Daily Logs

A Lady - Sailing around the World and avoiding the recession

Tuesday, 8th JUNE 2010    (Presently in Vava'u, Tonga)  07.30hrs  Cloudy morning, we had a little rain overnight, but not much.We had a light breakfast before going ashore for our trip to the Botanical Gardens. Fats decided to stay on the boat while we went off on our trip, he needs lots of rest. The bus ride to the Gardens was a laugh, the bus was old, very old, certainly the last century. It was held together with string and wire, and well rusted. However, it rattled along nicely for 30 mins over the bumpy road to the Gardens, a good crowd on board, maybe 40 in all. We were greeted by Lucy, one of the Matriarch's of the Gardens, and she was good.  Lucy, took us on a 2 hour tour of the Gardens, fascinating stuff, ranging from opening coconuts,and. read more...

Cleone - in Hiva Oa

Even if you don't like him or his works, you can understand why P Gaugin chose Hiva Oa. We spent a couple of idyllic days in Hiva Oa.  There were huge, delicious, if expensive, pizzas to be eaten, and a very good, if rather slow, dinner in the only good hotel.  There was the tedious business of checking in with the charming Gendarmarie (it took Talulah Ruby four goes to complete theirs - hours of work are nominally 0700-1100, but the police depart either if there is no further business or it suits them), followed by a shortish session in the Post Office sending the completed form off to Tahiti.  Then a visit to the Cemetary to see the Great Man's grave, follwed by a visit to the museum in his honour.  I've no idea whether the copies of his paintings are good or not, but it was an. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World and avoiding the recession

Monday, 7th June 2010      (Presently in Vava'u, Tonga)  A nice slow morning, lot of fish swimming around the boat.Most of the remaining yachts arrived during the day, we listened to them all chattering away on channel 77, our working channel. We spent some time cleaning up the boat, and skipper opened up the main water filter to the refrigeration system and watermaker, we were particularly worried about the water maker, as it made some awful noise last night before shutting it down. We discovered gunged up jelly fish in the filters, and this was obviously the cause of the trouble, so we cleaned it all out, and then ran the generator and watermaker and checked they all worked properly,.................and they did... what a relief !. read more...

Ensemble - On our way!

Greetings from yacht Ensemble!Today is the big day where we start our round the world (Part 2) journey.The rest of the World ARC fleet departed from St Lucia yesterday. We are leaving Village Cay Marina, Tortola this morning at 11am and hope to catch up with the rest of the fleet at the San Blas islands in about a week.We spent yesterday provisioning the boat and doing last minute repairs/cleaning. We had interesting 'cat' company - with Richard Branson's "Necker" catamaran adjacent to us in the dock (that's the very large one in the photo).So - 'Bon Voyage' and will chat soon!CheersDave and Magali9Jan2012 008. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World and avoiding the recession at the same time

Sunday, 6th June 2010    (Presently in Vava'u, Tonga, South Pacific)    Donals birthday  08.00hrs Another beautiful day in Paradise. Aileen did a poached egg breakfast for those that wanted it. Vava'u is one of those places that closes down completely on a Sunday, not even the cafes are open. MASS.. 10.00hrs Margaret, Aileen and skipper trapped up the hill to the local Cathedral in beautiful sunshine, a big big white building standing on the top of the hill for all to see. Oh my god!  the music, the singing, the choir, awesome! It is hard to believe that the human voice could be so powerful, put about a 100 choir singers into a confined space and, Walla!.............  Earth shattering. read more...

Anastasia - We are on our way

13:57.2N 62:05.0W  75 miles covered   We left Rodney Bay with the rest of the World ARC fleet at 12:00 today.   The final preparations were not too hectic.  St Lucia immigration was surprisingly quick but checking out of the marina took about an hour because most people wanted to use electricity and water overnight and so there were thirty boats for them to process.  We finally cast off at 11:15.   We said goodbye to Daniel at 11:00.  He is checked into a hotel near the marina for a couple of days because his flight back to the UK is not until the 10th.  Before he left we booked his flight out to Fiji on 16 June and signed him up for all the ARC legs beyond there, so he doesn't have too long to wait before he rejoins us.  . read more...

Graptolite - Southwest to Tuamotu Islands

10:26.56S 139:49.17W Wednesday 2 April 0500 (UTC-9.5)We got in some food supplies in the morning and stocked up with some more fruit from the mango tree we found yesterday. It must have been a scary sight with the Graptolite hunter-gatherers brandishing boat-hook and machete in the forest.In the afternoon we were invited to a party being held to celebrate the inauguration of the new Mayor of Atuona. There were local girls there doing traditional singing and dancing and local lads dressed in green grass war-dress doing a Hakka. Thankfully, there are no worries about sexual stereotyping here. The food was excellent although you had to be quick on your toes to get the best bits of the roasted pigs.We then had just one final task before leaving, which was to take on diesel. We confidently. read more...

Crazy Horse - June 8

Somehow someway we have lost a day while we have been taking this world tour. I am not sure exactly where or when it happened. A couple of the crews of other boats even had a birthday. Do you not even have that birthday? Or do you save up and have two the next year? This might be a way to combat the aging process!Really, it happened on our way from Raratonga to Tonga. We thought we would arrive on a Sat. and lo and behold it was Sunday. Good thing for Paul in the World ARC or we would have really been confused. Well, I guess -I am still a bit confused. This travelling has a way of making one off balance. And try it on a sailboat where there are angles of degrees of "off balance". Last night we had our World ARC rendezvous. It was quite wonderful. Most of the boats were here and made an. read more...

Wind Dancer - LOG 1: Ready Steady

Inspection checks are through and the preparation for a journey of a lifetime is complete.  Our robust crew is assembled and it’s t-minus 4 till the big kick off.  We had our last evening of excess and now it’s down to business.  We have San Blas on the distant horizon and could not be more excited to visit such a unique and preserved destination.  The Kuna people are said to be one of the last strong- standing independent, self governing entities who happen to have some pretty nice ocean front property.  So Bon Voyage and Happy Trails, next stop Panama.   Wind Dancer Crew. read more...

Samsara - we made it to St. Lucia - late and tired but we're here!

It was a brutal 15 day passage - the first 12 days we had really big winds/waves - last 3 days we had better wind/waves but we were fighting a current that goes North/West - we were trying to go South/East.  All of this was upwind so lots of pounding.....not fun!  Our boat doesn't point all that well - and we "knew"  that when we bought it - but when you actually experience it, it is excruciationg.  Luckily we should have little upwind sailing on the rally. We saw several waterspouts (tornadoes on the water) but thankfully not close to the boat. We had beautiful sunsets and amazingly starry nights away from civilization's lights, and of course had dolphins and maybe porpoises? swimming in the bow wake several times.   So we made it here - we're all. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Saturday, 5th June    (Constitution day, Denmark) Well, well, we had an Interesting day yesterday, and had music in our ears untill 02,00hrs this morning. But now, we have 5 on board again, the last time we had 5 was Panama. Crew :-   Stephen,  Aileen,  Margaret How, Donal, and John ( Scotty) 08.00hrs  We had a slow start, everyone catching up on the sleep. It was a cloudy morning, and no cocks crowing, but we did have birds singing in the background. Scotty was able to identify them all , as he is a bit of a " Twitcher " (bird watcher). Ohhhhh, last night, he nearly collapsed with excitment when he identified these huge flying cats in the sky as "Fruit BATS". 10.30hrs  We went ashore to the. read more...

Glamorous Galah - Farewell St Lucia

We had a fun night with our fellow ralliers last night, thanks to the St Lucian tourist board,WCC and their associated sponsors. Glamorous Galah is ready to head west. We look forward to sharing our experiences over the next six months. San Blas islands, here we come!Ted. read more...

Tucanon - Togo Chasm, Niue

On the penultimate day of the trip to Niue, we removed the sailbag. The batons were protruding by over a metre and we couldn't get them back. The sailbag had moved 1/3 of the way along the boom towards the mast and was getting caught in the pulleys as we managed the reefing of the mainsail. Despite the extra UV on the sail, I have to say that it does look smarter. We have never been very pleased with the sailbag. It ripped within just one week of taking delivery of the boat.After a couple of hours with the wind no more than 23 knots, I had to insist that the afternoon watch put a reef in the sail. This is something we do automatically once the wind hits 25knots. The wind had been blowing 27-30 knots for half an hour and we were sailing in excess of 11knots, surfing off the waves and. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - UA- POU

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Voyageur - Log day 103 - The Kingdom of Tonga - Ancient Polynesia

6 June 2010A very grand title indeed for such a poor country, but its traditions are rich. They wear the 'ta'ovala', a mat of pandanus secured around the waist with coconut fibre frequently worn over the 'tupenu' or wraparound skirt, (the south pacific equivalent to the Scottish kilt!) Alternatively, women might wear a 'kiekie', a decorative waistband worn over a dress or skirt. Loyalty to the royal family is shown by the wearing of such apparel and sets the Tongans apart from the rest of Pacific peoples. Fashioned from the pandanus leaf it comes in many shapes and sizes and from simple design to very intricate weaving but the basic style is the same. The yacht club laid on a barbecue evening and for the first time in three weeks group one and two got back together again. David and. read more...

Sapphire II - Log Day -1, The Final Preparations

Saturday afternoon in St Lucia and Sapphire is a hive of activity. Fresh produce and fruit has been delivered and stowed. The RIB has been cleaned and a diver has checked out the underwater bits and indeed found a sheet of plastic firmly covering the sea water intake. The bilges are being flushed out with bleach to be sure they are sweet-smelling. Cabins have sort of been tidied up, but it still seems there are many items still to be checked off the list.The fourth crew member, Charlie Marts, is on his way from the airport and I'm about to go check passports with the ARC office.We'll not lack for things to get done over the next 3 or 4 hours so I'll go and get on with it.Start tomorrow,Sunday, is at 1200 and the weather promises to make the passage to the San Blas islands a fast one. 18-. read more...

Anastasia - St Lucia tourist board party

We had fun at the St Lucia Tourist Board farewell party.  Hard not to have fun with free booze and canapés.When we got back to Anastasia we opened the rest of our Christmas crackers.  Some people got two crackers, so "DanielDepp" managed to get an eye patch and a moustache.   There was some contention over the music to play as we cross the start line.  Carmina Burana won the popular vote despite being such a cliché.   80F. read more...

Destiny - Dinner bei Alofi

Kaum hatten wir an der Boje im Puerto del Refugio vor Neiafu festgemacht, da war Alofi in seinem Ruderboot schon an unserer Seite. Er bot uns geschnitzte Masken aus ganz hartem Holz an, Schmuck aus Walfischzahn, frisches Brot zum Frühstück, Wäsche waschen durch seine Tochter, Auffüllen der Gasflaschen und was an Bord noch dringend gebraucht wird. Um nicht gleich abgewiesen zu werden, kam er mit seinen überdimensional großen Füssen vorsorglich gleich an Bord. Wir durften uns in seine Referenzbücher eintragen "er hatte gleich zwei zur Verfügung" und als ganz besonderen Service bot er uns an, ein Hummeressen für uns zu organisieren. Seine Schilderung klang ganz gut und wir freuten uns auf ein Hummeressen am folgenden Abend. Auch der Preis schien uns nicht überzogen und lag nach. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 102 - On to Tonga

5 June 2010Niue is a three day island and anyway our 72 hours were up. Now we are three. Suzana from WARC joined us for the 255nm passage. She stood two night watches for us which meant some extra rest. It was wonderful, a real treat! We were back to light winds again and it was a combination of sailing and motor sailing. Niue had left us a present in the form of a plague of flying ants. When night fell they came marching down the decks, armies of them. I have never experienced anything like it before. By morning however the tidal wave of critters had receded and David's duty at first light was to dispatch them overboard. The following night and we had a unique ocean experience passing over the Tongan Trench. This is the second deepest part of the Pacific Ocean and at its deepest part, a. read more...

Anastasia - No more days to go

The World ARC starts tomorrow.  We should be casting off at about 10 am for the 12:00 start.  I am guessing it will be more like 11:30 before we get off on account of still having to put the cover back on the tender, clear through immigration and check out of the marina.  When we got back to Anastasia we opened the rest of our Christmas crackers.  Some people got two crackers, so "DanielDepp" managed to get an eye patch and a moustache.  There was some contention over the music to play as we cross the start line.  Carmina Burana won the popular vote despite being such a cliché.   808. read more...

Ruby - Blog

The francophone can visit our french blog on: http://rubyworldarc.comHerve . read more...

Voyageur - Log day 101 - Nuie Island of cliffs, caves and chasms

2 June 2010 There are two things that the Cook Islands and Niue have in common. First they are both independent nations but under free association with New Zealand which means that they get a lot of economic support. Second they have a shrinking population, the young people preferring to live and work in New Zealand. That is where the similarities end, for the islands could not be more different. The entire land area of the Cook Islands could fit into Niue. That is not to say that Niue is big because your can drive around the island in one day which is what we did. Irene and Dick (Tucanon) came along too. They call Niue the "Rock of Polynesia", appropriately so as from the sea the island appears like a large flat lump of rock, the coastline indented by rugged cliffs, caves and chasms.. read more...

Crazy Horse - June 4

We are still motoring along trying to get into Tonga. Not much wind today sothis is the flattest I have seen the ocean in a long time. There is stillthe ever present rock which is a good way to get sleepy.I hope Joe of Brown-eyed Girl writes in the blog about his and Jerrod'sadventure with that tremendous marlin which by the way got away! I heard himon the SSB with Bill last night and he was so excited and animated about thefishing expedition. It will make good readiing and a good reason why manypeople love this trip so much. You just never know what can happen next.Hard to even expect to see a fish that big much less have the opportunity tofish for one off one's sailboat!!!We are not quite so energetic on this boat. We have spent a good part ofthis leg reading the books we have borrowed. read more...

Ensemble - New Years in the BVI

New Years Greetings from Ensemble.We've just finished a wonderful week with Rod & Dalma, Csilla and Dominic on Ensemble celebrating New Years in the BVI. We started in Tortola (dinner and rhum cocktails at 'Pussers'); spent New Years on Jost van Dyke - Diamond Cay (BBQ and Champagne for the big day), recovery at 'Foxy's' with a great lobster dinner; a quiet day swimming and relaxing at Whelk Bay, Peter Island; then lunch at 'the Fat Virgins' cafe, and a day snorkelling and dinner at Biras Creek, Virgin Gorda. Finally back to Tortola via Spring Bay. Copious amounts of good food, It all went so fast!We are now recovering at Cooper Island for a couple of days before provisioning in Tortola and sailing to the San Blas Islands for the rendevous with the rest of the World ARC.CheersMagali. read more...

12Moons - Vorbereitungen World ARC

Hey friends and folks, here the second report of our voyage: As a very special trip, World ARC members were invited to do a daytrip into the rainforrest of St. Lucia. There in a special camp, we could climb between the trees, hanging on ziplines, flying like a bird from tree to tree. It was a great experience and we all had a lot of fun.   Be greeted Annette, Benjamin, Christine, Stefan und Johannes. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World.

 FRIDAY   4th  JUNE  2010     ( Presently at Sea between Nuie  and Vava'u , Tonga )  05.30hrs  The wind direction changed so we jybed the boat, or should I say, the spinniker, This was the first time we ever did this on this boat and it proved easier than anticipated . It was just great sailing with the Kite up all night. 06.44 hrs  We are Sea now for 24 hrs , so the following is our position. :-                                Position  ........................................... 18:56 S      172 : 55. read more...

12Moons - Grenadinentörn und Startvorbereitungen

Liebe Familie und Freunde,hier der erste Bericht unserer Reise:   Unser Flug und die Ankunft in St. Lucia war problemlos, was fehlte, war die Tasche mit den Ersatzteilen für das Boot, (3000 €) weswegen Stefan etwas nervös war. Zum Glück konnte Christian das in Frankfurt managen (die Teile waren dort nicht eingeladen worden wegen unklarem Inhalt) und wir hatten die Zusage, dass die Tasche eine Woche später in jedem Fall ankommen würde.   So klarierten wir hier aus und in Bequia ( St. Vincent und die Grenadinen) ein. Am 3. Tag ankerten wir im Horseshoereef und schnorchelten dort 2 Tage zwischen Rochen, Schildkröten und Korallen, natürlich auch vieler bunter Fische und einigen anderen Touristen.   Anschließend segelten wir nach. read more...

Strega - log 01.04.2008

Fatu Hiva die Zweite und kein Aprilscherz:Die "Bucht der Jungfrauen" ist wirklich Atem- und vor allem schlafraubend. Wir hatten während der Nacht 6 Ankermanöver und mussten schliesslich gegen Morgen klein beigeben und haben die "Jungfrauen" verlassen. Immerwährend slippende Anker bei Fallböen bis 40 Knoten haben den "klügeren nachgeben" lassen...Dann also in die " Baie du bon repos" - so früh haben wir noch nie geankert. Diese Bucht zwar nicht so spektakulär, dafür wir allein und viel Platz zum Ankern und schwojen. Der Landgang dann, nach Durchquerung des kleinen Dorfes, sehr beeindruckend, denn nach dem letzten Haus hatte man den Eindruck mitten durch den Djungel zu laufen. Aber immer noch eine schmale Betonstrasse und so hatte man den Eindruck duch ein gigantisches Gewächshaus zu. read more...

Crazy Horse - June 3

We are motor sailiing today on our way to Tonga. Our speed varies from 6 to8 kts. Its a sunny day with a breeze of about 10-14kts. We are trying topick up the pace since we want to make it to Tonga in the daylight. Thereare dangerous reefs and not reliable lights to get in there in the dark. Sowe are moving along toward Tonga.Bill has a new motto for our trip and the Crazy Horse. Somehow it comes froma Clint Eastwood movie in which he is a Marine. AOI is the acronym. Itstands for Adapt - Overcome - Improvise. It sounds like the story of CrazyHorse. We have certainly had to adapt to all kinds of temperatures,weather,and movement on this boat and in all the places we have visited. Wehave had to Overecome some tsunamis, broken propellors, and torn sails. Andof course we certainly had to. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the world - Pt 2

Wednesday  2nd JUNE     PART 2 Could you believe that, I went to press save , and pressed send instead, and dont know how to adjust, or amend stuff sent to the out box, not to mention doing something simple like  " continue " Anyway, to continue   :- Skipper and Scotty shot into emergancy action and 10 minutes later, we had the Kite on deck   , Phew, what a relief ! The Kite at 2690 sq. feet is a big sail , to put it into perspective, that twice the size of the average house. Mistakes here can be dangerous and very unhealthy to humans,, we were lucky to escape so litely. We checked the kite for damage, but none seemed obvious, so we got busy , and put it up again. It really is a great sail , and keeps the boat so. read more...

Glamorous Galah - St Lucia

Saint LuciaHere is Bernie at the helm between Martinique and St Lucia. We are currently at the Rodney Bay marina. We've swapped over mainsails to the old one, which we plan to sacrifice on the passage home. Dave did a great job servicing our main sheet winch which decided to play up on the passage here. We have a few minor things to sort out before starting the westward journey home on 8th. Ted. read more...

Southern Princess - Ode to a Weatherman from Storyteller

Atuona, Hiva Oa       09:48S 139:02W A Good Rap for Bruce (To be recited while jumping up and down)There's a wizard in the west With a bag of wind. Going sailing? Email him!He's your man with a planFor your tack and your track He's your eye in the skyWind spy -- no lieThis cat is spruce, he's cool, he's loose.Going sailing? Email Bruce.Bruce, we're sailing east to west Just send winds that are the best.Trade winds, laid winds, squalls and blowsPlease Bruce, nothing on the nose!Keep up!  Head deeo! We're falling back!Wind now dropping, need to tack.Take up the slack!  Now wind is back!But 10 knots, Wind Guru, just won't do.Send a text, a prayer, a fax.Push some buttons and fix our tracks.Crystal gazing,playing ballThis sleek geek's crazy - knows it all.He's pumping numbers, grinding. read more...

Windflower III - Wir sind in der Suedsee oder im Paradies?

Nach einer schnellen und ruhigen Ueberfahrt fiel am Mittwoch 26.03.08 nach 17 Tagen 5 Std und 38 min unser Anker in der Bucht von Atouna auf der Insel Hiva Oa (Marquesas Archipel).Eine grossartige Kulisse,dichter gruener Regenwald,ein Dorf unter Palmen und die umliegenden hohen Berge versteckt hinter geheimnisvoll wabernden Regenschleiern und Wolken.Die 2970 sm lange Strecke war anfaenglich von etwas Flaute gepraegt,welche uns zwang 32 Std zu motoren,um weiter nach Sueden zu gelangen und damit die Passatwinde zu erreichen die mit ueberwiegend stetigen Winden aus hauptsaechlich ostwaertiger Richtung uns die restlichen 14 Tage Richtung Suedsee segeln liess.Am 6. Tag setzten wir unseren Parasailer(Spinnackersegel) und hatten das Glueck,dass wir mit diesem 9 Tage und Naechte ununterbrochen. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the world - Pt 1

 WEDNESDAY  2nd JUNE  2010 (Presently at sea, between Nuie and Vava'u, Tonga)  05.00hrs, wake up quickly, the motion of the boat is different, a quick check outside and all is well, just a larger swell.06.00hrs We get up and prepare the boat to go to sea once again, start the engine and let it heat up, then lift the rib out of the water, and strap it on securely, close all port holes, etc,etc, 06.45hrs We slip the moorings and set a course of 278 degrees T for Vava'u, the north side of the Island. which we will leaveto port on our way round to the capitol ," Neiafu" or where we are to anchor. Total Distance.........................236  milesWeather, ................................poor, cloudyWind.......................................28 knots. read more...

Glamorous Galah - Isles de saintes

Isles des SaintesThis is a beautiful anchorage just south of Guadalupe. The photo was taken on our way up to Napoleans Fort (photo). GG is centred in the pic, note the large square rigger to right. Windsurfers and kite boarders reach back and forth across the small entrance to the bay. In the wide passage between here and Guadeloupe back in the late 1700s, Lord Rodney defeated the French fleet using radical new sea battle tactics. The French are still talking about it.Currently in Martinique at Fort de France after a boisterous nights sail down the west coast of Dominica.It's new years eve but we missed the fireworks which were last night! Ted. read more...

Ensemble - 29th & 30th December - House keeping at Tortola

Greetings from Ensemble!Well, the last two days have seen a miracle - we managed to empty out the forward guest cabin (which had become my defacto spares / tools / project / junk room). The boat is now pristine - and ready for our guests (my brother and his wife - and her sister and her husband). Role on New Years!The projects continue - playing with a bug in the Autohelm, fixing slack in the steering, outdoor light, forward seats etc...We are looking forward to a week of relaxing and getting into the Caribbean spirit - starting tonight with dinner at "Pussers" - famous for their rum.Cheers for now, and Happy New Years for everyone!Dave & Magali28Dec2011 037. read more...

A Lady - In the Cook Island News

This is a copy of a newspaper article published in Rarotonga, Some details are slightly inaccurate. Irish sailor raving about Rarotonga IRISH sailor Stephen Hyde, who was on Rarotonga for a short stop over while on around the world sailing trip, will promote Rarotonga through song, verse and dance after a magic time here. Coming to Rarotonga was actually not on the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers' course, organized by the world cruising club as the world's largest annual trans-ocean sailing event. National park Suwarrow is the port of call for the 27 sailing vessels in the current year long round the world cruise because of its larger berthing area compared to Avatiu harbour. And Hyde was on course for Suwarrow, but while he was in Bora Bora he met locals John and Anne Tierney. And as they. read more...

Asolare - in Marquesas

Tuesday 1st April 2008 Asolare is now in Fatu Hiva, the southernmost island in the Marquesas. We are with three other ARC yachts, Branec IV, Into the Blue and Chantelle. The anchorage is stunning as you can see in the attached photo.We are refilling diving bottles for ourselves and Into the Blue as the water is teeming with fish and very clear. Later this morning we are going to walk and climb with Into the Blue for about two hours to a waterfall and take a packed lunch to enjoy after a swim in the waterfall pool. Not sure if I can stand all this excitement! Just seen three of four very large Tuna leaping high out of the water with a ring of Dolphins all around them. This was right next to the yacht and the frenzy and foam was amazing! All went suddenly quiet so either the Tuna got away,. read more...

Kasuje - Daily Log Tuesday 1st April.

This will be our last log entry for some time as we are due to arrive in Tahiti in a few hours and if this landfall emulates most of the previous arrivals I will be unable to complete any joined up writing for some time.!!!As previously reported we arrived in Hiva Oa in the early hours of 28th March. We had to drop anchor and use the dingy to get ashore. First thing that morning (6 am) we headed for the Gendarmerie to clear immigration and have our passports stamped. They clearly do not have many visitors to the Island as it was a slow process and all our passports were photocopied and meticulously inspected. The island however was absolutely beautiful and when we stepped on land we were all warmly greeted by Mandy of World ARC who put a garland of highly scented flowers around our. read more...

Ariane - Nochmals zum Eco-Schiff Ariane

Liebe Segelfreunde Wir möchten einen Beitrag eines Elektro-Technikers zitieren, der uns sehr gefreut und auch ein wenig stolz gemacht hat: "Du weisst ja: PKZ heisst pensioniert, keine Zeit. Und an Land ist wegen der vielen sinnvollen und sinnlosen Ablenkungen der Zeitverschleiss hoeher als auf hoher See. So gratuliere ich Dir und allen Crewmember erst mit gehoeriger Verspaetung ganz herzlich zum Eco-Award!In meinen Augen sind es Leistungen wie die Eure, die bewundernswert sind; der Schnellste und Groesste zu sein mit beliebigem Ressourcen-Verbrauch ist nichts Besonderes. Eure Leistung zeugt von grossem physikalischem Verstaendnis und insbesondere energetischem Fingerspitzengefuehl." Im Moment sitzen wir in Neiafu fest, da unser. read more...

Ensemble - Dec 28: St Kitts to BVI

Seasons greetings from yacht Ensemble.We've certainly had a couple of full days sailing!Yesterday we sailed from Deshaies, Guadeloupe to Sandy Point, St Kitts, getting in just at sunset (6pm).This morning we had a 6am start and sailed all day, arriving in Whelk Bay, Peter Island (BVI)at 8pm. We arrived a couple of hours after dark - not for the faint hearted - as the charts all have a 'health warning' of "warning - uncharted coral head reported in this area".Both days the conditions have been good - with sunny skies, a following sea and winds of 15 to 20 knots... sailing heaven!Yesterday we sailed past Monsterrat and saw the volcano still issuing smoke and steam - and the smell of rotten eggs. (It's amazing people still live there!)We sailed all day to get to the northern-most point of. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Tuesday 1st June 2010    (presently in NUIE South Pacific)We got an email from Raratonga's newest member of the Cook Islands Tatoo Club (Fats). A short message to say that he was 85 / 90 %  and well on the way to a full recovery. He was also well on the way to Vava'u to meet us on arrival.  Aileen and Margaret will also be there. 07.30hrs Skipper brought John the Scot ashore as he was off Diving for the morning, skipper decided to skip the diving this time, as it took him so bleeding long to recover from his prized " Paddy " experience in Rangiroa,  The Tuamotu Islands. 09.30hrs Skipper, with his golf clubs,  got a lift to the Golf club a few miles down the road where he met Ian Hupa. Ian is originally from NZ, but now lives in. read more...

Glamorous Galah - Nelson's dockyard

Nelson's DockyardGlamorous Galah is anchored at the sheltered corner to the right of this photo which is an overview of Nelson's dockyard in English harbour, Antigua. We had a wonderful day trekking around the coast to Falmouth harbour, lunched at Antigua yacht club, walked the Marina docks and drooled over the super yachts! Strolling through Nelson's dockyard, which is the only working Georgian one in the world, was a wonderful experience.We intend to sail to Guadeloupe tomorrow, motor down the centre and anchor at Poit a Pitte, head to Dominica the following day then Martinique and on to st Lucia by the 3rd january. We've partly provisioned and will get some fresh food for the first leg of the World ARC to San Blas and Panama canal. Tedphoto  . read more...

Graptolite - E aha te huru?

09:48.22S 139:01.88W at anchor Atuona Port, Hiva-OaWe arrived in the Marquesas yesterday morning and we given flower leis on the dockside. Hiva-Oa is not disappointing. There are towering green mountains with clouds around their summits; tropical flowers everywhere and very few signs of tourism.Yesterday we stretched our legs and paid respects at the grave of Paul Gauguin and Heike got us all pareos to wear so we could go native in suitable style.We rented a 4WD jeep today and bounced all over the island along scrapings on the sides of the near-vertical mountains that they laughably call roads. Fantastic scenery and nice black sand beaches but we were mainly on a hunt for 'tiki' archaeological sites. We found one on the northwest coast with the help of our very own 'tiki' - the handheld. read more...

Ensemble - Boxing Day - Deshaies, Quadaloupe

Greetings from yacht Ensemble.We had a bit of a lazy start and only got away at 9:30am.Winds, weather and sea were all cooperating - a sunny day with 15knot winds and slight seas. Our aim is to dop between 60 and 70 nm each day so we can comfortably arrive in St Thomas in time to meet my brother and his wife on the 30th of December.The sailing was comfortable - and Magali used the time to do some domestic chores - and make some more banana bread!We arrived in Desharies (pronounced 'Day Ay') mid afternoon. The bay looks well sheltered - but does funnel the shore breeze. We set the anchor and paid careful attention to set the anchor drift alarm and make sure we were held fast. After a quick swim we went ashore to explore. The town is small and charming, and seems a lot more affluent than. read more...

Crazy Horse - June 2

Yesterday we had a rather bumpy sail toward our destination of Tonga. There was enough wind however, to carry our A sail which is a small spinnaker. We did about 7kts and the bumps eased while we were able to sail with the spinnaker. The sailmaker did a good job in repair of that sail and we are hoping that it makes it through the trip. It is a good sail in close reaching and even a beam reach. The good ole' Joshua spinnaker is better for the downwind sailing that is so famous for these South Seas.Right now my shift is over and I am catching up with email. We had a wonderful dinner last night thanks to the fishing abilities of Bob on Ocean Jasper. Our first day out of Raratonga Bob caught a tuna, filleted it, then caught up with us, and heaved it over to Crazy Horse via air mail. I. read more...

Strega - Pacific Crossing

Pacific Crossing16 Lange Tage und Nächte für diese schnelle Reise von den Galapagos Inseln zu den Marquesas... und am Ende waren wir nach 2 Multihulls und einer 72 Fuß Yacht 4. Und da die Tri- und Katamarane eine eigene Klasse bilden also 2.! Das freute nicht nur uns, sondern brachte uns auch einige Beachtung der anderen Yachten ein :-)Hiva Oa erreicheten wir am 25.3. gegen 18:00 Galapagos Zeit (nach der wir währed der Überfahrt lebten) Marquesas Time ist UTC -9,5 Stunden, also -11,5 deutsche Sommerzeit.Nachdem wir einige Tage auf Hiva Oa verbrachten (mussten) - die Gendarmerie, dort mussten wir zum Einklarieren, sollte bis 11:00 geöffnet sein und wir versuchten es um 10:30, 9:00 und 8:00, es war immer geschlossen bis es dann schließlich klappte...Die Zeit haben wir genutzt, ein Auto. read more...

Lady Kay - arrival at Hiva Oa

We arrived at Atuona on Hiva Oa yesterday afternoon and were given leis of fresh flowers, which smell gorgeous.  The scenery is spectacular, with lush, flowery valleys and high volcanic ridges.  Met up with some fellow travellers last night and had a meal out.  We were served by a Mahu.  Mahu are  males raised as girls and continue to live their lives as women.  They are part of the culture in Polynesia, and usually serve food in restaurants or work in hotels or boutiques.  We were able to buy French bread and fresh lychees, avocado and mango from a little hut by the dock this morning - a rare treat.   We have also found Sandra, who does laundry, so we are pretty sorted.  Everything is very expensive here, as in French Polynesia as a whole. We are sightseeing tomorrow, as rather. read more...

Asolare - Return to Suwarrow

Suwarrow is an uninhabited Atoll in the middle of nowhere. Group two of the World ARC fleet arrived to find the anchorage empty but we were soon joined by 4 other cruising yachts.  We made the most of our three days there with a dinghy trip across the lagoon to visit Bird Island and pick up rubbish as we did two years ago,  a beach party attended by the whole population (22 yachties) and lots of snorkelling  and diving undeterred by the reef sharks that circled the anchorage. For our last night in Suwarrow we moved to the eastern anchorage where Peter introduced Mandy to night diving with a truly magical experience. We drifted among cathedral like 14 meter high towers of honeycomb coral lit by the full moon; it was like flying in a snow capped forest populated by. read more...

Ensemble - Christmas Day - Dominica

Seasons greetings from Ensemble.We spent Christmas Day at Portsmouth. Dominica.It is a great natural harbour - and the welcome from the locals was certainly friendly - with small boats coming up along-side to sell everything from eggs to mango and guided tours. The local co-op provides security for the anchorage - and does a good job!We had Marina and James over from 'Happy Cat' NZ for a prolonged Christmas lunch. It was a nice cultural mix - with pina coladas and foi gras for starters - followed by veal roast wrapped in iberico ham for main - and sabayon with bananas for dessert... washed down with suitable quantities of Oz and NZ white and red wine.It was a lovely day with good food, wine and company - even in Dominica - Christmas is a universal constant!Merry Christmas. read more...

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