Our 3000 plus mile passage to Hiva Oa is almost over. My activity tracker on my phone is trying to tell me that I’ve been in a virtual comatose state with so few steps recorded. Little does my phone know that just standing on a heeling boat to brush my teeth is a work out. …
Author: Matilda
Update on Whale Strike and a Medical Emergency
We learned today that Raindancer was struck by the whale on their propeller shaft which opened a large hole in the hull. They were sunk in 15 minutes. The whale swam away seemingly unscathed. Was it an intentional act on the whale’s part? Two Japanese fishing vessels which are known to illegally hunt whales have …
Continue reading Update on Whale Strike and a Medical Emergency
Are we there yet?
We are into our third week at sea now and whilst the time is definitely not flying, it is blurring. It has been 15 days since we last saw land and 5 days since we last saw lights from any other boats. Andrew and co. have taken their fishing rods on a different tack. We …
Our Friends Hit a Whale – Their Boat Sunk
Dear World ARC Fleet, At 2254UTC we received a phone call on the 24 hours Rally Control number from crew member on board a non-World ARC boat, SY ORPHEUS, Canadian flag, MMSI 316041524, reporting a distress call issued by SY RAIN DANCER at approximately 2230UTC. The sailing yacht has been hit by a whale and …
Wine at Lunch and Other Whining
Well, we are out of wind. I mean, even though we are smack dab in the middle of the so-called “tradewinds” there isn’t enough breeze to blow a fart from the bow to the stern. So, we are motoring and burning fuel that we really can’t afford to be using this early in the game. …
Hello -is anybody out there?
This is day 8 of our Pacific crossing. One would think that I would have the words to describe this experience because I certainly have had enough time to sit around and think about it. It definitely is amazing with many ups and many downs and a lot of time just staring at the fascinating …
Tough Night
With the exception of a minor leak at the rudder post just about everything I could think of aboard Matilda was ship-shape before our departure from Galapagos to Marquesas. This was important because it is a 3000 nautical mile passage with nowhere to stop along the way. On our 1300 hours (1pm) departure from Galapagos …
Galapagos was mighty fine – now it’s time for the longest crossing of the circumnavigation.
The Galapagos Islands are remote and isolated and very very famous. Matilda successfully crossed from Panama to The Galapagos in a good time of 5 days and 5 hours. We did not see much wind after the first 30 hours but fortunately had enough fuel to motor for much of the 885 mile journey. We …
Pulling up the anchor and setting sail
It’s about an hour to go until we pull up the anchor and set sail for The Galápagos Islands. Yes we really are doing this and the anxiety is building. We’ve double and triple checked so many things but, there is so much unknown. It should take us anywhere from 5 to 8 days to …
It’s Finally Time to Go
We have been in Shelter Bay Marina (aka Shelter “Pay” Marina) for almost 3 weeks now. Matilda has been rigged and washed and inspected and wired and measured and provisioned and now it’s time to join the rally. The majority of the World Arc boats departed from the other side of the Caribbean in St …
Sailboat Matilda 