BROKEN HEARTS

Dear Reader, 
it is the 7th of December now, and it is the 10th day now at sea.
What an excitement the last 24 hours were.
 You have no idea how demanding sailng can be.
 We had everything you " can wish for ". Strong winds , hot sunshine, torrential rain,
you name it , we had it .

AND THE FIRST DAMAGE REPORTS FROM OTHER BOATS COME IN, AND IT IS BAD !

As suspected before , the weather takes its toll, specifically on the smaller boats. 

Here one report from ARC control on the 5th of December, 2012 :

""""
123 Modus Vivendi update:
Modus Vivendi  has been closing Mindello, Cape Verdes having previously los=
t her rudder. A tug is now on route from Mindello and should take the boat =
under tow some time tonight.  A great effort by Dag and his crew to sail th=
e boat in such difficult wind and sea conditions. They are all looking forw=
ard to arriving in Mindello tomorrow.

No further assistance required.

201 Trantes - Situation Advisory

Trantes  has damaged her mast. Rig is bent, but has been stabilised with ad=
ditional halyards. Advice from spar builder being sort.
Position at 16UT as 20 10.90N, 38 58.35W
At present, no assistance required.

ENDS
ARC Rally Control
""""

I am sure these will not be the last ones with similar reports. Let's hope that we will be doing ok, and that all others will arrive safely !


And then suddenly :


NO WIND AT ALL !!!

""""""
To: @WorldCruisingEvents
Subject: BROKEN HEARTS ON CHAMPAGNE
Date: 7 December 2012 15:23:02 UCT

Yesterday it finally happened. 

At exactly 19:00 h UTC. The empire has struck back. Poseidon goes for a brake, the dark forces are having dinner, I don't know what, but after a very strong rain shower it really happened what we did not have since we departed on the 27th of November. For the first time we experienced significantly less than BF 7 wind, in fact , and this is the funny bit, we experienced no wind at all . Niente, basta, fini, aus, nothing goes any more. We waited for an hour , tried to hoist the Parasailor to take advantage of that whisper of a wind that wasn't really there, but gave up quickly. 

Who wants to hang around Mid-Atlantic ? No Cafe Sport ( Azores) here, no Sailor's Bar ( Gran Canaria ), or any other friendly 'etablissement' available, no Disco like in Benidorm, no cinema like in Leister Square, no nothing. Not even Dolphins, Turtles, Whales, Birds, any fellow ARC participant, no fishing lines left - those we had were all thrown overboard by Pieter for reasons we still have to understand -  so nothing to do. 
Just wallowing in the swell. 
Thickening ! 

SO WE DECIDED WITH A GRAVE HEART TO SWITCH ON THE ENGINE. AFTER 9 DAYS OF CONTINUOUS SAILING.
 IT ALMOST BROKE OUR HEARTS !
 WE ARE CRYING ! 
WHY ? 
WELL, WE DON'T LIKE MOTORBOATS, SILLY !

Master Mike

""""""""

But in overall terms , we only sailed under engine for 13 hours in total , then the wind came back.
AND THAT WITH A VENGEANCE !!!
and only 940 nm to go.


Sleep well, you city dwellers and party goers,
SLEEP WELL !!!!!!!