Mark uses the gaff to land the 1st Pacific Dorade

Peter's 1st Dorade (4.5Kg) from the Pacific

Sallyanne Bought the Lure – nicknamed Yozuri
Mark and Stephen both caught a fish on each line at the same time.
Yozuri on Stephens rod had caught a monster… it took 2 of them into battle….

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOB1WyX5-s0

The night falls into darkness again and as we near the Caribbean Sea the squalls are persistent.  That said, by 0200 St Lucia is in sight yet there is still much to be done as we feel our way around Pigeon Island into Rodney Bay.  All hands are on deck in crew polos changing sails We are welcomed into Rodney Bay by friends on QUASAR IV before crossing the official ARC finishing line at 2353 local (0353 UTC).  We had made it and with a feeling of relief made our way to our allotted berth where we were met with Rum Punch by members of ARC and the St Lucian Tourist Board. We secured the boat and then headed to a bar called Scuttlebutts which was staying open all night to welcome thirsty crews.  We toasted ASOLARE and her Skipper Peter for getting us safely across the Atlantic.  We have completed over 2800 nm in a record time, indeed a record time for most boats as the Trade Winds have been so consistent.  We have finished a full two days faster than predicted.

By Stephen (and Crew Peter Sallyanne, Mark and Clare)

The afternoon of Sunday 6 Dec began on ASOLARE much as the previous 24 hrs.  The Parasailor was flying well but a wind speed of 12-14 Kts kept the speed down.  Still, all was calm with the crew enjoying the fine weather.  Stephen cooked up the Roast Beef of Old England with Yorkshire Puddings and Mark hooked a Barracuda off the stern.

Night fell with no moon so it was particularly dark.  The weather turned squally on Sallyanne’s watch between 2100 and 2359 UTC and the night remained unsettled.  At approx 0315 the crew were startled by the sound of the Parasailor flapping madly in the wind.  Previously we had noticed that the Clews (corner attachments on a sail, in this case metal rings) on the Parasailor had been wearing through our sheets (control ropes) so we had added D-shackles to each Clew.  The shackle on the starboard Clew had come loose and the right of the sail was flying loose.  The crew mustered on the deck while Peter directed the operation from the Cockpit.  As the Sail had lost all its wind it was easy to snuff (this type of sail is hoisted inside a sock which, when at the top of the mast is peeled back to release the sail.  To lower the sail we ‘snuff’ it by lowering the sock.  The sail is neatly stowed using a carbon fibre funnel or snuffer).  We had no need to lower the whole sail as we could work on the Clew on the deck.  A new shackle was attached and we were sailing again within 30 mins.  Worryingly though the sail had acquired a new hole but it seemed that it was not in a critical place.  A quick brew and the off-watch crew went back to their bunks.

It had seemed only minutes before we were roused by the Parasailor in distress again, this time at approx 0730 UTC, some 2 hours before dawn.  As we got up there was an horrendous sound of ripping sails.  We were confronted with the sight of part of the sail disappearing into the sea as we hurriedly donned our life jackets again.  Snuffing the sail again we lowered the sock and then set to hauling the shreds back on board from under the Bow.   As all of us were clinging on to the guard rails, having clipped our harnesses onto the boat, the wind hit and with it the rain.  There was nothing that we could do but remain still to protect the sail from going back overboard and potentially fouling the propeller and rudder.  The rain came down in torrents and took some 5-10 mins to pass.  We were utterly drenched but we recovered the whole sail and stuffed it into the sail locker at the bow.  We were now sailing on white sails (mainsail and gib) and our hopes for a daylight landfall at St Lucia faded, as did the squall off our Port Bow.

The mood of the crew was subdued as they sat in the cockpit, soaking wet, nursing mugs of tea.  None were more down than the Skipper, Peter who contemplated the loss of his beautiful sail.  Now was not the time for a full debrief, we would analyse what went wrong in due course.  ASOLARE had been knocked back but she was still ploughing forward and with the wind at one point hitting 35 Kts she was still managing 9 Kts though the water.  (It should be noted that Stephen slept through this particular Squall at about 1000 UTC.  His father will not be surprised as Stephen slept through the 1987 Gales that devastated SE England).  It is possible that the Parasailor will be repairable as none of the damage appeared to be near the wing but we will be able to assess this once at St Lucia.

Now on white sails we are moving more slowly through the water.  We are less than 150 nm from our destination and finally we are starting to see other competitors as we all converge on Rodney Bay.  BARBARA and TILLYMINT both popped up on VHF and are now on the horizon. We are hoping for landfall at about 0300 UTC on Tue 8 Dec.

By Stephen (and Crew Peter Sallyanne, Mark and Clare)

The photo was taken this morning at early-o’clock – sunrise!  Only the watch keeper was awake – the rest of the crew were asleep in their bunks.  0530 or 6am you may well think – but no – it was 10:04am.  ASOLARE is running on UTC (GMT) and as we head west our daylight hours get later and later – thus daylight is now about 3h30m behind boat time. For those not on watch – early breakfast comes at about 11:00am and the evening meal about 9pm with the setting sun.  This combined with our rotating watch roster and disrupted sleep patterns leaves the crew wondering if there will be any jetlag (or boatlag) once we arrive in St Lucia.  Since leaving Las Palmas most crew members manage a 3-4hour sleep each night and try to catch a few hours by day.  So a few rum punches followed by one good night’s sleep on arrival in St Lucia will put us all squarely on to St Lucian time.

Having held his nerve overnight and kept our Ghoster flying the skipper decided to swap it for the Parasailor again with the prospect of stronger wind.  The crew are now operating as a slick unit and sails were down and up again within 35 minutes to the satisfaction of the skipper. These predicted winds have so far failed to materialise so our speed has noticeably dropped overall.  To be fair, however, the more experienced members of crew have not sailed with such consistent Trade Winds before and our novice has come to believe that 8 Kts is a normal speed for a yacht of this size.  So the weather has remained fair although a brief respite from the sun came mid afternoon with our first and probably only significant rainshower.  Peter and Stephen were immediately into their swimming togs and standing out on deck lapping up the refreshment.  We refrained from breaking out the shower gel which was just as well as we would have been covered in suds when the rain stopped.  We remain on course for St Lucia and are seeing more birds and finally the odd sail having spent a five day period being the only people in our patch of ocean.

Food: Food is still of a high standard with no major losses on the fruit and veg front.  Sallyanne’s latest batch of home-grown yoghurt was turned into pesto dip, carrot and garlic dip and banana yoghurt. As it was Saturday the skipper opened a nice bottle of white wine and declared the evening meal to be a feast.  Clare made some very tasty Potato rosties as a starter, Mark proved himself yet again to be a culinary wiz and made seared tuna with crushed black pepper, pesto cous cous, Dijon mustard boiled eggs, lettuce and tomatoes (yes our last lettuce to survive!) with a garlic and chilli yoghurt dip.  For dessert Sallyanne used up some of the struggling apples and made apple crumble and custard.  The crew then retired up on to deck together to admire a glorious starry night.  With a couple of hours until the moon was due to rise the night sky was as crisp and bright as in any desert and the milky way was an amazing swathe of light to our North.

By Stephen and Sallyanne (and Crew Peter, Mark and Clare)