London the next evening (after being rerouted through London instead of Madrid), lost bags in Nice. Checked into the hotel, had a nap, ate a pizza and promptly broke a…