Spirit of Juno - Ondeck Atlantic Challenge 2009

Final Blog?

2009-06-05T12:02:00.002Z

Once again, although for the final time probably, I sit here in the nav station wondering what to write. A strange glitch in the technology means that yesterday's e-mail message is not saved in the drafts folder and is not
in the sent items folder. As a result I'm not sure what I've already said. The only real thing of real importance, other than that we are safe and well, was communicating the drinks round (I reiterate, 7 pints of something
wet and 4 posh drinks).

We motored for much of yesterday (Thursday) but got the sails up in the later part of the day. We were treated to a technicolour sunset as we neared the last (or some might say first) county in Britain. Jeff's watch (Keith W
and myself) came on at 9.00 pm taking over from the Skipper (with Theo, Keith and Dave). It was a cold dark watch and, joined by Teatime, we inched our way north easterly. The dark night was punctuated be the navigation lights of various passing vessels who chugged off to the taffic separation lanes. Findlay appeared at midnight, in his trademark cheerful fashion, to take the helm. With Teatime he pushed us forward to the English coast. They managed to get up in towards Mounts Bay under the gaze of the three giant gatekeepers, the lighthouses of Wolf Rock, Lands End and Lizard Point.

The next watch began the long motor east making some headway with the favourable turning tide. Jeff's watch, reappeared at 6.00, this time with Axel who had been on Mother watch with Stephen. Lizard point lighthouse
winked good morning to us and we continued to progress up the Channel passing Falmouth by the later stages of our watch.

Glancing up at the instruments it is 10.55 am and we are now at 50'' 10' N 004'' 41' W. The computer estimates 120 miles to the Needles, about 25 hours at the current speed. The Skipper has just popped in and said that northerly winds are forecast and we might get sailing later in the day.

Now, on to the popular subject of the Juno diet. Axel and Stephen were on mother yesterday. I think I mentioned their breakfast special. This was followed up by three types of pasta (tricolori I think is the term) at lunch. The evening unfolded well with an amuse bouche which has been labelled 'devils on a Farr 65' (dates, walnut and brie on toast). Dinner was a Morrocan style vegetable curry. This was followed by a Heston Blumenthal style experimental pudding, involving cranberry jelly and condensed milk; truly invntive!

The Yachtmaster Ocean candidates are mother today. They promise and all you can eat buffet, that is anything left on the boat can now be eaten. I must say their scrambled eggs and ham this morning was very
well received.

Last night we gathered on the decks at sunset and formed a circle holding hands. Amongst the group we shared our experiences and talked openly about how much we love and miss our wives and girlfriends. Not really, Juno is a boat for the man's man (i.e. the seat is always left up). But seriously, we will all be pleased to meet up with wives and sweethearts, although it might be better if both don't arrive at the same time in Portsmouth! (I've finally managed to get my favourite music hall gag into the blog). Also, on the subject of the heart... This may seem a little cryptic but Teatime is having a bar-b-que on the 10th call him if you want to come ;-)

So, our adventure is nearly over. 'On looking at an hour glass: To our eyes, it appears that the sand runs out only at the end and, until it does, it is not worth thinking about' (Death in Venice). There is many a slip betwix cup and lip, but we are nearly home now. It is probably safe to say that 2009 is clearly going to be a year to remember. If anyone is thinking of doing a transatlantic crossing I would say, if you've got the inclination, the time, and sufficient pocket money to spare then do it.

See you tomorrow hopefully. VG.

Fantastic trip and thanks for your messgaes - looking forward to seeing you all soon. Love Findlay

Once again I'm at the navigation station computer

2009-06-04T13:43:00.002Z

Faced with a blank screen, I always sit here wondering what would be of interest to the folks at home. I never quite know how much technical sailing information to include or how much to focus on life aboard. Looking over the blogs I realise that it might seem that we are (or I am) obsessed with food and once again I start with a report on the Juno diet.

Stephen was in charge of breakfast and took full advantage of the flat calm conditions. He deviated from the menu to surprise us with toasted bacon and egg sandwiches! The magnitude of the appreciation cannot be measured on the conventional gratitude scales. The two Keiths turned out an impressive Bolognese last night with plenty for seconds. Also, the elaborate game of hide the tea bags' has ended and normal hot beverage services have been resumed.

The crew have been engaged in fantasies relating to that first alcoholic drink ashore. Findlay, Teatime, Keith, Dave and Jay - a pint of Stella; Stephen and Vernon -a pint of real ale; Jim - rum and coke; Axel - gin and tonic; Theo - a glass of Cabernet; Keith (W) - a glass of Rioja. So in short... If, as we come alongside, anyone can sort out seven pints of anything wet and four fruit-based drinks the Juno boys will be over the moon. We are nothing if not easy to please.

We tacked away from our previous bearing sometime in the night, I was already asleep but heard the familiar sounds above. The engine must have been switched on some time after. Jay, Axel and I stood the 6.00pm - 9.00pm watch. This is my favourite pattern because it is followed by 3.00am - 6.00am. This means that you get to see sunset and then sunrise. When we came back on watch we could see two trawlers both in the distance, identified by their lights (green over white). We passed quietly to the east of them. These were the first vessels our watch had seen since leaving the Azores.

When our watch finished I came down to look at the chart. The North Atlantic Ocean chart had been replaced by the more detailed Western Approaches to the English Channel. chart. At 0644 (local time) we had run 1120 miles from Horta and were at 49'' 08' N 008'' 33' W, approximately 125 miles South West of Land's End. The computer estimates another forty three hours to the Needles at the current speed.

The winds are still light and the engine is on. Findlay has very cleverly rigged up an autopilot, by lashing the wheels together with some spare rope. We plan to get some cleaning done while it is still flat and calm. VG.

The sea has turned from atlantic blue ...

2009-06-04T08:08:00.002Z

... to a familiar green reminiscent of childhood seaside holidays. This morning's game of eye-spy was quite short. We experimented with banning things on deck and the game went as follows. 'Eye spy with my little eye, something begining with S?' Yes sea was followed by S for sky and then C for cloud, and then the game ended.

Life continues at 45 degrees. Touch typing, along with most other tasks with the exception of falling over, remains a challene. We are knocking out about 8 knots and sailing up at about 30 degrees on a heading of about 048 degrees (I still can't find the wee superscript zero for degrees on this keyboard).

Taking a peek at the chart we are about parallel with with St Nazair which lies at the estuary of the Loire.

On our watch there has been some discussion of turning east and having a night in France on the way home. We suspect that a case of mediocre claret would be just the vehicle to get us through the remainder of our cheese (we might be into the last 10 kilos now). We've not had a word with the skipper yet however.

On the subject of catering, we are dangerously low on tea bags. The all day breakfast remains popular on Juno. Branflakes and UHT milk are available on a 24hr basis. Dave and I baked a date sponge cake yesterday which worked out okay. The two Keiths are Mother watch today and they will re-interpreting tuna melts this lunchtime.

The aspirant Yacht Masters (Ocean) are busy. The sextant appeared from its mahogony case early this morning. The sun is clearly visible and the sky is relatively free of clouds. Today they are in with a good chance of getting

their sun sights.

More later. VG.

Day four since leaving Horta

2009-06-01T16:44:00.001Z

and spirits are high on the Juno bus. Now less than 800 miles to
Portsmouth. The sea is calm and the wind good as Findley and Theo
take their sights.

As mentioned previously Steve has joined Tea-time and Findley on watch
but it is widely agreed that he is far too good a singer to join the
the two founder members of the tone deafers.

Vernon usualy likes to quote someone famous about now but instead here
is the professors underwear theory. ' If you put on your underwear the
correct way round for 1 day. Then turn them inside out and wear them
for 2 days and then turn them the correct way round and wear them for
4 days and continue doing this as necesary. Then you will always be
changing into slightly cleaner underwear.' (Vernon Gayle et al)

Happy birthday T_times mum, Were all singing for you and having a cake
on your behalf. A big mwah from txx Happy wedding anniversary - Mr &
Mrs Gayle Snr.

Hi all - Things going great so far - thanks a milion for your messages
and love to Anne, Fiona and wee Fin. Well done Fiona on your Uni Exam
result. Fantastic! Love Findlay xxx.I haven't been singing too much -
honest. Tim, this is definitely a "must do" trip - and I'm keeping
nice and warm. Toby - hope the exams go well and that Thomas is
sound.Hope all is well in Jersey. Love to all - Steve

Gei sou agapi mou

Mou leipes poly, sas pethimisa kai ta skylkia olous toso poly. Eimai
poly kala. Ypologizo na eimai stin Anglia Savato i Kiriaki to poly.
Molis to thlefono mporei na piasei sima tha soy tilefoniso.

Filakia polla, sa agapo polu

Theodoros

Crashing along at about 10 knots

2009-05-31T17:07:00.003Z

with a reef in we are making progress. We have just dropped to within a 1,000 miles to go. A thread with Lord Nelson, the greatest British seaman, runs through the trip. We started in English Harbour Antigua, where he commanded the dockyard and we will end up at Gunwharf in the shadow of HMS VICTORY.

Taking a look at the chart for most of the day we have been west of shipping forecast area Trafalgar. Introduced in 1956 this area extends from Southern Portugal to north-west Africa. It is the only region for which the forecast is only broadcast once a day (at 0048 hours). Why not tune into Radio 4 (Long Wave) at beadtime tonight. At the appointed time a soothing voice will say 'and now before the shipping forecast here's Sailing By'. For those of you that don't know Ronald Binge's lilting tune, you will probably find it the most sophorythic piece of music ever.

I doubt that you'll manage to stay awake for the forecast. But before sleep claims you, spare a thought for the Juno boys. The midnight watch (our time) will be getting into wet oilskinks, the 9.00-12.00 guys will be up on deck waiting to get below and get dry, and hopefully the kettle will be singing. VG

On our last night we went out smelling of Diesel

2009-05-31T15:02:00.002Z

Admittedly most of the Juno boys have spent less time in the gym than the fella with the ripped jeans in the Diesel cologne advert, however the effect was the same. Men stepped aside and women fainted. Our fuel tanks are nice and clean though.

We are back at sea now and settling into a new watch system. Typing here in the navigation station is like using a laptop on a roller coaster. I suspect that the blogs will get shorter again. Also, we have no spoll chooker so the

written quality can vary.

The good news is that Findley passed his exam with flying colours. Theo joins him for the practical, and they will be examined in Portsmouth when we get in.

Axel has slotted into Jeff's watch and Theo joins the Skipper. Stephen (the Doc) is a keen classical singer so has been assigned to voice coach Findley and Teatime. Teatime incidentally is the cleverest sailor and best kisser in

all Cheshire (he asked me to subtly boost him up here in the blog because a young female acquaintance might be reading).

At the moment we are ripping along at 10 knots on a bearing of 70 degrees.

The wind is gusting about 18 knots and we've got a reef in. Juno is in her orthodox fleet position. This has allowed us plenty of time to watch the dolphins, a couple of whales and a shark. More later. VG

Returning to Blighty

2009-05-28T18:08:00.003Z

Some new faces are joining Juno on leg two, and last evening we were pleased to welcome Stephen and Axel onboard. Some of our victuals have arrived and we are setting about stowing produce and organising life below deck. Geoff is currently at the supermarket purchasing some last minute items.

It now feels like we have been here for a fair period of time. It was Teatime's birthday during the week and we managed to locate a cake and twenty comedy candles (we are all more than a little impressed that at his age he is on Atlantic crossing number five). The other happy news is that Team Diana skipper Dave "Waddo" Watson got engaged at the weekend when his girlfriend came out to visit. The soon to be Mrs Waddo slipped away home on Monday but in their honour the combined Ondeck crews managed to hold a barbecue on the pontoon.

In my view the highlight of last evening was not the Champion's League Final but a public lecture that Stokey Woodhall gave in Horta. Stokey distilled thirty years of navigation at sea into thirty minutes, through a series of insightful illustrations and witty anecdotes. The 'take home' message, as our American cousins would say, is 'you are never really lost as long as you know where you started from'.

Amongst other things Stokey also introduced us to a handy little star called Minitaka. It is one of the stars that makes up Orion's belt (Orion is the hunter and is large and conspicuous in the night sky). The great utility of Minitaka is that it rises due east and sets due west and therefore allows the navigator to find the main cardinal points of the compass. Stokey also explained how, using a little computation, one can tell the time using the Plough (which is also known as Ursa Major, the Great Bear, or the Big Dipper). But most memorably he demonstrated how to direction find with a radio and a frying! This was a complete revelation to the assembled audience.

Another revelation is that the gin in Pete's is Gordons. Teatime told us this but we refused to believe him until we saw the barman pouring it from the familiar bottle. Gin lays at the heart of a few drinking controversies. My favourite story, although I suspect it is apocryphal, goes as follows. During the war a number of Fleet Air Arm aircrews had been shot down and subsequently encountered serious survival situations at sea in very remote locations. The Admiralty was reviewing what to put in the survival kits and widely canvassed opions from Naval personnel. One bright spark suggested that a they should be equipped with two minitures, one of gin and another of vermouth. This was because in his experience, everytime he attempted to mix a martini someone popped up from nowhere to tell him that he was doing it all wrong. Come to think of it mysteriously there was a fellow who looked like a superannuated Lord Lucan in the bar the other night.

I lay on my bunk last night thinking of Blighty. Then I remembered the strange origin on this term. At home I have a copy of Hobson-Jobson. This is the glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases. On a winter evening, with sufficiently unentertaining t.v., many an amusing hour can be spent flicking through Hobson-Jobson. I recommend it, and at the moment there are 38 copies from as little as a penny on Amazon. As far as my memory goes, the word Blighty means foreign. It came to be used in British India to connote things that had been brough in from Britain. For example soda water was known as Blighty pani - foreign water, and so on. Well, on that note back to Blighty it is.

We have now settled into a shore routine

2009-05-27T10:19:00.000Z

The first night ashore passed away in a drunken haze, partly fuelled by Peter's famous gin. Cafe Sport is an unforgettable bar. The highlight of the menu is probably Steak Peter, a dish designed for the hungry transatlantic sailor, which consists of two T-bone steaks. Despite being twice the distance from my cottage to my village pub, I've been to Peter's more times in the last week than I've been to my local in the last three years. This is a strange twist given the current British concerns about binge drinking.

On Thursday morning we said goodbye to AJ who had to get back to a networking event in London. After finding Cafe Sport the next two most important locations are the showers and the laundry. The lovable lady from the laundrette who reminds us of a pantomime dame has inevitably given the nickname Mrs Wishy Washy. She is trully worth her weight in Zanussi spare parts, and for about 5 Euro you get your bag full of Atlantic salt and sweet stained kit back ironed and folded!

The skipper and the mates have been engaged in various maintenance tasks and Keith has been getting his hands mucky with the engine and generator. The sailmaker has been down to look at our sails and has made a few necessary repairs. We have also bought a new tin opener which will make a major contribution to life aboard.

The Azores are a fascinating place. The Portuguese claimed and colonized these previously uninhabited islands in the 15th Century. Here is a clue to one aspect of these island's history. In 1851 Herman Melville noted the following in Moby Dick. 'Not a few whalers come from the Azores, where the Nantucket ships often cast anchor to make up their crews with the solid peasants of these rocky islands... It is not known why, but the best whalers come from among these islands.'

Findley has mainly been concerned with heavenly bodies. He has been taking the Yachtmaster Ocean Theory course and we wish him good luck for his exam on Thursday. Findley will also be doing some practical celestical navigation on the next leg prior to taking his practical examination when we get back to Portsmouth. Stokey Woodhall the famous yachtsman and delivery skipper is teaching the course. It is hard to imagine a more experienced teacher. Stokey has crossed the Atlantic thirty two times. Twenty seven of the crossings have been this way (which is generally considered the tougher of the two directions). In addition he has made ninety trips to the Azores and sailed approximately 300,000 miles.

At the weekend we went out whale watching. As well as the common and bottlenosed dolphins we were able to get a good look at a pod of sperm whales. None of us got any really good photographs but we now have a hundred extra photos of the sea. John (Keith) hired a scooter and toured the island and Keith plans to do another dive. Yesterday we went over to the neighbouring island Pico and climbed their volcano, which at 2,351 metres is the highest point in Portugal. The weather was poor however and we saw the square root of sweat f.a. (this is a technical measurement of visibility) and got absolutely drenched into the bargain.

The Azorean people are very friendly and welcoming and have been treating us very well. There was a reception on Saturday night and the trophies for the race were awarded. In my view the real victory is gettting six complete strangers, aged from twenty something to fifty something, from different walks of life and from different parts of the country, all with different levels of sailing experience, to sail 2,500 miles. The last leg was a real test of teamwork whilst living in close, and often uncomfortable, conditions. At the risk of sounding like Kurt Hahn (the founder of Outward Bound, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme and Gordonstoun School), one wonders what could be achieved in our workplaces and local communities with similar levels of co-operation.

Arriving in the Azores

2009-05-27T10:16:00.001Z

The final hours to the Azores passed relatively quickly. Someone had shouted 'land ahoy', as if in a 1950s Disney feature film and shortly after the whole crew where on deck. It would be completely accurate to report that we 'saw Pico looming above the clouds on the starboard bow. Lower lands burst forth as the sun burned away the morning fog'. However these words were penned in 1895 by Joshua Slocum as he reached the Azores, 21 days after leaving Boston.

The nine islands of the Azores archipelago are tiny needles in the 58,000 square kilometers of the Atlantic. They appear as little more than a series of dots on many maps. The islands lay 750 miles west of Portugal and are the result of 'recent' volcanic activity (that is recent in geological time, the oldest lava being a mere 4 million years old). The Azores are the most westerly point in the European Union and one of the few places in the contemporary world where more foreign visitors arrive by yacht than by aircraft. The pilot (the nautical guidebook) states that 'unlike the island in the trade wind belt, the Azores can be reached from almost any direction... Departure is slightly more limited with few yachts leaving the islands to head westwards'.

Faial is the most westerly of the central group of islands. Horta is the main town and is dominated by the harbour (38" 32' N 28" 37' .5 W). A stout yeoman stands guard at the breakwater. Denoted on the chart as Fl.R.3s20m11M, which tells the navigator to expect a flashing red light (Fl.R) every three seconds (3s) from a twenty metre structure (20m) which can be seen from a range of eleven miles (11M). The pilot suggests approaching from the north east (on a bearing of about 196 degrees).

As we entered the habour we were still living on Antigua time (UTC -4 hours) and therefore we would soon be shunted forward towards evening in the Azores. Within minutes of arrival we were greeted by Monkey and one of the other mates, who thoughtfully arrived with a case of local beer. Then followed much shaking of hands and the uttering of quaint, but familiar, British expressions along the lines of 'well done old chap' etc. etc. An atomic clock would be required the measure the length of time between us packing up and getting to Peter's (Cafe Sport).

In her autobiography ...

2009-05-19T23:12:00.003Z

... yacthswoman Lisa Clayton writes of 'drop dead gorgeous' nights crossing the ocean. Monday night was surely one of them. A black velvet ball gown studed with a thousand tiny pearls. Satelites plodding in slow arcs and occaisonally a shooting star illuminating the sky and leaving small traces of light in their wake.

We perfected the three man listening to one iPod technique in the idle hours of motoring. By 10.00 pm the wind had returned and we got the sails out. We were off again with the No.1 gib up doing about 10 knots heading
east (090 degrees).

The beard growing competition continues. However Teatime has had a shave and therefore unlikely to win the Captain Birdseye lookalikey trophy in Portsmouth next month.

We returned to living at a 45 degree angle and sliping and sliding all over the boat. I placed my wellies in a strategic position so that when the alarm went off at 2.45 am I could use the roll of the boat to eject me straight into them from my bunk. In practice I ended up landing in Dave's boots rather than my own. But I was able to say 'oh no Grommit lad, they're the wrong wellies!'

Dave re-interpreted stovies, the classic Scottish healthy eating dish, yesterday. He substituted the orthodox ingredients with corned beef and chorizo sausage. Nick Nairn should consider it for his Glasgow resturaunt, he might even get that illusive third Michelin star.

When we came back on deck at 3.00 am the skipper's watch (Dave and Keith) had Juno singing along at 11 knots. A much welcome sun arose to light the sea as about 30 dolphins played in our wake. We imagined folks at home
tucking into bacon sandwiches, made with fresh bread.

We pressed on to the east and put in a reef around 6.00 and changed over watches.

We are steadily battling on to Horta (241 miles to go) where, amongst other things, we plan to buy a new tin opener. As far as we can tell we are in 4th place. My view is that there is little point in rushng. There are still
plenty of tins of corned beef, and more time at sea means both more time in the old log book, and a fuller beard.

Message from Findlay

Hi Anne, Fiona and Fin,

Writing this at 45 degrees - good wind force 6 on the nose. Expect to reach
Horta late tomorrow or Thursday. Seen lots of dolphins, a whale and a
shark!Looking forward to a shower and a beer in Porta. Everything ok here -
hope you'e all well and thigs good at home. Misssing you all. Love
Findlay,xxxx

2009-05-18T22:49:00.000Z

Far too busy to blog recently. They say a little suffering is good for the

soul. Here is our news in brief.

Tueday: We were hit by the same squawl as Minerva after tea. We got the

sails in fairly quicky and ripped along with gusts above 22 knots. A quieter

night followed with beautiful blue pearls of phospheresent water molecules

lapping astern of the boat.

Wednesday: The highight was seeing both mates at the top of the mast

carrying out repairs and doing checks. We cooked some of the remaining fresh

food and could see Minerva in the distance.

Thursday: The Juno beard growing contest continues. The very energentic A

Team, Findlay and Teatime (our first mate, who cannot be killed by

convenional weapons) have managed to sing all of the Beatles' back

catelogue, from 'All You Need is Love' through to 'Yesterday'. They have now

started on Queen numbers.

Friday: And more suffering must be even better for the soul. It is doing

exactly what it says on the tin - the Atlantic is challenging us. Very big

seas, grey horizons and lots of spray. Keith (John) Workman has his birthday

at a 45 degree angle. Family and friends text to wish him well and we baked

him a cake. He has a single dark and stormy (rum cocktail) to celebrate,

whilst the rest of the crew looked on enviously.

Saturday: Still heading east (90 degrees) in big seas, being thrown around

the boat. Dave, in his clinical opinion, suggets that trenchfoot is a real

possibilty. A whale passed along the length of the port side of the boat,

about 1 metre from the guard rails! The skipper was on watch and later

described this near sighting as 'interesting'. In addition we've seen two

sharks, various sea birds and a few schools of dolphins. There has been much

wonderment and speculation regarding football results and we are not sure

who the other Champion's League finalist are? Will we be in a bar with a tv

in Horta in time for the final?

Sunday: Findlay took control of the porridge and was awared 10 out of 10.

By mid-day we had 570 miles to go. The skipper pointed out that this was

close to the 24 hour record, which we think is held by the Hugo Boss team.

As well as being quick those guys must smell good as well. The sea state has

calmed a bit and travel is a little more comfortable.

Monday: We shook out one of the reefs at 3.00am with 420 miles to go. Making

progress. The morning was busy. Some technical problems saw Keith (John)

putting his marine engineering skills to good use. We also experienced

damage to the headsail and had to get the No. 3 gib up. Shortly after a

change of tactics saw the No.1 gib come into action. Alas, the wind has

since died and the iron sail is taking us forward. There has been some

discussion of our WAGs at home and we've had some news and good wishes,

which are much appreciated. Next stop the Azores.

Hello again from Juno

2009-05-16T01:13:00.000Z

Well we're having a great time chasing down Minerva in great wind conditions. Saw whales yesterday and everyone is having a great time.

Love and best wishes are send to all the folks back home

Juno and the crew!

Hello from Juno

2009-05-14T18:56:00.001Z

All is well onboard the good ship Juno, we had a rough night with 35kts of wind and rain and a 180 degree wind shift, but with all this going on we managed to make 10miles on the fleet. We're catching slowly but surely.

Today things are getting back to normal with routine cleaning and cooking. though the fishing has not improved, we think Minerva has trawled the ocean in front of us.

Moral is high and we are eager to go faster and faster. Each day is learning day, but today we put it all to the test.

Love from all the crew onboard and Juno herself and thanks for all your messages of encouragement.

Attention all families and friends

2009-05-13T07:30:00.002Z

Here is the shipping forecast issued by Vernon 'Windy' Gayle on 12th May at 16.00.

The general synopsis at 16.00; High Azores 1022 milibars stationary. The area forecast for the next 20 minutes. South westerly, 3, smooth, good.

Now here is the news from Juno.

The headlines.

After 40 hours of motoring the sails are back up. Full main, with poled out headsail (dont tell the others) and the skipper has called a moratorium on drinking ginger ale.

And now the news in brief.

The chaps took a brief swim at 29" 31' N 58" 12' W, arguably the deepest swimming pool between Antigua and the Azores. A fairly clear night followed with the 3 am watch seeing a beautiful shooting star cascade through the
northen sky. There have been no futher whale sightings however. Dave and AJ are due to deliver their interpretation of the classic dish spaghetti bolognese later this evening.

And finally, we hope to bring you more on the ginger ale story as it emerges.

That concludes the news from Juno.

Messages: Fin- Anne,Fi and Fin - thanks for the message, how's things at home? Good day today, love Findlay.xxx.ps wish my mum a good holiday!

So no wind therefore no joy

2009-05-11T23:32:00.002Z

Well actually your wrong, the Juno bus has had a beautiful sunny morning, only to be followed by what can only be described as the most delicious blue cheese salad fondoo - Kudos on that Vern and Findlay.

After choosing a very sensible couple of hours to let the food digest, we abandoned ship to see what it would be like to actually do a 'Man Overboard' excercise, plus the added delight of staring down at the deep abyss, only to be scared and scramble back onboard.

Oh.... and the school of baby portuguese men of war weren't to pleasant either!

Morale is very high as the Juno boys do what we do.

Fin- Everything great, love to Anne, Fiiona and Fin - good luck on your exams Fin xxx.
Vern- is back in the galley so no news but beef stew.
Dave - loving it so cant be bothered , talk soon though.x
t_time - If anyones listening, the 5th just as great as the 1st, send my love to the edgar clan, that means all of them!! - Skype you soon. dave x

John- Enjoying every minute! love to all.

Loving your text messages guys- keep them coming!!

Thanks

Hello from Juno

2009-05-09T15:24:00.000Z

Juno is having some technical difficulties which mean she is unable to send emails at the moment. However, shore support for the race have spoken to the skipper daily and all is well onboard.

As with the other yachts, they have had a bit of a bumpy first 2 days but this morning the wind has begun to ease off and those who have been suffering from sea sickness are beginning to tuck into the provisioning again.

We will keep you updated with any news as it comes in.