Delivery cruise St Tropez to Las Palmas - October 2006

Below if Northern Child's crew daily log written by the Skipper, Julian during the delivery cruise from St Tropez to Las Palmas - October 2006.

Daily Log - Northern Child - 12th October 2006 St Tropez

The crew having joined on the Wednesday night in St Tropez, we decided it was our duty to go out to a nice restaurant and have a drink on the old port!

A wake up call at 0700 this morning was just what the doctor ordered, even though it was pretty cloudy and wet on deck. Slipping out of St Tropez after two and a half weeks was quite hard, but then someone has to go to the Caribbean for the winter.....

Having cleared the outer breakwater we hoisted the main in a light easterly breeze, and cleared the headlands off La Mouette for the final time. As we headed west the breeze filled in behind us to a lovely 15 knots, the sun came out on a flat sea and we hoisted a spinnaker. Our destination for the day lies 35 miles to the west of St Tropez - a lovely little Island called Porquerolles. We have a Mistral (a strong wind blowing out of the Rhone Valley made worse by a low heading east out of Spain) forecasted for tomorrow, Friday, so have decided that a nice quiet meal and explore ashore is more to our liking.

Our aim is to arrive in the early afternoon today and then, if the wind gods allow, we shall depart for Valencia , nearly 400 miles away, early tomorrow morning. Why Valencia ? Because we haven't yet visited the new Marina and Port facilities where the next Americas cup is being held.

This log will come out once a day, in theory, and will feature our adventures along the way and the characters on board. We are a new crew of 10 people, having come together for the adventure from St Tropez to Las Palmas , where we are positioning the boat for the Atlantic crossing in November to St Lucia . As I leave you we are gently rolling downwind in the sunshine at a speed of 8.5 knots with Porquerolles about one and a half hours ahead of us. More tomorrow, Julian Skipper, Yacht Northern Child.

Daily Log - Northern Child - Friday 13th of October - 42.50N 05.42E - Speed 8.8

Having spotted the vague possibility of bad weather on our route last night, we had decided to visit Porquerolles Island instead. It turned out to be a great spot, really a holiday town out of season, but very enjoyable.

The crew managed a lovely walk over to the south side of the Island and had a left-handed-stone-throwing-into-the-sea-competition (don't ask why it was left handed, it's a long story!). Meeting up before dinner on board Northern Child for a G and T, or a Vodka for our Russian crewman, was the perfect start to the evening. We then walked along the marina to Le Pescatore restaurant, chosen for the simple reason that it was on the port and the nearest restaurant to the boat.... What a great choice: loads of seafood and Provencal Rose wine which a few people are regretting this morning.

Early to bed, early to rise, well not quite the first part, but it was up at dawn to look at the weather and the off for Valencia . Having had the wind moaning through the rigging for most of the night, it was a really nice surprise to find that it had calmed right down to about 10 knots inshore. Following a quick breakfast we slipped our moorings and in a perfectly still harbour setting we gently made our way out of the harbour entrance – next stop Valencia, about 360 miles or two and a half days to the south west of us.

As we headed offshore under the lee of the mainland the wind remained light so we motored for the fist hour or so. Our German on board, Marcus - although really he's Spanish, was keen to get fishing so a suitably yummy pink and blue lure was selected and streamed from our rod over the stern.  

The wind quickly started to fill in from the north east and in a perfect 15-20 knots of breeze we hoisted the smaller spinnaker and zoomed off under sail towards Valencia at 8 or 9 knots (a knot is a nautical mile per hour, slightly more than a statute mile per hour). Almost immediately the line on the rod started to scream out and we had something on the line! The only problem was that we were sailing much too fast to land the fish, so it was down with the spinnaker in a breeze that was now closer to 25 knots in quite a playful sea... Successfully retrieving the spi down the hatch, Marcus,

Julian and Tom (real name Ted, there's another Ted joining in Malaga and I can't have two Ted's on board so young Ted seems to becoming Tom!) dealt with the fish, which is now in the fridge awaiting cooking.

It is now half past midday and Kathy has been kind enough to volunteer to do some lunch for us. We have three girls on board at the moment, all Katherines of one sort or another. There's young Kathy who has just finished her masters degree, is off sailing for a while and has been with us for two months. There's Kat from Guernsey who joined us before Les Voiles de St Tropez with the idea of cooking her way around the Alantic and there's Katrien from Belgium , a return client who just loves the sailing life.

That's it for today, the sun is shining on quite a lumpy sea, we are heading downwind with 22 knots of true breeze, 335 miles from Valencia and all is well on board. Julian, Northern Child

Daily Log - Northern Child - 14th October 2006 

Half-way through yesterday evening we realised it was Friday the 13th - luckily for us we seemed to have survived the day without realising it! Days and dates seem to just morph into one another and we have little idea out here what day it is, it's just not important enough to think about. We do know that we hope to arrive in Valencia Sunday evening and the word amongst the crew is that the goal is a crew Paella as our reward! Valencia is exactly half way between St Tropez and Gibraltar so a good milestone for us.

The winds have continued to come out of the north-east therefore behind us ever since we left St Tropez. There is a huge difference between having the wind behind us and having the wind on the nose - it is far more comfortable like this. Overnight the winds were predominantly light and we managed to hold the spinnaker all night, with varying degrees of enthusiasm for trimming. Kathy and Marcus managed to trim for long periods of time using a foot, a hand and lying on their backs on the bridge deck - at least they were trimming, they reckon it was a sophisticated technique!

Kitty Kat produced a great Shepherd's Pie out of the galley for all of us, and in normal style managed to cook enough for loads of second helpings; I won't mention the only person who managed thirds, David! The tuna we caught earlier was served up as an appetizer with our resident Vegetarian, Jos, declaring it a massive success. Food is very important offshore - we look forward to mealtimes and they become the highlight of our little world - eating together is very sociable and sometimes is the only time that you will catch both watches together.

We have split the boat down into two wathches, two groups of crew. With David we have Katrien from Belgium , Jos from Spain and Tom, formerly Ted from London . Tom is the youngest on board and has instantly fitted in – if he's not working or eating, which he does a lot, he is normally to be found talking. He would be a great politician. With young Kathy from Sussex we have Marcus, who is confused as to whether he's German or Spanish and speaks perfect English just to confuse us even more, Alex from St Petersburg, formerly of the Russian Navy and now always found at the wheel of Northern Child steering, and Hans, an old friend from Switzerland, the most considerate type of man you would ever hope to sail with. He is also the Northern Child supplier of illicit goods, namely Swiss chocolate which he smuggles over the border in large quantity; the only problem is deciding which chocolate I like the best.

The sailing today has been fantastic. It was a slowish night under spinnaker in a confused sea, but by 0700 this morning the wind was up and we started to pick up the pace. By mid morning we were in 28 knots of true breeze and we stuck a reef in the mainsail, reduced its' size, to make the boat a little bit more comfortable in the developing seas. With the headsail poled out on the other side of the boat, we have kept up an average ground speed of over 8 knots straight towards our destination all day, with sustained speeds of up to 10 knots over the ground all afternoon. It has been a great introduction for the crew to offshore downwind sailing.

By the midday log and the time of writing this, we have approximately 200 miles left to run to Valencia . Kitty is in the galley again making Tortilla, because we have just passed into Spanish Territory , of course, and it smells delicious. The sun is out, everyone is pretty tired, happy or both and all's well on board. Manana, Julian.

Daily Log, Northern Child Sunday 15th of November 2006 26 Miles from Valencia !

We have been so incredibly lucky with the weather on this first leg of ours to Las Palmas . For the last 24 hours the wind has remained out of the East North East and has been blowing between 8 and 25 knots true. Progress towards Valencia has been excellent and we can already sense the land reaching out towards us, drawing us in. It seems that the Paella is more of a reality than a possibility now!

Not that we have had any lack of food: Kat managed to cook an excellent chicken and rice dinner with enough left over to reappear at various times of the day and night, even some was had for breakfast - no names, Kathy! Never think that you are going to be on Northern Child and lose weight – it isn't going to happen. Each Atlantic circuit we do we have excellent support from fantastic girls who volunteer to come sailing and cook for us. For the first half of this year in the Caribbean and the UK we were lucky enough to have Nina, who spoilt us all rotten - not only was she a great cook and all round lovely person, she also kept us all on the straight and narrow! Following on from Nina we have been lucky enough to have been joined by Kat, also ably assisted at the moment by Kathy.

As evening crept over us on Saturday, the wind slowly started to die out, until by 0100 this morning we had to admit that we were defeated, with the boat rolling all over the place and the sails slatting uselessly in a light breeze. It was away with the sails and engine on - a horrible noise, but we managed to pull our ground speed back up to 7 knots and to point exactly where we wanted to go.

Dawn saw us off Islas Columbretes, a deserted group of rocks and small islands, 40 miles off the Spanish Coast . Having passed these, we were now on the final straight to Valencia , now only some 50 miles away. The breeze filled in nicely for us by mid morning and we hoisted the spinnaker, turned the engine off and shot off towards the coast at 9 knots again. Although there are a lot of clouds around today, it is predominantly a lovely warm sunny day, with the temperature at the chart table hovering around the 27 degrees C mark. The wind is just aft of the beam, gusting up to around 20 knots, with members of the watch on deck trimming all the time to keep the boat on her feet.

Along with the trimming, the watch on deck are also responsible for driving the boat and fishing. David and Tom (Ted) deployed the fishing line within 5 minutes of us setting the kite (spinnaker) and almost immediately got a strike. Going too fast with the spinnaker up, we went for a quick drop - after all our hard work putting it up! Tom decided he was taking on the hunter/gatherer role and reeled the fish in after a magnificent fight to discover another very nice tuna. I dispatched the fish in very quick fashion, gutted and filleted it and it was in the frying pan within minutes of landing - what a great way to have fresh fish. We also passed some around raw and the more intrepid members of the crew tried it as sushi – apparently very yummy, but not my thing!

Setting the spinnaker again, we picked up speed and settled down for some more great sailing as the wind picked up to over 20 knots. As I finish this we find ourselves 26 miles from Valencia , with an expected time of arrival sometime later this afternoon. More tomorrow, Julian NC

Daily Log Northern Child 15th/16th October 2006

As we closed the coast of Valencia the wind moved forward of the beam, we took down the spinnaker and sailed the last 10 miles to the harbour with a full mainsail and jib. Way in the distance we spotted a couple of America 's Cup boats out sailing - very impressive.

As it is a totally new marina we weren't sure what to expect; the advertising blurb we had received in St Tropez for Port America's Cup was pretty convincing - in our mind we were looking for a fancy marina on a sandy stretch of coast fringed by palm trees, or at least some character. Row after row of tower blocks gave way to acres of concrete and a huge container port, and we realised that suddenly we were there - the venue for the 32nd competition for the America 's Cup! You might gather from this, that we were underwhelmed by the actual port, but the advertising had been pretty good!

Having first washed down the boat and then ourselves, we headed out for the inner basin and the Bases for the teams - that was more like it: a beer on a terrace overlooking Alinghi, Luna Rossa, BMW Oracle, cool. Very cool. Sunday night in Spain is apparently reasonably quiet, and the Spanish members of the crew, Jos and Marcus, were pretty upbeat about the 2 hours it took to find the only open restaurant in the whole of Valencia ..... But what a great surprise for us - no menu, a real momma/poppa experience and the best food and wine ever. Everything they produced was delicious, and boy, did they produce a lot! Hans got on so well with the owner that on leaving the restaurant he was presented with a bottle of wine!

Sailing is about people and teamwork, as much as if not more than the actual sailing itself. A good test of how the crew is getting along is when you arrive in port; do people head off on their own or as a crew? Well, we had a great crew meal, and that's what it's all about. Sure, we are all different and no one knew each other a week ago, but looking at us now you would never guess. The sailing's pretty good as well, as I write this log we are currently doing 8.5 knots over the ground under spinnaker in the sunshine at 1000 in the morning on Tuesday - music on, loads of trimming and smiles on people's faces - well, someone has to do it!

We decided that we would look around some of the bases on Monday morning before heading out towards Malaga in the early afternoon. We had a look around Alinghi, the holder and BMW, the Challenger. Lots of money, really loads of money. These guys have to be spending around 200 million for this over a four year schedule - awesome. I want one, please, pretty please.

We headed out to sea again in the middle of the afternoon to see if we could challenge any of the syndicates to a dual... we figured that we would have them scared when they saw Northern Child coming! In the event, we got up real close and personal with loads of boats - all the syndicates were out two boat testing and we were lucky enough to be right alongside BMW under spi and Alinghi going away to windward - and I mean going away, wow, were they fast. Just absolutely gorgeous. Any yachtsman would want one - perhaps I can have a model one for my bath?

Julian, Northern Child

Daily Log Northern Child - 17th October 2006

Having departed Valencia at 1600 hours and had a look at some of the America 's Cup yachts as we cleared the coast, we set course for the first headland we had to round on our route, Cabo de Nao. With the wind directly on the nose, we elected to motor sail the 50 miles, with an ETA at the Cape of around midnight. The leg of the route to Malaga is approximately 330 miles, slightly less than the leg from Porquerolles to Valencia , and weather depending, we may stop before Malaga .

The weather is critical to our progress, and state of mind(!), at this time of year. A series of Atlantic lows has started charging into Northern Europe, a consequence of which is that the fronts get dragged across southern Spain . This effect is then modified by the East-West orientation of the Spanish and North African coasts, which in combination with the fronts give a westerly airflow over the Western Med, ie dead on our nose. We have pretty good sources of weather information on board, and have picked up the forecast of westerly winds by Wednesday night so we have to make as much progress to the west as possible before then. Tonight will see us rounding the third of the big Capes, Cabo de Gata which I renamed Cape Bastard in the past; once round we will heave a sigh of relief.

I almost finished the night's log without mentioning the Lasagne. Whoa, what a mistake that would have been! Catering for 10 and actually producing enough for 20 meant that not only did we get quality, but also quantity! Those of you worried about Kathy and whether she is eating enough will be glad to hear that she managed 3rds, way to go, girl! Seriously good lasagne, Kitty Kat, we'll have that one again, please.

Monday night was pretty rolly on board, with a cross swell setting in from the East once we had started sailing at one o'clock this morning. We rolled along quite happily at 7 knots until dawn, when we were able to set a spinnaker and head off at 8 knots plus again - great! Having visited the America 's Cup bases yesterday, we were all fired up for expert trimming, Kathy, Hans and Marcus leading the way. Captain Alex of the Russian Navy still seems to be permanently on the helm! By lunch time we were off the second Cape , Cabo Palos and having to put in a gybe, to make Cabo de Gata.

Gybing (getting the wind on the other side of the stern) the spinnaker at the moment is not a quick affair as we are set up for ocean sailing with an inner forestay. This means we have to drop the spinnaker, gybe the main and rehoist the spinnaker pole and spinnaker on the other side of the boat. All in all, it can take half an hour! Katrien seems to have become in charge of woolling the spinnaker; we tie the whole length of the spi at 1 metre intervals with wool, so that when we go for a hoist we can get the sail to the top of the mast before it opens - nice and easy!

We now have 85 miles to run to Cabo de Gata, with an ETA there of sometime tonight. There is a watch change going on, lunch is being served, and all is well on board. Julian – Northern Child

Daily Log Northern Child - 18th October 2006

Over the last 24 hours we have continued to make great progress out to the westward, towards not only the Malaga area but also Gibraltar, the gateway into the western Mediterranean .

All day Tuesday we were able to run around the south east corner of Spain under spinnaker, making good an average of 8 knots over the ground. Depending on whether your were on watch or not, everyone engaged in a bit of sunbathing, fishing, trimming, reading, or just sleeping, which made the day slip nicely by until dinner time, this time curry, and guess what, lots of it! My friend Simon had kindly suggested a nice restaurant in Cabo de Gata for us, but at one in the morning we had to press on!

By midnight we had rounded Cabo de Gata and losing the wind entirely a little bit later, prompted us to put the engine on and make all good speed out to the west again. With the forecast of west winds for later today, we are keen to press on as far as possible to the west whilst conditions allow.

We will keep going this evening as long as possible, with any luck getting as far as Fuengirola just to the west of Malaga . We plan to wait a day for the wind tomorrow as it is forecast to blow hard from the west and then try and head for Gibraltar on Friday if conditions allow.

Overnight we were joined by a pod of large dolphins; this often happens, but what made it extraordinary this time were the trails of phosphorescence they left behind them as they weaved their way in and out of the waves alongside Northern Child. During the day, you obviously get a great show, but here the random trails they were following stayed illuminated for perhaps 20 seconds – what an amazing sight and a privilege to see nature at its finest.

Finding ourselves still motoring just before lunch today in a perfectly flat sea with the sun out, Marcus put in a request for a swim. With the mountains of the Sierra Nevada towering above us on our starboard side and the sun out, most of the crew leapt into the Mediterranean for a refreshing swim. A nice surprise, it wasn't as cold as we thought it might be! The water was absolutely crystal clear and you could see way down into the depths, fantastic.

The crew are getting along fine - running the boat 24 hours a day at sea inevitably means that your sleep patterns are disrupted and at times you are tired. But the plus side to that is a unique experience that takes you outside of your normal life's envelope and transports you into another realm, where experiences become very real and varied, friendships are made quickly, where life is led to the full. I have just been chatting with Marcus who said almost exactly that - it feels like you create a little world within the normal one, where everything is more intense, the relationships more real - exactly right. The Northern Child moto has always been that the more you put in, the more you get out. Amen.

Tonight we hope to be in Fuengirola, where the Spanish eat late and the dancing starts even later - we'll let you know tomorrow how we got on.

Julian, Northern Child

Daily Log Northern Child 19th - 22nd October 2006-  Off Morocco

It is now 1600 hours on Sunday and this could be quite a hard log to write - we are beating west out of the Gibraltar Straits into 22 knots of breeze, quite a confused sea and heeling over at a 30 degree angle - great fun. But the sun is shining and with Dave's watch on deck of Katrien, Tom(young Ted) and Jos and Kathy's watch of Alex, Ted and Hans down below sleeping, Northern Child is settling back into her offshore watch routine, doing what she does best, sailing offshore.

I said this was going to be a hard log to write; we just caught a nice sized tuna and so have had to reduce sail whilst we wind it in. I have gutted it and filleted it, put in the fridge ready for this evening. Hang on, the line went back out again afterwards and we've caught another tuna. Oh well, sailing will have to come second to fishing this afternoon. This is silly, now a Dorado on the line; quick pause to deal with it.

It seems like ages since I have written this log; in fact it was just before our stop the other side of Gibraltar , in Fuengirola. We had an interesting 24 hour stop: we managed to find a reasonable meal and then about half the crew made it into the local nightclub, where we were the last to leave at oh hummm hundred hours in the morning, what fun!

With a wind blowing from the west it was going to be a pretty bad day's sail to Gib, so we decided to stay and leave at 0500 on Friday morning. Most of the crew caught a train into Malaga where they were happy to see the new Picasso museum and the wonderful cathedral.

The alarm bid us good morning at 0400, and we were greeted by a nice calm, just the ticket. We motored out of the harbour and set course for Gib, a mere 45 miles away, making good 20 miles under engine before the wind started picking up again from the west. Boy, did it blow! A very short, nasty sea came up with the increasing wind, which settled at about 30-35 true knots on the nose - oh, no! Brilliantly sunny, we bashed and tacked our way around the southern tip of Gibraltar , eventually getting the sails down amongst the anchored supertankers.

Having taken on fuel we were directed towards our berth in Queensway Quay Marina, where we eventually cleared customs in the pouring rain in the early evening. With a number of nationalities on board the British crewmembers decided that we were going out for a traditional British night out – Curry House followed by awful pub with a pool table, all in the pouring rain -great!

Unfortunately we had to bid good-bye to Marcus our Spanish/German crewmate, who had to leave in the early hours of Saturday morning. Marcus has been a great crewmate to have on board, has fitted in perfectly and he will be missed both for his sailing and his dancing skills! We look forward to sailing with you again, Marcus, fair winds, my friend, let's hope they bring you back to Northern Child again one day. We are lucky to welcome back on board again Ted, who has sailed many times with me on board Northern Child and other boats over the last 15 years.

Saturday had been declared a day off - it was, after all, Trafalgar day! I wonder if our Spanish and French readers remember?! Young Tom (Ted) is a Nelson enthusiast and very happy to be spending the day on Gibraltar , 50 miles away from the scene of the battle. Kat, Kathy, Julian and Tom had a great time in Safeways, but by 1700 we had everything squared away and headed up the Rock in a taxi. In quick succession we visited the natural cave system, fed some Apes, drove right up to the top, scary, and walked through the great Siege Tunnels which had been dug out by hand at the end of the 1700's - tick in the box, Gibraltar done!

Sunday dawned fair and sunny, with a light wind out of the South West and it was time for our departure out of Gib. Our next destination is Lanzarote, some 600 or 700 miles away to windward! Night is drawing in, we are now out to the west of the Straits and we face a windy night of bashing away to windward. That's it for now, from a tired but fighting Northern Child Crew! Julian

Daily log Northern Child - Monday the 23rd of October 2006 Off Marocco

I think I said at the end of the last log that I thought we were going to have a hard night; well, how right I was, not that in some instances it is good to be right!

Initially we were lulled into a false sense of well being - the lovely sunny day gave way to a beautiful starry night. As we continued to clear west out of the Straits the coastline of Morocco slowly disappeared off our port side, until we were all alone on the Atlantic Ocean, under a huge umbrella of stars, with just the odd passing ship heading up towards Gibraltar to break our solitude. Even the seabirds, which are normally wheeling around overhead, gave up and went home.

Kitty Kat had taken advantage of the flat sea earlier in the day and cooked up a really great lasagne, which just needed popping in the oven and heating up.

Unfortunately during the night, the wind increased a little and the wave pattern changed completely, until it basically became just a very unpleasant night at sea! Waves and breaking sea just all over the boat, and in the absolute darkness of total cloud cover it has been impossible to see the wave pattern to try and avoid some of the lumpy bits.

The routine on board very much simplifies itself - you stand your watch, eat and go to sleep. Everything takes a superhuman effort to achieve, even trying to move around the boat. The critical thing is to remain optimistic, and in this respect we are doing fine. Morale takes a bit of a denting, but chatting with your watch mates helps to alleviate the worst patches. It can and will get better, the only question is when!

We have made about 112 miles since we left Gibraltar in a pretty good direction towards Lanzarote. No talk of ETA's yet, but we are hoping to be in by the end of the week. More tomorrow, Julian, Northern Child

Daily Log, Northern Child, 24th October 2006

It's been a pretty rough night - in fact it's been pretty rough ever since we cleared the Gibraltar Straits nearly two days ago. The wind has been fairly constant at around 20 - 25 knots true (30 mph)  on the nose, but the real problem has been the waves - massive and from a number of different directions, producing a pretty confused sea state.

It has been extremely hard work keeping ourselves going, but there is always light at the end of the tunnel, and in this case the sun has just popped out from behind the clouds bathing us in a warm glow. It isn't going to last long, but whilst it's here...!

Last night I fought in the galley for a couple of hours and produced a chicken Korma – Tom (young Ted) managed a large helping but was heard to say that it wasn't as good as Kat's - hah, she wasn't cooking at 30 degrees heel with the boat lurching all over the place! Mind you, I do agree, it wasn't as good as Kat's!

The watch system continues with some of the crew struggling to come to terms with sea sickness - unfortunately the best cure is a walk ashore...... The forecast isn't great for the next 24 hours with some pretty strong winds due through tonight, but by Thursday into Friday we should be into a better wind system with more favourable direction. More tomorrow, Julian , NC

Daily Log Northern Child 25th October 2006

For the last 24 hours we have been hove-to and have drifted some 20 miles back from our position of yesterday. Hove-to is an expression that means we have stopped the boat with the sails on the wrong side and the helm lashed because we have had too much wind to make any forward progress.

We were expecting an increase in wind from the south west as there is a pretty vicious low pressure system heading across the Atlantic and towards northern Europe . As the low came across the system became more vicious than forecast, but hey, when you are out here, there's not a lot you can do about it.

We stopped the boat around 1600 hours yesterday - with three reefs in the main and a staysail set on the wrong side Northern Child was happy to lie beam-on to the wind and bob around of her own accord. We tried sailing again once in the early evening after Skipper's Pasta Surprise, the surprise being that I can't remember what I had put in it, but the waves were too strong and within an hour we were hove to again in 35 knots of true wind, gusting 40.

Much of the night passed by slowly in a blur of huge waves crashing on the boat, driving rain and lashing winds. By 0200 we were seeing an average wind strength of around 45 knots true or a force 9 full gale, and when it hit 50 knots or the bottom end of a Storm 10 I decided we had to drop the rest of the mainsail down. This we did in lashing rain, with the wind trying to throw me off the mast steps, but with young Tom's (Ted's) help we managed and Northern Child was much more comfortable for it.

In fact, although the wind stayed up during the night we never saw 50 knots again. It was a really dark night, no moon or stars were able to penetrate through the ranks of dark threatening clouds hurrying across the top of us. There were continuous lightning strikes in the sea all around us for hours on end together with deluging rain, so much so that we closed down most of the electronics, fearing a lightning strike.

Dawn is normally a treat after such a night, but there wasn't really much to shout about. At one stage the sun came out and the wind was down to 15 knots in a lull, but that didn't last long! Yet again the wind has remained stubbornly out of the south-west all day and it is currently blowing between 30 and 35 knots true with lumpy seas, so we have hove- to again! Half the crew are enjoying the experience, half are hanging tough and can't wait for a calm sea - no names!

The forecast for tonight into tomorrow isn't quite as good as it was, but still we are expecting the conditions to improve and pretty soon we will be sailing on a flat sea in the sunshine again! You have to be an optimist to be a sailor! Kathy is in the galley cooking us up a spaghetti Bolognese for dinner - not only does it smell good, but also the crew are looking forward to not being fed again by the skipper! That's it for now, Julian, Northern Child

Daily Log - Northern Child 26th October 2006

Only now are we able to start sorting ourselves out. Since the gale passed through two nights ago, the seas and winds have been really unhelpful; not dangerous, just horrible.

We heard that the same gale system has swept through the Vendee Globe fleet which had just left on a round the world race from France , and most of the boats had had to turn back for repairs.

All yesterday we were hoping for the winds to drop down from 35 knots so that the sea state could start to improve. Every time we got ourselves sorted out and set off sailing, the winds and waves would conspire against us and within a short time we would find ourselves hove to yet again. Very hard on us. Loads of big breakers that we would guide the boat around and over, only to miss the biggest, which would just soak us! Hmmm.

Sometime during the night the wind went round to the west, which at least allowed us to finally point at Lanzarote, our next port of call. With some 380 miles to run it at last seems that we are in touch with our destination. It was a pretty hard night however, with a very confused sea and with the winds unable to make up their minds - up one minute it would be down the next, which meant sails in, sails out, sails up, sails down, continuously, all night.

Dawn this morning was a bit more cheerful; patches of blue sky mixed with rain storms. All day we have been pointing the right way, continually having to react to the 35 knot squalls which rush upon us, only to leave us bobbing around behind in no wind at all.

We have had a couple of nice emails from ex. Northern Child crew, thank you. Markus who left us in Gibraltar wishing us all the best - you would have loved this leg! Vicki who cooked for us last year and who in a rush of enthusiasm in the supermarket in Lagos managed to fill her trolley with Fishfingers – a lot of fish fingers. She had a pretty hard job selling them during the leg!

Following lunch, we have had another major windshift, this time to the north west , even better news for our course and speed to Lanzarote. Finally the skies have started to improve and the sun is out. This is more like it! Kat is now fussing around the galley talking about a stew for dinner, Old Ted made it on deck and all we are waiting for now is the sea to calm down a bit. Speed is 7.5 knots on the rhumb line, with a distance of 316 miles to run, giving us an ETA into Lanzarote of Saturday evening.

We now have the prospect of better weather over the next couple of days, so fingers crossed and let's hope that that is one weather system we have seen the last of! Julian Northern Child

Daily Log, Northern Child, Friday the 27th Of October 2006 31.24N 11.58W

Life has almost got back to normal on board Northern Child. The sun has come out, the wind has gone down and the sea is getting there- at times it's still been an absolute horror, but as I write this it is now down to an acceptable height, but still with a large 3 or 4 metre swell sweeping in from the north west . 

We have sailed a total of 167 miles on the rhumb line towards Lanzarote in the last 24 hours. Not bad, considering we went backwards for 36 hours at the height of the storm!

Throughout last night we were chased by a small depression that had spun out of the main gale a couple of days ago and is tracking its' way due south along the coast of Africa, and straight over the top of us. It isn't a very deep low, so there haven't been any fierce winds, but we have had lots and lots of rain.

We are currently off the Coast of Morocco , just north of Agadir. This leaves us 158 miles to run to the east side of Lanzarote and a touch more to our destination harbour of Puerto Calero . This marina has been chosen by Hans because he remembers it fondly from a previous visit, and promises us all an earthly paradise after surviving the perilous seas! We are looking forward to it. 

David is using this passage as his qualifying passage for his Yachtmaster Ocean, so is happy that today we have lots of sunny periods as he can then shoot off his required sunsights. With young Tom as his able assistant writing down the data, he then spends ages jotting down figures and looking bemused at the chart table! 

We received a nice email from one of our Scottish crewmates, Scotty Dog, yesterday. Scotty Dog, complete with a normal name, Neil, and a normal job, was a member of the winning team for the ARC 2005 on board Northern Child. I particularly liked part of his email, and so repeat it here: 'Just been reading the logs. Tell everyone to hang on in there. It's worth every bit of pain, every soaking from the waves.   They'll remember it fondly for the rest of their lives.   Have a safe journey. Neil (Scotty dog) Cameron.'

He's right, of course, get through the bad bits together and it will all be something to remember. A serious ocean passage isn't always going to be straightforward, there is no corner shop to top up what we don't have and unlike normal life we face real and sometimes pressing dangers. But, if we all get stuck in, do everything as a team, the rewards in personal satisfaction will be there in years to come.

He signed off with 'Have a safe journey'. Exactly right, despite the stresses and strains of living on board during a major gale, the absolute necessity is that we have a safe journey. Always. That's what we try to achieve on Northern Child, a happy voyage but also a safe one.

We are now 156 miles from Lanzarote and our ETA is still looking good for Saturday afternoon. This passage has proved to be more of a test for some of the crew than they might have expected, but we are all equally looking forward to our arrival, and as Hans (from Switzerland) would put it, our first amber nectar!

  Daily Log Northern Child, Saturday 28th of October 2006

That's more like it. Plenty of sun, better seas and a decent wind! It would have been nice if it had been like this all the way from Gibraltar , but that would have been too easy! The sea still isn't flat, but that is a minor price to pay for much improved conditions all of Friday.

As the distance to the east side of Lanzarote has now fallen below 150 miles we are confident of making landfall by Saturday evening - various plans have been drawn up, but the common theme seems to be shower, alcohol and food in no particular order.

It was nice to receive more encouragement from old Northern Child hands yesterday. Nina, on Northern Child from Jan - Aug 2006, gave strict instructions to the weather gods to improve the conditions for us; it obviously worked, so thank you for the long distance assistance! All the scary stuff has gone, and although no dolphins have appeared since Gibraltar we are bound to get some soon. On a slightly different note George, Transat '06, suggested that if it was all still going wrong, then the best plan would be to break out the rum! Good advice!

Kitty Kat woke up Friday morning with two words on her lips – scrambled eggs, yummy! Not for breakfast mind you, we had already had that, but for lunch. A massive lunch of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon and sausages hit the spot. Unusual for lunch I hear you say? Not really, what is usual on a yacht at sea?! Kat followed this up with a delicious and huge dinner of vegetable pasta bake with honey and mustard chicken, enough for at least two large plates for some hungry members of the crew!

As night settled over the boat the wind started to die down; the lure of arriving in Lanzarote on Saturday overcoming our desire to go nowhere overnight under sail, we therefore decided to put the motor on and make good all possible speed towards Puerto Calero. We ended up motoring right the way through the night; by 1000 this morning Land Ho! - we had spotted the north tip of Lanzarote, the first land we had seen since clearing the Straits of Gibraltar last Sunday evening.

Clearing around the eastern side of Lanzarote Saturday afternoon, we closed down the coast towards Puerto Calero, eventually arriving at 1845 hours ship's time, or 1745 local time. Everyone is really pleased to have arrived, maybe more so this time, having had to go through quite a large gale en route. The marina looks fantastic, plenty of bars within walking distance, and it's Saturday night!

We plan to move on from here on Monday morning and our ETA into our final destination, Las Palmas , will be dawn on Tuesday, with our final night out in Las Palmas Town . That's it for now, Julian , NC  

Daily log Northern Child – 1st November 2006 - Arrived in Las Palmas

On Sunday we moved from Calero to marina Rubicon and the sun decided to shine on us, so we took the opportunity to empty the bow locker and dry out the sails that got wet in the gale. Rubicon is a lovely spot right at the southern tip of Lanzarote, but all good thing comes to an end and after an enormous lunch on Monday including large ice creams we set off on a calm sea towards Las Palmas.

The wind remained light, so having caught and thrown back a little tuna we decided that a swim was in order, the water being clear and beautifully warm. After the swim and face with no wind at all, we motored our way overnight to Las Palmas under a beautifully clear night full of stars and an enormous moon, illuminating the deck like day light.

We arrived into Las Palmas just after dawn on Tuesday, after nearly 1,800 miles of sailing in all conditions, 7 ports of call and 1 gale. It was interesting to be back in Las Palmas, where the marina ‘improvements’ still have not brought the marina up to the standard or efficiency of any other marinas we had visited since St Tropez. It is however the starting point for the ARC, so this is where this trip ends.

Having had  the day looking around Las Palmas , we had our final crew meal in my favourite restaurant in Las Palmas . Amongst good food and good company, our Russian crewmate Alex, showed us how to drink Vodka the Russian way! As everyone was tired it was an early night and back to the boat.

This is the point where the crew goes their separate way, hopefully taking with them the good memories of shared, sometimes difficult, experiences. It is the people who make the trip, so a big thank you to all who took part and make the last 3 weeks so enjoyable. Alex, Jos, David, Katrien, Young Tom, Tedski, Hans, Markus and last but not least the Northern Child kittens, Kathy and Kat. That is it for now. See you all soon on the water - Julian – Northern Child

If you enjoy the reading and wish you could be part of our crew, please do not hesitate 
to contact Julian by e-mail on julian@northernchild.com or on +44 (0)7801 549064.

Last modified: July 08, 2007