Daily Logs

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...

Ensemble - Merry Christmas - Dominica

To all our friends and family, Merry Christmas all from Dominica!We are currently moored at Portsmouth, Dominica enjoying a nice calm anchorage.There has been an unseasonal amount of rain around - usually coming through in squalls. The upsides are good wind, a freshwater wash down for the boat, and beautiful rainbows!After a day sail from St Pierre, Martinique in reasonably rough conditions (25knots and 2m swells)we were happy to arrive. During the passage we passed another Salina - you can see from the photo what the conditions were like!On arrival we met our NZ friends: Marina and James from "Happy Cat" and celebrated our arrival with a lobster dinner at a local cafe (life's tough!).For Christmas Day we're planning more of the same...a swim ... good food and plenty of festive. read more...

Asolare - Marquesas Cruising

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }Sunday 30th March 2008 Now in a beautiful bay on the Island of Tahuata along with Jus’Do It 3, Storyteller, Southern Princess, Branec IV, Harmonie and Into the  Blue. The gorgeous beach is fringed with coconut palms with coconuts galore! The attached photo shows Yachts Jus’Do It 3 and Into the Blue. Notice the colour of the water and the white soft sand beach. We invited Southern Princess for sundowners last night but by the time the session was over it was two dark to put out our Lobster Pot, so we will have to wait another day for my speciality of Lobster Thermadore!Capt..Peterwww.asolare.co.ukP3290075_edited-1. read more...

Asolare - A visitor at sea

On the way to Suworrow we were visited by a bird (a Shearwater?) who ignoring much more suitable perches attempted to land on a blade of a stationary wind generator, the resulting spin must have given us a couple of watts and caused us much amusement, before settling on the spinnaker pole uphaul. Why we wondered did it not choose the pole itself or even better the redundant main boom which was lying unused, a prefect resting spot for a weary flyer. The sail was five days of classic trade wind sailing with the spinnaker up punctuated by a couple of exhilarating  rides through squalls.. read more...

Asolare - Leaving Bora Bora

After rejoining the World ARC folks we left Bora Bora on Wednesday after a quick couple of days in the Bora Bora Yacht Club where the hosts Teava and Jessica gave both Peter and Mandy a great welcome and membership of the club as returning guests. We were both there two years ago when Teava and Jessica had only just taken over the club and it was great to see the results of the hard work they have done since then. A dive just outside the Bora Bora pass was another good one; each mooring buoy seemed to be manned by a big friendly Grey Shark waiting at the bottom of the line for the food that the local dive operators always take.  Luckily ours allowed us to pass without a “ticket” and obliged us by circling menacingly allowing Peter to try to spook Mandy by grabbing her leg as. read more...

Sialia - Update

The wind continues to come at us in the wrong direction, but we are continuing to do our best to make our way South and East.  We are still sailing in 80 degree water.That part is wonderful. The strong and opposing North East currents that go with that, not so much ? Every night at 7 there is a roll call of all participating boats on the SSB radio.Amy took this duty on last night and it seems that we are only one of two boats left who have not turned on our engines at all, so while we may be a little behind, once we factor in the handicaps and penalties we are probably still in okay shape.  Last night we had 25-30 knots of wind and had to put a reef in the main which we shook out early this morning.We had good boat speeds but the current wiped out quite a bit of it when we. read more...

Glamorous Galah - St Maarten

Here is the ubiquitous local runway shot taken from the sunset bar. The big thing is to hang onto the fence and get the jet blast as they take off, or get blown into the sea by it. While we were watching the landings we saw two people on the roof of the apartment block to the left. They scoped out the drop (say 20 meters) and the leap and took a running jump off the top. Absolutely crazy! We met up with them later. The woman was a moto cross rider from Florida and the guy was a local who's dad owns a big hotel here. Caribbean craziness!! Tedphoto. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - Hiva Oa & Tahuata

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }Sunday 30th March. 11am Marquesas timeWe’re just getting over our wave of euphoria at having crossed another big pond. Thankfully it’s been another thoroughly enjoyable experience and we‘re also grateful that this vast expanse of water has lived up to it’s name as “the peaceful ocean”.Our first night ashore – Wednesday – we join several other boats (Tallulah Ruby,Kealoha 8, Southern Princess, Strega, Asolare) at the Pearl Harbour Lodge to eat, drink and share tales of our crossings. It’s reassuring to hear that several other boats also lost their fishing gear and caught few fish! Kealoha 8 saw orcas but for the rest of us there was a distinct lack of large mammals! It’s been a smooth crossing for everyone so. read more...

Destiny - Rally control

Kanal 77:Rally Control, Rally Control this is Destiny, Destiny, please come inHier hat immer einer ein offenes Ohr für Sorgen und Nöte, sei es dass man Kurs- oder Wettervorhersage benötigt, wo man tanken kann, wo günstig einkaufen, wo man die Wäsche lassen kann oder ob es wie gestern Abend - nur zum Austauschen der Rezepte für das geplanten Dinner geht. Sie planen und organisieren.Paul und Suzana begleiten uns. Einer von beiden oder beide sind immer schon ein wenig vor den Regattaschiffen vor Ort und treffen alle Vorbereitungen zum Einklarieren und für den Aufenthalt an den Treffpunkten, damit sich die World ARC-Teilnehmer wohl fühlen und ihre Reise rund um die Welt genießen können. Sie arbeiten, während wir schwimmen, schnorcheln oder tauchen. Sie vertreten die World ARC bei. read more...

Ensemble - 24 December - Farewell Rodney Bay - greetings Caribbean

Seasons greetings from yacht Ensemble!We had a great week in St Lucia unwinding and celebrating the completion of the ARC. Highlights included a visit to the Chocolate Hotel (an old cocoa plantation) - where lunch included chocolate in every dish.We then sailed down the coast and made a quick trip to Mustique (Granadines) where we stayed a couple of days. This included a visit to Basil's Bar and the Cotton House for dinner.We had a tough sail close to the wind and with 3m swells on the way back from Mustique to St Lucia. We anchored off the Pitons and then made our way to Rodney Bay.We then had an 'interesting' sail up to St Pierre, Martinique - 2m swells and 25knot winds! The bay was nice and sheltered - and we had a good time at the local market.So lots of sailing on the whistle stop. read more...

Juba - Vorbereitung auf die Weltumsegelung und Weihnachtsgrüße an Alle

.hmmessage P { PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px } BODY.hmmessage { FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; FONT-SIZE: 10pt }Noch in Hamburg laufen die Vorbereitungen für einen Teil der Crew für den Start am 8. Jan. in St. Lucia. Die Juba ist mittlerweile mit der ARC gut in der sonnigen Karibik angekommen und das Skipperpaar Uwe und Birgit erwarten uns Anfang Januar um das Schiff gemeinsam für den ersten Schlag Richtung Panama klarzumachen.Ich bin aufgeregt und freu mich auf die kommende Zeit, auf Erfahrungen, Natur, Segeln und viele neue nette MitsgelerInnen around the world.   Allen wünsche ich von hier aus Frohe Weihnachten!!!   Dann demnächst hier mehr von den Erlebnissen direkt vom Schiff.......  . read more...

A Lady - Niue - the Rock

Monday, 31st May   2010      ( presently in Nuie, South Pacific)  Total distance 585 miles.04.00hrs A beautiful starrey night, with a full moon climbing high into the sky, ohhhh just magic! We could see the faint outline of Nuie on the horizon. 06.00hrs We could see the island clearly, it was now daylight, but progress was slow, as we weretravelling straight downwind, We had rolled up the headsail as it was slapping around too much, and skipper feels that it causes more damage to the sails than sailing in 30 knots of direct wind pressure on the sails.  08.00hrs We picked up a mooring bouy in the harbour, in ideal conditions, what was most interesting was the visability in the water, we were in 30m of water and could see the. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World, with World ARC 2010

Sunday, 39th May 2010           (presently at Sea,, between Rarotonga, The Cook Islands, and Nuie)  Total distance......................585 milesDistance traveled.................420 milesDistance remaining...............165 miles Wind...................................10 knots ESESea state.............................goodWeather...............................goodSOG....................................7 knots Another beautiful night, despite the fact that we are motor sailing, due to a lack of wind.02.15 hrs  The fishing rod starts to Rzzzzzz, oh, oh, have we eventually got lucky, now that we are on a very long line.Skipper grabs hold of the rod and its solid , bent like an S hoop under the pressure. Following 10. read more...

Glamorous Galah - GG heading "down island"

We are currently at St Martin getting some last bits and pieces covered before an island hop to St Lucia and joining our fellow WCC cruisers. Christmas greetings... more soon.Ted Bainbridge. read more...

Tucanon - Three rainbows at the same time

The deck window hatches of the crew cabins had been left open while we were flying the parasailor, which is bad news. The lines to adjust the parasailor run along the deck and jerk up and down as the sail moves with the wind shifts. A line caught under the handle of one of the windows and ripped it off, throwing it over the side. We have had to tape the window closed to avoid water getting inside the boat when it rains, or if a wave breaks over the deck. I guess we will have to replace the window when we reach Australia.I have only told Dick, about the foreign bodies, which I found in the last two packs of flour that I have opened. The thought of dead critters in their food might make the rest of the crew lose their appetite. What a nightmare! I put the packets of flour through the. read more...

Trompeta - In St Lucia with World ARC crew

We have sailed the boat down from the BVI and are now in St Lucia. The crew for the World ARC are David and Alison and they have now joined the boat ready for our big trip!! Christmas and New Year in the islands then we are off!. read more...

Samsara - Prep continues in Ft. Lauderdale

We got a lot done in St. Pete and the girls got to see Winter (the dolphin from "A Dolphin's Tale") - that was a major highlight for Sam and Sarah. We left St. Pete and have been in Ft. Lauderdale for the past 5 days - we had a tough beat up to Ft. Lauderdale but the girls love the big waves rolling under the boat - they say it's almost like a Disney ride and love for us to tell them when we see an especially large one coming.  Beating into the wind - not so much!  We are busy with installations of new watermaker, SSB, repair of autopilot, NAVTEC, injector rebuild.....there's a lot going on. We hope to leave on Monday for St. Lucia - which means we will be at sea for Christmas - hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!. read more...

Tucanon - Lisa with fouled anchor

Defrosting the fridge in the galley was awful. We had big rolling seas and it was almost impossible to stop the door from moving while it was open, despite jamming it with a box of snorkel gear on one side and a bucket of shoes on the other. We tend to keep our outdoor shoes in a bucket while we are on the boat and leave the bucket near the door to the salon so that the shoes are easily accessible when required.Moe took us off the anchorage when we left Suwarrow and managed to chop the rope holding Bob, our anchor buoy before getting it caught around our propellers. It was necessary therefore to get into the water and free the props. It was obvious there was a problem as the boat was shuddering.Meanwhile Lisa, a 42 foot Outremer catamaran had her anchor wrapped around several rocks, 25. read more...

Dreamcatcher - Congratulations on a great ARC

Congratulations on a great ARC Dear fellow cruisers,First of all congratulations to all the ARC participants that will join the World ARC 2012/2013. We followed you all during the ARC and noticed some great passage times. You are obviously all well prepared and ready to go for the great trip the World ARC is.We are back in New Zealand for the Pacific Cyclone Season while you will cross the Caribbean Sea, visit the beautiful San Blas Islands, experience the thrill of the Panama Canal, the Perlas Islands and the beautiful Galapagos. While you will be on the way from the Marquesas to Tahiti we will start our journey North again to join the fleet in Fiji.We sailed from New Zealand to Niue, be sure to go diving there if this is your thing, and back – some 3000 Nm – as a test run. read more...

Lady Ev.VI - Daily Log 30. Mai 2010, Lady Ev.VIund sind auf unserem Weg nach

Wir haben Niue verlassen und sind auf unserem Weg nach Vava´u, einer der noerdlichen Cook-Inseln.Wenn der Weg das Ziel ist, so haben wir vier unser persoehnliches Ziel schon erreicht:Wir haben das Schiff an der Mooring gedreht, haben die Mooring-Trosse von vorne nach achtern gebracht, so dass unser Schiffchen mit dem Heck im Wind lag und dann den Spinnacker gesetzt, natuerlich den Spinnacker mit den Oeffnungen, genannt Para-Sailor. Als alles schoen steht, werfen wir die Mooring los und unser Boot prescht los mit 7,8kn. Wir klatschen uns selbst Beifall, weil das Manoever wie ein Le-Mans-Start geklappt hat. Menner bleiben doch immer kleine Jungs mit verdammt teuren Spielzeugen!Der gestrige Abend wird uns noch lange in Erinnerung bleiben:In der "Buergerhalle" hatten sich die Segler und. read more...

Trompeta - Back in the BVI

We arrived here in the BVI last Tuesday having taken just over 3 weeks to cross the Atlantic from Tenerife in the Canaries travelling South West to the Cape Verde Islands then turning West about 200 miles off the CV. Our first really big ocean crossing of some 3000 miles but all went well and we had a lovely crossing. Now doing some work to the boat here in the BVI at our old Employers base (The Moorings) and catching up with all our friends here before sailing down to St Lucia in December to pick up our crew David & Alison for the World ARC itself. Looking forward to a good Christmas and New Year in the Windwards!!  Jane. read more...

Ariane - Niue, ein Zwergstaat ohne viel Perspektive

Liebe Seglerfreunde  Unsere Rundreise auf dieser Insel mit ca. 60 km Umfang hat uns sehr gefallen. Die Küste ist felsig oder von Riffen umgeben und zeigt eine beeindruckende Brandung. Etwas bedrückend ist die Feststellung, dass für jedes bewohnte Haus etwa 3 - 4 zerfallende kommen. Dies ist teilweise auf die Zerstörung durch Zyklone zurückzuführen. Gespräche vor allem mit jungen Leuten zeigten aber auch die Perspektivlosigkeit. Niue hat ca. 1400 Einwohner. Die Berufschancen sind sehr klein. Entweder man erwischt einen Staatsjob oder muss auswandern, meist nach Neuseeland oder Australien.  Ihr erinnert Euch betimmt: Auf der Präsentations-CD war ein bezauberndes Mädchen, das mit viel Charme die Insel vorgestellt hat. "Dieses Mädchen müssen wir kennenlernen", war die. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Log

We wanted to have a look at the Gauguin museum (Gauguin lived in Atuona, but died a year after his arrival in 1901 from a STD from his 14-year old mistress!), but it was closed at 4 pm when it was still supposed to be open!clip_image002. read more...

Cleone - Leg 4 Day 20 - We've Arrived!

The last few miles always take the longest. And ours did, particularly because the wind died, leaving us with the last dozen miles to do in a very fickle wind.  So we kept the spinnaker flying (and it had been flying non-stop for the last 3 days and nights) and hung on in there.  Gradually the miles crept by, and the finishing line got closer and closer.  Finally, and as usual, we suddenly noticed that the finish line was abeam on the starboard side.  Hastily we dowsed the spinnaker, gybed, and headed for the line.  Making all of 4 and a half knots, we "sped" towards the marks, the tip of an island and a point on the mainland.  Finally, and not far short of dusk, we had made it.  Engine on, anchor out, sails furled; it was all action.  The harbour was just close by, and soon we were. read more...

Ruby - Martinique

After spending 3 months in Trinidad during the cyclone season, Ruby is now in Martinique. Not far from Sainte Lucie!!! Boat is 99 percent ready, crew is 100 % ready!!Herve Sy ruby. read more...

Crazy Horse - May 30

We were going to leave today Sunday originally but decided to wait until Monday am. Well, it is a good thing. Someone upstairs must have been watching out for us. There was a fierce storm arriving just before dawn and it has just now at 1pm settled down. The day long hike was shortened due to the weather and only Matt and Bob are in attendance. It has been a while since we have seen such wind, thunder, and rain.Maggie, Bob and I were in St. Joseph's Church for the service while the storm was in its height. When the priest said something about "GOD"... and then there was the most supreme thunderbolt. It was a little erie and of course there was no electricity for the entire service. It really was very spiritual listening to the Maori singing in the dark. Even though the church was only. read more...

Samsara - First Step to St. Lucia

We made it to St. Pete. The girls were a bit seasick the first night as we were motoring directly into the wind and it was very rocky/rolly. After that they did great and enjoyed seeing the dolphins playing in the bow wake on the 2nd and 3rd mornings. We even had a mother/baby dolphin which was quite exciting.  We're busy installing solar panels, electronics, and have a new stove/oven on order too as we have been unable to get the oven to work.   Happy Thanksgiving everyone!. read more...

Graptolite - Summertime and the Living is Easy

09:47.86S 138:13.55W Sunday 30th March AM, 33 miles from landfall Hiva-OaIf we were in the frozen North we would now be luxuriating with an extra hour in bed as it is apparently the start of 'Summertime'. As we are actually in the Tropics, in a time warp all of our own, we get no such guilty pleasures. Ship time is still UTC-6 but when we land it will be UTC-9.5 or 10.5 hours behind the UK. So jetlag is still possible eventravelling at jogging speed.We've been tracking another yacht on radar for the past hour or two and can see its lights in the distance. This is the first yacht since leaving port so it's fairly exciting. She seems to be heading south so is possibly not one of 'ours' but if she's still around at daybreak I might call her up.The next blog should come to you from the port. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 100 - A broach for breakfast

30 May 2010I was in the galley preparing breakfast, David was in the sea berth. Suddenly all hell broke loose. My world went topsy turvy. "What on earth"! I raced to the companionway steps meeting David there at the same time and we clawed our way to the cockpit. The lee deck was awash with foaming water, the autopilot had lost the plot and the sails were flapping wildly having been driven up into the wind. No harm done, peace and order were soon restored as we reefed the mizzen and genoa. Three wind shifts covering 80 degrees during our final night at sea had us on deck changing the sail plan each time. As the sun burst over the horizon Voyageur was once more under full sail and averaging around 8.5knots. She wanted to get there as much as we did. It had been a really fast and exciting. read more...

Glamorous Galah - Up the mast

We have fitted most of the equipment we will need for our ocean passages. Here is David, up the mast fitting our back up navigation lights and anchor lights. Jeff from cay electronics, the local raymarine dealer here in Road Town BVI, has been helpful.Not long after this photo was taken we had a big rain cloud descend but dave worked on through it. "I actually started getting cold for the first time here in the caribbean!" he said. We are now waiting for a new fridge unit to be fitted which is the last of our major works.. read more...

Cleone - ARRIVAL

Cleone Arrived in Hiva Oa at 0225 GMT Will Streatfeild was waiting for us on the Harbour Wall! All well and VERY happy to be here! James, Chris, Elizabeth & Will Yacht CleoneHiva OaMarquesasFrench Polynesia. read more...

A Lady - " A LADY TRIP " Sailing around the World, and avoiding the doom and gloom in Europe and Home

SATURDAY  29th MAY 2010      ( presently at sea between Rarotongaand Nuie,)   05.30hrs Total distance .............................. 585 miles Distancetravelled.........................   245 miles Distanceremaining.......................   319 miles   Position.......................................20.22 S      164. 22 W Wind  .........................................20  /  22 knots Sea state, ...................................good Weather.......................................good SOG.............................................7.5knots   09.00hrs  We have 3 flying fish on deck, wehavent had many of these for a while, meanwhile, the fishing line isstill flat. read more...

BRIZO - St. Lucia Bound

Lew and his crew departed set sail yesterday from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, bound for Saint Lucia, in the 26th Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC).  I remained at home to wrap up the work/home/school details before we all depart in January.   Wishing them the best of luck and a Happy Thanksgiving at sea!   Corinne BRIZO                                                                             . read more...

Cleone - Leg 4 Day 20 - Nearly There

It's been hard going, but we are nearly there! It seems odd, but light-weather sailing is harder work (in many ways) than heavier-weather sailing.  Sailing in a decent breeze, you put up a judicious amount of sail - taking account of the wind-stregth and sea-state - set your course, trim your sails and, all being well and you are not having to tack up-wind, away you go.  But light-weather sailing requires much more careful sail selection and trim, and much more concentration from the helmsman and sheet trimmers too.  It's been like that since night-fall.  And because the wind won't fill the sails properly, and the ship slops around in the seas instead of cutting through them or rising over them, everything bangs and rattles and shakes and creaks.  We have had to fight for every mile. . read more...

Crazy Horse - May 29

Today we spent a good part of the day waiting for the canoes to arrive fromNew Zealand. Matt, Bill,Maggie, Bob, and me all sat waiting at the lagoonfor the boats to sail through the pass. They were late and we just gave up.The Prime Minister from New Zealand was here and all the confusion wasamazing for one little island road.Earlier Matt and I went to the Cultural Market which they have every Sat.am. It was like a harvest festival with dancers, music, drums, food, andcrafts made by all the people from the island. There was lots of homemadefoods and fresh fruits and veggies. They were selling so many of theirhomemade pareos, purses, jewelry, and quilts.We ended up at the Aro'a Beach Restaurant and Bar for dinner andentertainment. Joe, Judy, Jerrod were there from Brown-eyed Girl, the. read more...

Lady Kay - Marquesas

HiWe are due into Hiva Oa this afternoon, all being well. No sight of land yet. In many ways the time has passed incredibly quickly, although night watches with no stars have been long. We feel a real sense of achievement having done (or almost done) the passage. There is a three and a half hour difference between the Marquesas and the Galapagos. We have noticed the time change as we have gone along, and have altered our meal times in line with the sun, rather than our watches, which for ARC purposes are still on Galapagos time. Last night the stars were fabulous before the moon rose, and the sea was quite flat which aids star watching. It has been good to learn many of the unfamiliar southern constellations. My new favourite is Scorpius, which is a wonderfully shaped large. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 99 - Safely out of Suwarrow

28 May 2010The wind blew all night and I was restless in sleep. At 7am there was a lull and we all prepared to leave. But one by one three of the other boats had difficulty getting their anchors up with chain wrapped around coral.. First Tucanon had a spot of bother, then Liza who were well and truly stuck, finally it was Ciao's turn. Tucanon got free first and they set off only to return to assist Liza. Dick donned diving gear to help. Without his help I doubt they would have been able to get free. Finally everyone was on their way with Voyageur first through the pass. It was now 9am and the wind was back up to 20knots. The pilot says that you should not attempt the pass in anything but a calm sea. It was anything but a calm sea! The easterly wind met the outgoing current making our. read more...

Samsara - All of new new rigging is installed

We had a few snafus with eye bolts vs T fittings and a discrepancy in the way the forestay and staysail stay were measured but finally the new rigging is complete. Now it's time for the new sails! We still have a number of electronic items to install and the new name (with the renaming ceremony of course) but things are moving along. We're planning to pull out on Friday for Ft. Lauderdale where we'll finish preparations. Can't wait to actually go sailing!. read more...

Glamorous Galah - Road Town out fitting

We are currently staying at Yvonne Remington's Humminngbird House, while we fit a few things to GG. Our radar arch arrived yesterday and, weather permitting, we will fit it today. She will be hauled overnight Tuesday for grounding plate fitting and we will apply some prop speed to our feathering propellor. The prop works well and should assist us to stay up with the fleet. Next week we'll fit the SSB radio, AIS, solar panels and wind generator. Then Dave and I will spend some time cruising the BVI waiting until co-owner Bernie arrives. We have met another couple of Aussies, Doug & Adam, who intend to sail Eva Louise, a Leopard 47, back to Oz about the same time as the rally. I will update more when we are on the water. TedTed Bainbridge. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Friday, 28th May 2010 (Presently at sea, between Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, and Nuie)  Crew  :-  Stephen Hyde, Skipper              John   Chesbrough total distance to Nuie....585 n.mileswind  E  ......................18 / 20 knotsSea state.....................Moderate / roughWeather.......................beautiful  / high pressure, full moon and no clouds.Distance travelled ........60 nmDistance remaining.......525 nm 02.00hrs Sitting here on the transome watching the moon drizziling down the mast like champaigne down thr side of a flute. magic. We are scooting along westwards at 7 knots, and with the full moon, its almost like daytime. The Islands from. read more...

Graptolite - Nearing the Marquesas

09:52.56W 135:05.10S 0300 Sat 29th March 200 miles from Hiva OaWe fiddled around a bit with the batteries today. Suspecting one or both of the domestics are not in good shape as we always seem to have the generator on. Could be they were damaged in the Aruba meltdown. They are supposed to last 15 years and will be impossible to get out of their locker as they had to be jumped on to make them fit.The sky was particularly good for stars this evening. We are fairly sure we recognise the Southern Cross although groups of four stars are not exactly rare hereabouts. Heike was excited to see a light on the horizon but it turned out to be just another star. Reminded me of the time Lori and I nearly took evasive action from the moonrise off Morocco.Colin has had the pointy bits of a few hooks. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 98 - Last sunset in Suwarrow

26 May 2010For our last day here we walked round the other half of Anchorage Island. Around every corner there was something new to see and we now understand why it is a nature reserve. Walking through the shallows on the reef, dozens of baby black tipped reef sharks came darting in to investigate when we agitated the surface of the water. My, they can swim fast! Rock pools were teeming with white eels, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, bright orange coloured crabs and purple rock lobster. We came across the two tamanu trees that the islanders tied themselves to when the 1942 hurricane swamped the lagoon with five metre waves, still there, still standing. With enormous bases and roots that looked immensely strong, it was no wonder that these two magnificent specimens saved their lives. Ciao. read more...

Glamorous Galah - Via Inmarsat

Test BVI email from sat phone, prep coming along well awaiting some install of electronics and radar arch all good.Please note your reply is limited to 160 characters.Sent via Inmarsat. The mobile satellite company. read more...

Ideal - Tuna!

We caught our second fish this morning. A beautiful Yellow Fin Tuna!Sashimi for lunch, seared tuna for dinner.There are some good things about still being at sea...155 miles to go and beautiful flat seas (unfortunately the winds dropped off too with the waves(10 knots)... you can't have everything).. read more...

Glamorous Galah - Trafalgar day, Jim, HM and RBVIYC

Here is my father in law Jim, being interviewed on Aussie TV during HM Queen visit to Melbourne on his 92nd birthday near Trafalgar day. We dined at the Royal BVI Yacht Club today and they still had some decorations up from their celebrations. Part of the impetus for this adventure was watching Jessica Watson returning to Australia live on Jim's TV. . read more...

Crazy Horse - Rarotonga

Today Dreamcatcher, Ronja, and Jeannius left for Niue. We bid them farewell at 7:30am. We enjoyed our time here with them.Yesterday Stephan and John left on A Lady for Niue also. Donal was not able to go and is nursing his injuries after an accident on his scooter. He looks a lot better but is not able to travel on the boat according to his MD. We are planning on visiting Donal tomorrow at his land location here in Rarotonga.It has been and exciting stay here since they did an interview with Jim Geddes and photo shoot of all the boats here in the harbor from the World ARC. Everyone on the island seems to know who we are when we travel round.Today Maggie and I circumnavigated the entire island in 1 hour. Before we knew it we had arrived where we started. There are some lovely lagoons and. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - log

Went for a drink on 'Into The Blue', where Ed showed us the picture of the DIY diarrhoea kit they had emailed to us (which we had failed to retrieve). The kit was a stethoscope, a hammer a 4 wooden plugs! Then off then to a hotel for dinner, where we met Peter from Asolare. A good night and a little recovery time was needed the next day!clip_image002. read more...

Glamorous Galah - Loneliness of the long distance sailor

Here's Dave getting a run in on the Road Town BVI sports stadium. We're staying at Yvonne's Hummingbird House, while Glamorous Galah gets some electronics and other works done. Yesterday we managed a surf at Carrot Bay, followed by refreshments at Bombas!photo. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

THURSDAY  27th MAY 2010 (Presently in Rarotonga )  08.00hrs  A bright beautifull morning in Rarotonga,  we cleaned up the boat after the mess the army of kids made last night, but they were great, and we all enjoyed the day and evening on " A Lady" S. read the emails from lots of well wishers , all enquiring about " Fats " and how he is doing. S. tried in vain to get a seat on the Daily Helicopter sight seeing tour.  booked up again,  These guys are busy, busy. So , S. got on the scooter and motored up the mountain to the Hospital to see how " Fats" is doing, and will he be returning to the ship today! On arrival, there was your man sitting in the hallway reading a news paper, and whats more, he looked much better. The colour on his. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Quasar V Log

Friday 28th MarchTHE GRAND TOURWent across this spectacular island with Pifa O'Connor as our driver and guide.Pifa (second name Robert) and about 100 of his relatives are descended from needless to say a gentleman from Ireland! A very personable young man, who had been to college in Hawaii and spoke perfect English, he drove us expertly on mainly dirt track roads sometimes with shear drops either side amid some amazingly rugged coastline and mountains! JB thought it was the most beautiful island she had  ever been to!The drive across the Island took over one and a half hours and inevitably at a restaurant, belonging to one of his cousins, we had a lunch of pork, goat and raw fish not to mention bananas cooked in the ground, various coconut dishes and bread-fruit. Not really my taste and. read more...

Page 94 of 224  92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113