Spirit of Isis - Ondeck Atlantic Challenge 2009

Welcome to our final blog aboard Isis

2009-06-05T20:34:00.000Z

We have had a happy, eventful and memorable journey from the Azores. With Skipper Luiz ensuring our early and prompt arrival despite attempts from others to use delaying tactics we hope to arrive safely into Portsmouth in the early hours of Saturday morning. We have been advised that although the pubs maybe closed when we arrive, there is a 24 hour tesco where we can obtain urgent supplies.

Landfall was first spotted yestrday at 18.00 GMT in the form of Wolf Rock which is located SW of Lands End. We have travelled along the coast and have needed to motorsail at times to counter the Easterly winds, (where have the prevailing south westerlies gone when you need them???) and also tacked to mid channel for more favourable tides and winds. This blog is currently being brought to you from 50* 29 N 001* 51 W which for those of you without a chart is just south of Anvil Point near Swanage, Dorset.

The mood on board Isis has been that of excitement, some of us have been at sea (with an enforced stop) since 7th of May and we are all looking forward to seeing family and friends, sleeping in a bed that doesn't move and not cooking and eating at 45 degrees. We will of course miss Kens Cafe and its culinary delights.....

The passage as been a fantastic experience; the professionalism of the skipper has ensured a safe crossing with plenty of fun at the same time. If you get the chance ask for Luiz!!!!

News flash........ At 19.55 GMT We are passing Bournemouth, Sunny Sunny Bournemouth, and all the crew would like to take this opportunity to congratulate AFC Bournemouth in staying in the football league.

The Pigeon Has Gone

2009-06-04T20:16:00.001Z

The Pigeon has gone :( at 6.33 pm gmt today percy the pigeon left the blue box of death and headed of into a uncertain future.

We believe its departure was unplanned! Thanks to Neil the message man we received intel this morning that Percy is a racing pigeon from NE Dublin, we have reported his presence aboard ISIS and he has now been disqualified from the 2009 ARP (Atlantic Race for Pigeons).

Isis is currently located at 49* 38 N 005* 57 W with 177 miles to go to the needles. Our current eta is late hours friday night going into early hours saturday morning weather dependent! Although it is not a race we are pleased to announce Isis has taken the lead by over 30 miles on its rivals.

Isis is currently sitting at 30* with 16 knots of wind on the nose, There has been plenty of boat slamming today as the sea started to build but Maureen now holds the record with 7 slams in a row, Prize giving will be held for isis in tiger tiger saturday evening we hope to see you all there!

Breaking News just in T-boy declined the offer of a cup of tea!

Message from Cas: Mr B: if we get in Friday please book a hotel room as I'm desperate (for a shower). xxx

Message from ollie: Hey sophie hope all is well, should b in early saturday morning burger kings located behind spinaker tower thank you, lots of love xxx

Hurrah - the sextant six now know where we were yesterday at noon

2009-06-03T20:05:00.000Z

but they have no idea about where we are now. Luckily the gps shows us at 48* 24N 009* 36W for our avid followers.

Thanks for the tipoff, we are avoiding u-boats!

We have an urgent announcement, at 0900 this morning, position 47* 23N 010* 43W we were joined by a racing pigeon we have named Percy. His unique ID number is IHU08 S65078. Bagpuss has assigned him a berth and ships ration and he is showing signs of remaining on board until Portsmouth. Luiz has requested his passport ready for immigration... If anyone can contact the owner, please advise Percy should be making land Friday evening.

Its been a fab weather day and Minerva have disappeared to our stern (maybe too afraid to join todays match racing). We are all relaxing and looking forward to a cold beer and a flat dry bed :)

PS we saw an airplane today and a big ship has just been spotted. Considering raising the skull and crossbones!

Greetings again from Isis

2009-06-02T21:32:00.000Z

located at 46.05N 012.38W. Today was a day of fun and games in zero gravity conditions. T-boy discovered the 45 degree leaning walk which lead to the 45 degree leaning dance. Bagpuss won the prize wth her extended headstand, which meant Julian was temporarily unable to exit the head. Videos will be published on Youtube.

A second Lessie has been awarded to Julian for his crunchy coffee. Julio, our Italian chef was unimpressed with mama mia's breakfast concoction of canned spagetti and baked beans. (note to budding entrepeuers: canned spagetti is unavailable in Italy and there is potential for growth.) Mo was inducted into the 45 degree cooking club with her awesome chili con carne, (disproving the Isis urban legend that all meals must be served with Piri Piri). The fireblanket was use to season the pot.

All four of the sextant six were on deck starring at the sun. It was discovered that our current position is somewhere between the Arctic Circle and Uruguay. Remedial classes have been scheduled. The dual wih Minerva continues with multiple lead changes, with Isis currenty holding the lead. Vhf trash talk continues.

The Atlantic series of backgammon 2009 will be completed in Portsmouth due to prevailing conditions of instability. Tarot rummy is the new game of choice in the casino, open 24 hours, weather permitting.

Watch this space for further arrival details.

Quack Quack x

Ahoy! From Isis

2009-06-01T22:28:00.001Z

A day of happiness and sadness, a birth and a death.... Today Capn Tom reached 27 and celebrated with a Portuguese Sailors Cake and no wine.

Alas today also saw the death of a little swallow named Suzie. She spent a few last happy hours on board Isis in her own outdoor piece of heaven (our old melon box), tended to by the crew with food and water. RIP Suzie. But nothing goes to waste and she followed the fate of the mahi mahi and is in the pot! Only joking to any members of the RSPB reading this, a proper sea burial was held.

We are currently at 44* 26N 16* 08W and meandering up the french coast Its been a full on match race day against Minerva, ending with Isis taking the lead and restoring Atlantic sailing equilibrium. The first Lessie for Helmsmanship goes to Minerva who proudly managed to present both port and starboard broadsides during a 10 minute period. We await news of who is receiving the award.

Who won the fa cup? Answers via text please!

Team rainbow superfriends have now become Luchadores del Muerto.... also answers via text please.

ETA is showing Friday with 700 miles to go and we are trying our best to get home soon.... still looking forward to texts from home and seeing that first beer being poured.

A few messages home:

hey sophie hope all is well, thanks for txts miss u 2, expect u to be waiting for me on the pontoon with a burger king friday evening thank u lots of love ollie x

Hi you too - looking forward to seeing you Friday, Ken xxx

Hey Mr b, missing u loads, hope u can b there if we get in friday, lots of love mousebrain xxx

To all our Isis fans out there - WE ARE BACK

2009-05-31T17:11:00.002Z

And needless to say we are showing our rear to the rest of the boats ... yeah its not a race.

Apologies for the tardiness of our first leg 2 blog but once again Barry has been working overtime keeping up with demands (for newbies to this blog, Barry is our resident bucket). We welcome to the boat Maureen, Guilio, Julian, Rob and Peter. Due to increase in berthing requirements, Kens Cafe is running a reduced seating facility and will now only be available when Mo is on watch... The original hardcore sailors out of Antigua (Luiz, lankie, capn Tom, t-boy, bagpus and new watch leader Ken) continue on their quest to sail the Atlantic and find the buried treasure behind the bar at Tiger Tiger...... we hope to see you all there and are hoping for an early weekend arrival. We all miss Pri - hope you are having a great time - its lovely weather here and we are all sunbathing and dining regularly on fine foods and wine. See you soon :)

Still no mermaids to report but we are keeping a sharp lookout. Dolphins aplenty and according to lankie, a penguin-riding variety has been spotted.... maybe too much of t-boys nuclear curry has effected his sight. Still looking out for the sharks spotted by Juno but sightings are starting to lack credibility now (bit like the pirate sightings from Diana).

ps capn toms watch has now been named the rainbow superfriends watch. We will keep you posted on the reasons but clue may be in the title.......

Thats all for today, catch you again from comms corner, Isis.

Hello from 45 degrees

2009-05-16T15:45:00.000Z

Thanks Harvey for the backgammon starting positions. This blog is being dispatched at 34* 34.45N 044* 53.65W and at an angle of 45*. We have been heeling over like this for the past 24 hours although it seems longer. I am sleeping on the side of the boat, it is fortunate that Im on the port side, those on starboard are only prevented from crashing out of their bunks by a piece of plastic. The angle of heel makes everything hard work, from trying to climb out of the bunk then jumping down whilst the floor pitches beneath. Its like being on a non stop rollercoaster. Tea is now served in half cups due to the amount of water missing the cup, this is only the start of the adventure. Next the cup must be carried on to the deck by climbing some steps then passed to a crew mate, by the time it arrives at its destination there is barely a sip left. Even sitting down is a challenge, as due to the heel you are in fact standing up at all times. Captain Luiz assures us that this is just a taste of things to come! Just a short time ago, whilst relaxing in Ken's Cafe a naked apparition in the form of Les proceded to launch himself at me after exiting the heads following a luxury hot water shower, (my correspondant advises me that this has happened on the previous occasion when showering was permitted).

We have lost track of all time and what day it is, there is no clock on board so to remember when the next watch starts entails a complex mathmatical procedure. Although we are steadily moving east we have not adjusted the watch pattern, this means the sun is setting mid afternoon and rising in the middle of the night which is quite disorientating when combined with everything else.

Other noteable events included a spectacular display from some dolphins, who delighted in performing for us.

Due to the prevailing weather conditions and the fact that we hve run out of fresh supplies the standard of fare offered at Kens Cafe has declined somewhat, the soup of the day was "Yellow salty"

Thank you all for your text messages which have become a highlight of our days.

Hey sophie hope all is well and Greetings again Wyatts thanks for the texts, Mum im not going to lie the hair cut's pretty bad, lots of love Olliexxx

Yesterday started ...

2009-05-15T08:06:00.000Z

... with the now customary stress of where to find some shade. With high temperatures, lethargy reduced deck games to backgammon and an urgent request goes out from Dave to anyone who knows the starting board setup - please advise. With the wind behind us and the sails set forward the only way Pri and Cas could come up with a way to cool down, was to hang off the stern in an improvised car seatbelt. Very refreshing but not for the faint hearted!

However the day ended dramatically with the onset of heavy winds and rain. It was all hands on deck to gybe to our new course and reset the sails. As darkness set, the good ship Isis resumed ocean racing and forged across the black sea.

The necessary change in tack after 7 days resulted in chaos in both the galley and bunks as we now heel to starboard. The new found stresses have resulted in increased levels of fatigue and a more strictly adhered to watch rota. Kens Cafe however continues to operate and it was Mexican on the menu for dinner.

To mark the half way point of the journey and to squeeze some alcohol out of the captain, Cas and Ollie rustled up rum and raisin fudge, laced with mount gay. Fumes were potent, but not as potent as the final product which brought a smile to everyones faces.

We are currently at 33* 26.69' N 049* 15.34' W for those still keeping up. Winds are favourable and after a night of strong squalls of rain, it is now dry, warm(ish) and pleasant on deck.

To all friends and family - everyone is well, fed and happy (especially the fudge eaters). Please keep up sending us your texts as we all look forward to them!

Over and out from Cas & Dave

Welcome back

2009-05-13T21:53:00.001Z

and a big thank you all your texts and feedback on our blogs! We are currently located at 32* 40.54' N 053* 45.32 W and we are sailing again. Finally after 30 hours, a call was made to the gods to herald some wind, although initial erroneous calls to Neptune resulted in no wind but the sighting of a whale! Jedi Knot Master Ken set us right with the correct god of wind, Aeolius and we have been reaching 12 knots ever since.

The lull in the wind enabled the luxury showers to be opened, but only for one lucky crew member. No it wasn't Tom who has been extoling his philosophies on cleanliness - showering ruins the equilibrium of dirtiness and showering only means you are going to get dirty again.

One crew member volunteered to be the model for Cas, who been apppointed new assistant stylist and a training session was held by the concession holder on deck. T-Boy Barbers is now offering highlights and full shaving services.

Canapes were served at 1300 by luscious Les, and Kens Cafe Daily Special was beef stew with dauphinoise potatoes.

The crew are now settling into a nice routine and have finally mastered Captain Luiz complicated watch scheme - 3 hours on and 4.5 hours off....(most of which are spent sleeping). A copy of the watch can be ordered from the Roster Clerk / Cas soduku book.

Todays discovery was that a cookie monster is amongst us! Lanky has been discovered hiding all the ships biscuit rations in his bunk. Maybe it was to keep Tigger fed.....

Sorry for the late blog but Barry the buckets facilities were back by popular demand.

More later from Dave and Cas Comms Corner

Note from the editor -Hello to everyone back home and thank you for all your messages, locations are always put in the blog so you can track our progress - Dave

Greetings from the good ship Isis!

2009-05-12T10:27:00.002Z

We are becalmed in the Bermuda Triangle. After a splendid meal of Mahi Mahi last night the mist came down and mysterious happenings occured aboard ... watches stopped and a ghost galleon was sighted off the port bow (maybe a fishing vessel in disguise). Ken was transformed into an eight legged helmsman and an alien invaded Dave's body - or was it just wind! We hope we are still in the same dimension and you are able to receive this blog.

The crew have made good use of the weather. Captain Luiz opened the outside swimming pool for a refreshing swim with the jellyfish. Unfortunately racing conditions took precedence and the pool was closed when the nearest rival approached. However in true formula 1 style, enough of a gap had been created by team strategist Luiz to allow for this quick pitstop and still emerge ahead of the competition.

Today's activities commenced with a full English breakfast, courtesy of Ken's Cafe in the outdoor dining area with a beautiful backdrop of the crystal clear waters of the Atlantic. Portuguese lessons were replaced by a demonstration of the sextant followed by knotting lessons with Mr Tom. Face painting completed the days activities.

For information, we are now offering a duty free service - currently located at 29* 52.51' N 058* 00.72' W. If you require tobacco or rum - see Pri.

To finish today's blog, a few notes home from the crew of Isis:

"Greetings Wyatt family. Having a lovely time swimming in the Atlantic. Eating very well. Hope to see you all soon", Ollie

"Having a brilliant time, loads of love to Katie and June", Ken

"Hi to my dear family! I am having a nice time, swimming in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, beautiful sunrises and sunsets! I am loving it! Miss you everyone, xoxoxo", Pri

"Mr B! Having a fantastic time, missing you loads, listening to Muse, call u asap xxx" mousebrain

"To all my friends and family, still alive - having an amazing time. See you in Portsmouth!", Cas

"I'm on a boat", Tom

Welcome back to Cas and Daves Comms Corner!

2009-05-11T13:13:00.001Z

Another successful day's sailing albeit more leisurely. However facilities continue to expand aboard the good ship Spirit of Isis. Today Portuguese language classes started at 1400 with an introduction to common dining phrases. Classes will continue throughout the rest of the voyage on the upper deck. Please contact Pri for further information.

In Kens Cafe the dish of the day is Fresh Roasted Mahi Mahi with garlic and lime. Ken's keen eye spotted the unfortunate fish which was caught, (photographed), gutted and cooked within minutes. All recipes in the blogs are available in Kens Cafe Cookbook (cooking at 45 degrees).

For information Ken has recently opened a Lost Property Department, located on the lower deck.

T-Boy Barbers opened with its first customer First Mate Ollie and the new haircut took years off him. He is now worried about being served in Horta. Bookings can now be made with T-Boy on Channel 77. The new location of T-Boy Barbers is 27* 57.97' N 058* 46.58' W.

Captain Luiz hosted the inaugural Sundowners Cocktail Party at 1800. Freshly prepared fruit cocktails and canapes were served to the backdrop of a beautiful cloud free sunset.

Back soon with more news from Isis and her crew.

Welcome to our first blog from Isis

2009-05-09T21:48:00.001Z

After a flying start out of Antigua, we are settling into life aboard this luxury vessel. Last night saw the official opening of Ken's Cafe and the first meal of pork stew, served on a bed of new potatoes (lightly salted). Ken's Cafe will be open daily from 0600 to 0559 serving a selection of teas, coffees and our local speciality - Les's libation. If you would like to join us in this experience, take one kettle of boiling water (from the sea water tap), add tea, a dash of milk and sugar to taste. Sit back and savour this true Caribbean delight, and the look on fellow partakers as they try to discover the mystery ingredient.

Other facilities aboard include T-boy Dave's Barbershop, believed to be the most remote barbers and currently located at 24* 36.14' N 059* 47.62' W and T-boy is taking appointments from 0600 tomorrow. Sorry but 1st customer status has already been to First Mate Ollie - pictures to follow..... Pri's Fancy Dress Boutique has a wide selection of costumes for the discerning pirate. For any costume adjustments visit Cas' Haberdashery on the first floor. Please note due to height of bunk, no disabled access currently in place. Other facilities will be opening as required, and details will be posted via this blog.

Luxury bathing facilities were available for the first time between the hours of 1100 and 1230 - we are hoping that the gimbal enhancement will be implemented in the near future.

Regarding the wildlife outside the vessel, 2 flying fish independently committed a kamikaze manouvre and having no boarding permission were not afforded customary burial rights and were flung back. Sea turtles and dolphins have been sighted but alas not close enough to end up as the daily special at Ken's Cafe.

Back sometime soon from Cas & Daves comms corner.