Las Palmas to the Carribean

Taipan © SV Taipan

Just a note from the team, David and I plus English sailing friends, James Tomlinson RYA. OCC and James Robinson RYA Commodore OSC. Sailing Instructor and lots more sailing talent between these two!

Taipans been in pieces in Las Palmas for a week while the team got to work with the unscheduled replacement of the Windlass. It failed to respond to resuscitation after our return from Australia so we replaced it with the Lofrans 3X. The old Orca was a stubborn brute and it took 3 men with hammers, 3 days to demolish it! All the deck was then rebuilt and painted in readiness for the arrival and insertion of the replacement. Another 3 days, and we were finally all ready to go. Provisions were hastily gathered, farewells conducted with PICCOLINA, Steph and Rolf, with whom we had shared many delightful meals and fun evenings during the chaos.

The new windlass hoisted anchor at 7am on the 6th of March and Team Taipan slipped out of the harbour to cross to Grenada in the Caribbean roughly 2800nm.

Clearing the islands was a mixed bag of wind and no wind before it started then to build steadily to around 25kn with a fairly bumpy sea for the first 25 hours. A rude introduction after months ashore!!

With about 2500 nm to go to Grenada it's still chilly but Taipan is enjoying the rock n roll. The bottom slime seem to have fled and speeds are improving with some nice favourable current to help.

The Team are settling into watch routine of 2 on at a time for 4 hour watches. We're well fed and pretty well rested and with reduced swell (about 2m). It's a lot more sustainable.

The wind is from the starboard aft quarter at around 14 to 18kn as I write and we're travelling more west to avoid a patch of heavier wind south if us.

Our exact position is updated every 10 minutes at the link here.

Grenada is an approximation! It's possible we may deviate. Nothing is set in stone. Watch this space!

This article has been provided by the courtesy of svtaipan.blogspot.com