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 …
Pippa’s Swan Song Cruise to Bocas
Pippa's swan song cruise on Matilda was a huge success. We took her to Bocas Del Toro so that she could check out this amazing archipelago in the northeastern corner of Panama. Pippa is about to be a fulltime land-dog and southern belle. She is moving to Nashville to live with some of her favorite …
Change of Plan (Rev. 1)
For various reasons we are revising our plans. Rather than beating into the wind and swell for 1,500 miles to get from Panama (where Matilda is currently moored) to St Lucia (where the World ARC starts) we are going to wait for the World ARC fleet to come to us in Panama. Other benefits of …
Sailboat Matilda 