Isle of Wight...

...a first glimpse from the Solvent. From this point it will take us about 3 hours (14 NM) to reach Cowe, our destination today.  Today's weather: 14C and sunny.

Biscay meal service...

...onboard Jennifer. Somehow I ended up in her galley as master chef and meal coordinator. All crew members seems to appreciate my roller coaster cooking efforts, sometimes at a 20° angle. In order to keep my balance I work barefoot. A wet towel on the counter top helps to keep food and plates from taking off when Jennifer starts dancing.  My cabin mate Tore assists me in the kitchen.

Due to our missed stop over in Spain we have to make full use of what is available onboard for six days without shops at sea - fantasy & creativity are

key words. A well fed crew is a happy crew!

For those interested, here are samples of hot meals prepared by me and served on our Bay of Biscay leg:

May 9:  Ministrone a la Biscay served with hot garlic bread 

May 10: Pasta a la Biscay with Staffans secret tomato based sauce

May 11: Today's soup a la Biscay, mushroom soup fortified with Portuguese vegetables 

May 12: Potato gratine and salad by Tore and tuna fish gratine by Staffan

May 13: Swedish style "Pytt i Panna"

For all dishes: Staffan's secret spice mix.

Jennifer crew presentation 6

Our captain and owner of Jennifer, Lars "Lasse" Hässler, was a lawyer in Sweden and had just completed his clerkship to become a judge when, in 1988 aged 42 , he decided to give it all up to go sailing. He sold his apartment and his car, emptied his bank account and bought Jennifer, a Bénéteau Oceanis. But he set it out as a business, determined to make a ten-year circumnavigation pay for itself.

In his book "Occupation: Circumnavigator" he describes how he made the venture pay for itself through charters and paying crew and how it enhanced the experience. 

Lasse feels that he is really enjoying a privileged lifestyle at age 73 and he hopes to be able to continue sailing with Jenny at least another ten years. Up until today he has logged some 230.000 NM, equal to seven around the world trips. He has completed two full circumnavigation.

Against the tide on the English Channel

Sunday May 12th. At the time of writing this we have been traveling in the English Channel during 3 hours after leaving Bay of Biscay. The tide against us is very strong, we wind and engine power we are slowly moving towards the Isle of Wight at a speed of 3.7-4.2 knots. Estimated travel time from this point: 38-40 hours. On starboard side I can see the lights on the French side of the channel.

Jennifer crew presentation 5

Christian divides his time and life between Gothenburg, Sweden and Paris, France. He is happily married to a French lady and part of the family is also Bob, an 8 year old Cotton Culmar who loves to sail and fly.

Christian is an accomplished sailor. He has been competing nationally and internationally in the Starboat class,  winning an impressive number of times. In the past he was also a member of the Swedish Olympic Team. Sailing has always been an important part of his life.

After academic studies at Gothenburg School of Business Economics and graduating with a degree in Business Law, Christian is now working in the field of commodity trade, in the past for major corporations and today for himself.

He is a child hood friend of Lars and his friendship with Jack is via his wife - or the other way around.

Biscaya Zumba...

...with Jennifer! Her crew, however, is not always synchronized with her sudden wave dance moves. Sudden strong gusts of wind makes it difficult to follow her, you need to make full use of hands and feet in order to keep up with her turns and jumps in order not to hurt yourself.

Another challenge is to sleep in your noisy rollercoaster cabin. I am using ear plugs to help Mr. Sandman help me! Biscaya is not crowded, so far I have only seen 3 container ships,  one cruise ship, 5 fishing boats and three schools of dolphinsmey.

Halfway across Bay of Biscay

Yesterday morning (May 9th) we decided to bypass Spain and head straight across Bay of Biscay in order to avoid very bad weather at the beginning of next week. I had been planning to buy fresh food and vegetables in Spain to keep us well fed & happy while crossing this big stretch of open water. Now we to survive on the limited supply we already had onboard Jennifer.

On May 10th at 8.30 PM we crossed the halfway point of this bay! Rain, rolling waves and a wind (7-14 m/s) that kept changing direction made it a challenge to keep Jennifer in the desired direction.