Video: 30 knots below decks

Here is the view from below decks after the gale winds dropped to around 30 knots. This video was shot by our crew member Hayden from his cabin below decks. Enjoy the ride...

Video: Steak Flambe

This video we call....

Kicking it Up a Notch....

Video: High Wind Sailing

This video was shot 75 miles off Cape Henry, VA as Larking About was returning to the Chesapeake Bay from Bermuda. This is after the 54 knot gale force winds died down  to a steady 30-35 knots. This gale lasted for 4-5 hours. Enjoy the video.

Watch this FULL SCREEN...

or play it here.

Photos: Bermuda 2011 Trip

Our crew member, Hayden shot 800+ photos and has selected these 84 photos to share. Enjoy the photos.

Safe passage, BDA to Chesapeake

Team LA40, Larking About is crossing into the Chesapeake Bay from sea
after an exciting ocean voyage from Bermuda. We departed BDA at 1430
hrs on Thur. All are doing well onboard and the ship is in perfect
shape. Photos, and videos to follow.
Hayden and John, Nancy and Radeen

Huff Puff

Happy Father's Day, WFK and Dads everywhere. Brief because it's a bit bumpy: we are crossing the Stream in a peaceful 26-28 kts, which is DOWN from our average 30 kts plus since 0200 this am. Ship and crew are all well, and we have just finished dinner. The good news is that we have been flying along on tiny sails at 8 kts: the bad news is that right now we are heading for New York! Will report longer later: today has been a safe but stormy ride. Best, Nancy John Hayden & Radeen
1900 Sunday June 19 '11 3602N 7302W WNW 28 kts, speed 7,5 under triple reef main double reef jib and staysail heading 350 :( hoping for a wind shift/reduction, maybe will end up in Cape May? 190nm on the bow.

Zoom Zoom

The watery whispers of Larking About began at 1620 yesterday, when we reached the expected light South Westerlies and killed the engine. After 25 hours of motoring, the lazy sail at 5 knots through a calm sea was like resting on a fresh-made downy pillow: we relished the peace and a smooth dinner - sweet and sour pork, which was an easy cook in the calm galley. The winds then steadily freshened, and by 2200 the whispers had turned to gurgles as we hit 6 knots. Four hours later we were double-reefed on the main in 25 knots of wind and streaking along at 8.2 knots with a slight current assisting. So the forecast was correct! And what a grand sail! With a near full moon, flat seas, and 20+ knots at 75 degrees off the port bow, Larking About had one of her best ever nights at sea. My guess would be that last night hooked Radeen on ocean sailing! Talking of hooks, yes we did get a fish on the line yesterday mid-day. It took the line off the reel in a hurry, and some reports state that when it broke the surface the first time, it was at least 5 feet long! Anyway, we were dealing with a foxy old fish, who swam towards the pull, broke the surface again, threw the hook, and I swear I heard him laughing as he threw his tail at us and danced away. So we made do with the pork, and dreamed of Ceviche for lunch, and Mahi-Mahi in a Dijonnaise sauce with capers and lemon wedges. Jim, sound familiar? Talking of Jim, Nancy and I miss you, you were great crew! But then, so are Hayden and Radeen, and they...well, at least, Radeen, is much prettier to look at, and Hayden wears shirts with sleeves on them!
Best to all from a happy bunch Larking About over the Atlantic waves, John , Nancy, Radeen and Hayden
0900 Saturday June 18 '11 3339N 6935W Winds SW 20kts Under Genoa, Staysail, SIngle-reef Main, at 8kts Seas 3 feet, Sunny: i.e. pretty darn perfect!

Off to Sea

After dancing the Duty Free Fuel Tango with Bermuda customs, we did indeed fill the diesel tank tax-free! Thus loaded with fuel, we added water and a box of Gosling's Black Seal rum, and by these vital supplies well burdened, we were well and truly ready. So we set out to sea at 15.30 yesterday, Thursday June 16th, and with light winds, we have been motorsailing due West, which is South of our direct line; but we are playing "Believe the Forecast" once again, and expect Sweet Southwesterlies to join the party and blow us on the beam into the Chesapeake. We are all well and looking forward to turning off the motor and sailing. Hayden has been snapping pics galore when not playing with his Gizmoids, and Radeen is coping well with a slightly bumpy ride. She has her happy smile on, and we think she is enjoying her second passage across the Bermudian waves. Nancy finds sleeping easy on the weather cloth, and now has a bright chirpy face after her morning coffee! Last night was bright with a full moon, which did not set until after sunrise. At 0430 I was just about awake on watch when I jumped quite high at a big splash just feet away! Then I was wide awake and was treated to a Dolphins by Moonlight show! The ocean keeps on finding new ways to surprise me.
Best to all, Hayden, Radeen, Nancy and John
0710 Friday June 17 '11 3231N 6637W Motorsailing at 6.7 kts in bright sunshine. Wind light WNW Seas 4 feet

Basking in Bermuda II

After his first offshore passage Brother Jim is flying back today to Lancaster: a great crewman he was, and what an adventure he had! Jim says that there were so many different experiences and he's got plenty of stories for Linda and the grandkids! It was also Jim's first visit to Bermuda, and he says it will not be his last (Linda, sounds good news!) We showed him a good bit of the island and he was impressed.

Hayden and Raydeen Cochran are arriving tomorrow for our next passage to Norfolk, VA. Known to many Island Packet owners as the founders on the web of IPphotos and IPYOA, Hayden and Raydeen sail their 35 Island Packet 'Island Spirit' in the Chesapeake and New England. They have sailed offshore before, and are great fun, so we are looking forward to a bluewater crossing with them.

Our plan for 2011 was to sail Larking About with Hayden and Raydeen across the Atlantic, to Falmouth, England, via the Azores. This past winter, John installed an Espar Heater to ward off the chilly English 'summer' weather. Hayden and Raydeen visited LA in the Virgin Islands for a week's vacation and for a warm-up sail on LA. It was not to be, however, because we have an illness in the family and want to stay close to Lancaster for the moment. So we have postponed the transatlantic trip, but we hope that Hayden and Radeen, after the sail next week to Norfolk, will still want to cross the Atlantic with us!

All was well on LA when we arrived in Bermuda: the only minor repair needed was to some stitching on the Genoa. So we have shipped that sail off to the Hollis' loft "Ocean Sails" with their resident Old Salt Paul and his sailmaking parrot. Ocean Sails is a famous sail loft, perfectly situated at one of the two sailing crossroads of the Atlantic (the other one being the Azores.) And we are well provisioned: so all we need now is a good weather window and we will be off.

John and Nancy
In Bermuda aboard Larking About
June 12 2011

Some Views

In Bermuda we have a fast internet, so here we go uploading some pics:

Sunset on ‎Friday, ‎June ‎03, ‎2011, ‏‎7:13:38 PM. Perhaps the most dramatic ever seen from the decks of Larking About.

Jim with his first Mahi Mahi: boy did it taste good! June 2, 2011

Jim, exhausted after the Battle of Mahi: note that the lee cloths on LA now have adjustable quick-release nylon straps (copy of Calliope's -thanks John P) but are not quite long enough to hold in Jim's feet.

Arriving into Town Cut, St George's Parish, Bermuda: yesterday, ‎June ‎07, ‎2011, ‏‎10:47:26 AM, at 34.22.7N 64.39.5W: 927nm and 6 days, 2 hours and 14 minutes after leaving Luis Pena, Spanish Virgins. We sailed for four days, and motorsailed for two days (52.7 hours). Average speed 6.34 knots.

Looking aft from the bow as we navigate Town Cut, with Jim at the helm: a tradition on LA that the Newbie has to take us in (unless it's dark, which according to Nancy, it always was before!)

JFK June 8, 2011

The three survivors, self-portrait by Jim.

Basking in Bermuda

You might well wonder what a sailor craves as he plies his way across the deep wine-dark waves? A green field, perhaps, with grazing cows full of buttercups and clover (the field, not the cows!) or maybe his favorite armchair and today's newspaper? Perhaps a walk with the dog, or a happy afternoon on the lawn with his grandkids? Well, the answer for Jim was, in a word,"still". As in motionless. As in using an everyday appliance, such as a stationary loo! Jim is in seventh heaven, because the earth, contrary to Chris Columbus, is now completely and wonderfully flat. After last night, when Jim was treated (at of course 02dark Thundered) with a 25 kt little affair that hijacked him without fanfare, we think he is entitled to a bit of basking in the serene waters of St George's harbor, perhaps the best situated natural harbour in the world.

Yes, we arrived. And we had a grand last 24 hour sail, with plenty of just usable wind, and lovely sunshine (no, not at night: not even moonshine at night this week.) At 832 am today we completed six days' sailing, were 16 miles south of Bermuda, and had travelled thru the water 912nm or an average of 152nm a day. We cleared into customs at 11.15, and Nancy smartly produced pate and cheese to go with the traditional bubbly. Now she is cooking an Admiral's Omelette - lots of 'bird-whatsit' on the shoulders, don't you know? - and it smells delicious. Not sure how it will go with a dark 'n' stormy - but here goes!

Answer: brilliant omelette, and the dark 'n' stormy was quite good too.

Best to all, Jim, Nancy and John, safely and fairly soundly in St George's Bermuda, June 7, 2011

Night Games

We had more 'fun' early hours last night with a frontal boundary that gave us 30kts of wind - for free, no charge! Nancy and I managed to sort it out, but we definitely need during daylight to practice tacking our new staysail rig, so we can do it better in 30 kts in the dark. And it has been dark: no moon, it's a new one, and both moon and stars tend to run and hide when big ol' clouds keep us company for a while. A couple of hours later, at 03 dark-hundred, Jim had a good one on his watch. Motor-sailing along, the engine decided to take a 'work' action and started a slow-down dance. Jim properly shook the skipper out of his bunk, and a few minutes later we had sails set, the motor off, and a fresh fuel filter in the primary Racor: the old one had finally filtered its last microns of sludge and was quite properly giving up. The skipper had expected this, and had a new filter handy - so you might well ask, why did he not change it before we left? And of course the answer is so that Jim could have his "oh no, the engine's giving up" moment. So why does all this happen at night? Who knows, but it always does, and it isn't as if we can sail the ocean blue only in daylight hours. Anyway, after breakfast Jim confessed that he was awake for the Frontal Fiasco (Nancy's log entry after was less dramatic: "Bad News in Dodge City!") and Jim could have sworn as he kept his head down in his bunk that he heard music - an organ playing "Nearer my God to thee..." And then two hours later when the engine spontaneously sputtered he heard a voice proclaiming "As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."
The good news is that these experiences are in the bank and neither crew nor ship is the worse for them. And here we are just 140 nm South of Bermuda and guess what? Just this minute Admiral Nancy reports from the helm that we have finally got the wind shift from N to NNW and we are now sailing close to the rhum line: OK, sports fans!
Best to all, Jim, Nancy and John
June 6, 2011 (D Day) 11.25AST 30.03N 64.56W Winds NNW 12kts Seas 3ft Speed 5 to 5.5 close-hauled with full sail.

Lucky Days!

On other boats on which I have been crew, after five days offshore they look a bit grubby and tired, however clean they started out from port. Not so LA, and especially on this passage. The Shaubie gang know lots of stuff, but they are easily the world's best cleaners! Nancy has been cleaning and polishing below decks, and Jim has been scrubbing down the cockpit, and I must say, LA is gleaming all over. True, now we have gathered some salt on the decks, after bashing through some short choppy stuff upwind on the motor. But at least it's clean salt! Yesterday was "Hump Day" aboard LA, for which tradition we thank our good friend and offshore companion, John Parker. Half way through a passage we are 'over the hump' and sailing downhill. It's time to have a little celebration, and so with dinner (Boeuf Borguignon) we get a choice of either a beer or a glass of wine, and the traditional LA toast to fine crew and to all old men of the sea - not just John FK & John P! Early on Saturday morning (at 0220) we ran out of wind - why does that always happen on JFK's night watches? - and we have been motoring all but a few hours ever since. We went for two days with no contacts, but have seen three ships in the last few hours Thanks to our AIS receiver, we know the one we just saw was called 'Lucky Sunday', and as she passed safely four nm astern of us, we first thought how apt: but then we decided it was a bit inappropriate, as it was not luck but our fine watch keeping that kept LA safely out of her way this lovely Sunday afternoon. :) We have just 260 nm miles to St David's head, off the Eastern point of Bermuda, and if we get the forecast shift to North Westerly and then Westerly winds, we will have a good sail and be in port Tuesday mid-day.
Best to all, John Nancy and Bro' Jim
Sunday June 5, 2011 1430 AST 28.12N 65.30W Winds NNE 15; motoring at 2,500 rpm on heading 032m making 5.5kts against wind & waves. 635 nm logged so far.

Half Way and Fully Happy!

Sometimes your breath is taken away out here, and last evening's sunset was one of those times: a spectacular 360 canvas of colors, we will post a pic of it (will be hard to choose which one!) when we go online in Bermuda. We sailed serenely through to 2 a.m. and then we hit the expected lull, and so we have been motoring in calm seas, and we just pressured up the water-maker. In six days since we filled up, we have used about 50 gallons, and with amps to spare we may as well top up. Today we expect to motor until this afternoon, when we are hoping for the forecast shift to North and then North West, which would be ideal. We are all well and enjoying the sailing and the camaraderie, with all systems working - hope I don't jinx us! - and should be in Bermuda Tuesday morning. Best to all, Jim, Nancy and John
Saturday June 4 2011 at 0550 am 25.20N 66.03W winds NNE 6 knots, calm seas, motoring at 6.8 knots on course 024m on a lovely sunny morning, with an escort of two Bermuda Longtails. They are early - didn't order them till Monday: hope they don't get overtime rates on the weekend?

Cloudy Triangle

Sailors are a funny bunch. They crave weather forecasts like stricken Romeos, getting quite forlorn when they don't have 'em to caress. But then when they do have their isobar charts and NOAA faxes to embrace, their love is fleeting and soon unrequited, as they know in their hearts that half the promises they read are never kept. So today we are happily surprised to find that the two-day old forecast effective for June 3, at 0800....actually is happening! By keeping west of lon 65 we dodged the wind hole to our starboard, and have been riding through the forecast boundary sitting roughly along lat 23 North, with the odd rain shower and even a couple of squalls. Most importantly we have had plenty of useful wind. So we are galloping along through the middle of the (fictional?) Bermuda triangle, and keeping cool under clouds and rain showers. Our second 24 hours ended at 0830 this morning, and the log showed another 151 nm day. Makes you wonder: is our odometer stuck on 151nm a day? So we are really happy to be up here a third of the way, and have had to run the engine only to charge the batteries. The batteries were down when we started: in The Spanish Virgins we had little wind for the wind generator, some clouds that shaded our solar panels; and we had pre-cooked ten meals and the reefer worked overtime freezing them. Talking of which, we ate first class last night with fresh Mahi Mahi gently braised in olive oil, butter and seasonings, rested and de-boned, then served in a white wine, mayonnaise and red pepper sauce, over farfalle with fried tomatoes: yummmmy! And talking of the Mahi, yes, we do have pics of Jim with his outstanding first offshore fish, which we will post here as soon as we have 'live' internet in Bermuda.
We are now sailing at 7+ knots with a double-reefed main, on a beat into the forecast NE 15 knot winds (20+ apparent), so the ride is a bit bumpier, even though the seas are only four feet. This morning Jim made us a lovely breakfast of fruits and cereals, and after this introductory galley job he was wondering how the devil dinner was produced last evening: but he is learning fast how to hang on with toes, knees and elbows!
Best, John Nancy and Jim
June 3, 2011 1120 AST 2333N 6601W and the sky is lifting!

Atlantic Cruising

June 3 2011 1445 AST at 23.57N 66.00W High cloud, 12-15kts ENE Seas 3 feet. Cruising up Route 66!

Maiden Mahi Mahi!

1400 AST June 2 11 2114N 6600W winds NE 12-14 knots Speed 6.4 under full sail.
In life there are moments that get burned hard into memory, and so it was today with Jim the trout-stream fisherman. The rod tweaked but the line did not zing, and so I called Jim up from belowdecks and told him I thought we might have caught some weed. He donned the fishing belt while I luffed up to slow us down. The weed was hard to reel in. Very hard. Then something was splashing on the surface...and I said we had probably snagged a piece of flotsam. Jim worked the rod and reeled in the line two feet at a time. When "it" was 100 feeet astern, Jim said "I think it's a plastic bag." and then, THEN we saw the green emerald flash. Ten minutes later we had a perfect sized Mahi Mahi in the cockpit. Twenty minutes later I had it cut and bagged it into the freezer, and Jim had the cockpit clean as a whistle. So it was ceviche for lunch, and Jim and I relished our third shares of it with cucumber, olives and LA Ceviche Secret Sauce. Then we woke up Nancy, who had slept soundly through the whole adventure! Imagine her surprise when she surfaced to find Ceviche a la LA waiting on deck for lunch! All that was fun, but the sail has been just superb: enough wind for six plus knots, gentle seas, dry decks and hatches open; some sun, and some welcome cloud to shade us. These conditions are why I call this trip from the Caribbean to Bermuda "The Milk Run". Those who are following our lat. and lon. positions will see that we are West of our direct route to Bermuda: we are throwing the dice and believing the wx forecast (silly I know) and so we have come West a bit to steer clear of the worst of the 'doldrum no wind hole' that lies in ambush out to the East of us. We will see how it works out, but so far, so good: we did 151 nm in our first 24 hours. It has been an outstanding start for Jim's maiden offshore passage. With no moon and some cloud cover last night, it was pretty dark, and Jim was surprised how fast it seemed we were dashing through the water...so we had to remind him that this is a doddle: and that if he wants real excitement we need to find him 25 knot winds, 15 foot seas, rain and pitch dark! He says he'll take this instead!
JFK with Jim and Nancy ...now aiming true North at a half-way point of 25N 66W.

Traditions to Enjoy

1605 AST, June 1, 11. After provisioning and cleaning, routine maintenance, cooking and stowing, and after all the little things to check and the various tasks to be done both on and below decks, after watching the weather, making phone calls and sending emails, after all this is done, LA is ready for sea. But we do not leave. Instead we follow Larking About's tradition and take a day to relax, and enjoy everything being shipshape and ready. This time our relaxation started yesterday at noon with a lovely little sail around from Bahia Almodovar to Luis Pena, where we anchored in the sand road laying down our chain carefully to avoid the coral, and then we enjoyed a superb snorkel, the highlight of which was a large friendly angel fish that was spectacularly outlined in purple and yellow. Today we had a leisurely breakfast, and put up the lee cloths to keep us tight in our bunks; then we had a last swim and at 8.32 we were off on a beam reach on a 12 kts E breeze. We have done 45 miles on the log in our first 7 hours, under full sail. We have some lighter winds forecast on our way to Bermuda, and we expect to be motoring some. But for now we have a glorious sail with just a four foot swell. In a couple of hours we will celebrate another tradition: we will eat coq au vin for our first offshore dinner. It's tasty but not too spicy, and it's easily digested - even though there will be no wine to help it down: by another tradition LA is dry offshore, but gets quite wet fairly quickly upon arrival. Best to all, Nancy, John and Bro' Jim
1854N 6537W Partly sunny, winds E 12, seas 4 feet, average speed 6.4 knots. Course 005m, heading west of the rhum line to try and keep some wind in the coming days.

Via SSB: test email..

...just to see that emailing from our SSB long range radio works!
JFK May 31, 2011

Lashing & Scraping!

Lashing down the dinghy on deck is part of our normal pre-passage prep; but scraping off barnacles all over the hull, thank heavens, is a first! Happily we have Barnacle Bro Jim aboard and one of his post-grad degrees was in Nautical Scraping!

Larking About is ready for passage, so this afternoon we will follow our tradition and relax and have a snorkel on the magnificent reef at the north end of Luis Pena, which also happens to be downwind, so we will be able to check out our sails before passage. All being well, we intend to set sail tomorrow morning for a 900 nm sail to St. George's, Bermuda.

Best to all our Blog readers,
Nancy, John and Bro Jim
5/31/11, 12:30AST still at anchor in Bahia Almodovar, Culebra, Spanish Virgins

Getting ready in Culebra...

...for passage to Bermuda. We are sitting in Bahia Almodavar, in six feet of 85 degree water, and we just spent quite a lot of effort scraping the barnacles off the bottom. We returned yesterday to LA after a six week stay in PA, and boy do those barnacles love LA's bottom when she sits still in a PR marina for 6 weeks! We have got most of the cr*p off, and we will prep the rest of the boat tomorow. Happy to report that all systems are fine and dandy, and we now have 10 meals prepped and in the freezer ready for our passage. Bad news is the wx forecast: not unusual for this time of year here, we have very light winds forecast for the next 7 days to Bermuda: ah well, maybe we get to fly the gennaker across the ocean!
Best to all from Admiral Nancy, Capt. John, and newbie Number One- Bro' Jim.

JFK May 30, 2011 at 1600 AST 1817.7N 6515.3W

Just testing...

....how we post to this blog that Hayden kindly set up for us. Thanks, Hayden!

We are going to post our offshore updates here in future, rather than sending out emails via our offshore emailman Hayden.

Meantime, here's a photo of Larking About reefed down off Bequia in March 2010.

JFK
At anchor, Great St James, USVI 8 April 2011

Crew Prep in USVI

Larking About has just completed a one week Virgin Island and Spanish Virgin Island tour with crew members Hayden and Radeen. Arriving in St Thomas the team was picked up via dinghy at the airport where they were quickly boarded and sailed over to Honeymoon Bay. The following days were spent exploring the Spanish Virgin Islands and the private location of one of the best snorkeling locations in the Spanish Virgins. You will simply have to find this secret location on your own; our log book is locked up! After exploiting the fine dining of Susie’s in Dewey on the Island of Culebra, we sailed back to the USVI for reef explorations and swimming off Waterlemon Cay, St. Johns. From St. Johns we were presented with a bold opportunity to sail Larking About into a strong 30 knot east wind as we worked the crew through the paces of reefing, upwind sailing, tacking and full broad reaching at 8.3 knots of boat speed. Larking About is a fine sailing machine and she easily handled the 30 knot breeze with comfort and speed. After sailing these strong winds we returned to St. Johns for a trail hike and one more beautiful Caribbean sunset. The one week adventure was completed with a private anchorage location in Christmas Cove where the team snorkeled the rocky island and discovered many new tropical fish not seen in these waters before. No trip to the USVI would be completed without a quick shopping tour of St. Thomas and a delicious lunch at “The Green House” overlooking the harbor. The crew was safely returned to the beach for a quick hike up the hill to the St. Thomas airport. Now it is time to head Larking About west to Puerto Rico as we prepare her for her upcoming Trans-Atlantic Crossing!