Horse head Cove
Jun 14–15, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
We were a bit more ambitious with this trip, it was only forecast 50% fog today. So we went through a few narrow channels although when the fog came and you were in them it, was intimidating. This harbour is naturally formed and the entrance is only 2.5M deep. The guide book describes it as somewhere you could ride out any storm. After a slow a deliberate feel of our way in, edging left and right to find the deep water. The truth is it is like anchoring in a pond. Perfect for a good nights sleep. As always it’s time for a walk and as we are leaving the cabin we spot an osprey entering his/Her next right above us. We went ashore and walked down the highway (not so Wilderness) and then followed a dirt track for a mile or so. As always the locals were chatty and keen to be helpful.
When we returned we followed an American black duck and 4 chicks settle down for the night hopefully out of sight of the Black backs (they weren’t) 2 otters were also chased off by the Black backs)Read more
Mushaboom Lunch
June 12, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Quick lunch stop on route
Sandy Cove, Cable Island
Jun 10–11, 2024 in Canada ⋅ 🌬 13 °C
We slept the night on the fuel dock at Armadale yacht club and the plan was to be up and at em by 6 am. We were, but the fog was really thick, and intimidating, best have a coffee and a think. The fog appears to lift and vis is up to 100 meters, we decide to give it a go. Radar on active echo radar reflector on AIS on chart plotters fully charged and ready. Cast off in zero wind and manage to tie the ropes on and stow the fenders asa we drift away from the dock. We are 200 metres into the journey and the fog returns, and it really thick. 3.5kts through the moored boats and buoys, Complete silence apart from the reliable dock of our engine. Claire doesn’t get to see the fancy houses or anything for that mater. Just concentrate on getting across the main shipping channel and to relative safety of the east of the harbour. I contact harbour control and ask for permission to proceed, Granted. There is a very loud fog horn boat envy 20 secs this is the light house within the harbour. Quite eery. Our intended trip is about 40 miles, but it looks like it will be in zero visibility inn amongst many Lobster pots. I think our concentration will be shot by the time we arrive. Cold, foggy, damp, those are all the adjectives I didn’t use to tempt Claire on this holiday destination. Luckily all of her Cornish sailing clothing still on the boat to make her feel at home.
We chose all the safest options as far as Navigation was concerned and stayed clear of tricky pilotage. It amazing how used to sailing on just instruments you get.
This stretch is about getting us to the beginning of the 100 islands reserve and we are praying we can see them when we get there. After * hours of concentration and no let up in the fog what so ever we head towards land and hope the land shows its elf to us. Like a miracle as
get within half a mile the fog lifts and the beauty of this place shows itself. We are finally at the beginning of the wilderness. There is not a boat within 20 miles probably 40 miles. what a first spot for anchoring. We see a dolphin and an osprey as we arrive things are looking up.Read more
Halifax
Jun 9–11, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Rob Managed to book a flight for a few hours after arriving. That is normal Rob airplane brinksmanship. Customs were being super thorough and were very suspicious of our adventure, thought we might be dodgy undesirables in our first phone call to them, They sent some very efficient customs officers to check us out. Time was ticking on Robs flight. And Claire was sitting on her bag next to the boat as she wasn’t allowed on yet. Luckily these guys were our age super experienced and realised we were just some old buffers on an adventure. By the time they left we had list of good destinations to visit and advice on winterising the boat. Uber is called and in a flash Rob was gone. The up side Mrs D has arrived haven’t seen her for a month. I was expecting to meet her in Santa Marta in Columbia in 40C. But here we are in Nova Scotia in 15C. hope she brought my socks.
From what I have seen of Halifax so far, the NW Arm, its like The Hampton in the US massive super houses and private docks for there boats . It’s been a long trip I need to eat, Laundry and sleep. Tomorrow we will explore.
Claire had a better plan. She still had 1 night left at her air B and B. Do the laundry there, sleep in a proper bed and eat out at a nice restaurant. It’s good to have some brains in the family.
First of the jobs days, Better start with a leisurely Latte and Croissant.
Jobs
Take of wind pilot
Inflate dinghy and launch and put on engine
Repair The Main sail got a 75mm nick during a reef
Clean out all the food cupboards
Stock up for the next month of semi wilderness sailing. 2 trips to supermarket on the bus.
Engine and rigging checks.
Fill up with fuel and water
The people here are so friendly, they all make eye contact and say hi as you walk past, just like Cornwall. Easy to get things done and find out what you need to know. Halifax pretty big, Bigger than Plymouth I recon. It has a very American influence on the shops etc but has retained a soft interactive feel, everyone calm, chatty and really helpful, easy travelling. It been sunny the whole time we have been here. But that Isn’t the forecast for the next few days. And as we wake on the day we are leaving its a Pea Souper almost cant see the end of the boat.Read more
Bemuda & passage to Halifax Nova Scotia
Jun 2–9, 2024 in Bermuda ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
The pressure is on, Mrs D is on a flight to Halifax landing in the 5th and the weather systems wont play ball. It’s 780 nm as the crow flies but it looks like we will have to Zig and zag to keep the boat going north. To add to that there is a hint of a big system moving up the American coast on day 4 of the 5/6 day trip. Which will run us over and possibly push us past Halifax. Decisions decisions.
We have had a good time in Bermuda. It small with 64000 in habitants. It has what appears to be a 2 tier society ex pats find it difficult to own property or businesses. And are unlikely to afford to retire there due to the very high cost of living and medical insurance. However the climate it perfect with never really cold occasionally too hot. Very green and lush with a solid infrastructure. It is how I imagined the Caribean to be. But it wasn’t.
On day one in Bermuda we did customs and immigration. In St George’s They have their own quaint wooden quay to pull up at. Super polite super helpful. Easiest yet. We then anchored up got the bikes out and cycled up the hill to go round the headland and see the entrance we came through in the dark the night before. On the way up the hill new were called over to help one of the locals take a group photo. After having some banter. The chap told us he was the Minister for Transport and the longest standing member of parliament. And gave us his number. For up dates on our trip.
As We had drawn close to Bermuda My phone had come to life and the Facebook algorithm suggested a friend, from school days who lived in Bermuda. I couldn’t resist I hadn’t seen him since I left school at 16 , so contacted Grant and planned to go out for a beer. Really was a positive thing and good to see him doing well and running a bike shop locally. Would have been rude not to make the effort in such a far from everywhere place.
Next stop was the Pub £10 per pint if you’re lucky. We met Dre and Steve who were delivering a 58ft boat to the Med. Dre is from Canada and is an a pretty extreme skier who run a helicopter ski lodge in the Rockies and Steve and Old school Pro skipper with tons of experience. We had tons in common and the the 10 quid drinks seem to fly by. Thoroughly good company and hope to catch up again.
Set off on Sunday pm after doing all the boat prep work. Engine checks, fill up with fuel and water. Stock up with food. Download charts, and weather. Check all the shackles and line sand rigging again. 3pm we are off. Sails up anchorage up and we manage to sail off the anchor through the crowded anchorage alway makes me smile. Through the town cut and into the open ocean again.
I knew the wind would be in the wrong direction for a while, so as normal we start by beating up wind until it comes right. For the next few days we will be making many re adjustments to the plan depending on the ever changing weather forecast. Day 3 turns out to be motor sailing all day in very light wind but we are hoping for day for blow in the right direction.
We manage to sail due north, the right direction for the next few days mostly at a healthy 6 to 7 kts. But we know that is coming to an end. Some not so fun motor sailing in slightly the wrong directions is coming or way, and true enough 23 hours of working our way through a high pressure(no wind area) and trying to avoid the northerly winds on the right hand side of it. Then we sail slowly for a couple of days mostly in the right direction with the knowledge that a decent blow is coming. We are not sure how it that blow will be so we prep the boat as if it might be big. Check the reefing line all the way to nothing. Prep some line to hang out the back if the surfing starts to get out of control. Run the running back stays to there most rear position where they offer the mast the most protection. Get some straps out to be ready to tie down anything that gets loose.
When the blow comes it builds steadily from almost nothing over 3 hours mostly between 30 and 40 kts for 12 hours overnight. It rain 1 inch per hour during this period and Rob and I get totally soaked. We are reefed down to minimum on the main and we leave out the fall inner staysail. Diedre our wind pilot love s this balance and is very content to steer us happily through the storm. We go inside, dry off, make dinner. And get warm. The boat handle beautifully almost with out any further help from us. We keep watch via the Radar and AIS Chart plotter with the odd peer out. The wave are big and dangerous out side we are 300 miles offshore, but Morvenna gives a feeling of a very safe Cacoon. By lunch time the following day the wind has gone, Completely, and left a nasty large swell behind for us to wallow in. What could be worse. Oh yeah Pea soup fog. For the next 36 hours. Engine on and a close eye on the Radar ETC. luckily Rob finds my joke and stories very entertaining.
Finally we are into the last 24 hours of the trip fog has cleared wind has gone to a friendly SW15kts looks like we will get to Halifax in the Sun, with a fair wind behind us. Only the Traffic separation scheme and Canadian Customs to negotiate.
The radio crackles to life as the first broadcasts of the harbour are heard. Friendly Canadian tones. We manage to sail through the Sunday morning racers and nearly the full length of the NW arm. To Armadale YC, which will be our home for the next few days as we sort the boat for the next faze.Read more
Quaudaloope to Bermuda
May 19–26, 2024, Caribbean Sea ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
It’s Sunday. And after some Sunday morning chores of tying down dinghy checking the rigging and making sure everything is stowed safely. One final check of the Forcast, It’s time to commit to the plan. 1000 miles due north of open water. I layed in a coarse to get out through the reef and out in to open water. It was 53 NM. I was about to find out why this places name was cul de sac de Marin. Sails up, anchor up, a gentle gill forward to pass close the motor boat of some Canadians we had spent the morning chatting with. We bare off and head for the exit to the lagoon. The wind angle looks promising as we head for the channel through the reef mindful that the wind could change at any moment. We are lucky we get through on one tack and are pointing exactly where we want to go, but not for long. 1 more mile and the wind shifts straight on the nose. 53 miles is about to become 70. Miles it looks like we will be eating tea and beating up wind in the dark lucky it’s nice and warm, even the sea birds up here are more friendly. After 70 miles we are past all the little island and the routine of a weeks sailing ahead of us is back . Trying not to tell rob the same old stories. But it’s un avoidable. Luckily he either polite or a gold fish. (Update to follow)
We are heading pretty much due north and we are expecting 7 days at sea. There are no hurricanes or tropical storms forecast for the next 7 days. I have a paper chart for this trip and start to plot our position once a day, at mid day. Its us paying homage to doing a noon site with the sextant. I noticed we are passing over the Nares Abyssal Basin,
Sounds a bit daunting. I look carefully at the chart and see we are passing over big valleys and giant mountains. To put this into perspective the tips of the mountains are kilometres beneath our boat and the depth of the valleys isn’t even marked. I pondered how long it would take for a stone to reach the bottom and how dark it would be when it got there. A whole other planet we don’t even know, just beneath us. Wild life spars but rob catches a dorado for tea.
We were hoping to stay in a northerly air stream without deviating from our coarse to far, but that wasn’t to be. The low pressure system that was quite weak deepened and moved East and we had no choice but to follow it east and 100 miles too far east the upside is when it past we had pleasant winds to motor sail the last of 7 days towards St George’s and Bermuda. With 50 miles to go it went dark the clouds filled in and we had torrential rain and lightning to see us in. It a narrow channel and the advice is to do it in the daytime first time. GPS and Radar have made us a little too confident. But we entered anyway 6 Lit Bouys 6 unlit bouys. And plenty of other bits and pieces to hit if we don’t concentrate. Job done Anchor down in Powder hole quick tidy and off to bed for a well earned lie in.Read more
Martinique to Quadaloupe
May 17–18, 2024 in Martinique ⋅ 🌬 30 °C
First things first, fill up with fuel and water. Martinique is European prices and quality. Then head for an anchorage in the bay not to far from the supermarket. This doesn’t sound like adventure sailing but chores are chores. Off to Carrefore to fill lots of shopping trollies with fresh food. Most people don’t realise that the french caribean islands are actually France. And get euro subsidies etc and they feel like France. Very weird. So couple of beers and a burger in a bar ready for an early start in the morning. When we wake the po po are checking boats in the anchorage for some reason they ignore us. Sails up. Anchorage up and a downwind exit through the sand banks of Marin to the open sea. Turn right. About 120miles today to a bay on Quadaloupe. No despising yet on final big sail destination. Colombia too hot. Azores bit short handed with funky weather systems developing. Decide tomorrow. A nice 8 kt down wind drift towards diamond Rock which is a nature reserve with many birds and great diving. Then right again toward Dominica. Wind is perfect 16 to 18 kts on the beam the mighty Morvenna punching along at 8 to 9 kts hardly a boater to be seen, just the way I like it. As we reach the gap between quadaloupe and Dominica we find a boat that doesn’t know we are racing them. We race them until we reach Dominica and the day ends. No wind in behind the island we motor sail the length of the island. Taking turns to sleep there are many lights on the shore and many fishing floats to avoid in the sea. By the time morning comes I am on watch and we have reached the tight pilotage at the entrance to cul de sac Marin. Which is a name we should have heeded. I manage to sail through the channels in half light no engine so I didn’t have to wake sleeping beauty. The town looked very industrial so one past the reef we gibed and headed for a little lagoon in by Douville. Perfectly flat water between 2 reefs Time to make a discussion on where to go next. We look at the 2 options and there is no obvious answer. The weather is complicated to cross the Atlantic. I decide to get some second opinions. And text Jack who has just that day completed a transat back to Azores done in 7 days from Bermuda. I know that Jack Scarlet and the gang on his boat will have plenty of experience and ideas. What a fateful decision this turns out to be. The owner and the skipper are very enthusiastic and there consensus is for us to not bother with Azores. Go to Nova Scotia via Bermuda. Boom there’s a plan we hadn’t considered. And head back across the Atlantic next summer via Greenland, Iceland and Faroe island. I like this plan has a bit more adventure in it..
We nip into town for some beers and pizza and the plan is settled. Bermuda tomorrow. And find the cold weather clothes.Read more
Carriacou to Martinique a fishing tale
May 15–16, 2024, Caribbean Sea ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
With the Elephant still firmly in the room for where the boats next destination is,we have decide to head 126 NM north to Martinique. This will act as a shake down for the boat before we commit to a bigger crossing.
One last tuna steak in the original slip restaurant Holger joins us and becomes our one friend to wave us off. We leave at about 10pm. We slip through the anchored boats in the dark and out into the open ocean the coarse is not far from being due north. The big decision for now who gets to sleep first. We are doing 3 hours on 3 hours off rota system while there is just 2 of us. Rob wins the paper scissors stone and is off to his pit. Beutiful clear night with 15 kt breeze, I can see te lights of Hillborough as the boat starts hit her stride.
By the time the morning comes Rob is on watch and is rattling through cupboards to get his fishing stuff together. The fish in these parts can be big, and our equipment isn’t. Luckily so far the biggest we have hooked is about 15kg. Things are about to change.
We have slid past Marrieu and Bequia through the night. And as the day gets going we are just clearing St Vincent. We have a steady 18kt easterly and a 1.5 metre sea. Progress is good. There is a sudden sizzle of the reel. Rob wearing not much more than his pants springs to life like superman’s grandad. He grabs the rod from the holder and has tug. Nope he’s says its got off. The truth is it didn’t Know it was hooked and was cruising behind the boat. Rob began to wind in, and check his gear. The extra tension in the line must of caused the the hook to bury into the fish. It felt that, shook its head above water and then took off for 300 unstoppable metres. The reels drag system could not stop it. The only way we would get this fish in was to stop the boat and organise a 2 man fight. We are about 6 or 7 miles off shore in the channels between st Vincent and St Lucia and we head up to wind to stop the boat and sort it out she just gills along at 1.5 kts. We spend the next 2.5 hours!! Tag team winding and pulling the fish towards the boat. Every time it gets close, it sees the boat and tears off another 50 metres. Eventually rob starts to pull on the line with a gloved hand and we are up to the swivel attatched to the leader. We can see the fish clearly now, a yellow fin tuna around 5ft long and google suggest would weigh about 80-100kg. S H one Tee what do we do now. Luckily fate saved us, just as were in touching distance one shake of the head and gone.
we were several miles off coarse and pretty tired. Time to get the boat sailing and have a cuppa. Now 2 or 3 hours behind schedule we decide On an unplanned stop in St Lucia. For a good nights sleep. We slip late Into Rodney bay marina past the last few super yachts in the bay and through the narrow channel, to our favourite spot on the super yacht quay. We are so small you cant see us. Quick beer and bed.
Early breakfast then the 20 mile hope to Marin in the SE of Martinique.
Time to Vittle the boat for a big trip. But where too!!.Read more
Carriacou (maintenance week)
May 6–14, 2024 in Grenada ⋅ 🌬 29 °C
After a 2 hour ferry trip from st George’s (Grenada) back to the sleepy Tyrell bay on the small Island of Carriacou. There are 2 boat yards in this far flung island and we have chosen the smaller one with the nice bar. It’s 30 degrees and not very conducive of doing any work. The little flat we have rented has a small air on unit (woop woop) and large iguanas.
30 minutes after getting off the ferry the Mighty Morvenna was in the slings to be lifted out ready for work. The list is long, as always
Service the engine
Service the generator
Clean and anti foul the bottom.
Service the propeller
Strip down and fix the water maker.
Fill gas bottles
We started fast but the heat slowed us quickly. Lucky we have a handy bar with ice cold beers..
The heat was overpowering and we were permanently dripping in sweat. In the normal way we stopped a lot and chatted with anyone who was there. Met a french guy called cyprian who started the yard in the 80s he had great stories of exploring the island when they were still pristine. Holger was an interesting German single handed who rarely let the heat stop him. He has only been sailing 5 years and had been in the Caribbean for the whole period. He is a free diver and spear fisher with a pure view to sail travel rarely starting his engine and having a sail dinghy for the hops to shore. He can dive over 4 minutes and has held his breath for 8!!! When he is on land.
There is an elephant in the room. Where too next in the boat Colombia is the plan and is mostly out of the hurricane area. But there is a feeling of nobody is exited for that. Heading back across the atlantic is discussed. We decide we will head North to Martinique. And decide there.(first world problem).
One last Tuna steak then off we will goRead more
St georges Grenada
May 5–7, 2024 in Grenada ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
After 7 weeks of working flat out it is time to pack up my stuff and head west and find the boat. I've been so busy I can't remember what's on the boat and what I need to take. I'm sure it will all come together. Heathrow to St Geirges 2 nights then Ferry north to Carriaciu to find the boat and start the jobs list before the 1000 mile trip to Colombia via the Dutch antilles.. watermarked service . New hydraulic Hoses. Rig check. Antifouling. Engine and gearbox servicing. The list is long but having a breakdown in the stretch of water would be a difficult timeRead more
Dash To Grenada
January 12, 2024 in Grenada ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
Bequia
January 4, 2024 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
Week 3 and st Lucia
December 23, 2023 in Saint Lucia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
Who would have thought it 3rd week at see. Routine and books and good food making the time pass easily. One of my favourite things for a long trip is to see different wild life, dolphins have been in short supply for a while but as we get within a 1000 miles of land we will start to see them again. Even sea birds are much rarer than they have been. Flying fish storm petrels and the odd sight of a giant tuna breaking the surface is all we have had for the last week. Fishing has continued to be good with staple catch now being small tuna rather than Mahi Mahi. We have seen several cycles of the moon on this trip and each night the skies never gets old. With so little light pollution the stars and now Elon musk saterlites form in what seams like clouds. I have a particular memorable night where it was 3 am the boat was driving along in flat water with a cloudless star congested sky. I stood on the cockpit seat in 27 c in just my shorts and head phones (apparently on watch) dancing to my 80 playlist. Not an easy scenario to repeat in a hurry.
We get becalmed with a thousand miles to go. So we nose the boat into a raft of weed and decide to take a swim. Very weird sensation so far off shore. The are rumours of big fish hiding under the weed islands and Rob cant help to see if he can wheedle one out. He fails with a big one but manages a couple of small shoul fish for the pot.
As we get within a few hundred miles of the final destination new bird life begins to arrive. The first and most noticeable are the brown Boobies which hunt close to the boat and dive on flying fish catching with everything 2nd or 3rd dive. Absolutely spectacular. Our last 50 miles run into St Lucia channel was a 7 and 8 knot reach with birds fishing and robs playlist playing. It Was very memorable(Would we make it by dark)
As we begin to see other boats and the big wild world of business is coming to get us. I decide to give Rodney bay Marina a call to find it where to park the boat. After such an epic journey I was expecting a bit of a fanfare and guided to our birth by there marina launch. What happen was. They called back and said we are full and try again if we are passing again.The. Mood was temporarily dampened by this. We were all expecting to go to the bar and celebrate. Being Wiley Cornish people we said thanks for that to the marina and decided to head in anyway. After wiggling our way through all of the anchored boats out in the bay we found the narrow entrance to the marina as dusk fell. We go past all the local traders on the left of the channel and then it opens up and we see all of the super yachts On there very exclusive births. That’s the spot for us . There was a super yacht birth empty, and it had our name on it, so we gluided in and tied up. A few well earned congratulations and hugs on the very solid concrete dock (it felt like it was moving) after what was quite a brief tidy up, the magnetic pull of the bar was un resistable. We all change into cloths that might get us past security on the upper yacht dock. The Piton bar is in sight , and the security lady thinks we must be super yachters. We are very much in business. At the bar there is a deal for a bucket of Pitons.(5 bottles)
Which seems very reasonable. So we order a couple of buckets to keep us going. It was our very good luck that the only seats in the house were next to 5 of the local lads who either worked on the marina or on the tourist boats. They welcomed us to there table like long lost friends and the tall stories began, from both side. Nicks final tall story finished with him fast asleep on the grass near to the bar with spoons trying to coax him to bed.
.Read more
Transatlantic week 2
December 9, 2023, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 26 °C
Day I
More fishing, More cleaning, more breakages. ( bathroom window squeaky Diedrie, steering warps )It become apparent that our cruising chute will not go down wind far enough even poled out. So it looks like we will goose wing all the way to the Caribbean. Seems this set up suits us. Just makes it a little trickier to change gear. But our average is around 150 miles per day.
Day2
Well its been a few days since we spotted our first flying fish . We are now at around 14 degrees north and now they are landing on the boat. Sarah seems to think there is meal in them some way. She even tried a bit of one raw. I’m guessing its only a matter of time that we will have a plate of fly white bait. So far the troops are not showing enthusiasm. Floating weed on sea has slowed down the fishing and on occasion slowed down the boat too.
Day4
Well today is the day we will reach halfway on our route Las Palmas to St Lucia. I used a very sophisticated calculation to work out where this point fall. Its very important as we are allowed some celebrationional alcohol when it arrives. So I get a USB cable stretch it out round our theoretical course, then fold it in half and use the loop to strike an arc from St Lucia Chanel. Very conveniently it fell, for us, on 37 degrees west. Whoop! Woop! Can of Corev for me.
Day5
Well fancy that, another opportunity for beer, Today the mighty Morvenna will pass 10000nm in our ownership 7500 this year. Woop woop more Corev. Great sunset too.
Fishing has ground to a halt. Due to constant weed. Looks like we will have to open our first tins of food as the fresh food is nearly at an end.
Day 6
Today we have decided to have a BBQ and have tuna baked potatoes so I dig out the store cupboard to get out the Cobb BBQ. While I’m in there it goes cloudy and starts to rain. As we all know the same happens at home when we mention BBQ. I decide to use this indoor time to strip down the generator. It definitely needs a new starter motor or refurb this one
Day 7
So in the middle of the night the wind dies and Rob decides a few hours with engine would help keep progress on track. All good on decision. Except engine does not start. That means me head down in the engine bay in the morning ,
I cant believe it, starter motor failure. What are the chances of. the generator and the engine both having starter motor failure. I strip it out and find the solenoid has failed. Its a sealed unit and no chance of repair. What then dawns on me is the spare starter motor I ordered before I left the UK did not arrive. This is now a bit sereous . We now have no way of making any meaningful electrics. So that means no water making. I check the water metres and see wee have 300 litres in stock so nothing to worry about at the moment. The main engine is not hand crank-able so we will have to sail onto anchor when we arrive. I n the mean time we shall read the generator instructions those if we Han hand crank that. Woop woop we can. So more ferreting in the back storage cupboard with the generator. In the end we get it started with a combination of a makita drill and some team work with releasing the decompression valve. All good. Now charge the batteries. Fill up the water tanks and get the fridge cold. All is now good in the world, where did the day go.Read more
Transatlantic 1st week (Pirates!)
December 1, 2023, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
So we weighed anchor from our un attractive spot in the industrial end of Las Palmas. And weaved our way out between the other 100 yachts waiting to leave. Although not that exiting at the time. Its taken a lot of time and effort to get a boat on the start line for a transatlatic, and here we are heading out. There are a couple of big boat anchorages just out from the town for us to negotiate. First thing is sails up as there is only 2 hours of light left. We meander down the east of the island heading south to the open ocean. And The Cape Verdie 900 norm south which will be ours turning point to head west . The wind is predicted a bit light and we will have to try to stay on the patchy northerlies to make progress. These breezes look strongest for the the next few days nearer to the African coast . So we ease our way closer to stay in the breeze. This decision turned out to be more adventurous than we had thought.
We are catching fish regularly and the fresh vegetables are lasting. Routine has set in 3 hour watches. We are even having rear deck salt water showers now the water and air temperatures are warm.
The choices to go inland and follow the breeze was good from a sailing tactics point of view. But in normal racing we don’t include Pirate risk and on this occasion nor had I. It was the middle of the day blue sky fishing rods out, our boat was looking like a laundry with all the washing drying on the rails. I was downstairs reading when Rob said he could see a RIB coming towards us at high speed. It was on the horizon but coming our way. We were 150nm off the shore of Western Sahara. “This it not normal” I grabbed the binoculars and headed up to the cockpit. Rob pointed them our they were still a mile or so away, but it was clear that this was trouble. Just as you have seen on you tube it was 10 African men speeding towards us in a wooden fishing boat. WE hid Sarah downstairs and all stood on deck looking directly at them through binoculars. They eased the speed off there boat and matched our speed about 200 yards away.it was clear they were measuring us up. We sent out an all station message by radio and contacted Falmouth coast guard with our position and situation. After just about 2 or 3 very long minutes, I think they decided we did not make the cut for bing robbed. (I’m sure they would have heard our transmissions). They moved aft of us and more slowly headed for the horizon. They moved just over the horizon but we could still see them on the radar. They had not gone far!.. Nick climbed the mast to keep tabs on them. And we stayed in contact with the coat gabardine with up dates. We were many hundred of miles from civilisation, so we were the only people who solve the problem. Night fall was coming so we needed a plan. We were pretty sure they had found us out in this big wilderness by using the AIS system. And they could now see the top of our mast and sails from the other side of the Horizon. Our plan was to stay on track and give them confidence that we were not changing coarse. Wait for night fall and turn off AIS keep all lights off and gibe our goose winged rig through 90 degrees. Hopefully putting as much distance from our original track as possible before they noticed. Tension was a little high, so a pod of 20 plus dolphins showing up was a great distraction. Nicks view from the mast was spectacular apparently we were completely surrounded. With dolphins coming in from all directions spoon tethered up and headed for the bow for the best view of jumping and playing dolphins.. Dark was here and time to gyre and go dark.
1 mile, 2 miles, 5 miles, time for supper in the dark inside. 10 miles 20 miles. We put the radar on to see what we could see. We could see a small image on our old track. We decided to stay dark all night. And the next day and the night after. We were now 350 mm from land and out of the range of land based pirated. We gabled back on coarse and have a story to tell. Truth is I think we looked too poor and got lucky .
The next 2 days seemed quite relaxed. 3 meals a day and some light maintenance. 20 to 25 kts of breeze 7 knots of speed all day long.Read more
Las Palmas
November 30, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
What can I say, If you are looking for adventure and out there places. This would be about the most disappointing place to start. Firstly we called the marina for a birth. They said no space go to the anchorage. As always we ignored them and snuck in in the dark, found ourselves a spot and started conversations with the locals who lent us an access card so we could go for a much needed beer after 7 days at sea. So far so good.
We got woken up by the Marina security telling us to go to the anchorage then come back in our dinghy to register. What a pain. Again we ignored them and went to register without moving. There was a queue which took us an our of waiting in the sun to get to the front of. Most people were cheerful but there were some notable exceptions.. everyone was told there’s no room at the in go to the anchorage. And were put on the waiting list which was 2 months long!!!. We registered and moved to the anchorage .
Next into town for some shopping and spy where the best beers are. We were here to pick up Spoons who was coming on the onward journey. And re stock with food etc and even do the final maintenance list before we are on the start line for the big trip. Best have a beer and think about it.
Nicks on the shopping, so I’m on the maintenance list.
New ropes for Diedrie as the originals were rubbish
AIS was causing an earth leak find and fix.
Buy and fit new connections for auto helm.
And at the last moment the generator has spat out its dummy.
We are far enough south that we should be solidly in the trade winds which should push us south and west. But unbelievable we have south and South west wind forecasts to for the next few days. More weather bad luck for us. Luckily it seems we cant remember all the shopping in just one visits so we get to go multiple times.
OK time to go to the bar with our new 20 something Cornish mates. Who have bought Nicholson 32 with no sailing experience and were heading across the Atlantic. Having started in Falmouth a month before. We had a great night and I hope they are ok. They have a boat that only carries 70 litres of fuel and 100 litres of water they have plans to carry extra..
The 1st of December wind looks good, lets get going. Shame about the generator.!Read more
Vigo to Las Palmas
November 26, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Now this is the first big hop of the adventure. 900NM off shore sailing probably about a week at sea looking at the forecast. Our water tanks are full our fuel tanks are full and the food store are full. The first day was slow only averaging 4.5 kts but at leat it was down wind with the sun on our backs. Time to break out the fishing rods and see if we can keep the larder full. And we had success pretty quickly with our first tuna looking fish. We think an albercore but not sure really. But it sure did taste good. Cooked served perfectly by Nick who was super exited to have such fresh fish to serve. On one of the first nights our auto helm failed and hand steering added a big challenge to the nights with an following see and wind constantly over 25 kts
The next game was to dial in our brand new wind pilot steering gear. Which although wasn’t easy to start with turned out to be a god send. Electric free and silent steering. Our old auto helm is George as is everyone else’s. But the new wind pilot was to be call Diedrie. Quiet but strong.
As the days went on we found rhythm in the way we worked. Watches were 3 hours on 6 hours off. And it was all oiled by Nicks passion for serving great food.
Although we had every kind of weather there was no stress involved and the might Morvenna just ticked forward towards the destination.
As we made land fall on the 7th day we could see a strange shape on the horizon which turned out to be a square rigger. As we caught up with her and made a close fly pass the crew and guest were as interested in us as we were in them.
Las Palmas was now in view and it was looking like a disappointment.Read more
Viveiro to Vigo
November 14, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 16 °C
Now the first thing to bare in mind is we were not intending to go to Vigo. We were intending to go to A Coruna and then even get as far as the other side of the bay if the weather allowed. This little hop turned into a bit of an epic. We checked the tides and the weather and saw a small opportunity to make some westerly miles. It was an evening leave from Viveiro and at 5pm we untied and headed out. We had just gone half a mile when rob said he had forgotten to return Marina key. So we nipped back. Maybe this was a sign. We sailed over to a little bay under the headland called Cabo de Bares . Our intention was to have supper while anchored in the dark and then set off with the tide round the headland. All going well so far and Supper prepared by nick was delicious. Do the washing up tog up and go. Straight into watch system on a very dark night. Wind was moderate and there was a largish swell left over from the storms. This stretch of coast is rocky and a likely to have quite a bit of shipping. 3 hours on watch 6 hours in bed not to bad really. By the time i woke we were entering the Bay that leads to our destination A Coruna. The weather was fine and we though we would push on to a small port across the bay Malpica and wait for the weather pulse to move through. Here comes the sliding door moment. We were most of the way to the cute little harbour and it wasn’t even lunch time. Quick peak at the weather. We have time to push on to Muxia which is round the corner and will be in the much waited for northerly air flow. We set a coarse to co around the corner. It added just 40 miles and the weather and tide was looking bang on. As we headed into the last 10 miles the wind built and we started reducing sail. The weather had turned up a bit early but the mighty morvenna was happy in these conditions and we happily beat our way to the entrance of the bay. We even got a bit of help from the engine to help us point higher for the last section. Destination in sight but a few miles of up wind still to do through the entrance. The engine stopped and would not start. Checked the basics and it looked like fuel starvation. The sea was still quite big and the wind was beginning to howel. And only 1 hour til darkness. We had no choice but to tack out to sea and put some distance between us and the coast. The weather we were hoping to sit out was on its way and we were going to get some. Our first tack took us straight offshore towards the TSS traffic separation scheme which we would cross at 90 degrees. The dark of night had now set in and the 2 reef stay sail set up we had going was manageable steering big waves in the dark of night is very hard work. And our watches were changed to 2 hours on 2 hours off in rotation for 1 every hour as we needed 2 on watch 1 to steer the boat and 1 to manage the traffic. By the time we had cleared the traffic separation scheme we were 50 miles off shore. And the heavy SW wind was likely to drag us further north, back into the Bay. It was time to tack and start south against the wind and waves . Heavy seas and the constant threat of fast moving container ships kept our minds focused until the new day was in.
The next day we were clear of the shipping and the sea and weather was being much kinder, time to find out what the problem with engine is. Rob and I began to strip out the stairs in the boat to reveal the engine. All the symptoms said fuel starvation so that is where I started stripping out filters and fuel lines. They were all full of sludge. My guess was that we had had an attack of diesel bug in one of the tanks. I replaced the filters with new ones and switch the engine over to the reserve tank. After some complicated bleeding the engine was running again. But the reserve tank only had 6 hours of motoring in it. We set a coarse for Vigo 50 miles away with an ETA of 5 am. We used the motor and the reserve tank for the last 10 miles to get through the busy harbour entrance. And up to the marina.
After checking in and having a shower it was time to crack open our fuel tanks and check what was going on. The main tank had 4 inches of diesel bug sludge in the bottom, apparently diesel bug can grow at exponential rates in the right conditions and I think this is what happened. We organised for a contractor to pump out and dispose of all of the fuel. While we all cleaned out and treated the tank, pipe work and filters. We revealed the tank refilled the tank at great expense and were ready to go.
We thought it best to check out some local Galician tapas brats first. And I guarantee Galician tapas bars are the best there are, value and standard.
This delay meant that we were committed to a one trip straight to the canaries and Las Palmas. And not stop off in Madeira as planned.Read more
Gijon to Viveiro
November 13, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 20 °C
Well after a week back on the boat we had made precisely no progress toward St Lucia. We stuck our head our time of the port 2 days ago to find 6 metre swells and 30 knots of wind both from where we are going. After a 10 mile trial we head back to the birth and a well earned beer. I can tell you 6 metre swells focus the mind.
But yesterday morning we set off in less the perfect conditions with a view to battling our way to viveiro 75 miles up the coast. The wind, swell and rain forecast were very varied depending on what model you looked at so we new we would have to deal with anything. As it turned out the first 4 hours were lite wind from the wrong direction so a gentle tack miles off shore to start . Then a wind shift and a tack we had a parallel run down the coast. Until we ran into 35 knot of breeze and 4 metre swells all night. I am almost never sicky but i did feel pretty bad for a stretch. We arrived in Viverio after mid day and it felt like we had had a battle. But we had bitten off 75 miles of the 3500 mile journey. I hope they are not all this difficult. Our day in viveiro was filled with normal sailing chores. Shower beer and bout up keep. Today’s. Jobs bleed the heating hot water system, Engine checks, re attatched topping lift. Bled oil system to generator and heating.Tomorrow is another hopRead more
Arzal Maitenance
September 4, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
With an Atlantic crossing on the near horizon this our last chance to check the boat and do any work that need doing. The list is long.
Steering system
Water sytem
Hydraulic auto pilot
Wind pilot
Bigger Solar panels and controls
Anti fouling
Even decided t have a go at the peeling white paint and blue stripes.
2 weeks of hard work should have it doneRead more
Cameret to Arzal
August 25, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
We are on a schedule. I have to be at a wedding in Bordeaux and Claire Is going to pick me up on her way from Bude and she wont wait!!! So we have only a couple of days to make it to Arzal for winter maintenance and modification. After an extended lie in which made us miss the tide at the Raz du seine the pressure was definitely on. But it was a beautiful day and easy sailing. Although 8 hours later than expected. An all nighter past point Pougen then past the Glennan isles, isle de Goix . Belle Isle, past the Quiberon Peninsula, turn left up the river and through lock. Job done. 36 hours and even time for a tidy up and beer before getting on the train to Poitier where Claire Lottie and Kristoff were waiting to take me to south to The Dordogne.Read more
Back to the warm of France
August 20, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
The sea still had a big swell running, and our intention was to continue south through Grimsby sound and leave via the Spanish ledges. Then wind on the starboard quarter all the way to Cameret. Good plan but we got out of bed late again and time and tide wait for no man, even Rob. To we had to punch our way out to the north and sail round the outside. Which actually turned out to be fun. No one out here just us and the horizon. We got the boat balanced and settled into a nice rhythm making great progress for the first 10 hours our arrival time at the North coat of France and ultimately the Chenab du four was critical to some degree out of our control. As night fell the wind died to almost nothing a the “Donk’ was brought into play. With no wind the fog set in and we were stumbling our way into the shipping lanes with no vis and only the engine for power. Best have a cup of tea and make a plan.
Plan A. turn on and tune the Radar and keep tabs on all the moving targets. We are early on the tide and make very slow progress against the N going tide. But when it turns south the loom of the sun starts to aluminate the horizon and the new day is here.
It is print tide and over the next 4 hours we are sluiced through the Chanel towards Camelret. As we sail slowly across the bay towards Cameret, rob manages to get his IPad to receive the ladies World Cup football final. It would have been a good picture. Goose winged boat and 2 old gits huddled round a tiny screen. Good game shame about the result.
Dropped the anchor in the bay had a snooze and then headed to town for some Moule mariner and chips washed down with a cold beer.
The next day was time to sign into Europe as we are now a third country as they call us in Europe. What idiots thought Brexit was a good idea.. a quick sail down to Brest and the customs officeRead more
Scilly isles
August 18, 2023 in England
So the Scilly isles came into view as rob slept, it has always been a special sailing destination for me and hold many memories . Sailing was good 15 knots on the starboard beam heading straight at the entrance of Grimsby sound. I left rob sleep until we were half a mile off. The sails were dropped as we entered the entrance and we motored against the ebb tide to the first decent mooring bouy we could find. There was a big blow forecast and I wanted to be attached to something solid. I knew the buoys in old Grimsby were good because they had all been ripped out in a storm 2 year previously and upgraded with supper strong 200T blocks and chain. The first thing we needed to do for storm preparation was to go to the pub for a big tea and make sure they had enough beer. I had forgotten Tesco had turned into a time share haven. With cruise ships and even a supermarket that resembles John Lewis it has more wine than food for sale. Not all bad but the island no longer has the cool vibe it used to.
Beer now checked and wine and supplies from “John Lewis” now purchased we returned to the boat to prepare for the blow. Strangely we were parked next to the young french couple from peel.
Prep list double up the connection to the mooring. With chain
Tie down everything loose including straps on the solar panels
Open some Moore beers, put the heating on and wait for storm “Betty” to show up.
Our mooing wasn’t very protected but was rock solid so we were likely to see the full force Betty had to offer.
Betty turned up around 6 in the evening, and there lots of people on the decks of the boats doing last minute prep and watching the sea state etc. Even people trying to move anchorages, which seemed a bit foolish.
While Betty was in full flow we had winds steady around mid 60kts and even the flat water of the sound was whipped up into spray and foam. We had kept channel 16 open on the VHF and were monitoring the various emergency calls that were coming in. 2 of which were within 200 yards of us. Peoples who’s anchors were dragging and were heading towards the rocks. The mighty Diesel engine of the all weather lifeboat was heard weaving its way through the moorings towards the casualties. Women and children were plucked from the boats and the boat was then tied to the life boat and taken to safety. The beast that was the life boat was manoeuvred with great skill between all the storm bound yachts.
The next day was blue with fast moving white clouds. With the forcast for the wind to drop from 30 knots to almost nothing. It was time to move ourselves towards France before we ran out of wind.Read more
Milford haven to Scilly Isles
August 16, 2023 in Wales ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
We anchored in Dale bay back in April on our way north it was completely empty. This morning as we woke in the daylight, the entire bay was full of anchored boats. Almost as busy as it would be possible.It was going to be a very sunny day. There was barely a breath of wind but we still decided to sail off the anchor any way, just to prove to the locals we were real sailors. It was a slow motion affair but we managed it. Then we started the engine and headed out.
It is about 90 miles to new `Grimsby and our afternoon departure from Milford sound should see us arrive around 11am. Once we were clear of Milford and the oil and gas tankers it started to feel like a Cornish cruise. As night fell the wind began to fill in and sailing began. As always as soon as tea went on some dolphins appeared so we spent some time watching them as the sun went down, always a treat.Read more
Peel To Milford haven
August 14, 2023 in Wales
The tide height and direction led to a night departure. We slipped our moorings and headed to the fuel pontoon to fill up beer this 150mile leg. We could have been thinking we were tough adventurers at this point. But a young french couple with a boat half our size and 2 kids had left a bit earlier than us and were going straight to the Scilly isle another 100 miles further on.
Good wind for the first night and good progress too. Perfect little sail right down the middle of the Irish Sea. As the second night approached some tidal calcs were require to shimmy between the islands of Skoma and Grassholme in the dark. The confidants of a chart plotter making it a doddle.Read more