RC-44 prize cermony

The prize winning cermony

Just want to show some pictures I took during the price cermony, after the last race

on Saturday the 16th. The cermony was fantastic with a big band playing latin american

music. And all the food, and all kind of drinks was for free to all VIP's invited.

And I was lucky to be one of them. The party lasted to 6 in the morning.

A happy Pieter Heerema from Holland is the owner and the helmsman ( skipper)

onboard. The boat name is: No Way Back, and they placed 3.

They were the leading boat for the season, before the race started, after they won the unofficial world championship

in Dubai last December 2009. There will be a all season winner, after the last race which is in

Miami december this year. For the moment they are on the second place overall.
This is very good, since they all are the world first class sailors, with the last American cup winner,
the last olumpic gold winner in 49 class Martin Kirketerp from Denmark ( one the No Way Back team)
The boat Ceeref I was lucky to sail with in two races was captained by Olympic gold winner in STAR 8 in 1982. Rod Davis from Australia. ( This was mentioned for you Charles)

This is Magnus from Norway which is working with team.

He is an experience sailer, and has crossed the Atlantic in 2006

He got the honor of getting the troffy from the orgenizers.

Fishing at Lanzarote

Fishing at Lanzarote

Yesterday I was invited out fishing for Marlin and Tuna together with

Lasse and Magnus from the RC44 world team, No Way Back.

We went out with a British man with name Clive to hunt for the big Marlin and Tuna.

It was a seriouse fishing boat for proff sport fishing. I never seen that big wheels on any fishing pole.

Picture from the 8 meter up steering position.

We had four fishing poles out, and if we catched anything on one of them,

the man in the chair gets to work it in. My time in the chair was 12 minutes before full hour til full hour, because we were 5 people fishing.

The wheel which was 10 years old but cost 3000 euro.

It was some big bites they used, but that didn't help when there was no fish.

Well we had a great day in the sun with plenty to drink.

Later we had a good Indian dinner at one of the many harbor restaurants.

Exploring Lanzarote

Exploring the Lanzarote Island

Yesterday I had the pleasure to go with my friends Lasse's parents on a trip at the Island.

We went to an vulcano were they cook the meat on the top of a lava crater.

The nice restaurant was design by a local artist with name Cesar Manrique.

We also took a buss ride around in the fantastic landscape.

It really impressed me. The vulcano exploded in 1724, and kept trowing out lave for 6 years.

This have made some incredible shapes and colours.

Stick your hand out, and you really feel the heat.

Taken through a buss window, so not very sharp.

Also we went to the house of Cesar Manrique.
It was built on the top of a vulcano 'lave bubble' and into the inside of it.
It was a fantastic design. Check out the window to his back yard.
It looks like the lava is floating in through the window.
And there is a glass in it.

His little swimming pool

One of the many rooms inside the lava

Well, back to the sailing.

I got mail from Per Olav today, and he confirmes that they will land at Las Palmas

November 5th. and leave again the 12th.

together with Synnøve Nina and Finn.

We will sail between the other island like La Gomera, La Palma, Tenneriffe and end up

at Lanzarote the day before my Atlantic crew start arriving Nov. 13th.

That means I have to sail down to Grand Canaria and find a marina or a bay to ancor.

It's about 120 miles, sow I will probably ancor somewere on the way.

But they will need to fly from here to Las Palmas to make the flight back.

It's about 6 flights aday, and they only cost about 34-39 euro.

Just looked at the forcast, and they don't promise any wind before the weekend.

So you will most likly hear from me again before I leave Puerto Calero.

Puerto Calero Lanzarote Pos: 28.55.053 N 13.42.066 W

Sailed out from Portimao Algarve Portugal Friday night at 22.00 The wind was nothing before the morning, when it came from north. Next day it turned into W - S/W so we had to fall off about 30 degres. That lasted the next 2 days with wind at 6-11 m/s 5 nights at sea and the last 2 days we got the wind from north west and we sailed with only the geneua with 6-8 knots. The Atlantic waves was like 6-7 meters from behine, so the boat was very much moving. To much to use the main sail stabel.

We enjoyed the days, even if we had rain some times for two days.

Arrived the Puerto Calero at 08.30 yesterday Wednesday Oct. 6th. in claudy weather

My friend Lasse from Fredrikstad Norway is here competing in the world championship in the hotest racing class in the world. RC-44 Only one hour after arrivel, I was asked to join the Dutch boat while there were out checking out a new main sail. Just as an passanger. You see my friend Lasse at the wheel.



Lazy days at the Puerto Calero harbour

We have been 10 days in the Puerto Calero harbour, and only been out sailing once. took a day trip to the south coast called Playa Blanca.  Ankered, had a swim in the beautiful clean and warm water. Then we had a real cheese crackers and port wine lunch.
Had a nice sail wind back to the harbour. Now my friends Finn and Terje is leaving on Sunday morning. Finn from Greve Copenhagen has been on board since Omø in Denmark, 2 months. Terje came to Portimao Algarve 3 weeks ago, and was planning to stay at the most one week.  Well, sailing is sailing. You never know for sure when you will arrive the next destination.

The day after, at Monday I was invited out on a VIP boat to watch the match racing world championship in the RC44 class. Lasse knew the people in charge. Normaly it would cost 500 euro. I was treated like an VIP with fine food, fruit, wine and beer. The 25 meter luxus yacht in 3 floors was beautiful.  I nice experience. I also got to ride on the Slovenien boat Ceeref steered by the earlier Olympic champion in class 'Soling' and 'Star 8' from New Zealand.  Rod Davis.  cooool.

The local Team Calero. The family owns everything you can see around of land,

including the harbour and hotels.

.

Now I will be by myself (looks like) before Synnøve, Per Olav, Nina and Finn from Fredrikstad arrives Nov. 6th. for one week sailing between the islands.

The Atlantic crew will start arriving Nov. 13th. when Charles and Franzisca from Switzerland, and Christian from Copenhagen comes.  Jonas from Gothenburg Sweden will arrive Nov. 17th. and Calle from Hemsedal Norway will probably catch up with us in Las Plamas the day before we head S/W towards St. Lucia Caribbean.

Puerto Calero Lanzarote Pos: 28.55.053 N 13.42.066 W

Sailed out from Portimao Algarve Portugal Friday night at 22.00 The wind was nothing before the morning, when it came from north. Next day it turned into W - S/W so we had to fall off about 30 degrees. That lasted the next 2 days with wind at 6-11 m/s 5 nights at sea and the last 2 days we got the wind from north west and we sailed with only the geneua with 6-8 knots. The Atlantic waves was like 6-7 meters from behind, so the boat was very much moving. To much to use the main sail stable.

We enjoyed the days, even if we had rain some times for two days.

Arrived the Puerto Calero at 08.30 yesterday Wednesday Oct. 6th. in cloudy weather.

David at the rudder.

And we had some beautiful sunsets

Terje enjoying the sea and the sun and a coke

They are also having the world championship in the most extreme sailing class RC-44

at the Puerto Calero harbour.  My friend Lasse Berthelsen from Fredrikstad Norway is a professional sailor, and is sailing on a Dutch boat.  No Way Back

I had the pleasure to come out with them the first day we came.

4 days at sea and maybe half distance to Lanzarote?

If our friends on Zephyr left Portimao on Saturday the day after Bent wrote about the huge repair, I will guess they might have advanced something like 300 nm.  The wind strength has been fair but the wind direction has been 100% bad for the first two days, at least. That means a lot of tacking making low SMG (Speed Made Good - in the right direction).

Possible position at Wednesday 6. oct 2010

This Blog have passed more than 20 registered followers now - that is great!
There might be at least the double amount of unregistered readers - so I'm just filling this time gap with telling that we might have to wait whatever 4 to 6 days before Bent can report himself about this quite long leg and
I'll just end this with a visual report about Bents left arm - which happened hours before departure from Ishøj ;-)

Bent having a anchor tatoo on his left arm at Ishøj

Portimao yard

Portimao-Portimao-Portimao

Bad news from Portimao. We have had a water problem for some time.

The bilge pump has been pumping 2-4 times a day. I thought it was a fresh water problem,

sow we have been going through the water heather, pipes and water tanks.

The problem has increased a lot since the Biscay bay, where we had some rough waves.

And then again increased until Portimao Algarve.

Sunday afternoon, before going out in open water for 4-5 days, on the way to Lanzarote,

I decided to find out were the water came from. I had tasted the water several times, to see if it was salt or not, and it didn’t tats so salty, but a little bit. I thought the salt was just from the boat by being at sea with salty water and wind around us.

After splitting the two back cabins apart totally, we found out it was coming from the housing

supporting the propeller shaft.  Not much water, but a little all the time.

I wanted an expert to take a look at it next day Monday, to see what to be done.

And we were at a good place with several yards able to repair the boat.

Going ashore

It was a delaminating in the glasfiber support to the propeller shaft, and the expert from Blue Water yard said it would be a 14 days ashore repair. FUCK.

I was sure that the damage was part of the collision I had September last year,

when a 27 tons sailboat crashed into me in the back, while parked at the bridge at Ishoj Denmark. 

Well, the expert did not think it had anything to do with the crash, but that it came from

bad construction from  the boat yard Jeanneau. They had done many of this repairs of this kind of construction.

If the damage was related to the crash, I would not have to pay it myself, but the insurance company to the man who crashed into me. But the expert would not write a report saying that he thought it was from the crash. So it ends with that I have to pay it myself.

Well today Friday, 5 days later, the boat is fixed, and we will go in water at 16 o’clock this afternoon, and start sailing to Lanzarote.

While at shore, we have done several other repairs also. Like a new zipper in the Lazyjack bag for the mail sail, the rudder has been out to get new fittings because it was vibrating.

Two new seagards at starboard side, and washing the boat.

The back cabins have been a working place, with a plastic tent to avoid too much glasfiber dust to be flying around. We have done all the ‘donkey’ work our self to keep the cost down. That means making the tent, cleaning ( a lot of cleaning) and putting everything together again.

The dust tent inside the back cabin

Well, Zephyr is much stronger than what it was from the factory, and that feels good.

Take a look at the pictures, and you get an idea of what mess we have been through.

The shaft support grinded down for repair

The rudder getting new fitting

The back cabins on deck

Chaos on deck

Terje came from Fredrikstad Saturday night, to sail with us to Lanzarote, and this far he has only been at a dirty and dusty concrete yard with a boat in a total chaos. I am sure he is looking forward to get out sailing. Same thing with David, which hitchhiked with us from Lisbon.

He has now also been working 5 days, like all of us.

2250 Euro later, we are on the way. This did not fit into my budget.

We are ALL looking forward to come out sailing.

Next time you hear from Zephyr will be from Lanzarote.