Speed             8.5 knots

Heading          272

Wind speed    10-25 knots

Day 11

‘I’m an amateur get me out of here’

From a master-class in helming in 28 knot winds to keeping us ship shape and upright in all respects Jacko and Mick have been exceptional. We all realise that  in their company our positions are as amateurs in a professional game and are grateful for their patience and understanding. This is ocean racing and they know what’s what, that’s for sure. I’m an amateur get  me out of here, don’t think so, we’re here till the end J

Although each day is different they have begun to blend into one and the realisation has begun to dawn on us what an extraordinary journey we have all undertaken together and that all too soon it will come to an end. This is our world, there is thoughts of family at home but very little conversation of the issues that perplex us in our normal daily lives instead  our talk is of weather, our position and of food we even have our own time zone for gods sake , ‘Jacko Time’

Speaking of food you will all be delighted to know that we broke our duck on the fish front catching a 3kg Durado. To date the boat had caught two flying fish and  Terry a  baby wipe so it was a welcome addition to the menu, the baby wipe was too chewy!!

What makes a great leader? Attitude, ability, strength, technical knowledge, talent to deal with people and issues as they arise. Yes, all of these and more. Jacko known to his Mum as Christopher (or when she is really really annoyed  as Christopher Charles Jackson) possesses all these attributes in abundance. That’s what gives him the talent to earn and maintain the respect of people way older than him and all this is coupled with a boyish charm and impish good humour and the slightly creepy habit of sleeping with his eyes open. Captain my Captain.

The leader needs a crew to lead:  Mick (now an honorary Irish Man) the teacher always giving the advice , Terry and Mondo with their ability and strength at the helm, Des with his honesty decency and deft touches, Conor with his analytical mind and humour and of course Debs with her admirable deep strength of character and ability to maintain ladylike standards in a tough male environment.

For those of you who understand sailing terminology (and I’m not one btw) we have for the last 24 hours been on a broad reach in other word the wind is coming from the side and the boat has alternated from upright to severe listing sometimes with no notice whatsoever of the change. Every simple task is massively complicated by the G forces being constantly applied and having to pick that moment to move and have already picked that spot to move to.. Yesterday during the wash up process Mondo was horizontally suspended in mid air for what seemed like 10 seconds in the lounge. It was at the same time hilarious and exhausting.

We have had interesting, to say the least, weather over the last 36 hours with rain and squalls however morale is very high and our focus now is on the race and our position in it. We do that for Jacko.

All the best

Eugene

Position         16.40′ N      51.25′ WSpeed             8.5 knotsHeading          272Wind speed    15-20 knots

‬ Things that go thwang in the night

‬ Thursday morning brought a beautiful sunrise and both watches enjoyed a very pleasant breakfast together in the sun.  Light enough winds for most of the morning made for leisurely progress following on from very disappointing progress during the night with speeds of 0.00kts for long periods making Lancelot the proverbial cork bobbing about   Winds picked up around lunchtime and we got on with the usual daily chores including washing, scrubbing the decks and sharing relatively relaxed turns at the helm.  No fish but there’s always tomorrow!   Dinner over and the first night watch of Jacko, Debs, Terry and myself took over at 7pm just as it was about to start getting dark. Great sunset ahead of us as we head West followed almost immediately by the moon rising behind Lancelot low on the horizon.  Reasonable winds allowed Jacko, Debs and Terry make reasonable progress during their turns at helm. I took over at the helm at 9pm and the winds picked up further allowing good progress and making up to some degree for the disappointing winds the previous night.  “That’s more like it” was my last comment just before 9.30pm when a big roller tried to push Lancelot northwards off our 270 degree course as they had been doing all night.  I made the usual right hand adjustment on the wheel and it appeared to respond initially with a bit of a groan and then there was a sudden thwang as the “unbreakable” 10 day old steering cable, rated for up to 5tonnes load snapped.  ” No steering Jacko - cables gone” were my next words which took a moment to register as the boat lurched off and into a broach with Lancelot being carried along by the wind at 80degrees to the water Jacko sprang into action calmly and reassuringly issuing instructions. Heavy rain added to the misery. Debs went below as instructed to get Mick and the guys - all hands on deck and reappeared to help with the ropes.   Mick dropped the spinnaker which flew sideways and was flapping about like a huge flag out to starboard and as he was struggling to pull it in Conor arrived and managed to drag the corner to the hatch and Mondo and Eugene gathered it below.  Mick and Jacko were awesome as always and there was no sense of panic as they got the autosteering to eventually engage as it struggled to cope with the seas and wind and Lancelot steadied up just as the winds and swell dies down.   Jacko was immediately down below being messaged by raw fibreglass as he crawled into the stern to replace the broken cable and by 11pm it was back to business as usual.  The second watch took over and Mick then stayed on for the following watch with Terry, Debs and myself to allow Jacko some recovery time.   Are we upset or deflated?  Hell no, we havn’t lost too much time as it turns out. Winds are back and the crew of Lancelot are in high spirits and even more determined to get to St.Lucia by Monday evening weather and boat permitting. Tough boat, tough if inexperienced crew and brilliant captain and first mate.  Go Lancelot.
‬ Des

Position         15.25′ N      54.16′ W

Speed             8 knots

Heading          280

Wind speed    12-18 knots

Day 13 – Saturday 5 December 09

Decent winds have returned so we’re making good progress again - touch wood. We had great conditions with mostly clear skies, 17 knot winds and no unexpected surprises which was appreciated following our adventure the previous night

A spectacular moonrise of a huge full moon are nightly treats as are balmy nights and countless stars. We had a sing song to bluegrass music yesterday and despite all our efforts Debs wouldn’t do a solo - ah well, it’s early days yet…..

We caught another fish yesterday - we are not sure how such a huge ocean could hold such a little fish so we sent him home to his mammy. Instead we enjoyed another chemically induced treat - Fray Bentos and smash again along with a cheeky little Rioja. I have to say the robust nose, intense blackberry flavour, long finish and aged acidity of this excellent red wine complement the fat and grease of the suet pastry and the monosodium finish to the non descript meat ?? of the pies excellently . Still - it beats All Day Breakfast in a can - yes they do exist - think of boiled sausages, white pudding (I think that’s what it is) and a scotch egg swimming in a sea of baked beans - yummy!!! Des has come to the rescue with delicious daily porridge.

We’re not sure of our position in the race because the stats from the ARC organisation are currently unreliable. We’ll update you when we know. We think we’re somewhere between 2nd and 5th.

There is much talk about arriving in St Lucia, meeting loved ones, what we will do ashore, fresh fruit and veg, fresh fish  and partaking in the local tradition of Rum Punch! So far it has been an amazing and unforgettable experience and has given all of us novices a taste of offshore sailing and what it takes to sail a boat relying only on ourselves (of course under the leadership and guidance of Jacko and Mick) in dealing with challenges that arise along the way.

It’s been a great trip so far.

Look out  ST. Lucia!!!!!!!

All the best from Lancelot.

Terry ( and the rest of the gang)

Day 14 Sunday 6th December

We are now over two weeks at sea and the countdown clock has commenced with various calculations of expected arrival time being calculated depending on wind conditions at the particular time. At the time of writing e are 220 NM from St Lucia and expected to arrive tomorrow Monday albeit sometime late in the evening. Hopefully Lancelot will beat it’s and the boat type Beneteau 40.1. time record. Progress at the moment is slow with good waves but light wind with a present speed of approx 8 knots.

A lot of our time is now spent deciding what we we will do when we get to Rodney Bay with food and drink ranking high in our  conversations. Among the most suggested are steak and chips with a nice fresh green salad. Jacko wants a beef wellington and a cold beer achieving unanimous desirability. However I suspect that sleep will also rank high as the maximum period of sleep in the last two weeks has been three hours or less.

Mondo continues to impart his sailing kowledge reading from a recent edition of yachting world on what not to do when crossing the Atlantic. This reading was accompanied by our ration of one can of beer. We have all started to convince ourselves that it is very palatable even though it is the opposite of ice cold.

No fish yesterday so Debs to the rescue with a Spanish tortilla on a bed of lentils which was excellent. The moon took a while to appear during the first watch which gave rise to a bit of moaning, not mentioning Mick by name or anything, but progress was uneventful through the night.

After the morning wash with seawater(Terry adopting a more Manish approach of late) and a bowl of Des’s porridge Jacko decided to make a Gybe. All was going well until Mick got hit by a spinnaker pole leaving him with a small but not serious cut at the side of his eye. It was the first time he has been hit by a pole swung by a paddy than one swung by a pole! Next up was a tear in he corner of the spinnaker sheet which necessitated that we take it in and repair it  which Jacko and Debs succeeded in doing. we are underway again with further calculation and recalculation and hope

fully Joining the air support unit of Tina Kate and Liz in Rodney bay tomorrow night……very hopefully!

Conor