Daily Logs

Cleone - in the Great Barrier Reef - Part 2 - Flinders and Morris

Windy but not so rough. If we thought Lizard Island was a windy spot, it was only because we had not yet been to Morris Island!  We had a fast passage to Flinders, past stunning scenery and in fine sunlight.  We left the Lizard anchorage before dawn, threading our way through the anchored yachts after wrestling briefly with an obstinate anchor chain.  We spotted that Talulah Ruby had arrived during the night, but failed to see Kasuje, who had done likewise.  Dawn broke, we had breakfast and neatly and narrowly avoided been run down head first by a container ship.  We'd been warned that yachts are expected to keep out of the way of ships in the channel that threads its way tortuously through the reefs, so the Skipper radioed to the officer on the bridge.  After a pause - he did not seem. read more...

Ensemble - Day 119 (Sunday 6 May 2012): Tahaa La Pirogue

Greetings from yacht Ensemble.Yesterday we motor sailed around to the North East side of Tahaa, the island north of Raiatea and about 20 miles south east of Bora Bora.The trip was interesting - we took the channel between the outer reef and the mainland - with good views of the coastal communities.We'd originally planned to stop by the Relaix Chateaux resort for a snorkel and dinner - but the lady we spoke to made it clear we wouldn't be welcome ... "we are completely full and have no room for visitors for dinner". We subsequently found out they are at 16% occupancy and are in receivership... no wonder!We instead took a mooring near the La Pirogue Hotel - a beautiful location and friendly staff. We were joined in the evening by Wind Dancer - and had sundowners and dinner together. The. read more...

Hanami II - 12 h avant la mi parcours

Bon, et bien nous sommes toujours sans vent, 3 a 5N maxi et un mer peut etre un peu plus ridee mais ca ne change pas grandchose. Nous avons bascule le reservoir de fuel hier soir,il restait a peu pres 1/4 de la contenance, et deja consome plus du quartdu nouveau meme a bas regime. Tout compris, avec les bidons il doit rester un peuplus de 250 litres mais il est quasi impossible de connaitre reellement laconsomation horaire que je souhaiterais maintenir entre 4et 5l/heure. A part cela rin de nouveau, meme pas un poissonaccroche a la ligne de traine car, ici, il y a tellement d'algues que a partcette espece de salade jaune on ne ramasse rien, A vrai dire il faudrait que je remonte cette ligneet cesse de l'utiliser car ca nous freine pour rien. Mon quart a debutte a 14h et je fin. read more...

Scolamanzi - Day 3 and 4 - wind or no wind - I still love it!

Day 3 and 4?.wind or no wind ?I still love it!Waking up for my 6am shift with the most amazing red sunrise over a mirror of water on the one side and the full moon playing with its reflexion on the blue purple waters with the most beautiful undertones of pink and grey blue! It is beautiful!... but those are the moments that pictures just do not do justice to! Your first reaction always is to grab your camera ? just to be looking at the most insipid, not even remotely true version of what you?re experiencing!...It can also only be that beautiful with no wind though! ? but I don?t mind ? I am sure there will be days to come on the crossing that will make me wish for only one more day like this!Afterthe 12am excitement (a slight change in direction of the wind and a mild increase of wind. read more...

Trompeta - Moorea

Today we went across to Moorea with David & Caroline (Peat Smoke) in their hire car to visit Moorea so took the early ferry. Moorea is beautiful so green and unspoilt. No wonder many people prefer to live on Moorea and travel to Tahiti daily to work. We had lunch at the Moorea Pearl Resort & Spa there which was absolutely idyllic with so many honeymooners it was unbelievable. Anyway lunch was fabulous and after a drive around the island and a swim at a nearby beach we headed back on the last ferry to Tahiti.   Tomorrow we are due to check out of our hotel which has been delightful and back on the boat in readiness for our launch on Monday.  . read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World, (presently in Cape Town )

We are back on board the boat, having returned from a White Christmas in Ireland. We will bring the blog up to date over the next few days or perhaps a week. Happy new year to everybody.  Stephen Hyde   ( skipper ). read more...

Kasuje - Log 17th August

Hello all from Philip and the crew We are now at anchor at Stokes Bay in the Flinders Island Group enjoying a cold beer some 80+ miles North from Lizard Island where we spent last night, and about 240 nm south of Thursday Island our destination for this part of the journey. Andy's birthday party on the beach yesterday evening was wonderful, all crews form the six WARC boats attended and various musical instruments were employed in recreating sounds of the 50's and 60's, Steve on his didgeridoo proved an instant hit. The party went on quite late given the intentions of the following day. However a little blurry eyed, Kasuje's crew were up at 5.00 am to give us a good start to the days passage, the morning sun followed us out of the bay up and has stayed with us all day. The southerly. read more...

Purrr-fect - Day 4 Log (Tue) -

Dave here writing this update. Paul (Linda's brother) has been our blogmaster to date.At noon here we have made 381 miles (or about 127/day).We are motoring somewhat slowly to conserve fuel. Although we added 3 extra tanks,we have been motoring most of the time.Beautiful smooth indigo blue water, beautiful sunrise and sunsets but almost no wind. Full moon at night with plenty of light.It was so slow and calm we stopped the boat last evening and went for a swim (photo hopefully attached). we could not believe that the middle of the Atlantic (North American Basin) couldbe so placid.Linda made a fantastic dinner of ginger chicken, risotto and carrots.We even opened a nice bottle of Reisling.Linda topped it off with a key lime pie and some chocolate chip type oatmeal cookies. It is great. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 204 - Fire, Wind and Water

11 December 2010We watched all afternoon as the flames spread like wildfire from the edge of the township up through the forests bordering the town of Hout Bay. Helicopters were quick to arrive. First they filled their water bombs from a reservoir somewhere in the town, then they descended to the sea in front of the beach. The hillside was ablaze with fire. The speed at which the fire spread up the mountain, the strong wind fanning the flames was alarming to say the least and it was very provident indeed that the direction of the wind did not change suddenly as it has a habit of doing. You could see that if they did not extinguish every last flame then it could spell disaster, for the houses scattered around Hout Bay are set very high on the hill. It was the most amazing feat of aviation. read more...

Serendipity - Glamorous Galah arrives in Huahine....

Glamorous Galah arrives in Huahine...... and the bars were all closed! Hmmm.. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 203 - Back aboard

9 December 2010With Sue and Donald returned to Scotland and the snow, it was time to remind ourselves that we were not just on a jolly around the world, there was serious work to be done. Blogs to be written, repairs attended to, ongoing maintenance to be carried out. The very next morning we woke early and wondered why it was so cold. The land was shrouded in thick mist, a real 'pea-souper', no sight of the usually spectacular surrounding mountains, we could not even see beyond the pontoons. I put David up the mast straight after breakfast to change the steaming light bulb which had gone again on our way here. This particular bulb does not seem to last long, surprising as it is the one least used. Then we washed all the salt and sand from the storm of two days ago from her decks and. read more...

Wild Goose - Come one wind... Go South

Right now the wind is out of the South Southeast, forcing us to either navigate in aNE directionor South, so we are tacking to try to make some way to where we want to go."Outer Limits" is a few miles ahead of us to our NE, and we have talked with them on the VHF radio. The fishing competition between Lisa and Marta on Outer Limits continues, but we don't believe anyone has caught a fish yet, despite their claim to have had a fresh catch dinner last night. I think we'll have to see pictures to buy that one.Lisa says she has never gone this many days without catching something.It is really pretty today and the sailing is great, even with the unfavorable direction of the wind.We are having fun talking about it and strategizing, but as I write this the crew is deciding to go back to the. read more...

Ensemble - Day 118 (Saturday 5th May 2012): Raiatea revue

Greetings from yacht Ensemble.Yesterday we arrived at Raiatea after an overnight sail / motor from Moorea. The seas were flat, the wind at our backs at 10-12 knots, and a big bright full moon. It would have been perfect weather for the parasailor - but we hadn't managed to get a rigger in to change the blocks on the mast head - and with Peter and Carmen being 'first timers' prudence won out over my desire to play with my new toys...We arrived at Raiatea and went through the reef at the Teavapil Pass to the town of Utaroa. We anchored off the marina until we were able to catch up with Dominique at the Municiple Wharf, refuel, and drop off the outboard to be repaired. We pick it up again on Monday - so have the weekend to explore.We saw Mike and Karson (Wind Dancer) in their dinghy on the. read more...

Graptolite - Cook's Look

14:34.27S 145:02.72E Sunday 17th August, North of Lizard Island, Great Barrier ReefWe arrived at Cape Bedford late evening Thursday but Andante had already moved on to more sheltered waters at Cape Flattery. We anchored there anyway but it was a bit bouncy. There were one or two lights on the beach probably from Aboriginal fishing camps but otherwise the bay was deserted. On Friday we arrived at Lizard Island where there were already a few boats we knew. Lizard Island is a very attractive place with granite hills and a coral lagoon, reef and really good beaches. We parked up in Mrs. Watson's Bay. The eponymous Mrs. Watson was attacked here by unfriendly natives and she had to escape to sea in a big tub used for boiling up sea-slugs. She and her child and a wounded Chinese servant drifted. read more...

Tucanon - New Year 2011

The night of 26th December was very windy which meant not a lot of sleep onboard the boats as the water crashed against the hulls, the lines jerked and the boat shivered. Once again our plans to do the bus tours and take the cable car to the top of Table Mountain were thwarted. Despite the 35knot wind, the surrounding mountains are topped with billowing, white clouds. The hillside, where the fire had broken out yesterday afternoon, is black and devoid of any plant-life.David and Susan went away for a few days so we made sure that their boat remained safe in their absence. Likewise, Michael and Basia were away for the day and we checked the lines etc. regularly. We had to readjust the fenders on our own boat twice. One near the bow of the boat had somehow blown across another but with the. read more...

Cleone - in the Great Barrier Reef - Part 1 Lizard Island

We saw the Lizard. It is easy to get distracted when you are working hard and playing hard.  But we realised that if we stayed much longer in Cairns, we would take root.  So, and bearing in mind we are one of the slow-coaches, we left Cairns slightly ahead of the pack.  To get back into the swing of it, so to speak, we had a short first day, spending the night at the little town of Port Douglas.  It is a charming place, mainly given over to the tourist trade, but it is not until you leave it that you realise it's the most northerly real town on the East Coast of Queesland; after that you are on your own.  Our friends from Andante helped us into the very friendly but rather shallow marina, and we spent a quiet night.  Next day, we had a lazy start, hoping to have lunch on the move after. read more...

Sapphire II - 4 May, Moorea

Jerry arrived in Papeete on Sunday, 29 April, and brought the Florida sunshine with him. Beautiful weather since then.We did a drive around Tahiti, stopping to see a number of interesting sites.After extensive re-provisioning in a first class French supermarket, we left Tahiti on the 2nd May, a little later in the day than we wanted. The result was that we arrived at the pass through the reef in Moorea in darkness! Also the Port hand markers were either non-existent, or un-lit. Anyway, we found our preferred spot and anchored safely.We have now been in this magnificent bay for 2 days. Yesterday we literally swam with dolphins (one hand on their fin, the other under their belly). What a thrill that was.....and we have a DVD of the experience.Today we had an extraordinary experience. We. read more...

Kinship - Wallowing Along

We have now been sailing for 3 days.The start of the rally found most of the 25 yachts motor-sailing across the starting line in calm winds and seas.But as we rounded Jost Van Dyke to starboard & poked our bowsprit into the great Atlantic, Kinship's sails bellied with the moderate breeze, and though the winds weren't as feisty as we would have liked for a fast passage, they were in the 7 knot range--a force adequate to propel our moderate displacement performance cruiser.That first glorious night found us gliding like a giant lunar moth in the light of the full moon.Life was good.But what nature giveth, nature taketh away, and with each passing hour, the wind lessened until mid-morning, when the sails slatted with the last sigh & the wind held her breath.Shuffling along at 2. read more...

Talisman LII - Day 2

We are slowly accepting the fact that motor sailing is the only way we will make any progress.We have tried to sail whenever the winds were 6 to 7 knots or higher but it is a challenge to keep the boat moving at a decent speed.We are also slowly losing touch with the larger boats that have been motor sailing from the beginning.The compromise is to put up as much sail to get the most out of the wind, motor sail & try and position ourselves for the wind that will eventually come.Today we have a glass-like sea that moves up & down everywhere.It is a very unusual, hopefully the pictures will do it justice.The fishing has been a shut out so far.There is a lot of plant life that likes to be caught so this gets a bit frustrating after a while.The crew remains well rested & well. read more...

Kasuje - Log 16th August

Hi, from skipper SteveWe are now two days into the passage north up the Queensland coast to Thursday Island, which is on the eastern tip of Oz just before the Torres straight. After our great time in Sydney,Cairns and Oz I was sad and low when Anne, Jenny, Mike, Chris, Dawn and Robert left at Marlin Marina and felt very home sick after their departure, but I've pulled myself together and apart from a raging sore throat and cold I'm on top form again. (Although it does seem a long time and a lot of miles until I will be home at Christmas.) We all had a great time whether on land or sea and really thank them for making this period of the journey so enjoyable and such great fun. Hopefully Dawn and Robert will be able to rejoin Kasuje for the trip across the Atlantic next year. Let's hope. read more...

Tucanon - Christmas in Cape Town

In the marina, there appear to be three seals, two of which spend most of their time sunbathing on an inflatable wave breaker. From time to time they frolic in the water. They are the centre of attraction when the tripper boats pass them on their way back and forth to the quayside. Holiday makers lean over the side of the boats taking photographs of the seals.We arrived back at the marina around 6pm from Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. By the time we had loaded the wine onto the boat, we were all quite worn out. We had a wonderful weekend and David did all of the driving so must have been more exhausted than the rest of us. We knew that the wind was due to come up and it was blowing quite hard as we drove past the beach from whence the sand was being blown across the road. David and Susan. read more...

Serendipity - Ta Ta Tahiti!

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Trompeta - Tahiti Luxury!

Trompeta was hauled out of the water yesterday morning and Bob from Serendipity came along for the ride which was useful as we had an extra pair of hands when we got to the boat yard. The lift out went smoothly with no hitches and work started straight away to investigate our cracked skeg. The fibreglass surrounding the skeg was ground off and all appears to be in order so no problem evident which was a relief. We did notice a mark about 6 inches up on the rudder which we think was when a long fishing line from a Galapagos boat went uner the boat and popped out the other side but it is easily fixed with a bit of filler. So our skeg has already been re glassed and after a lick of paint she wll be good as new. The antifouling is holding up well and apart from the odd patch will not need. read more...

Zingara - Zingara af Reisen

Guten Morgen bzw guten Tag Ihr Beobachter,   was gibt es Neues??? Eigentlich nicht viel, denn die Situation ist noch immer die Gleiche.... wenig Wind, ein wunderschön anzuschauender glatter Atlantik und eine Flotte motorender Segelyachten. Na, ob der Sprit reicht?? Wir fahren mit ordentlich gedrosselter Drehzahl, der Verbrauch halbiert sich damit. Die Platzierungen auf diesem Leg rücken nun in den Hintergrund, baldiges Ankommen zählt!Die Wettervorhersagen liegen ganz schön daneben, richtig gut sind die Daten von GRIB US. Wie auch immer, wir tuckern also  gemächlich gen Bermuda, das Schiff wiegt sich ganzsanft und angenehm in den Wellen, die Zubereitung der leiblichen Genüsse bereitet also keinerlei Schwierigkeiten.Heute werden wir Spare Ribs. read more...

Graptolite - G'day Low Islets

16:22.38S 145:33.82E AM Thursday 14th August North of Low Islets, GreatBarrier ReefOur useless chart-table chartplotter remains broken despite being reprogrammed and now needs a new motherboard that is no longer available so we are still without radar to detect incoming hostiles.We set off from Cairns yesterday morning in lighter winds than forecast and found a mooring under the pretty lighthouse at Low Islets. We are now heading north again to Lizard Island. 'Andante' has reported having a bit of trouble with sails about 65 miles further on from us so we are going torendezvous with them to see if we can be of any help.M. read more...

Crazy Horse - Back in Capetown, reunion w/Crazy Horse Jan 2, 2011

What a journey we have had over the last few days from our home in Maryland, USA.! We made it back to Capetown and onto Crazy Horse after 24 hours of travel time to get here. When you think of the fact that it took us 1 year to sail here that is pretty amazing. Of course, we all have major jet lag and I have one horrendous cold. Other than that we are excited to get on with the rest of our trip around the world. Bob engineered lots of work by different folks to get Crazy Horse fixed up and ready to go. Sails have been mended, engine repaired, and halyards replaced-at least started. Now we have the cleaning, Visas to get, hatches to fix, and provisioning to complete.Lots to do before our scheduled departure on Jan. 8th. We are hoping to keep to that timetable. The biggest challenge might. read more...

Ensemble - Day 116 (Thursday 3 May 2012): More Moorea...

Greetings from yacht Ensemble.We arrived in Moorea, Cooks Bay on Tuesday 1 May, after a leisurely motor from Taina Bay marina. No wind, but the first bright and sunny day for a week.Peter and Carmen had arrived from Sydney on the Wednesday (25th) - and it had rained ever since. They went on a very wet tour of the island while I stayed on the boat and started to work down the long 'fix it' list.Laurent was a great help - and we made good progress on the tasks including servicing the generator, repairing the dive compressor, and cleaning the boat. Unfortunately we were not able to get a rigger to help fix the mast head roller, and the outboard engine repair guys from Honda, while they got the engine running, were not able to fix it so it idles. While the Taina Marina was wonderful - and. read more...

Aniara II - We are sailing !

8 May We are sailing ! And has done so for a couple of hours, and are forced to continue like that since our diesel meter is down to ¼. As you can understand the wind conditions are not the best for any of us out here. We get weather forecasts every day but the real wind has never reached the magnitude our weathermen predict, at least not up to now. We have travelled almost half the distance to Bermuda right now and we all have a great time onboard. People back home wonder how we spend our days on Aniara. It is hard to explain but we are mostly strolling around on deck trying to find a good position for liming and resting. We have individual breakfast every morning but we enjoy lunch and dinner together. Today we even have had a common brunch with scrambled eggs and bacon. Last. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 202 - Blog back on line......Out into Africa

Our South Africa holiday began with a howling wind from the south east. We secured Voyageur to her pontoon berth with lines galore and hoped for the best leaving our friendly next door neighbour John, as her minder. He promised he would keep an eye on her and regularly check the shore power. It had a habit of tripping out and with batteries to keep topped up and a freezer full of meat which I did not to want to go to waste, we did not want to take any chances. From Chapman's Peak Drive we looked out over the Atlantic Ocean. The sea was very rough but at the same time we could admire its raw beauty. We took the coast road around False Bay but at Muizenberg a diversion inland was forced upon us. The road was blocked by sand blowing from the beach. We rejoined the coast once more however on. read more...

Ariane - Safari

Safari in Zimbabwe und Botswana Liebe Segelkollegen Wir flogen über Johannesburg, wo wir sogar eine A380 der Air France sahen, zu den Victoriafällen. Die Lodge dort war im einheimischen Stil gebaut und lag an einem Teich, der viele Tiere anzog. So konnte man vom Hotel aus etwa Elefanten und andere Tiere beobachten. Unser Heliflug über die Fälle war eindrücklich. Leider führte der Zambesi nicht sehr viel Wasser, wodurch die Fälle nicht in ihrer ganzen Pracht zu sehen waren. Der Höhepunkt war aber unser Besuch in einem riesigen Park, der allerlei Tiere beherbergte. So waren dort freilebende Löwen, die aber von klein auf von Menschen aufgezogen und gefüttert wurden. Sie blieben freiwillig in der Nähe ihrer geliebten Menschen und eigneten sich dadurch auch für Besuche von. read more...

Ninfea - Three days at sea….and….no wind

Three days at sea….and….no wind   We are just about to complete our third day at sea, destination Bermuda, and till now the motor has been the principal actor. With the exception of a night on the second day we have been motoring most of the time. We anticipated this and loaded plenty of fuel, so we should be ok. The good news has been that the absence of a big swell has allowed us to maintain an average of 6 kn on a minimum cruising speed, so consumption has been very good, little over four liters an hour. Fishing has been poor with only one, fairly large, wahoo that has provided a distraction as well as an excellent meal. And we have plenty left! The fishing is made difficult by the presence of a lot of floating algae that foul the lure very frequently. Pino, our. read more...

Anastasia - Encounters in Moorea

17:29.4S 149:51.1W  We are now anchored in Opunohu bay on the north side of Moorea.  The anchorage is just inside the lagoon pass, in what is the clearest water we have seen to date.  The water here is 20 feet deep and yet we could see the bottom quite clearly in the moonlight last night.  This morning we went with the crew of Working on a Dream to check out a dolphin encounter, turtle sanctuary and stingray experience at the Intercontinental hotel. The dolphin experience was $150 per person for 15 minutes standing in the water with the dolphins.  It seemed a bit expensive, but you did not have to pay anything to stand on a platform by the dolphin area and watch other people in with the dolphins. At first we though it was sad to keep the dolphins in what seemed. read more...

Irena - Dan 4

kaj naj napišem? skoraj nic vetra in motorimo in upamo :)). Še dobro, da je motor servisiran v Nanny Cay.. read more...

Chessie - Greetings

Merry Christmasaus Knysna, SüdafrikaJutta, Jochem und Eline. read more...

Matilda - Prelude to Bora Bora

Yes, we are still alive and kicking; we've just been a little busy hence the lack of blogs from matilda lately. We sailed from Rangiroa to Papeete in two days, and of course we had the second half of the passage without wind as usual!Tahiti was good, but very wet. In fact it didn't really stop raining from the moment we arrived until just a day or two ago; so the better part of a week of rain. The World ARC get-together was great fun, especially the dancing. This was made even more entertaining by the inclusion of one of Zoe's crew, Kelsey, who we were afraid might not leave Tahiti after the experience (the male dancers paid her quite a lot of attention...)We did the tour of Tahiti, which was arranged by the World ARC and would have been great if we had seen anything. Pretty much. read more...

Tucanon - 70knot wind

We stayed 2 nights at the fishing port of Gansbaai, waiting for the gales to abate. We were so glad that we had made the decision to seek a port of refuge rather than continue onwards towards Cape Town and into the gales. We heard subsequently of the problems which two other World ARC boats, only a few hours ahead of us, had faced. We spoke to the manager at Hout Bay marina and he advised us that both Chessie and Brown Eyed Girl had to seek the assistance of the rescue team who sent out a boat to help them in on Saturday night. Chessie had no steering as the rudder had been lost. Brown Eyed Girl could make no progress against 70knot winds. They made news, the incident being reported in the Weekend Argus and the Cape Times.While we were moored safely at Gansbaai, tied for and aft to. read more...

Kalista - Deja vu all over again, or why are we living groundhog day.

We aboard Kalista are five days out from Norfolk, we are making our way down the chart slowly, and I mean slowly. I dislike the term; snail boat but in times of no wind (can you believe it) that's what our almost progress feels like. Any and all winds forecast for our location have not developed or some wind monster has eaten them.  We have more hours trying to motor sail than any of us ever imagined. (bummer dude !) At times it's been so calm Friar Dave has hung his head over-side and used the Ocean's mirror like reflection to shave himself, of course with the swells and boat motion we are about to run out of band aids and gauze due to the many cuts on his face.  Capt. John has been walking the deck like a man possessed, he's tried every trick he knows to call up the wind,. read more...

Irena - Dan 3

Jadramo. Sicer bolj po malem, vendar smo le ugasnili motor. Zjutraj smo šli lepih 5 vozlov, kasneje pa je veter padel. K sreci je veter zapihal iz vzhodne smeri in smo dvigniligenaker. Vreme je jasno, sonèno, prijetno toplo. Upam, da se bo veter le obdržal. Na barki niè novega, vse gre po ustaljenjem redu. Spim zelo dobro tako, da sem tudi spocit. Ob takem tempu, se vedno racunam, da bom na Bermudi v soboto, najkasneje nedeljo. Po vremenskih kartah sodec je vetra vec bolj proti severu. Mi smo se vedno kar dalec. Imamo se 617 milj do Bermude.. read more...

Samsara - "Papeete is closed today"

May 1   This morning we called the desk to ask for a taxi into town - when we said we wanted to go to Papeete she said "but Papeete is closed today" - however we assured her we still wanted to go. May 1 is a holiday here - all of the businesses and most restaurants were closed. We still went to the boatyard and finished sanding/prepping and then painted the first coat of bottom paint on. Lee will go to the boatyard tomorrow to do a second coat. It's hard to have the girls there when the yard is open as it's pretty busy with forklifts and travel lifts darting about. Today wasn't so hard as the gates were closed and no machinery operating.....   We think the boat is going back into the water on Thursday.   I'm going to miss the air/bed/shower here!  We won't have. read more...

A Lady - LOG DAY 3 :--- FLAT CALM

MONDAY  7th  MAY 2012   06.00hrs  Beautifull morning, not a cloud to be seen, but its flat calm and we are still motoring. the engine is running at 1800 revs and we have a speed of 7knots over ground and with a cross current of 0.5kts There are still 2 boats in front of us,  " Asteroid" and some other french boat, also heading for Bermuda,   Skipper got into the computer early and wrote up the blog, did some emails and got the weather from the" Grib Files" plus weather and advice from Arnaud,One thing for sure, we are not going to have much wind, if any at all, despite all the old tricks like whistling, sticking a knife in the mast, which is difficult anyway as the mast is made of carbon fibre.   We put out the fishing line in the hope of catching a. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - Sydney harbour Bridge...... .

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }Monday 11th AugustWe all sleep solidly throughout the night but can’t get out of bed because it’s soooo cold! Eventually we have to move as there’s a knock on the hull – it’s Kelvin Rabbit – the man who bought Jus’do it 2 after it was wrecked in Hurricane Ivan. He was on his way to work and saw the red mast – Ian goes out and chats to him then cooks up a big breakfast while we try to get ourselves heated up with more layers and hot drinks. John Cowpe arrives next and introduces himself. Annie apologises for the state of the boat explaining that we haven’t had a chance to clean up yet and she’s sorry the boat is such a “coup”- she’s mortified – it just popped out! He’s the selling agent. read more...

Tucanon - Port of Refuge

We left the marina at Durban around 1pm. Chessie had left about four hours earlier and Brown Eyed Girl a couple of hours before us. We had to wait to leave the harbour as two ships were entering then, with a catamaran which had a number of trippers aboard and two monohulls, not part of the World ARC, we departed.We motor-sailed five miles past the 200metre contour, where we had expected to find the current but to no avail. The current was slightly in our favour briefly, but for the rest of that day and until the afternoon of the following day, we had an adverse current of up to 2.4knots. While I was on watch and sailing on a bearing of 218º, in the course of less than 10 minutes, the current moved from 114º to 349º and back to 78º.At 8.45pm, a shrill, constant alarm. read more...

Southern Cross - April 30, 2012

April 30, 2012So two weeks ago we were in the Tuamotu's. This group of 78 islands, all but two being coral atolls are part of the French Polynesia, and are administered from Tahiti. In contrast to the lush vegetation of the Marquesas, the atolls have little greenery except for palm trees and short grass.Our first stop in the Tuamotu's was Manihi. It was an easy access on our route. This is a small atoll, measuring 5 miles by 3miles with a population of 200. As we entered in through the pass, there was a very strong currant.I am thinking a least 5 knots, as we are working our way into the lagoon we see what must be a pearl farm, cages sticking up in the middle, looks more like a fish trap fence that funnels at one end, you might see on the Chesapeake Bay. We see several young men with. read more...

Tucanon - Visit Lesotho

We went into town Friday afternoon to look for a replacement backpack/haversack for Dick. The one that he has been using is getting somewhat worse for wear. We also need a new white board as the frame on the existing board keeps falling off.The first Friday afternoon in December is not an ideal time to go shopping, not even window shopping. It is nearly as bad as the previous weekend, the last Friday and Saturday in the month, when everyone has just got paid. We identified where we could purchase a whiteboard on Monday. Couldn’t bear to join a queue at any of the checkouts, we would never have got away for the weekend. We also found a backpack which seems to be quite suitable, which we bought from a street trader. One of the straps needed sewing and they both needed reinforcing so. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - the last leg..

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }Saturday 9th August & Sunday 10th AugustWe’re up at dawn and motor out of the bay at 7.30am. There’s not a lot of wind but we hoist the sails and motor-sail on a broad reach. The wind is from the SW, 10-12 knots true and another sunny but cold day, not a cloud in the sky. Phil’s not feeling too well so Ian and Annie agree 3 hour on, 3 hour off single watches for the next 24 hours. We’re aiming to get to Broken Bay, just North of Sydney, before sunset tomorrow. Bruce, the weatherman, has advised us to get in close to shore before mid-afternoon tomorrow when there’s 30 knots plus forecasted for the area South of Port Stevens. It’s an enjoyable sail throughout the day. Dolphins come and play with the bow and. read more...

Voyageur - Day 2 - 6th May

Not the nine o’clock net? Only fifteen out of twenty five yachts tuned into the SSB net today to give a position. We actually want people to know of our whereabouts!A waiting game All day we have been motoring. There is absolutely no wind. I have even seen 1.1kts on the digital display. It was so hot too, the Atlantic never looked more inviting for a dip. We had cold showers instead and felt much the better for it. At least there are no mosquitoes out here. The motoring allows us to open up the windscreen for more air into the cockpit and of course the wind forward of the beam also helps to catch what little breeze there is, keeping us cooler. Like in the Pacific we are oh so grateful for our all round cockpit screens. For lunch we had an omelette accompanied by salad, for supper,. read more...

Sapphire II - Misleading! 30 April

We are headed for Bora Bora in a week or so and expect to get there on 9 May. A note from Webmaster: There was a gremlin that caused Sapphire's blog post of 02 April to appear out of sequence. If you missed it, ts now back where it should be, in date order. . read more...

Sapphire II - 29 April, Still Raining

Since our last Blog on 10 April, Gavin and I have been to Cumbria for the wedding of a family friend, while Sapphire visited 3 more atolls in the Tuamotus.  The first stop was Apataki where a book was given to Mr & Mrs Assam, (local entrepreneurs) who featured in the book, whose title is The Islands that Time Forgot, describing the author's sailing adventures on the same route we are following.  Next came Fakarava and then Rangiroa.  Apparently a very enjoyable time was had in all 3 atolls, with shark swimming, sandy beaches and Polynesian dancing. From the Tuamotus the 200 mile passage to Papeete was covered in 24 hours with sparkling sailing at over 8 knots all the way. We are now in a marina in Tahiti, and it hasn't stopped raining for the last 6 days since we. read more...

A Lady - Sailing into Christmas time on our way around the world (Presently in Cape Town)

Monday, 6th December 2010 07.00hrs We woke up to a bright and breezy morning here in Cape Town. The gusts were reaching 40 knots as all the boats on the marina strained heavily on their marina lines. They say here that Cape Town Bay is the wildest Leward harbour in the world and over 2,700 boats and ships have been lost along the coast here since records began, frightening statistics...... Aileen went off exploring more of this wonderful place (remember, most places we visited on this extraordinary trip were wonderful places). Skipper and Neil decided to have a final shot at fixing the forward loo. We decided that we have tried everything and the only other possibility that could cause this problem is the internal pipe in the holding tank. It must be choked,. read more...

Cleone - in Cairns

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Only I hope not.  There have been great changes since I last put fingers to keys.  When we anchored off the Marina in Cairns waiting to be allowed to enter the Marina and clear Customs and Quarantine, we were pleasantly surprised; the fleet was not in Yorkey's Knob, they were in Cairns!  For us this was great; Cairns was where we needed to be.  It's a holiday city - the place really buzzes - but one where there is everthing for the care of the yachtsman and his yacht.  There are boatyards which were ready and willing to lift any sized vessel out of the water, chandleries full of all the bits and pieces you could ever need and skilled tradesmen, who, at a price, could fix anything at all that was broken or missing. Cleone wasn't really tired,. read more...

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