December 2015

Date: 18th November 2015, 1200

Position:  23,50’,4’’N, 19,12’2’’W, Wind ENE 35 knots

Hi everybody

After what seemed like a week of preparation, boat improvements, shopping, we left La Gomera, bound for the Cap Verde Islands on the 17th at 12.40.

Prior to departure, the crew thought they could smell gas in the gas locker, but despite a change of seals, they could never get quite rid of it – joints were tested with soapy water and so on, but to no avail, a leak wasn’t found. In the end, we called in a gas expert (Alex specifically asked for a gas sniffer to help find the leak). The man turns up, does the soapy water thing ( to no avail) and then takes his specialist equipment out of his pocket (A LIGHTER...) and before he can be stopped, lights a flame to look for the gas leak. Alex and Kieran meantime were diving for cover.

The man finds a small leak at the regulator, declares it as kaput and orders a replacement from Tenerife and returns the day after to fit it. None of the fittings are the right size and 4 hours and 2 trips to the plumbing shop later, he finally has fitted the new regulator and repaired the damage he has done to the installation in the process. Gas is turned on and Alex goes to test, but the gas flow is way too strong. The spare part is checked and it’s a commercial unit, letting out 10 times the gas that is required. Alex is now calling him Campione del Mondo (world champion – I suspect he was a little cynical). Our champion trots off and returns 20 minutes later with a correct regulator (available at the local shop), which he fits without trouble in 15 minutes – Alex goes and tests – no gas....

Going back up to the gas box, our champion is now removing the unit to turn it around  - it seemed that the large red arrow indicating flow direction was not large enough for our champion. Alex is now in stitches and the champion declares himself a little loco (crazy). The team agreed and helped him off the boat. Good Bye....... Alex is now the onboard gas expert, as he is clearly more qualified than the champion and now also has the required specialist testing equipment J

Anyway, we are underway to Cabo Verde, it is very windy (gusting 40 kots, force 8-9) and the seas are rough – at least it’s all downhill (wind behind us). Kieran (K) is seasick, but he is tough and still stands his watches between consulting the bucket, (his new best friend), for a course to steer.

Date: 24th November 2015,

Position:  Cabo Verde, Sal, Palmeira

We arrived in Sal, Cabo Verde on Saturday the 21st after 5 days and 2 hours at sea and 839 windswept miles. Kieran recovered and  was able to enjoy at least a bit of the passage.

The crew had a little competition running to guess the arrival date and time. Carla won guessing Saturday 21st 17:22. Alex and Kieran were both way out guessing Sunday 22nd. The prize- the loser (Alex) pays for dinner ashore.  Palmeira is an official port of entry into Cabo Verde and also an international airport, so K will leave the boat for a week on 25th to spend some time with his partner Sharon and re-join us early December for the rest of the Atlantic. Apart from the sickness, we had a great time so far and are grateful for having the extra pair of hands on board – he’s also a trooper when it comes to maintenance –thanks to him, the schedule is back on track after the back pain related delays we had in October.

Date: 30th November 2015,

Position:  Cabo Verde, Santa Lucia

We are at anchor in a beautiful bay on our third day, just a short hop from Mindello, the capital and our last stop. So far the crew is somewhat nondescript about the Cap Verde islands  - overall they seem to be “take it or leave it” – not bad, but just a little barren. From a dogs perspective it’s poor, as there aren’t a lot of trees to target – doesn’t bother me though, being stuffed and all that.

Tomorrow it’s off to Mindello, meet up with K, bunker some more food and leave Cap Verde behind as soon as the weather allows. Antigua here we come!

Meantime we have a new satellite tracking device, which you can use to track us (obviously) and then also send us messages through a sms system via a website. Here’s the link to spy on us:

https://share.delorme.com/AriB

Ari  B out

Captain Bonzo & Pip

Alex & Carla

Date: 23rd December 2015

Position:  Falmouth Harbour, Antigua

Hi landlubbers

As you can tell by our position, we have crossed the Atlantic and have arrived safely in Antigua.

The name for our adventure has been decided too:

An Atlantic crossing with 50 shades of Mahimahi

So let me go back to the start:

Kieran (our crew for the crossing to help with sleep deprivation) arrived back in the Cap Verde Islands on Wednesday the 2nd December and after I consulted the weather forecasts in-depth decided to set sail on Friday the 4th – the crew was keen to get going, and so was I. After the obligatory shopping trip Alex went to immigration and checked us out of the country – no turning back now. So we left Mindello at 12.30, with terrible visibility of just 1 mile due to the red dust from Africa. We were all truly fed up with that red dust that clings to everything – we even mistook a number of French boats for German, as the colours of the flag were so red from the dust.

What follows goes like this: Eat, Sleep, Sail – repeat and so on –( well at least for most of us – Kieran did his usual 3 days bucket worship, but as always still did his watches)  we didn’t have any dramas really – ok, maybe one small one when a shackle failed and the genoa ended up in the water – as usual, these things happen at night – so we pulled the sail back on board and sent Alex up the mast in the morning to retrieve the halyard – he said he was so busy with holding on that he didn’t have any time to get scared – the wimp.

So the crossing was relatively uneventful and 16 days later we arrived in Antigua, but we had fantastic food, thanks to Carla and her fishing skills. We only fished for food, so as soon as we caught, we stopped and some days we didn’t fish at all , but we still caught 10 fish in 16 days, 8 of which are Mahi mahi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahi-mahi) – a truly excellent eating fish, typically a meter long, with plenty of meat to feed 3 hungry sailors. Looking at our log book, we had no less than 13 meals of mahi mahi – either lunch or dinner and virtually all different ways of preparing the fish – delicious!!

So, on the afternoon of the 20th December, we approached Antigua and were welcomed by our friends Tim and Gayle on Wild Bird – they left Falmouth Harbour and met us at sea and guided us to our final destination Jolly Harbour – fog horns blazing J A great feeling and that evening we celebrated with a few drinks after 2 weeks dry.

As I am the first stuffed dog who skippered a yacht across the Atlantic, I have sent Alex to have discussions with the port authority. Maybe “Bonzo’s shipyard” next to Nelson’s Dockyard. Or maybe a bronze statue? Not sure, but watch this space....credit where credit is due....

As most people who do unusual things, we had a lot of support, so at this point in time, we’d like to thank:

Tim and Gayle for daily weather routing services and “being there”. Kieran for all his hard work in the run up to the crossing and his stamina on his watches, even when felling like death. Bradford logistics for UK parts support, Louise and Ian for home mail services and admin support, Keith for his tips and encouragement and all the other people who have taken the time to follow us and send us messages during the crossing – the crew really loved getting mail during the crossing – so to all of you – MANY THANKS – and at this time of year, I guess it’s

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR from all on AriB

We will celebrate xmas over the next few days and then see where the winds will blow us – only fixed appointment is a week in Feb with Ian and Louise in the BVIs, so we’ll see what lies on the way.

Please note that we will not continue with the satellite tracker after new year, as it is a drain on our funds, so normal e-mail for the next few months – if you can’t see us – the service is off, we are NOT dead J

Ari  B out

Captain Bonzo & Pip

Alex & Carla