Sir Robin with the team.

We had a visit today from our patron Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who has given us fantastic help and support towards making CatZero a success.

Sir Robin with the team.

The last blog and testament from Lee and Hils aka Blog-Man and Blog-Girl. We are almost there but not there until we cross the final line, anything can happen. Skipper has confirmed that we are all Competent Crew, although would like to have seen Captain Clarkson (aka...You know the rest) out of the galley and on deck more often. Franco thinks us English drink copious amount of hot drinks and last night had dreamt of being surrounded by Kettles.

We all think that the skippers have played a great role in helping to support us in all of our endeavours. Debs has been there for all of us, offering her knowledge of the Galley and keeping the watches fun and bubbly with her easy going and cheeky ways. Thanks also to the ‘batman and Robin’ duo that is Nigel and Sam our watch leaders, slim chance of another group like us!

Hold on to your seats Horta, here One Hull comes!!!!

Blog-Man and Blog-Girl fighting to get into internet cafes for your updates!!!

Lee –
 We have 329 miles to Horta, I can’t believe we have been at sea nearly two weeks! Jack Kerouac may have been ‘on the road’ but we have defiantly been ‘on the wind’ as we have sailed against the wind for nearly two weeks now.

We are hoping in these last couple of days, the wind will finally shift so that we can experience some downwind sailing into The Azores.
Life on board has been a barrel of laughs, simple things like saying ‘boil the Kettle’ results in a shout five minutes later “kettles boiled” 20minutes later and Nigel still waits for his cuppa.
Richard (Kryton, Smee, Captain Clarkson, Smoking Wigwam, Ricardo, Skinny Latte, and Bilge Boy) has without a doubt achieved the record for nicknames on board. The spot on fella that he is has told more stories than primary school teacher, all resulting in tears of laughter down our faces.
I have decided that I am going to try and achieve a qualification on board, Competent Crew, think if the opportunity is there I might as well take it.
I have been practicing my knots like mad and when I reach Horta I will have to row a dingy under oars….. How hard can it be??

I hope my brother and Sister in-law had a wonderful day and everyone enjoyed themselves, look forward to getting some signal on my phone to ring home for the news.

Our time at sea is nearly up but what a great time it’s been.

22nd Jan - Hils on night watch

 Sitting at the computer at the navigation desk to write this at 02.15  allows a pleasant interlude from sitting in the cold on deck! We're  travelling fast ( 7 to 8 knots) by sailing close to the wind on direct  course to the Azores. Just 550 miles to go so we are all thinking about  seeing land again. I feel we are also being particularly thoughtful and  helpful towards each other now that we have been at sea together 10 days  and are all dealing with our own challenges (mental and physical) like  sleep deprivation, damp clothes and trying to move around the boat without  falling or crashing into things. The smallest act of kindness and concern  or a smile or joke means such a lot to raise the spirits. I'm sure this is  something we will all remember when we get home. I find cooking in the  galley very hard and not something I enjoy however Richard manages to be  creative with cooking and produces amazing meals from the tins in the `day  packs' now that the fresh food is finished. Franchesco cooked a great  tomato pasta yesterday even though he was not happy that we had run out of  olive oil!

 Yesterday morning was another bad weather experience with gale force winds  and driving rain. I was on deck but didn't feel so frightened this time.

 The next watch team are getting up now for handover at 3am. We have 25mins  to get up and get all our waterproofs on. This has become quite competitive  between the two watch groups as Danny usually has to chivey our group along  so we're not late!There is lots of `thinking time' when on watch and my  thoughts have been on friends and family hoping you are all well and looking  forward to seeing you all soon. Thanks for all your love and support. Hils xx

21/1/12
Hi Lee and Mandy,

This adventure is turning out to be quite tough, but really rewarding too as we have done things that we never thought we would and even contemplate.

The sun rises and sunset are my favourite but then looking at the beautiful stars at night is a real treat as they shine so bright , the waves at times are really big and some reached 7-8 metres wow! Difficult to move about then , I tell you and the little things that we take for granted will be such a treat when we get back home – I am seriously thinking of eclairs and there is no chance of anything like that , tried to make pancake one day but did not have the right flour and all got a bit sticky so abandoned the idea ahahahah We are starting to look forward to getting to the azores and checking our bruizes ! ahahahah lots of them but they will remind us of how we got though real adversity and learned a lot from this challenge.

I don’t think I will change  career and become a sailor Lee…. But became wiser learning how they live and how much they can change the shape of young peoples lives by giving them new opportunity in life.

A team spirit is needed to see you through this and this we got from everyone around .

Thanks for giving me this opportunity and letting me do this with Hils knowing that you would be without me for a while, Mandy and Lee I am so proud of you too …. Will be there soon , fill the fridge up with goodies for me …ahahha love mum xxx

Choices shape our lives
I may not be there tomorrow but I would still like for this to be read or heard by the bride and groom on their special day or today.
I’d like to start by saying how beautiful Emma looks, I know I cannot see you but you look wonderful on every other day, so I can only imagine that you will look truly breath taking when you walk down the aisle.

I’d like to thank the parents of the bride for all they have done in the preparation of this special day. I am sure you have made Vincent and Emma’s day truly memorable.
I would like to second that thank you to my own parents as they will have been up sorting the venue for you all to enjoy. Mum will defiantly be giving the directions on this one.
Both Vincent and Emma mean a great deal to me and I know my absence may not seem to enforce that but they understand why I had to make the choice I did.
I think the choice is very much like the choice Vincent will make. He has the choice and opportunity of a life time, that being, to marry a truly amazing woman in his life and one that will indeed remain special to all of us in the family.
Vinnie, I couldn’t have wished for a finer eldest brother to look up to. Very few older brothers growing up would happily take their youngest brother and include them in their friendship circles. This made starting secondary school a great experience as I had a lot of older kids in high places. On many occasions I have sought advice and help from you and have never been let down, although all that know you will understand when I say I had to ask you twice, as you didn’t listen the first time!

Emma you again have already been a sister to me for too long and this day will only make it more official than it already is. You have always loved Vincent and have already given him two wonderful children and there is likely to be more, yet another choice you have to make in the future.
I wish you both the most heartfelt congratulations and the best life together; I love you both very much and will see you both soon.

Ps- Emma this doesn’t mean you get special big sister bullying rights.
PPs – over to you Steve, make them laugh brother and remember don’t mention
the time when Vinnie...

Levi 20/1/12
Wow!! Never would I have thought I would be crossing the Atlantic!! Up to
now I have found this to been a life changing experience. It has made me
want to do more with my life, especially Travel to new places, meet new
eople and Most importantly - live in the Now.
It’s crazy how much I will appreciate The small things in life when I get
home such as; showers, use of the toilet (which you can stand in fixed
position), being able to pick up the phone and communicate with friends and
family.
Living at sea to me is like living in a snow globe every time you shake it
reality becomes a blur you lose track of the time and date etc. However it
does mean you really get to know people and I have made some truly new
friends.
It has been harder than expected because of the sleeping patterns. Four
hours on/four hours off during the day and three hours on/three hours off
during the night. You’re so tired at the end of some watches that you get
in your bunk as soon as you can.
I am enjoying it so far. It has enabled me to reflect on what I want to do
with my life. I love being on the helm which I find very relaxing.
So tonight we had our Half Way Hat Party which was spot on. It brought
everyone together and boosted morale after some tough sailing. It couldn’t
have come at a better time with about 5 days to go.

19/1
Day 8 at sea and the 1000mile barrier has been broken. There is rumour of a  half way party on board to celebrate all the hard work so far or as Deb  seems to think "there would be nothing to look forward to in life if we  didn't go to the party". If this party is happening I'm going in my  Caribbean shirt (it's rather loud).

 The Sea is calm this morning and the lull of the waves are making it hard  to wake up. The Sun rose behind a screen of clouds that allowed a small  horizontal strip to seep through, look like the sun was wearing a burka.

 The experience has been amazing so far and I want to thank KC again and all  those that helped make this possible. I really can't believe Mr Cameron  thinks this Catzero programme is crazy, me thinks he needs to get on  board... Literally.

 I also have to say to my manager Steve and Phys-ninja-master-chef  (Philpott), you were both right about the whole toilet experience. It was  fine when the dress code was shorts and T-shirt but now I have my normal  clothes..Thermal layers..waterproof layers and life jacket, the task of  going to the toilet is similar to Hannibal Lector in his straightjacket  needing to itch his nose.

 I have also after my time at sea found muscles I never knew I had, this is  due to the amount of clenching I have done to keep me from falling off my  perch on deck. Debs name them my 'Boat-hooks' which isn't far from their  common name. Think I have a six pack on each cheek.

 Finally, as I seem to be finding more time to write these blogs now, Danny  the Skipper has taken to calling me the BLOG-MAN, he has changed the words  of the famous Beatles song 'I am the walrus'. I regularly hear "I am the  blog-man.I am the blog-man. I am the walrus...koo koo kaa choo!!"  I have a  feeling this will Tickle my dad when he reads this.

 That's all from the Blog man ?

18/1
Through the round window.
Blog writing is brand new, at least it is for me. If you don’t believe
this, read on.
For someone who, at 52 years old, has never, literally, for many reasons,
been on holiday in the sun; certain things are going to be pretty much
brand new. Think big jet aeroplanes, a lot of beaming hot sun & sea, and
some rum based drinks that have obviously been designed with the single
most important goal of making you want another seven of them, as soon as
possible. He was a very clever designer. That said, I do like a drink, so
let’s not over praise this guy, who, on account of his success has (I
suspect) rather more to answer for to a large number of people. As a
backdrop, and in an attempt to offer a perspective, I list the following as
being important things in my regular everyday life. My darling Akua, DeDe
& Tema, Guinness, girlfriends, smoking & work. Obviously not necessarily
in that order. Ouch, sorry sweetheart (s).
This is a trip, or more correctly, a voyage. For me it is a plethora of
ideas, a Smorgasboard of feelings mixed together on a palette that thus far
has allowed me to display some emotions, the type of which I didn’t know I
had. I am in the company of eleven other people; people from different
walks of life and from “other countries”. I reckon they too have already
found an occasional drop of salty water trickling down their cheeks, this
did not come from the ocean. This is a trans-Atlantic crossing by sail
power, organised by the Cat Zero team from Hull, Yorkshire, and I am a part
of it. This is not designed to be a chapter because I’m not sure what is
to come. Similarly it is not intended to whet your appetite; there is no
need because I know that you are already hungry. Although there will,
almost definitely, be more. Please wait and watch this space. For those
with patience, explanations will be provided for much of the above, which
will in turn hopefully produce clarity. Further entries may include: A load
of Bilge, How long is it now? Chefs and vomit, and loads of other “stuff”.
Love to all.
Captain Clarkson.-

Wed 18th
 At last a moment to record the crazy events of the last 48 hours! We have
 all experienced the full force of the Atlantic ocean in January. Now we
 know why some people said it would not all be easy.We were half way into
 our evening watch and the winds had reached 25 knots making huge waves and
 spraying the decks with surf, At times Onehull was healing over at 40
 degrees and we were standing on the high side with the toe-rail on the
 other side in the water. I was frightened that the boat would heel right
 over but Danny assured us that this Challenger boat was built for just
 these kinds of conditions and “she was loving it” When the next watch came
 up on deck later we all helped to take down the staysail and hoist the
 storm jib. The main sail already had three reefs in it. I was in the snake
 pit and feared for the guys at the bow battling the wind with sea water
 showering over them. We had to relay messages from Danny at the helm as it
 was impossible to hear against the noise of the wind. If I’m honest it was
 terrifying but now that it is over I’m glad that we can truely say we
 experienced the force of the Atlantic ocean. Just for staying on deck Danny
 has nicknamed me “Gale Force Hils”.
 Today conditions are much calmer and the sun is shining! We should reach
 our half-way mark and we are all more confident knowing just what this
 boat (and the crew) can conquer.

Ciao MAMMAAAA papa e filippo (gli inglesi ci prendono in giro perche' siamo  mammoni)! Finalmente un po' di italiano eh? Vi scrivo da 30 gradi 48 primi  Nord, 51 gradi 49 primi Ovest, siamo quasi a meta' tragitto e la nostra  cavalcata e' veramente eccitante! Sono sicuro che dopo la notizia della  costa crociere che si e' schiantata al giglio a mamma gli e' preso un colpo  eh?(lo skipper ha ricevuto una email che parlava di questo) State  tranquilli, qui nell'oceano sis ta benissimo e questo viaggio e' ampiamente  alla nostra portata. Tanti baci, Francesco

 Translation: Hi MAMMAAAAAA dad and brother (danny jokes with me that every  Italian man loves and also needs to speak with his MAMMAAAAA and everything  is ok when the MAMMAAA make the boy some pizza or pasta), finally a bit of  Italian in this blog uh? I'm writing you from 30,48 degrees Nord, 51,49  degrees West, we're close to the half of this passage and our riding is so  exciting! I'm sure that after the bad news about the sank of the Costa  Cruising ship near Giglio island, MAMMAAAA  felt scared for me (skipper  received and email about this) don't worry MAMMAAAA here in the ocean  everything is all right. Many kisses, francesco

18/1
Well I ended my last blog with "can't wait to see what else the journey  holds in the up and coming days", I think I spoke to soon as what we  experienced last night was something even Wes Craven (Nightmare on Elm

 Street) couldn't have imagined. Climbing out on deck to pitch Black and  thrashing waves with crazily strong winds of up to 43knots that had the  deck rocking wilder than ever, everyone on deck had to change the Stay sail  up near the bow to the Storm Jib (stronger sail).

 After the sail was changed and the other watch went down I spent the next  three hours freezing and scared to let go of the bar as the deck was  rocking so much and with the wind and spray it was hard to see even if I  wanted to, I was offered to go below deck warm up and change but made the  decision to 'man up' and see it through. I was the glued to my bar when i  was offered to helm by Nigel (which I usually shoot up to the helm for on  any other day) I said "think I'll skip this one", I think he caught my  drift that I wasn't budging.

 Today has been slightly better as we are able to see. Me and Franco kept  singing Nessun Dorma out loud for a laugh, skipper Danny popped his head up  thinking we had cats on board. The waves have been crazily high on watch,  some up to 10meters, impressive and exciting, but the One Hull ripped  through.

 I thought I could hear the click of dolphins this morning, so I was  excitedly looking about the waves, about ten minutes later I realised it  was the flag flapping in the wind. I felt that feeling you get when you're  waiting for something to arrive and the doorbell rings, you rush to the  door. and it's a salesman.

 By the sounds of it tonight is going to be another rough one. I'm  determined to give the helm a go tonight, I'll let you know how I get on.

Its 9:30pm on day five of the voyage to the Azores. We have travelled 885miles so far and each day has given me a new experience and memory to keep. Today has been the first day I have put my full waterproofs and oilies on along with the very trendy wellys. Good job really as it has been wet and wild and the sea rather rough along with the winds. Tonight has been one of the biggest adrenaline rushes for me, the wind was howling, the main sheet was rattling and the boat was on a 70⁰ tilt, we were doing about 10knots which doesn’t feel fast if it’s calm but felt like 70mph tonight with the wind blowing a gale. It was like a white knuckle log flume. I also then had to go and pump the grey tank (sewage) about 500pumps left me feeling ill, but least the water will drain in the heads again now. On a lighter note, today we surprised Ven with a cake and a card to celebrate his 30th birthday, he loved it.

Whilst today has taken a turn for the more wild the previous have been the opposite.  Sam caught a fish one afternoon which became dinner. Last night I had an astronomy session whilst on watch with Francesco the sky was filled with the stars and shooting stars too. Yesterday I decided to sacrifice my 4hours midday sleep to do a bit of sunbathing on deck while the sun was out and the sea was calm, I was joined by a few others and we ended up even having the music on, bit of ‘don’t worry be happy, everybody’s free to feel good, oh heaven is a place on earth!’ and other ironing songs. The outcome of which I now have lobster legs and Debs has started calling me Hot-legs. Also saw some more dolphins.

Can’t wait to see what else this experience holds in the up and coming days. Hopefully no more sunburn. Hope everyone is well and will see you all soon

 

16/01 

Next phase of our journey

We have travelled 700miles so far and have just completed a short period with the engine running as the winds were really light and the sea state moderate.

It has been sunny so no problem getting  us out on deck! We’re all acclimatised to the watch system now and Danny no longer has to give us a `count down’

to take over from the watch on deck! In addition to the work on deck there are other jobs we are responsible for e.g. navigation, engineering checks, cooking and cleaning. Never a dull moment but lots of fun and great teamwork.

I know my friends were worried that I would not be strong enough for the winch work! Not a problem – I’m building up plenty of muscle! At night sitting on deck looking at the stars and the moon reflecting on the water I have to keep pinching myself to ensure that it is all real – it is so beautiful.

Over the next couple of days we will experience some weather fronts coming from the north so it will get colder and maybe wetter. Bring it on – we’re ready!! So dear friends and family don’t worry about me – I’m loving every moment.

15/1/12
Celebrating my thirtieth birthday on board One Hull is really special for me. I want to thank my fiancée Tanya, my mum and dad and also all of my friends
for all the support they gave me. I love you and I think about you all the time. I also want to thank CatZero for the opportunity to join the North
Atlantic Challenge. The Admirals – Danny and Tim for their perfect organization of tasks and free time on the Caribbean and for navigating us safely so
far. Everyone else on board has been great, positive and fun :) The Challenge continues, but as they say in Saint Lucia…No guts, no glory!

posn @ 2345GMT 26 43N 56 39W

My first mahi mahi 14th Jan
Danny came on deck with the fishing rod, not to fish just to clear some space in the wet locker where he was working. The fishing rod was bought in gran
Canaria for around 400 euro by the crew just to have fresh food on the crossing but considering we only caught 1 fish that was an expensive fish. Hills was
on the helm at the time as I was trying to set it up and eventually got some line out and within 5 minutes we got a bite. I’ve never been fishing before so
this was an exciting time as I’ve just got my first bite! Racing to the fishing rod to stop the fish getting further away and put the break on while
shouting ‘We got a fish’ All action stations by my watch, Danny came on the helm to slow the boat down, Ven went to get some gloves and the gaff and Rich
was thinking about how he’s going to chop it up for dinner. The battle between man and fish has begun, I started reeling it in, at one point I thought we
had lost it but then suddenly it reappeared on the surface flapping away as I started reeling in even faster. Eventually the fish was beside the boat and
Ven was beside me like back up with the gaff and gloves on, Ven grabbing the line then bringing it on board just in front of the helm. The beautiful blue ,
yellow and green fish laying there awaiting Rich with his winch handle in his hand to put him out his misery . Rich prepaid the fish and got it all ready
for debs to finish the cooking the dinner. Fish stew with mash didn’t sound appetising at first as veg isn’t my favourite food but it actually was very
nice!

Hils  13th Jan

 I am on watch and just completed my engineering check of the generator 
 and fuel level in the engine. Now our second night at sea and it is 
 spectacular – a warm wind at between 17 and 22 knots ( force 5)  so we 
 have been able to keep a constant speed of 9 or 10 knots. Our watch 
 leader, Sam is great when I’m on the helm and says I do a good job at 
 keeping us on course at the right speed! I love the night sailing as 
 so many stars and beautiful moonlight.
 No seasickness yet either which is a bonus but there are challenges – 
 just moving about the boat as she rocks around! Richard cooked us a 
 great pork stew with mashed potato last evening and we ate it on deck 
 at the end of our watch –tastes so good! As Danny says we  are 
 definitely “living in the now” with no worries about the past or the 
 future, out here in the ocean you can take each moment as a gift.
 

13/01/12

 And so the real voyage to the Azores begins. Antigua was amazing and we had a great time there preparing the boat, I was also the local mosquito number one  on the menu. We watched the sun go down at the famous Shirley heights which was accompanied by the steel band.

 Our first few hours at sea have felt rougher than usual moderate waves to the 6ft 4 skipper but massive waves to little hobbit me, whilst on deck last  night I was thinking what to put and it hit me..A BIG WAVE HIT ME, right in the kisser.

 Saw dolphins about 15minutes ago and flying fish, as the sun came up. Only another 13 estimated days of Sun Sea and sailing to go until the Azores.

 Everyone is loving it and hopes all is well.

 

10th January

The girls, Debbie,Chris and me, started our day with a yoga lesson from Debs on the grass by the boat! Salutation to the sun. After ` happy house’ ( half an hour all cleaning the boat) we all had the experience of being hauled up the mast! Apart from having a fantastic view from the top this was great teamwork  with two guys sweating at the mast, two at the winches and Nige and Debbie helping us on and off with the harness and safety ropes whilst giving reassuring words! All under Danny’s command. By the time we finished this it was lunchtime. Danny was masterchef and we produced a very tasty vegetable rice salad. More maintenance jobs onboard in the afternoon. Chris,Nige and I replaced some TBS which had worn away on the deck ( a very sticky job!!) Other jobs included painting pipes and greasing pullies. Venn and Sam were busy with Tim and Debbie planning our meals and food supply for the rest of the trip.

In the evening we decided to have a `girlie night’ so Chris, Debs and I went to the Admiral’s Inn (look in google in Nelson’s Dock, English Bay) a fabulous restaurant at the restored house where Nelson stayed when in the dock. Sitting outside on the verandah, overlooking the bay and a full moon, we all enjoyed the delicious Mahi Mahi fish.

One more day of getting the boat ready and we start across the ocean on Thursday. As Danny would say  YEE HAA.

08/01/12

We’ve completed our first sea journey from Rodney Bay (St Lucia) to  Nelson’s Dockyard Marina in English Bay, Antigua. This sail (approx. 190miles) was to give us the experience of the watch system with a crew change every 3 hours. My watch leader is Sam and crew members; Richard, Ven , Franchesco and Debbie. All great and we’ve got to know each other. Also had briefing from the skippers Danny and Tim and learnt how to do our jobs of cleaning, navigation and engineer jobs whilst on watch.

Last night I ate my breakfast of Weetabix on deck during my 3am and 6am watch  looking at the stars and full moon. Best ever breakfast. I am covered in bruises from moving around below deck whilst the boat is `flying’ along but confident I will learn to use one hand for the boat and one for myself (single handed sailing)

There is so much to learn but everyone really helpful and take time to explain and demonstrate  everything.  Looking  forward to the next crossing which will be our Atlantic voyage!

Hilary

08/01/12

It has been five days now on board the amazing vessel that is One Hull. I arrived in St Lucia which as I expected I was greeted by the warm Caribbean air, I spent most of the flight very nervous trying to spot possible other members of the crew, as the plane landed I noticed on the opposite side of the plane a long haired man with a Catzero branded Tshirt on and later found out this was one of my skippers Danny. After collecting my bags, the rest of the crew that where on the flight had gathered and we were all introduced,

As our taxi from the airport set off to Rodney bay and climbed the numerous winding roads I had already made my mind up as to how to describe St Lucia so far “Wales dipped in a bottle of Malibu”.

We arrived in Rodney harbour and were greeted with rum punch by the rest of the crew who was already on board apart from Francesco who arrived on the 5th, the crew consists of Danny and Tim our skippers, Nigel and Sam an apprentice of Catzero who has already sailed across the Atlantic and is training to skipper at 18, it quite inspiring really and have admiration for the lad. Debs is assistant watch leader. The rest of the crew who were here for the amazing experience just like me were: Richard, Levi, Chris, Hillary, Ven and Francesco. After been shown around the boat which was surprisingly spacious we went out and had a meal and a few drinks to get to know each other, the crew ranged in ages and personalities and we all got on well. I spent my first night on board and it was like sleeping in a sauna, my bunk which is very hammock like is surprisingly comfy and I have a personal fan that did nothing but rattle the first night, I’ve got used to it now.

Our second day on board we spent learning about the boat and practising winching, Danny the Skipper had told us we were to be quizzed at the end and asked us if we could identify the         ‘Spur lash’…………. We later learned this was one of his many jokes.

This was also the day we had to get supplies for the journey, we went to the local supermarket and each of us were given a trolley and a short list of items that we had to find, the interesting thing was it turned into supermarket sweep as one of my items was 60 litres of milk. The girl at the checkout face was a look of horror as we each turned up with our trolleys filled to the top with large amount of what you would normally buy one of. The bag packer’s face was even better.

After supermarket sweep we stored it in the boat and went and had a ‘sundowner’ at the local beach which was swimming in the warm sea and watching the sun go down into it. It has been hard. This was followed by another meal out and then drinks back at the dock bar. I have my Sunburn already and my feet are a feast for the bugs.

The next day we had a ‘happy house’ morning we cleaned the boat through and made sure all repairs had been done, I helped pop the door back on the wet locker and cleaned the toilets ‘heads’. We then had some time to ourselves to relax and do our own thing, most of us headed off to the harbour pool. Saw a spider the size of a rat that afternoon, could quite relax that afternoon. Francesco our crew member from Italy arrived that night and it was his birthday so we went out for another meal and drinks.

On Friday the 6th we made all final preparations to the boat and learned more about how to put up the sails and sheets. We had all been issued our trendy thermals and waterproof oilies but haven’t had to use them so far. We all gathered in the saloon (dining room) and had a team brief delivered to us about the journey we would take and told which watch we would each be on, we were also shown the duties rota and the cooking rotas. It was all confusing at first but we have gotten used to it. Tim then told us the first voyage we would make, I thought we would sail straight to the Azores but the skippers thought a trip to Antigua might be a good first taster, I grinned like a Cheshire cat.

Our life jackets were on and we set sail which was really exciting, we sailed out of Rodney harbour and began hoisting the sails. Tim our second skipper had us practicing man over board drills which were interesting as it showed just how important teamwork was on the boat. Once we had finished getting used to the manoeuvres of the boat we headed to Antigua, we were told the voyage would take over night. My watch was first and so I was on cleaner duty which meant I had to nip down and clean the heads and galley (kitchen), I then got to be at the helm!! I was actually steering   the boat and it was an amazing feeling. I found myself in a realisation of what I was actually doing and where I was with disbelief, it’s hard to describe the feelings really. Although the sea sickness I endured through the rest of the night was not….. HORRIBLE. My four hour watch finished and we swapped over with the other group, the watches at night lasted 3 hours each and so sleep was grabbed when possible, although it wasn’t easy sleeping feeling awful. But as much as I hated the sicky feeling I love the experience! Chris bless her also had sea sickness, hers was worse than mine.

The voyage to Antigua was great, we even had to do a Hat and glasses search and rescue and we amazingly found both. The other watch managed to spot dolphins through the night. We are currently docked in English Harbour, Nelson Dock Marina and I have to admit it is even more amazing than St Lucia! It is steeped in history and millionaire super boats are everywhere, we are spending a couple of nights here and Tonight (Sunday) we are going to the WORLD FAMOUS SHIRLEY HEIGHTS!!!

I have managed to get some time to write this blog/novel and sorry it is so long but thought if Id let you know as much as possible as every little thing is amazing. Will try to write  another soon.

Ps: Anna if you would like to edit this for the KC blog published article please do as I had to write it with a short space of time. Can you send the full one to my Dad. Thanks again loving it!!!!!

Hi everybody just a quick message to let you all know the video for Leg 2 of our North Atlantic Challenge is now ready to be viewed. Click on 'Races' at the top of the screen, then 'leg 2 the ARC' on the right hand side, finally scroll down and the video is there. Cheers!!

5/12/11

Hi there

Thanks to all of you for following me in my journey and for all your encouraging comments. Mum told me how much interest there has been. I hope to get the photos I promised in Tuesday's blog, and Tim and I have been working on a short movie which will have its premiere tonight and I will try and put up here over the weekend.

Today I've been sitting in cafés around the marina chatting about the race and having bacon rolls and hot chocolate whilst we changed our flights - we got here so quickly that we have now changed to an earlier date. We fly from a Carribean night in T-shirt and shorts, to a December Gatwick Saturday morning in the warm clothes we never used!

Over the coming days we will be working half-days on the boat to clean her up and stow everything away shipshape. Most of us have moved into hotels to avoid getting in the way (but I'm going to spend the last night on the boat). The rest of the day I will be doing exciting and interesting things around the island - and my homework! Each day I will blog about these.

More tomorrow

Ned

4/12/11

Hi everybody,

We made it (believe it or not) !!!!!! As we crossed the line, I took the time. We took a total time of 13 days, 22 hours, and 54 minutes. This was exactly one hour and 6 minutes inside a fortnight since we started in Las Palmas - seems like forever - "an ocean away". And when we docked, it was a "healthy" burger for me!!

The final placing : We are 1st in our class, the 11th boat across the line, and  8th single-hulled boat! And the first children - "the fastest kids in the Atlantic"!

So...
"What was the best bit?"
Surfing down waves with the spinnaker up at almost 15 knots in the middle of the night with millions of stars above our heads

"What was the most exciting bit?"
Sighting land for the first time in two weeks

"What was the scariest bit?"
Blowing out the spinnaker with 100 foot tear in it

"What was the worst bit?!"
Getting up at quarter to midnight for a three hour watch with only 2:30 hours sleep inside you

"What was the food like?"
At first it was fresh meat, then it was tins - except for chorizo - that was the best meal: fried chorizo and pasta. The highlight of my career as chef was making the best bread of the trip - I kneaded it really hard!

I will send lots of photos of everyone onboard tomorrow

Bye,
Ned

Hey there,

Today we broke the 100 mile mark. Right now there's only 85.4 miles to go! We will hopefully arrive in St. Lucia at about midday tomorrow.    There are 3 boats behind us> We made 0.6 miles on them in five minutes.

Today I made bread for lunch. To go with it, I cooked some Chorizo!! It was delicious (if I do say so myself!)!

 I saw a satellite this evening. It only took 2 minutes to go from horizon to horizon. In fact, it orbits the earth in 1 hour and 40 minutes (wish we were that fast!). Despite the skies being "overcrowded", this is the first we have seen. One star was twinkling very brightly, due to the cooling down of the atmosphere.

Nearly there!

Ned

Hi

We are getting closer towards the finish and it is hotter on board - in different ways!

Today has been the hottest so far (though we haven't got a thermometer to measure it), and humid. The Trade Wind clouds have been dissipating as we approach land and the wind has started to get lighter. We have been trying to keep our current spinnaker up as long as possible, and save 'Big Bertha' (our secret weapon) for the last minute.

The competition has also been getting hotter as the boats near the finish line and racers from all over the ocean converge on the one spot. Normally at long range, 5 miles gained or lost does not make a lot of difference, but now just one mile can be a life or death racing situation. We snuck past Acool Turabi today when they had what seemed to be a spinnaker wrap.

 Today has been an exceptionally good day from the culinary point of view, we started with a plate of pancakes, moved on to wraps for lunch, jelly for tea, and rounded off with pasta and chorizo for dinner!

 The Time Lords moved time again today and turned the clock back another hour to keep in sync with our change of longitude / time zone, this meant that each watch did an extra 30 minutes of watch this afternoon. At the time of change we left the only uninhabited time zone around the world and moved to GMT -3 hours.

 Liyann and I worked with Lorraine this afternoon on the foredeck to replace the spinnaker downhaul attachment strop on the starboard spinnaker pole. My job was to cut the right length of rope (with my new knife) and extract the core of the rope to use as a strop. Then I helped to whip (bind and tie very tightly) the new strop onto the pole in a loop. It was a relief from the hot temperature to sit under the flying spinnaker and get cooled by the wind flowing past it.

 Now I'm off to bed

 Ned

Best bread yet! (writing on Day 12, Thursday 1st December 2011  - GMT 1744) 

I will be talking about yesterday (Day 11, Wednesday 30th November 2011) because I forgot to do the blog but anyways, the fish we caught on day 10 was cut, fried and eaten by our hungry crew. I was the only one who didn't eat the 10 kilo Dorado (which Tim and I had a bet on, he bet me a sprite that it was a yellow fin Tuna and I bet him a coke that it was a Dorado. I knew my fish so I was lucky enough to win a coke) because I don't like seafood. 

I was to make lunch, which was bread and soup. I made the bread with extra strong flour, butter, salt and yeast (Emma helped me with the ingredients and the procedure). I had to mix it all out and then kneed it which was extremely tough because it was the first time I was making bread so I didn't know if I was doing it right. I kept adding flour to it and I beat it down hard. It took a really long time but when Emma told me that it was ready, I took it out put it in the bread pan, wrapped in cling film with the help of Danny and put it on deck in the sun. After about 30 minutes or so I put it in the oven and took it out after 35 minutes and the bread looked amazing, it had risen so much and everyone loved it.  They said it was the best bread so far. It felt great because it was the first time I was making bread. 

Later on that day we needed to do a gybe and Tim needed to go up the starboard guy/sheet to change the guy, so we decided to put the GoPro up behind the helm and we go the gybe on video and it was 32 minutes long. The first few minutes of the gybe was really clear and it got Tim going up the guy. Tim put the section where he is going on his video but the rest of the video was very blurry for some reason but at least the best part was nice and clear.  

It was a really fun day and I will remember it for the rest of my life

01/12/11  

Day 10, same boat, same watch system and the same vast seascape, many of you reading this probably think this must be very monotonous- however this couldn't be further from the truth. Although our crew list says the same people are still on-board, I find this difficult to believe. Each day we have overcome both personal and group challenges, putting our existing and new learnt skills to the test. Big Brother could not have casted a more diverse group of people- yet it is difficult to imagine the voyage with anyone else.

 Something fishy happened last night- the boat stunk of fish yet we couldn't trace the slimy culprit. During the last few nights we have played Russian roulette as Flying Fish frequently land on deck, slapping anyone who gets in their way- remember it's pitch black! A couple of crew members; Tarun, Jay, Jan and Nigel have been caught out and the rest of us laugh nervously, knowing we might be next.

 Today was kind of a crazy day, just as Tiger watch were licking their lips with the promise of scrambled eggs for brekkie, tactics required us to change course and put in a gybe. Luckily we are becoming pros at this, but unluckily a spanner was thrown in the works. During the prep we discovered our two spinny halyards (the ropes which hold the spinnaker sail up) were damaged and twisted. Rather than send an unwilling volunteer up the mast we decided to drop the Spinnaker and host the Yankee ( another sail at the front of the boat) while we repaired the halyard blocks. It was like a well rehearsed film as we all took to our action stations and lowered the great white beast. Emma and Nigel kept the vipers tame in the snakepit (central control for the many ropes involved in such procedures) and all went smoothly and safely. Tim fixed the head and Lorraine whipped out her surgeons box ( sail repair kit) for some prompt sewing on the guy.

 Just as we had the spinny back up and were back to the original task of gybing, there was a yell from the Stern - FISH, We've caught a fish!!!!!  Everyone abandoned their positions and rushed to the stern to see more.  This fish was willing to put up a fight but after two get aways in recent days, he didn't stand a chance. Russell, Thor and Tarun wrestled him through the surf.  With squeals of excitement and steady helming from Vincent we got all 10kg of him onboard.   Yummy dinner for tonight sorted ;) After an afternoon basking in the sun with Bob Marley blasting on deck, spirits are high as we look forward to tonight's delicious feast.

Hi,

I've just come off watch at 6 am so I'm going to bed while you're all going to work! Great sailing, charging along with the heavy spinnaker, bow wave roaring and wake fizzing. A bright starry night but no moon, sitting on deck in shorts and tee-shirt. We were woken at 2:30am with a cup of hot tea so I'm ready for sleep...

 BREAKING NEWS!! HOSEPIPE BAN LIFTED! Now I have no excuse for not showering(what a tragedy)! At least all the water tanks are full. Sure, it took Quinny 18 hours over yesterday and today, but so what? He can fix anything...probably.

Everyone took the chance to wash some clothes, a Chinese laundry might have more semi-washed clothes lying around, but I doubt it. Despite the extra deck weight, we've actually sped up recently, going at 11 knots with ease and getting the best sked report again (apart from the two leaders). We have broken the 650 miles to go milestone, so early 'Channel Fever' has started with some people dreaming of soft pillows and cold beers.

 We are looking hard at the wind forecast for the finish and expect that the wind will get lighter. We will need to bring out our secret weapon - the large lighter spinnaker. But now we know how easy it is to blow out spinnakers (!) so we must be really careful not to use it too soon and then be without it at the end...

More tomorrow,

Ned

Hi Caroline, thanks for your note, we are having lots of fun. Danny and Tim are both here, as well as Quinny, Nigel and Sam who were on the Fastnet with you and say Hi.

Ned