Author Archives: Piers Barnes-Sherwood

I seem to have made a bit of a swerve to the north during the night which wasn’t intentional, but was once again due to my inability to get this boat to sail in the right direction at times. As … Continue reading →

I could really get used to this – Odyssey has now spent the last three days doing all the work and I haven’t needed to touch anything at all. Yesterday we made another excellent run of 160 miles, and in … Continue reading →

Are they? Mines broken down and now I’ve no-one to love. So sang Gary Numan somewhat mournfully in 1978, and again last night when I found to my delight that I had his greatest hits compilation on my iPod. I … Continue reading →

Commenting on my daily reports of breakages and inconveniences such as wet bedding and lack of sleep, Nigel has cheerfully pointed out that the “killer” won’t be a single disaster but the cumulative effect of all the problems combined with … Continue reading →

I have a small but varied library on board, ranging from sailing books and nautical almanacs to science fiction to exploration to thrillers to history to philosophy, so what have I been reading for the last two days? You guessed … Continue reading →

Last night I suffered a similar problem to that which befell an Airbus crossing the Atlantic a while ago. Due to poor maintenance a hydraulic line rubbed against a fuel pipe, causing it to rupture mid-flight. The crew watched in … Continue reading →

Today has been one of those perfect sailing days – blue sky, calm sea, gentle breeze, and not a care in the world. OK, so the breeze could have been a little less gentle as we only managed 4-5 knots … Continue reading →

It’s a good thing I don’t write this diary just after I get up as I’m a bit of a grump in the morning until I’ve had my breakfast, particularly today. Last night, you see, was a bit of a … Continue reading →

I’ve been lucky enough to have had over four months of wonderful summer weather in Fort Lauderdale so it’s all been a bit of a shock these last few days when I’ve had to dig out a pair of trousers … Continue reading →

Last night was pretty uncomfortable at first as the wind died but the enormous swells took much longer to subside, so the boat rolled horribly until the early hours. It didn’t help that what little wind there was kept changing … Continue reading →