In the Miraflores upper lock

Shot from 1217, local time; Wild T in front, rafted with a darker-hulled boat.  You can just make out the two white-t-shirt-wearing blobs of Johan and Heidi up by the dinghy.

The boat has cleared the upper Miraflores lock.  The webcam seems to be a bit overloaded at the moment (between Wild T fans, and World ARC fans, we're probably giving their servers more traffic than they were designed to handle!) and is only updating every 5-10 minutes.  The last of the ARC boats are almost out of the upper lock, so once they've all tied up again & the lock cycles... they'll be in the Pacific at last. 

 - the WTWG

Wild T is in the Miraflores lock...

...and you couldn't ask for a better picture.  Will upload some shortly (I'm busy taking screenshots), but she'll be there at least as long as it takes to load the rest of the flotilla into the the lock, and then cycle the lock, so maybe another 10-15 minutes.  Very cool.

...and passing the bridge

There she is, center left.  (You can spot her by the dark blue blob of the dinghy on the bow, dark sail cover and a hint of the mizzen mast.)

Next up is the Pedro Miguel lock (which has no camera) followed by the Miraflores locks.  The direct link to the Miraflores camera is:

http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html?cam=MirafloresHi

Will post anything I can capture from that camera, as well.

  - WTWG

North of the Centennial Bridge

Have just heard from Heidi that the boat is north of the Centennial Bridge; the webcam is here:

http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

(choose the "Centennial Bridge" tab.)  The camera is on the east shore of the canal, looking north at the bridge.  It's fairly high up above the canal, so the boat is going to be pretty small in the image, but should appear under the bridge and come down the frame towards the camera.

...and through into Gatun Lake

The boat is through the first set of locks, having been raised some 26 meters above sea level in the process.  They'll be anchoring over night, and then heading on first thing in the morning.

Below is a photo from the webcam at the first set of locks.  (1808 local time, overcast and the sun was just setting, which accounts for the graininess of the picture!)  She's almost in the center of the photo, top, rafted up with another boat with a dark hull. In this shot, they're in the second lock, and have just started moving on to the third, out of frame to the left.

More to come tomorrow!

 - the WT web gremlin

In the Gatun Locks!

The Wild T has started the Canal transit - she's in the first of the Gatun locks, behind a freighter, a US Coast Guard ship, and rafted up with another World ARC boat.

You can watch in real time from:

http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

As I type this, the lock doors have closed and they're about to start filling the first lock chamber!

 - the WT web gremlin

Leaving Shelter Bay!

This morning we are preparing to leave Shelter Bay and transit the Canal.

Our timing is to be off the dock by 14:00, head to Anchorage F- "The Flats"

The Pilot with find us around 16:00 - 16:30 and Proceed to the first lock. (Not sure of the timing we will actually be in the locks).

There are three chambers up to the lake. After the last Gatun chamber we will move onto Gatun Lake and anchor for the night.

More from the Gatun Lake!

Jan 23, 2010 11:00 Wild Tigris local time
09 22.093 N
79 57.023 W

- HK

Preparing for the Canal

All is well, and the Wild T is currently snugged in at the Shelter Bay Marina at the Panama Canal, preparing for canal transit on the 23rd. The crew is hard at work preparing for the next stages of the trip - and having trouble getting on the 'Net at the marina - so no photo updates just yet!

More details of the transit schedule when/if possible - the webcams along the canal seem to work quite well (you may need to install some browser plugins to get them to work - if you're interested, test it out prior to Transit Day! http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html .)

The World ARC folks have (finally) fixed their "fleet viewer" and are also maintaining fleet position information in a Google Earth data feed - install the software (download it here) and then go to this World Arc page, and click on the World Arc logo. To "subscribe" to the fleet data, just choose "save" when you exit Google Earth. It's a great way to watch the trip progress!

- the WT web gremlin

25 boats, One 25-mile Archepelago, 5 days of cruising

(screenshot from Google Earth fleet map; data maintained by the World ARC.)

- your WT web gremlin

A Day of Rest !

Today we delivered Bill and Dave to Chichime Island at 10 am. Waiting for them there was a ride to the mainland, a big dugout Canoe with a small motor and a big paddle. After that, we have been told, a 4X4 taxi will bring them over the mountian to Panama City.

The last four remaining on Wild Tigris are having a quiet day after the BBQ.

Jan 17, 2010 18:30 Local WT time

09 35.136 N

78 54.141 W

-HK

Today Blog is ARC Schedule Given to us in St Lucia.

Subject to change!

San Blas Islands

Sat 16 Jan Rendezvous Chichime Island, San Blass Island.
1300-1500

Sun 17 Jan Frist yachts start to head to Shelter Bay marina
for transit schedule

Shelter Bay Marina, Colon

Mon 18 Jan Frist yacths to transit the canal arrive in Shelter Bay

Sat 23 Jan Group A & B is expected to Transit. Arrive Flamenco
Marina the nexted day

27 Jan Group C & D expected to Transit to Arrive on the 28th

The restart to Ecuador on the 31 Jan, has been
abandoned.

Fri 29 Jan Prizegiving Function

Sun 31 Jan Rally Check out, Boats start leaving for Ecudaor

La Libertad, Ecudaor

Fri 5 Feb First boat expected to arrive in La Libertad.

Sat 13 Feb Rally Crew Supper (Optional)

Tues 16 Feb Prizegiving Party for leg 2 hosted by Puerto Lucia
Yacht Club

Wed 17 Feb Skippers Briefing

Thur 18 Feb Restart for Leg 3 to the Galapagos Islands

San Cristobel Island, Galapagos Island, Ecuador

Mon 22 Feb First boats expected to arrive in Puerto Banquierez

Tues 23 Feb Half-day boat tours to Kicker Rock. Enquire with rally
control for availability
Wed 24 Feb " "
Thur 25 Feb " "

Santa Cruz Island, Galapogos Island, Ecudaor

Fri 26 Feb Fragata and Anahi Tours begin

Sun 28 Feb Rally Crew Supper (optional)

Mon 01 Mar Day tours to North Seymour and Bartolome continue 01-04
Mar. cost $125. booking required via Rally control

Fri 05 Mar Prizegiving Party for Leg 3

Sat 06 Mar Skippers Briefing for Leg 4

Sun 07 Mar Restart for Leg 4 to Hiva Oa, French Polynesia

Hiva Oa, French Polynesia

22-29 Mar Yachts arrive in Hiva Oa and then begin free cruising
through French Polynesia

Tahiti

Wed 28 Apr Rendez-vous on the Qua d'Honneur in Papeete.
Prize giving for Leg 4

Fri 30 Apr Bus Tour around the island

Free cruising to Bora Bora

12-16 May Tahiti Pearl Regatta (TPR)(Optional: 80 Euro PP) For
registration and more information ask Rally Control

Bora-Bora

Thu 13 May Rendez-vous at Bora Bora, Rally Function at the Bora
Bora Yacht Club

Fri 14 May Beach BBQ

Sat 15 May Skippers Briefing Group 1 for Leg 7

Sun 16 May Restart Group 1 to Suwarrow

Suwarrow

20-23 may 48 hour stop-over in Suwarrow. Visit the Island,
arrival depends on departure date from Bora Bora

Niue 72 hour stop-over in niue

Vava'u, Tonga

03-05 June Arrive Vava'u, Tonga

06 Jun Rally Function

Free cruising from Tonga and through Fiji

Fiji

Wed 30 Jun Rendez-vous Musket Cove, Fiji

Vanuatu

06-07 Jul Arrive Tanna, Vanuatu

Fri 09 Jul Free cruising to Port Vila, Vanuatu

Tue 13 Jul Rally Function at the Vanuatu Yacht Club

Thu 15 Jul Restart for Leg 11 to Mackay

Mackay- Australia

21-23 Jul Arrive Mackay Australia

That's what we have for now, will keep you posted.

Jan 16, 2010 12:00 Local time

09 34.976 N

78 58.770 W

-Wild Tigris

Waisaladup and Niatupu Islands

Today we have had a early start 6 Am. Morgan's boat ride to the main land was scheudeled for 7:00 some of us got up to see the one and only plane scheudued for 6:30, at 7 still no plane, but the excitement was the boat full of Somalians leaving, then achoring in the path of the expected plane... we also found ourselves in the path too!... so we need to pull the anchor and move... with the anchor up the decision had to be made... to re-anchor or keep moving, the girls decided to keep moving...

On our way to the next screen saver anchorage, we saw a fisherman and his son in their dugout canoe, waving fish at us... we changed course immediately to buy some tuna for lunch. our fishing has not been as successful as we might hope but for today we will have grilled tuna for lunch!

We were informed our transit through the Panama Canal has changed until the 23rd. We're still heading for Shelter Bay Marina on the 17th and will arrive on Monday the 18th. The ARC has given us a website to a Web Cam of the locks, so you might be able to watch us go throught the locks in real time...

Canal Authority Web Cam Pages: http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

Next thing to do is clean up the galley and snorkel on the wreck a few hundred ft. away... Casey needs some cardio!

Jan 15, 2010 10:00 local time

09 33.536 N

78 52.455 W

-HK,Dav

San Blas Airport?

Today we lifted anchor from the Holandase Cays for the big Island of Porvenir, somehow there is an airport here in between the coconut trees. There is a customs office and two competing places to buy Molas and beaded bracelets. The runway is incredibly sketchy, so Morgan has decided to take a boat to the main land, and the next flight available was in two days, maybe....

One side line, there are fifteen Somalians with no passports, trying to immigrate to Panama with no success..... they are getting deported. Casey is currently watching their evening prayers.

Tonight we are stepping off the boat to try out some local cooking, they killed a couple of chickens for us and some octopussies. Very exciting!

Tomorrow is looking like a relatively early start; head for Dog Island for lunch and a wreck snorkeling session, then probably onwards to the Chichamay cays. The possibilities of finding a 'screen-saver' anchorage in the San Blas are endless.

The tender has made three round trips between anchor and our current island. It seems to be in a slightly better mood than yesterday, however you never know with this crumbling donut.

Jan 14, 2010 Local time 19:00

09 33.401 N

78 56.953 W

-HK,CN,SW,MM

Screensaver and Postcards!

Today we visited the native people of the San Blas Islands. They are stunning, their thatched huts and coconut fires to cook their recently caught pot fish was a life style to be admired. One of the highlights of the day was to go back to buy molas and take pictures of their beautiful children. The experience of seeing their cultivated coconut and banana crops, the dug out canoes, and the pristine island where they live was a memory of a lifetime. Also, we all want to meet Sally, we think so much of Joey, who made a brief appearance today. Whilst walking around one of the scenic islands Heidi convinced Joey to come out of his shell for a quick photo shoot, after which Dav quickly returned. Dav might have a cold winter in front of him; but if Joey saw the shorts Dave was wearing...he'd have punched him right in the face...anyway, God bless Speedo's. (Sofia)

Other news we are moving on to the next island, in the morning at 10AM. Hopefully the lobsters we have bartered for will arrive before we leave in the morning. We have sold all of our gasoline for a few lobsters because the donut has been eaten. ("This motor on the tender has the life expectancy of a donut", Jeff.)

" I dont know what the F--- a Mola is but buy all of 'em" (Casey)

Actually.... with the opportunity to moor the boat for a day there has been time to reflect on the immense undertaking we have chosen to pursue... and look forward to the amazing sights and experiences we will have, as, already, there have been many moments we will recall for some time to come..... with that in mind it's also proper to mention we do not ignore those we have left behind as the stories about siblings and spouses and parents abound .... perhaps, soon they will join us. (Dav)

PS Cat I miss you and love you.

Back to the Screensaver and postcards, everywhere we look, looks like a screensaver ... pictures to follow when we get internet.

Jan 13, 2010 02:00 UTC Local time is 21:00

09 34.832 N

78 40.564 W

-CN,SW,DAV,HK,SW,MM,SMC

San Blas Islands We are here!

Palm Trees, Coconuts, and Great friends.

Crossed the finish line at 9 deg 40'.00 at 1150 local time this morning. After a quick Piton (leftover St Lucian beer) to celebrate, we had a yummy lunch of sweet chili tofu before getting the sails down and motoring to East Holendise where we dropped the hook at 1600.

Other things played with: Dolphins appeared at the bow as we approached the San Blas, mothers and babies jumped and played in the bow wave and we could almost touch them with our feet at the pulpit.

We dropped the pole in the morning and ran with the jib and mizzen, the inds were a bit lighter but we were able to keep 6.5 to 8.5 on the knot meter. We hope to finish in the top half for the first leg even with a shorter rig... most are sure we did... probably get results by Friday...

Hi Sally, love Joey.

Anne this one's for you... Our highest fish count was 12, the new morning watch chore is count 'em and fling 'em. The Biggest Fish Story is Dave and Heidi were on watch, Dave was sitting on the table in the cockpit.. all of a sudden there was a flutter sound, fish smell, and Dave dove for cover " What was that?"... too late, he had been hit!

After we got anchored, the tender was launched and Morgan, Sean, Sofia, and Heidi went to find Big Surf for Morgan. The first spot was a no go. But the second was a fun stomach-high left, as reported by Morgan. He caught several waves and a bunch of radical turns, and so did the tender....

That's all for today.

Jan 13,2010 00:00 UTC 19:00 local Time

09 34.832 N

78 40.564 W

-HK,Dav,MM,SM,SW,BF,CN

Bad Larry

Todays blog was supposed to be about the possible rising to power of "Bad Larry". Bad Larry is the nickname we've given to the biggest meanest fishing lure in the box and Bill and Dave are convinced it hasn't had its fair chance to shine. Unfortunatley, wind and sea have joined forces to thwart any advances of Bad Larry towards 'top lure'. Late last night and through out the day the wind has picked up to 25+ and the waves are at 10'-12'! Since we've come within 300 miles of Panama the freighter traffic has grown significantly and with the recent increase in seas it's making for exciting night watches. Due to our constant Westward track the sun sets later and later each day. In stark contrast to that fact Casey's call for Sunsetters (evening cocktails) have come progressively earlier each day! Last night they were served well over an hour before sunset. The journey is in its last stages and everyone agrees it's been great, although Morgan and Bill wish they could've been yelling at each other in a bar yesterday over the Patriots vs. Ravens playoff match up. The patrons of WT still don't know the results.

Jan 11,2010 18:00 UTC? Local time 14:00 or 13:00 we have not changed time yet.

11 02.780 N

76 01.124 W

-MM

Captain's blog 1250 UTC 10/1/2010

Due to recent liberties taken on the 500-word blog limit, I have decided a brief and informative log will suffice today.

345Nm to San Blas Finish Line.

E.T.A. Tue 13 Jan 1000hrs local time.

Current conditions: 17kts TWS Easterly. S.O.G. 7Kts. C.O.G. 235(T).

1200UTC position: 12 45.07N 073 37.22W

All well on board. Freshly baked bananna bread boosted morale in the absence of a T-shirt I failed to buy in St Lucia ...a skeleton pirate with the caption "The Beating Will Continue until Morale Improves"!

SMC

Did I do that? Primal scream; fish fish...

We are sailing in 20-25 knots of wind directly to the waypoint off Columbia's Northern river Delta averaging 9 knots. Thirty miles south of us is where there is a convergence zone of the mighty tradewinds and the Columbia river delta, short tall choppy seas in shallow water make for an area to stay away from. The jib is rolled in sixteen or seventeen times, no main and full mitzen. Generator has been on to reduce the heat down below, make water and keep the batteries topped off. Just wonderful sailing, catching up on some reading, watching some beautiful waves power past the boat while eating some of Sofia's oatmeal cookies just out of the oven.

Did I do that? We were at Lat 14.11.375N Long 67.59.35W wondering if that is near the famous sinking in the 70's. We are in the middle of a gibe when I am on the mainsail sheet, Sean makes some awful sound I look up as I am letting out the main sheet to see the main boom folding in half. My only comment is "Did I do that?" No one is near the folded boom, we lower the main halyard and tie down the end of the folded boom directly to the deck, tywrap the sail to the folded boom and finish the gibe. No one is hurt other than our pride. We pole out the jib and hoist up the mizzen. Morgan mentioned this is close to where Firebird made its final moments. On closer look the boom folded at the end of the re-enforcement for the boomvang, some evidence of salt between the re-enforcement and the boom itself. The fold follows where some screws were installed to bring the re-enforcement to the boom. We will be in contact with some metal workers in Panama to do a repair job once we enter the canal zone. No it wasn't me. At 3am as the watches are changing Sean is coming up the companion way, Morgan and I are on deck. Just as Sean is coming up the campanion way there is this primal scream, HELP. We just look at each other in horor looking around to see who, what, where the sound came from. Sean goes forward, I go aft and we see or hear nothing. Once back on deck Morgan says he thinks it was a bird flying over head. We just look at each other and continue with the jobs at hand. In the morning I mention the primal scream to Bill who looks at me and says that is how he finishes a good nightmare, he screams HELP and falls back to sleep. We all get a good laugh and tuck it into our memories for the next strange HELP we hear.

Fish, fish, we have another f______, fish on the line. Heidi jumps to the reel, Bill starts looking for the gaff, I try to wake up the crew, "fish, fish, another f______ fish on the line". Heidi reels up a Mahi Mahi about 40" long and Bill lifts it on to the deck almost brushing Heidi with the tail. Sofia comes with the customary knife, cutting board, pan and a big smile. Bill, Dave and Sofia quickly cut off our lunch's head and Morgan fillets it to perfection. Fifteen minutes later and the lunch menu has been changed for the better.

Sailing with the jib and mizzen dead downwind is a perfect combination. The jib is not being shadowed by the main so it is not being blanketed and making that awful noise of refilling. The mizzen is far enough away from the jib so its not having trouble being continuously filled. We are able to adjust the Raymarine hydraulic auto pilot to steer dead down wind so the waves are almost exactly behind us so the rolling is reduced.

Jan 9, 2010 12:00 UTC

13 37.431 N

70 49.169 W

-Casey

Big Fish Spare Parts!

The fishing debate continues, with no success. Today at about 2pm, Bill was at the helm. The call for fish, fish, @#$^ fish was made, Sofia jumped to get the line, the line was set at 4, still reeling out, even after sliding the reel to stop, the line still reeled out. Must be a real lumper! Then it happened The line went limp.... gone! The Rapala (our best lure) stolen. Luckily we have spare parts, yes we have spare parts, though not for everything, we know... but we do have another Rapala... and it was secured to the line swiftly...

Casey spotted a shark in the early afternoon, and Bill kept a dolphin run at the bow to himself, though to his credit it was at sunrise and he might have awakened others who might have preferred to slumber, no pictures though, " my battery in my camera went dead."

Happy Birthday to Scoty in St. Croix and Fiona in Alaska from Bill. Hi Sally from Joey.

Over and out for now.

Jan 08, 2010 12:00 UTC

14 04.84 N

67 49.78 W

-HK/Dave

Ten Days to Panama, Second Day

The subject heading is taken from a Cruzian concept and means that this is the next day after the dance began. The crew is adjusting to three hour watches followed by six hours off. This means that sleeping and awakening come at all hours of the day or night. Last night we had some fresh breezes and comfortable temperatures in the cockpit with only t-shirts. Sailing the Caribbean is a wonderful thing. With Dave at the helm we hit over ten knots. The boat had a fair amount of pitch and roll (mild I am told) but it gave a whole new meaning to a sleepless night of "tossing and turning". This was in spite of being treated to a night of the quite quiet generator to provide us with air conditioning. As I write this the chart plotter in front of me says we have 427 nautical miles to the next check point and that will in only 65 hours. This morning up early I was treated to a fruit smoothie followed a little later with Sofia's famous (now if not before) chocolate croissants. I came up to the cockpit just in time to see chocolate all down the front of Dave and the area around him. He is the first on board for this leg to do laundry. We continue to sail with the mizzen up and wing on wing with the head sail on a spinnaker pole. Last night in the early evening there were numerous other boats in the area but today we have only spotted some debris in the water, lots of flying fish and some sea birds. We have had one strike on the fishing pole but nothing since then. All on board are in high spirits and looking forward to fresh lobsters and sights of the San Blas Islands.

13 08.5 N

64 22.9 W

wwf

Smoking Start!!!

We made it!!!

Right now we sitting on deck, watching the first sunset of many!

Beautiful day!

Finished up a couple of jobs this morning, such as getting the tender on board, putting on all the sheets and so on. Did all the customs and paid up the marina last night so we could depart early; first boat to the starting area to check out the conditions (yeah, we were all pretty keen on get moving!!)

Got the main, mizzen and the jib out. Casey was our tactician, counting down the minutes, pushing the other boats out of the way (we were bigger so they kind of had to move!!!) and he got us first over the start line!

Fantastic!

Very excited crew!!

Dinner is on the way, our first fish caught by the boys who, after x amounts of hours of discussion on which lure to use, only let the line out 20 feet before landing the first fish... A new Wild Tigris record! Morgan did a great job on the filleting and now we're gonna eat it!

Loads of love from the crew on Wild Tigris!

13 54.3N

61 35.7W

xxx

/SW

Are we really leaving in 3 Days?

Had a busy few days trying to fit spinnaker tracks, provisioning , varnishing and most importantly, celebrating new year!!!!!!

Met all the rest of the World ARC boats (or most of them anyway) drank champagne and celebrated, dancing on the beach!

The St Lucians have been great hosts to us and very helpful, will be sad to leave this island, but having a hard time not jumping up and down from the excitement to finally get this party started!!!

=)

Casey and Heidi arrived sneakily in the middle of the night, right now we are off to the the welcome party (busy busy) and waiting patiently for the rest of the crew to arrive!!!

one love!
xxx
The crew on Wild Tigris

-SW

St. Lucia's famous "Pitons" mountains.

Backfilling, and a note from the (retiring) blog editor

Sorry it's taken so long - real life has interfered with WT blogging since I've gotten back - but I've edited things a bit and added some photos and videos to the transatlantic blog entries to help give you all a flavor of what things were like out there. I've also reorganized the online photo albums in a different service - Picasa, run by Google, which has a nicer user interface than Flickr. Enjoy!

It was great fun blogging for the delivery, thanks for all the feedback and comments. I now turn it over the crew for the next legs, though, as webmaster and the boat's captive geek, I expect I'll be digging around behind the scenes occasionally.

-Anne, signing off for WT