We left at 2pm after a morning of rushing around getting fresh vegetables, washing the boat, checking emails and of course a last shower. We had to leave blasting Thunderstruck by AC/DC from the cockpit speaker, that is our favourite sailing song. Fidler's Green's crew were impressed and the whole marina was watching us. On our way out we saw Barbarossa whom we met in Rubicon, Lanzarote. Now settling in for life at sea. Dinner is sausages and mash potatoes. 

28th November 2006

We caught a Dorado at 12 pm, tonight's dinner. Everybody is very tired, getting used to sleeping with rolling motion.

29th November 2006

We have all  started to settle in, so we had a happy hour. At 5 pm, before dinner we all had one beer each while listening to Pink Floyd. A bit drunk on one beer!

30th November 2006

Wind is gradually dying down bringing calm seas. Judit and Graham had a wash on deck with seawater this morning. A Nordic container ship passed us about 5 miles away. Night watches are as follows: Graham is doing 6pm till 9. Nik 9 till 12 am. Judit 12 till 3 am. Graham 3 till 6 am. Nik from 6 till 9 am.

01st December 2006

At last the wind picked up and we  rolled out the genoa at midday. With 12 knots of wind our speed was 5.5 knots. A few hours later we had to reef in , winds were still increasing. We caught another Dorada,  but Graham and Nik did not fancy it again for dinner so it went back to the water! Graham dropped our only bucket in the sea, used for washing dishes. We made a bucket over board maneuver, after 4 attempts we were successful.  

02nd December 2006

Rough seas with high waves coming from North and East and force 6 wind, occasionally gusting 34 ! The Autohelm has gone on as it responds faster. It was coping with the rogue waves on the beam. Everybody is very tired unable to sleep with the motion.   Judit left the tap open accidentally and we lost 30 liters of water. During night the Autohelm started to make grinding noises so we had to helm manually. We also lost all of the bread, it has gone moldy with the heat. Not a good day!  

03rd of December 2006

We found a diesel leak under the cooker. We thought it was the jerry cans with spare fuel. They had no leak. Probably the leak is coming from the engine but we can't find the source.  The sea state is moderate making possible to jibe to head for a course of 250 degrees. Only150 miles to our first waypoint. Graham dropped bucket in the sea again! We pulled in sails and turned back for it, but we lost bucket  off sight as it sunk rapidly. We replaced the bucket, to collect sea water, with a storage box.  The Ship's clock is going back one hour at happy hour while we celebrate the 2000 miles to go mark!

04th December 2006

The wind is blowing Force 6 (22-27 knots). The sea state is confused with high waves. We are  still using Autohelm to cope with, waves coming from different directions.  The wind generator is creating enough power to run all electrics. Nik had a wash on deck despite the rolly motion. At happy hour we celebrated arriving at our first waypoint, also our  record mileage so far, is 134 miles in 24 hours. 

05th December 2006

During early evening the wind picked. As the full moon came out, the swells increased dramatically. It was the worst night so far, impossible to sleep with the rolling. By midnight Nomad Life was skidding through the waves terrifying Nik during his watch. On Judit's nightwatch a few waves broke on the cockpit and continued to increase.  So the engine went on and we motorsailed for 4 hours to stable the boat. That is when we  felt the solitude of being in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. Also means that we have no assistance around us.

06th December 2006

In two days time we will reach the half way mark! After a difficult night we had a hard morning but swells eased in the afternoon giving us a break. We haven't seen birds in two days or any other form of life other then flying fishes. Conversation revolves around what we are going to do when we get in Marin. Graham is going to crack a beer, Judit will have a shower and Nik will ring his dad. Luckily swells decreased in the evening, before the  Autohelm broke down. Graham managed to fix it and got it back running. We had 150 miles in 24 hours, our record so far.

07th December 2006

We had good winds today, making it possible to arrive in 11 days. It is getting unbelievable hot and the sun is very strong. We have 100 miles to go to reach half way. Also  we saw a sailboat in the distance.

08th December 2006

We jibed to make course 310 degrees, Martinique is on a bearing of 295 degrees, so that is the nearest course we can get at the moment due to the wind. Big seas, waves of at least 3 metres. Graham and Judit had great fun helming and surfing the waves. Getting rouge waves breaking on the side and we got quite wet. Nik in the meanwhile was down below scared by the waves. At midnight we complete lost electricity, we had no means of turning engine on, no GPS, water, lights , the lot. There is a short circuit in the system. Judit helmed  navigating to stars. We had to wait to daylight to assess the situation.  

09th December 2006

A pilot whale almost hit the boat early morning! All of us got up early to work on the electrics. Graham found the loose wire and four hours later we got power back. Well done G!!! Now life is good again in Nomad Life.

10th December 2006

Winds died down so we used cruising chute for 1 hour. During happy hour we had dolphins playing with bow of the boat. Dinner was Feijoada- Brazilian bean stew.

11th December 2006

Graham spotted a whale from distance. The boys were craving for bread so Judit baked 3 loafs. Fair winds the last 3 days, not good for our daily mileage. We all had a mid Atlantic swim, the water temperature was 30 degrees! Started motoring as wind died completely. During night we all had a go at spotting constellations and stars, guided by Nik's book.

12th December 2006

Still no wind. The engine has been on for almost 24 hours. 830 miles to go but our average speed is so slow that arrival date is not getting any nearer. By now we run out of fresh food, still plenty of tinned food and pulses. Conversation revolves around cravings and food. Even though we bought 70 bars of chocolate now we are rationing. Cabin fever also setting in for some. We can't wait to get in!

13th December 2006

Another day with no winds, in the morning we poured the reserve fuel in the tank and with that we have 2 more days of engine. We need wind or will be drifting to Martinique! At 2pm Judit spotted a sailboat behind us 3 miles away. It came closer and made radio contact. It was Emily Morgan with 3 crew heading to Antigua. They were in San Sebastian, opposite us in the marina. Finally the wind picked up at night and with full sails we were under way.

14th December

At 10 am Judit spotted a sperm whale.  On the helm, she came off course to have a closer look with Nik. It was huge, at least half the size of the boat, with big square head and enormous tail. Amazing! The lack of sleep and living in close quarters are taking its toll on us. But it looks like we are in in 4 days, a reason to keep us cool headed. 

15th December 2006

Good winds, good sailing. The atmosphere in the boat not so good. Judit feels murderous. Graham not far from it and Nik has gone to his cabin to get away. Graham made contact to a super yacht, 95ft Constance. The skipper kindly given us a weather report. The inverter packed up and we had no weather information for the last week.

16 December 2006

Second day of squalls. They come usually in the morning, pouring down incredible amount of rain for one hour. Not long after that the sun comes up for a short while, then the next cloud brings more rain. 

17th December 2006

Early morning the Autohelm broke, same problem again. Graham fixed it. We had Wilson, the whale ,following us for 1 hour. Around 4 metres long, with white belly, fins and dark gray skin. Wilson was surfing the waves next to us, crossing the bow and twice came up to breath only 2 metres away from Nomad Life. During happy hour we saw a giant turtle. Tomorrow is the arrival date. Now its a race against time, to arrive  during daylight.

18th December 2006- Land Ahoy!!!

Everybody was up early morning, very excited, sleeping was impossible. Land came on sight in the afternoon, initially a tiny peak, gradually the island emerged.  We could also see St Lucia, only 20 miles away from Martinique. We had an early happy hour and dinner was Coq-au-Vin, the last of the frozen meat. Bottlenose dolphins came to play with the boat and doing pirouettes at the bow.  Land was 20 miles away, when we got the mobile signal. Everybody rang respective parents, who were relieved, even crying! But the excitement wasn't over yet. We had a night entrance amongst reefs into Cul-de-Sac du Marin! Graham navigated us in, Judit was helming and Nik was spotting the red, green buoys and leading lights. We dropped our anchor outside Club Med in 0.5m under the keel, soon we were aground but only just. For once the boat wasn't moving. We had dropped back onto a sandbank. Although exhausted nobody wanted to sleep , so Champagne came out followed by 2 bottles of wine.

 19th December 2006

Nik and Dorado