http://www.cosmic-dancer.com/RSSfeed.aspxA summary of the latest articles from the yacht Cosmic Dancer's website. Click on the links to read the full article.(c) 2010, MyBoatweb.com. All rights reserved.5http://www.cosmic-dancer.com/images/logo_cosmic.jpghttp://www.cosmic-dancer.com/RSSfeed.aspxhttp://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=543It was almost 30 years ago that one of my earliest sailing dreams was realised – to sail in the Caribbean. Together with another Royal Naval Sailing Association member, we chartered a yacht and spent 2 weeks cruising in the Virgin Islands. At the time it was seen as a “once in a lifetime” experience.http://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=543Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=542It may have only been a short 80 mile hop from St Kitts to St Martin, but if felt like we had sailed into a different world. As we closed in towards the anchorage at Simson Baai, we left the normal Caribbean far behind us and entered a fantasy world populated by those more commonly seen gracing the covers of the world’s glamour magazines.http://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=542Fri, 6 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=541The 2011 season may have started late – Cosmic Dancer was still in the shed at the end of May long after most yachts had been re launched – but we still managed to cram an awful lot into the remaining 7 months. As we toasted in the New Year we were able to look back on what has been a vintage sailing season.http://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=541Thu, 5 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=540There are lots of good reasons for doing the ARC but one of the best must be that you get to spend the Christmas holiday cruising in the Caribbean. With the ARC prizegiving over, we set sail the following day for Martinique and the start of a 3 week cruise northwards through the Antilles to Tortola.http://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=540Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=539With the winter refit complete, the next challenge was getting the yacht from the Baltic to the start line in Las Palmas. In many ways this posed a greater challenge than the Atlantic crossing itself. Unlike many of the other participants in the ARC we were not at the start of a prolonged sailing sabbatical  and did not have the luxury of almost limitless time to do the delivery passage.http://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=539Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=538The ARC prizegiving on 17 Dec formally marked the end of ARC 2011. Picking up the prize for the fastest 2 handed crew was immensely satisfying, but really was just the "icing on the cake" of what  for us has been a fantastically rewarding 18 month long sailing project. It all started in Jun 2010 in St Katherines Dock London with a chance meeting with the son of Cosmic Dancer's first owner.http://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=538Sun, 18 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=537We did it. 21 days, 8 hours, 13 minutes, 27 seconds and 2,945 nautical miles after setting out from Las Palmas we finally crossed the finish line in Rodney Bay St Lucia. We had hoped to finish 3 days earlier, but a massive wind hole 500 miles out put paid to any thoughts of an early beer. We had seen it coming 5 days beforehand on the GRIB files, and had the windless area only been hundred or so miles in diameter, then we might have tried to sail around it.http://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=537Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=535"Harry" has been missed more than we could ever have imagined - as the old saying goes - you don't realise how much you rely on something until you don't have it any more. It wasn't that we had used the autopilot that much in the first 1,000 miles of the trip - we had probably hand steered 950 of those miles anyway - but what we perhaps didn't fully appreciate at the time, was just how invaluable those short "autopilot assisted" breaks are when sailing 2 handed - the chance to pop below to make an occasional cup of coffee, someone to steer whilst reefing or hoisting and lowering sails, or simply just a short 5 minute break from the relentless concentration needed when steering dead down wind in fresh winds and big seas for days on end.http://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=535Thu, 8 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=534It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of our third crew member, "Harry the Autopilot". He died peacefully in his sleep on 1 Dec 2012. His death was noticed when he failed to respond to a call from the on watch helmsman who wanted to go below to make a cup of coffee. Since Harry was a member of the "lifetime maintenance free sealed unit" sect, it has not been possible to carry out an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.http://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=534Wed, 7 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=533Trade wind sailing - the term conjures up images of yachts bounding along in near perfect sailing conditions, clear blue skies, and totally predictable winds and weather for weeks on end - or at least that was the image we had when we signed up for what was billed as the ultimate long distance trade wind sailing experience - ARC 2011!! With the pre ARC newsletters that arrived through the letterbox, came a few gentle hints that just occasionally this sailing bliss might be interrupted by the "odd tropical squall" passing through, but that these could almost always be detected in advance on radar and often avoided.http://www.cosmic-dancer.com/news.aspx?ItemID=533Thu, 1 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT