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DotDun · 24-11-2014, 05:11

If you are interested in watching The Larrikin's (Gordon) Atlantic crossing.....

Track the Atlantic Odyssey boats - Cornell Sailing

DotDun · 24-11-2014, 11:29

Gordon is doing good! Helia is the lead boat!!!

Over 300nm ahead of the closest Lagoon!!!

(who said Helia is a slow boat?)

wongai64 · 24-11-2014, 12:51

Thanks for the post DotDun.. I hope larrikin has a mast cam for some future YouTube posts

Fair winds to you Gordon

Once freedom has exploded in the soul of a man, the gods have no more power over him -
Jean-Paul Sartre

cwjohm · 24-11-2014, 13:28

7.8 kn average speed. I would think that Parasailor is getting a good workout.

DotDun · 26-11-2014, 05:25

Gordon is still doing well....

monte · 12-12-2014, 22:01

Congratulations to Gordon, Louise and crew Phil. An awesome achievement crossing the Atlantic from Lanzarote to Martinique, approx 3000M in around 18 days under testing conditions which included light headwinds for the first few days, followed by a low pressure system with 35K westerlies and 4m+ swell, followed by constant squalls. Yes the parasailor got a workout but Gordon, Lou and Phil kept up the pace with several 200M+ days. A credit to them all and also to the Helia as a safe, comfortable and fast passage maker. No equipment failure or injuries and all arrived well fed thanks to the 42kg marlin and in good spirits.
It was a pleasure for us to spend time with the larrikin crew and all the other boats and crew that took part in the Atlantic odyssey. The event was really well organised and far surpassed any of the participants expectations. Most of the yachts have now arrived with the exception of a few that had to divert to Cape Verde for repairs. Average crossing time around 22 days.

DotDun · 13-12-2014, 18:45

Gordon, we're waiting to hear the details!!!

Gordon · 13-12-2014, 21:37

Thanks Monte for your kind words, we are currently on our return home to Aus for Christmas with family. I will post a report from The Larrikin once home . Cheers to all and thanks for your support. Also for those Ausi cat lovers there may be a short story published in the Australian Multihull World Magazine soon also.
Cheers Gordon.

Gordon · 14-12-2014, 06:52

We departed Lanzarote on November16th with 33 other boats. A mixture of catamarans (9), and yachts(25), set sail with much anticipation and an air of excitement, and there we were, crossing the start with our ParaSailor chute flying and the Odyssey Team and many other spectators waving us off. It was a fun start to an amazing voyage for the three of us on The Larrikin.
We took 18 days to complete the crossing from Lanzarote to Martinique.
The conditions were light as we set out however through observing the latest weather forecast downloaded through our IridiumGo it was decided that we would head west to meet up with a pressure system that would push us south.

Friends had told us, and it was also reinforced in the discussion groups with Jimmy Cornell and the Odyssey team, that if you had sufficient fuel it would be wise to use it to get yourself as close to the Trade-winds as quickly as possible. So we motor sailed west for a day and a half until the front kicked in. And we certainly knew when it kicked in! It was a lovely strong wind of 15 to 20kts allowing us to sail at 60 - 70 degrees. Before long we were doing 8 - 9 knots in a strong, consistent wind. We felt like we were flying and after 6 days we were into the Trade-winds at a position 20N and 30W which is about 250nm from Cape Verde. We took down the main and headsail and sailed for the next 11days on just the ParaSailor spinnaker. What an amazing sail!

The ParaSailor setup on the He'lia makes for very easy management underway. We sailed between 120 degrees either side and dead downwind leaving the sail up day and night. We only experienced two or three squalls and with the apparent building up toward 28kts we just released the bow downhauls a meter or so to release some of the pressure. The boat was sailing along at up to 15.5kt and very stable.

Down wind the crew were able to relax as we settled into a good routine for our night watches and daytime activities. Dinner was usually around 7pm. First watch was Lou 8-11pm, Phil 11-2am, Gordon 2-5am then Lou again 5-8am. By that stage Gordon and Phil were up for the day and Lou generally caught another few hours sleep. The days were fine, the wind around 15-20 knots and our average speed 9-10 knots. We did two 200 nm days in a row. Then the wind dropped slightly but it was still consistent as the miles disappeared and our destination got closer.

We saw dolphins and sea birds and one of the highlights of the trip was when we were joined by two Minke whales who swam around our boat for about two hours. It was a very special moment. In the lighter conditions we trolled a lure and were rewarded with a few Mahi Mahi and a magnificent Blue Marlin. Life on board was busy but very relaxed and lots of fun.

Throughout the passage we were making our own water and solar was keeping the batteries charged during the day. We ran the generator for a few hours in the early morning to maintain battery charge as during the night we were using all the instruments, radar and the A/P as well as running two fridges and a freezer.

We carried around 600 ltrs of fuel and arrived after crossing a distance of 2946nm with 150 ltrs remaining, having used the engines for heating the water and motor sailing during the light wind periods. The boat performed beautifully with no breakages or major problems. We now have a total of just under 10,000nm.

The use of the IridiumGo on board satellite router was amazing allowing us to e-mail, txt or talk using our iPad or smartphone from anywhere on the boat. We communicated with the Cornell Rally Control and downloaded weather gribs every 12 hrs viewing this using Weather4D Pro app. We found this to be very accurate. We also communicated by email with family and friends as well as some of the other boats. In this way we were able to share our adventure and keep updated on the rest of the fleets progress as well as happenings at home in Australia.

On our final day as we approached Martinique, we had visual contact with another boat that had been chasing us for the last 17 days. There was much excitement and chat over the radio as we approached the finish line and it was decided with the Italian owner of the German Frere 53 (Hallberg Rassy built) that 'in the spirit of the Odyssey' we would cross the finish line together. Both boats flew their spinnaker for a spectacular finish. We were the first boats to arrive in Martinique with the bulk of the group arriving some five to seven days later!

mgstich · 14-12-2014, 12:24

Wow, Gordon, what a great sail you had on The Larrikin! Frank (onthehook17) and I read your account with great interest and a bit of envy as we are still landlocked and are living vicariously until we move onto our Helia.

Can you please tell me a bit about your IridiumGo -
1. Did you install another antenna or are you using the standard antenna that came with the IridiumGo?
2. If you do use only the antenna included with the IridiumGo, do you just place it near the nav station?

Again, congratulations on a fabulous voyage! It sounds wonderful and we hope to have similar experiences in the near future.

mg