Trans Atlantic 2002 "Stormy has Landed !"
Lagos Portugal to Canary Islands
| Date | From | Quote of the Day |
| Mar 22 | Wayne | "YES!!!!
We landed tonight @ 9 pm local time!!! I'd like to thank my
wonderful wife Edie for letting me do this, and Stormy for giving her very
best yet again!"
Departure Data: As of press time, Wayne's scheduled to return to Wisconsin in mid-April. |
| Kevin | "Where
are the showers!?!?!?" After 21 days sans showers, the
challenge is staying upwind of the others. Hot showers are well
deserved and will be well received.
Departure Data: As of press time, Kevin's scheduled to return to NY for Easter. |
|
| Dave | "Great
trip and great to be on solid ground!!"
Departure Data: As of press time, Dave's scheduled to return to Vegas for Easter. |
|
| Mar 21 | Wayne | "Yesterday
the bread was done, today the autopilot was done and the spinnaker was
done...good thing the trip is almost done!" The autopilot and
spinnaker both went caput today, making the prospect of land much more
meaningful.
Breaking News: Only 146 miles to go (as of 1 pm 3-21-02)!! When will they arrive? Place your bets!!! |
| Mar 20 | Wayne | "Voila!!!!"
Said Captain Wayne, as he wowed the troops yet again with his fresh baked
bread!!!
Reminder: Send in your guess on when Stormy will reach Tortola (see Mar 19 entry). |
| Mar 19 | Crew | Typical
Day on Board: Saw a whale, took a swim, launched Sweet Princess (our
dingy), killed engine for daily oil check, and flew Big Blue!
In other news, Stormy's within 600 miles from land!!! Captain and Crew are taking bets on when they'll arrive. They invite YOU to join in, as well. Email "jspangler@nuvasive.com" to log your entry. The winner gets a day sailing with Stormy (you just have to get down to Tortola to collect!!!). |
| Mar 18 | Dave | "4
- 3 - 2 - 1 - Blastoff!!!" Normally used for rocket take-off,
this phrase takes on special significance for Stormy due to engine
trouble. After shutting her down for the daily oil check,
everyone was thrilled when it re-started without incident!
In other news, Big Blue is Back!!! As you may recall, our beloved spinnaker suffered a colossal tear during our last trip. Although the repair job look like a big smile on the sail, it worked like a champ. |
| Mar 17 | Kevin | "If St. Patrick had a diesel, he wouldn't have been able to drive the snakes out of Ireland OR charge his batteries!!!" Stormy's having more engine troubles, but (after many hours in the hole) it's up and running again. |
| Mar 16 | Kevin | "We finally had to do some work." Stormy's auto pilot “Big Al” packed it up, leaving Captain and Crew to do some hand steering until small auto-helm unit could be put into use. Listen |
| Mar 15 | Wayne | The “Skunks nest” (or aft stateroom for all other mariners) is like a teak flying cocktail shaker. We’ve got rough sleeping weather. Listen |
| Mar 14 | Kevin | "Hey little fishy, fly away to freedom." He found a live flying fish on the deck he returned it to the ocean hoping this image would garner approval from the animal rights activist that follow us on stormyduchess.com. It is not clear whether he gave the flying fish mouth-to-mouth resuscitation – Kevin denies he did . Listen |
| Mar 13 | Wayne | While watching for a whale, a wave as big as Lambeau field came behind us. We got blindsided by a wave we named Ray Nitschke. Listen |
| Mar 12 | Kevin | “Whale ho! Killer whale breaches and dives under the bow of Stormy duchess”. Listen |
| Mar 11 | ||
| Kevin | "If you think that's good, watch me parallel park her." Kevin drew accolades from Wayne and Dave as he skillfully maintained Stormy into the wind during high seas and heavy wind while Dave and Wayne dropped sails. | |
| Wayne | "We're temporarily suspending all floggings until we reach Tortola, where Kevin and Dave will get extra rounds of grog." Editor's Note: It makes no sense to me, either. | |
| Mar 10 | Wayne | "It's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together..." Marching squalls have caused Stormy to surf up and down increasing seas, providing a "sleigh ride" impression. Stormy topped out at 9.2 knots today during one such surfing episode. |
| Mar 9 | ||
| Crew | "Happy Half Way!!!" Stormy passed the halfway point to Tortola, leaving Captain and Crew rightfully proud and in high spirits. | |
| Kevin | "Wayne in Wonderland." Captain Wayne had to go into the "hole" (engine compartment) twice today to tweak the transmission...never a fun task, especially during high seas. | |
| Mar 8 | ||
| Dave | "OUCH!!!" Dave hip-checked the stove during heavy seas, drawing a 2 minute penalty and (even more painful) a 2 hour repair job. Without it: No hot food and NO FUN! | |
| Wayne | "Get your sleep while you can, laddies." Sour weather is expected in the coming days, bringing 30 knot winds and 18 foot seas. | |
| Mar 7 | Dave | "Are we there yet?" Only 1836 miles left to go to St. Maartin! Captain Wayne estimates arrival around March 21st. We'll see! |
| Mar 6 | Kevin | "Should we toss out more yarn to the lion cub?" Editor's interpretation: Kevin either: (a) wants more wind; or (b) has lost his marbles. |
| Mar 5 | Wayne | "It was a sew-sew day." Stormy suffered a tear in the Yankee, causing Captain and Crew to resort to Betsy Ross tactics. |
| Mar 4 | Dave | "Splice the main brace!" Ralphie-boy's back from being seasick and badder than ever! |
| Mar 3 | Stormy | "Thanks Dad!" That was Stormy's response after Captain and Crew let out the reef in the main and opened up both jibs, causing her to shoulder into the wind like she does best! |
| Mar 2 | Dave | "All that goes down, must come up!" Dave (or, more appropriately "Ralph") is a wee bit seasick. |
| Mar 1 | Stormy | We headed out from Tenerife bright and early this morning, with Captain and Crew happy and well fed...for now. |
| Feb 28 | Edie | "Sure is warm here in Wisconsin!" |
| Kevin | "Where's Edie?" | |
| Dave | "What did I get myself into?!?!?" | |
| Feb 27 | ||
| Crew | "We're off to see the Wizard...or, rather, the airport!" Stormy headed from Grand Canary to Tenerife to get ready to drop off Edie (for a 2:45 am flight!) and pick up Dave Charron. | |
| Feb 26 | Kevin | "Great people on Grand Canary. No black eyes...yet." |
| Edie | "I've enjoyed our sprightly sail from Portugal, but I am also looking forward to returning back to the warmth of my fireplace in Wisconsin, as originally planned, on Thursday. I'll let Dave Charron take the easy leg across the pond!" | |
| Wayne | "We're enjoying our last day on Grand Canary before heading to Tenerife to drop off Edie and pick up Dave Charron on Thursday." | |
| Feb 25 | Wayne | "After racing to the Canaries (involuntarily due to high wind!), we're relaxing on the Island of Grand Canary. A truly lovely place and lovely time." |
| Feb 24th | Edie | “The Canaries are beautiful! And warmer, too!” |
| Wayne | “Fantastic first leg (Lagos to Canaries) and, although chilly at times, no mutiny by the crew! We’re enjoying Grand Canary and looking forward to shipping out for Leg II (Canaries to Tortola) by the end of the week.” | |
| Feb 23rd | Kevin | "Shout out to family and friends! Leg I down and all is well." |
| Feb 22nd | Staff | No quote today, as they claimed they didn't want to sell out
with a "Quote of the Day" every day.
[Staff Comment: We believe hypothermia is affecting their brain function.] Spirits are high, although temperatures are not. |
| Feb 21st | Wayne | "Having traveled 477 miles in 3 days, we're astride a 3,200 pound jackrabbit!" |
| Feb 20th | Staff | "The dolphins are beginning to look more like penguins! As the crew is too cold to leave a quote" |
| Feb 19th | Kevin | "What's with all this wind? As I recall, trans-Atlantic crossings were supposed to be flat and calm!" |
| Feb 18th | Wayne | "It's BEAUTIFUL to be sailing again!!!" |