Sailing Diary

Teceira Part 2 -16 to 30 July 2011

2011-08-21T16:21:00.000-07:00

Angra Town Hall

After my friends on Rona left for Flores I stayed on a few days in Angra to enjoy a little more of this attractive city.It has an impressive Town Hall with some furniture that caught my eye. Maybe not to my taste but well made and clearly barley twists were the in thing when they were made. There was a small exhibition of photographs of the ancient oxe cart tracks on the island. The iron clad wheels cut deep channels in the bassalt rock.

Oxe Cart Tracks

Door in the Library

Tiles in Library Stairwell

Library

Balconies are a common feature

70 year old Biscuito wine stored in a shop roof-not for sale

Angra marina

They decided to give the troops from the nearby fort some air experience,closed the marina for a couple of hours and ferried them from the dock. Tax payers and EU contributors got a chance to see where their money goes.

Shop's logo built in to Pavement

The shop has it's name and logo built into the pavement. Not a bad idea to catch the eye.

Moving round the 15 nm to Praia da Vitoria was a pleasant afternoon sail where I dropped anchor for the night. The next day an alongside berth was offered and the cost at this municipal marina is very low. Friends in the UK who occasionally drift into a marina may have trouble believing it is 6.5 Euros per day, elctricity and water included for a 12 metre yacht.

I was keen to visit the marina as I plan to lift out here in Oct for the winter. As in so many enterprises it is not what you know but who you know that is important. My research indicated that it would be next to impossible to organise a lift out without the assistance of Pedro so I was very keen to make his aquaintance. He turnd out to be knowledgeable ,friendly and business -like so I now feel reassured the ducks are in line for my liftout and not too much will be left to chance. And for my yachtie friends in the UK let me just say the over winter rates are so low it would have serious health repercussions if I were to divulge them.

Praia da Vitoria has some fine examples of pavement and wall art. It boasts a long sandy beach with a recently completed promenade getting on for a mile long with cycle track and lots of benches. I was interested to see good citizens of the town are commemorated with tile cameos on walls around the town.

Main Street Praia da Vitoria

If you were drunk and walked along these nice wavy lines would you think they were straight?

Praia da Vitoria Beach

Jester in Praia da Vitoria Marina

You would have to be a true devotee of the class to do an Atlantic circuit in this one. No cockpit-you steer from inside. The owner had no time for anything other than his beloved Jester and he was at great pains to be sure you understood what a remarkable vessel it was. I realised too late showing an interest in it would cost me a great deal of time if I was to avoid offending him.

Kari Blackmore-An extraordinary Woman of the Sea

2011-08-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

One of the great delights of cruising is the people you meet. The majority are wonderful company sharing a common interest and these encounters are often intense because everyone knows that they are all too often brief and you have to make the most of them. Once in a while someone exceptional appears and Harold La Borde was one I wrote about. Kari Blackmore is an extraordinary woman and so I devote an entry in my blog to her.

I first encountered her in Antigua where her yacht Zahlia was anchored not far from Plane Song. She was noticeable not because she was a rare female solo sailor but because she effortlessly rowed a small dinghy quite a distance to shore and always hauled it out at night. I met her again in the Azores in Horta, then in Velas and later in Praia da Vitoria where I had time to learn more about her achievements. She is modest about them and the story has to be gently prised from her.

Before sailing became central to her life she worked as a cook in London and Porto Santo, Madeira. During her back-packing days she travelled extensively. She casually mentioned that she had cycled around Thailand as though this was nothing out of the ordinary.

In the Cape Verdes she met Jean-Yves, a French sailor and after both had separately crossed the Atlantic they decided to circumnavigate in Jean-Yves' 32 foot steel yacht. Kari sold her yacht in Trinidad. They spent 6 years sailing round the world. This experience helped her formulate her ideas when she decided to have her own yacht. She commissioned the hull of a Wylo 32 foot steel gaffer from a yard in Penryn which by good fortune was familiar with the design, having built two previously.

Fitting out a yacht myself taught me the perils of such an enterprise. That Kari achieved this in two years with no previous training in the skills needed, whilst living aboard, is a considerable feat. To have designed and built in all the features her previous sailing had taught her were important adds another dimension to this remarkable achievement. There isn't enough space to include them all but I mention a couple to give the flavour.

Water inside a steel hull is to be avoided at all costs. To ensure she could easily replenish fresh water from an anchorage, her domestic supply is held in carriable plastic containers, each with its own secure storage compartment. The one in use slots under the double sink unit, located on the centre line to ensure good drainage and is hand pumped to the sink. Fool proof and well suited to someone who prefers to be at anchor.

Stowing anchor chain is something of a compromise on many yachts. In most cases the sea water and muck that comes with raising the anchor finds its way into the bilges which on a steel boat is a potentially serious problem. Kari's solution is to have a large robust plastic container positioned under the chain pipe. The bottom has a skin fitting and a pipe leads to a container where the salt water is collected. Because the chain container is very accessible, rinsing the chain with fresh water is simlicity itself. Nothing enters the bilge.

These are but two of the sensible and practical ideas she has built into her unique yacht. Everywhere you look above and below deck there is some very practical solution to make the yacht safer and more easily handled. Astonishingly, she also made most of the rigging and all of the sails, not to mention the upholstery and her own clothes. Being a traditional gaffer, Zahlia has some 30 blocks-no prizes for guessing who made them. Oh, and that nice little dinghy,a Nymph design, was built by Kari.

Fore Hatch-hinged from front or back

Forward View from Galley

Full Size Chart Table

During my stay in Velas, I met Jim and Becky, a wonderful couple from the Shetlands. They organised a musical evening and invited Kari, who plays a penny whisle. Jim is a talented fiddle player and Becky is learning to accompany him with a concertina. Kari played really well and it was a delight to listen to live music again. I then discovered Kari is entirely self-taught. I'm wondering what she will turn her hand to next! Whatever it is she will be the master of it.

I'm not sure I have captured the essence of this remarkable,energetic and likeable character but I am grateful to her for allowing me the opportunity to try.

Terceira-July 2011-Part 1

2011-07-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

Arriving in Angra do Heroismo, to have your warps secured by a seriously attractive woman and then be treated to a breakfast of scrambled eggs is not a bad way to begin your stay in this World Heritage city. The marina wasn't here when I anchored in the harbour in 1998 with my son Daniel. I think the build shows a degree of sensitivity to fit with it surroundings and I am pleased they retained a good piece of the beach.

By comparison with Horta and Velas, Angra paving is not quite so good but their Cathedral, churches and public buildings are much grander.

The stem cell reseach scientist and mathematician, Jim and Becky, are the couple who welcomed me on arrival at the visitors pontoon and you would be very hard pressed to find a more interesting and lovely couple. Certainly I have not on my travels. They did what I did in my Contessa 12 years ago -popped over in their Rival 34 s/v Rona from the Shetlands to enjoy a bit of sun in the Azores. In reality they had a bit of a testing time but came through smiling and the better sailors for the experience no doubt.

I had got to know them in Velas and was so fortunate to continue to enjoy their company. We prepared each other some memorable meals and swapped stories over extended night caps. An early event we shared was the bull running.

The 5 smartly turned out guys try to prevent serious injury to the few brave souls who encourage the bull to go for them. He doesn't need much encouragement as he has been cooped up in a transit box, had brass caps screwed on his horns and ropes tied around his neck, none of which are good for his temper. In any case he's probably done this a few times before and is keen to toss a few of these 2 legged creatures dancing around in front of him. Videos played in shops and cafes show scenes where people are tossed about, some pretty badly hurt.

I like the picture of the 5 restrainers leaping over the fence just in time!

Our next adventure was a tour of the island by scooter which I reckon is the best way to see the countryside and is less economically challenging. Jim led the way as Becky could navigate from the back so I had an easy ride. From behind Becky looked rather like ET and I could see the reaction of guys sitting around at the roadside-a lot of heads tuned in unison as we passed!

The wine museum at Biscoitos was interesting with artifacts that showed how wine was made locally. The stone vat in the picture was hand carved from the solid as were the cone shaped pressing weights. Vines were grown in small enclosures protected by stone walls and ground warmth retained with bassalt stones.

In the same museum there was an example of rope made from whale ligament demostrating that nothing from the whale was wasted.

Not far from the volcano we visited in the centre of the island was an area of steam vents. I found this active demonstration of being on top of the Atlantic Ridge a reminder of the earthquake I experienced in Horta in 1998. It made entering the volcano a little disconcerting but the staff told me that there were no rock falls there during the large quake that severely damaged Angra in the 1980s.

The tour took in some recommended view points and other features that caught our eyes. A wonderful experience.

The harbour in view is Praia do Vitoria where I will lift out for the winter in October. Some view!

Hedges and stone walls to protect the crops .

It was very tough to say good bye to Jim and Becky who had been such wonderful companions-they say grown men don't cry-well I've got news for you! They sailed to Flores and on the way saw Northern Bottlenose Whales.

Sao Jorge 5-8 July 2011

2011-07-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

Horta to Velas is just 20 nm and I had a very pleasant sail, passing close to the end of Pico. The small harbour at Velas towards the east end of the southern coast of Sao Jorge has a new marina run by a very friendly harbourmaster. I was welcomed in great style and the reception committee included a number of people I know from travels in the Caribbean. PS was moored expertly without me lifting a finger except to take a cool beer as I stepped ashore. Some welcome!

The original grand entrance after you landed was no doubt intended to impress and 200 years later it still does.

The island is narrow and steep sided with peaks along the centre ridge rising to 1000 metres. In a few places along the coast there are fajas which are small areas of flat land at sea level where small communities were built. Access to the faja would be by very steep tracks and paths from the central ridge. I joined a group to do a circular walk to a faja, the route being described as easy. This appealed as I am not walking fit after many weeks at sea.

The group includes a woman circumnavigator who happens to have built her current yacht, a teacher, a "wheel" in the Ocean Cruising Club, a mathmatician and a stem cell research scientist. It was decided to walk the very steep path back up from sea level at the end. Our helpful taxi driver arranged to meet us at a cafe near the end of the walk. The descent was a pleasant walk on a dirt road with stunning views out to sea. Finding the path to go back up proved to be a serious challenge. It took 3 or 4 climbs of several hundred feet up false trails before we found the right one which did have the correct marks but so meanly done that I found only 3 on the whole route. Luckly our taxi driver could be forewarned of our lengthened walk.

Horta does not have a monopoly of interesting pavements. Velas has certainly gone to town with a fine display of this art form.

The stem cell scientist and mathmatician, Jim and Becky left for Angra do Heroismo on Terceira at the same time as I left thinking I might go to Praia Vitoria. Plane Song is a little bigger than Rona, a Rival 34, and made more speed from the very light winds. I vacillated a long time before I finally got around to flying the drifter, a very large light weight loose footed genoa. At the time 2 to 3 kts was all I could manage but once flying the genoa increased speed to over 4 kts. Just before this I passed a Sperm whale quietly swimming on the surface only 50 metres away. By the time I had the camera ready it was of course further away but I'm pleased I managed a picture good enough to identify the whale. To see the biggest preditor on earth that close is awesome.

The sun was setting as I passed the end of Sao Jorge and I sailed on through the night having decided to join Jim and Becky in Angra. I hove to a mile off at 0300hrs and slept in hourly sessions rising to check the position. Rona made it a little after 0600hrs and I followed them to the visitors berth where we had to wait for the office to open. I was welcomed aboard Rona to a breakfast of scrambled eggs. Now thats what I call friendship!

Azores-Faial June 2011

2011-07-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

Arrived here 6 June after a passage with a Polish female crew that will long stick in the memory. I have recovered from the experience helped by meeting up with a lot of friendly people I had encountered in the Caribbean, many of whom had difficult sailing conditions. Horta is full of yachts taking a break on their atlantic crossing but now we are into July the numbers tail off significantly. Few take the trouble to explore these very attractive islands. There is a long tradition of leaving a wall painting and some are beautifully done so I offer a selection to give an impression of some of the best of which mine is not to be included.

Plane Song has been here before and the painting I did then is still there albeit a little tatty now. My new effort incorporates the ceramic coaster/plaque I had made in Stoke on Trent before I departed. Should survive for a good few years!

Silver Harmony is a Contessa 32 sailed by Robert Fox. We ran into each other several times in the Caribbean.

Zeezot is berthed next to me. Albertien is a ceramic artist and it shows in their painting. The Granny with the US flag was done by a trained artist who now produces scrimshaw work[more below].

Those of you familliar with pavements in Portugal will have seen the wonderful decorations built into them. They do the same here and I think they add so much to the street scene.

The park is only 50 metres from my berth and the blackbirds sing loudly every day.

Continuing the artistic theme, on the right is John van Opstal a Dutchman who for some 28 years has lived on Faial where he built his own house with the spectacular view you see behind him.Trained as an artistst, he took up scrimshaw work when he settled here. I have had an interest in this art form for a long time so I took the opportunity to buy a small example pictured below. His stock of whales teeth runs out soon so I'm pleased I made the investment.

Not long after my arrival a Swedish yacht departed from the berth next to me. There was a moderate cross wind at the time so we rigged a line to his bow so that I could help pull it into wind from the stern of PS. He put full power on misjudging his ability to turn away from the stern of PS and rammed the protective bar on the Monitor. The damage is byond repair facilities here and I have after some effort sent it back to the factory in California where there is hope that they can straighten the frame. The Swede, a circumnativator, was mortified and I extracted 1800 euros as a down payment before he left. I'll be suprised if it covers the cost. As I'm cruising the islands, all of which are within a day sail, I will manage with the electronic steering but I will miss the Monitor-it steers PS 25/7 without complaint.

Pico is only a 30 minute ferry ride from Horta and dominates the view from the harbour. Most of the time the summit is in cloud but I was lucky to get a picture as the rays of the setting sun illuminated the island.

Cafe Sport in Horta is rated as the best yachtsman's bar in the whole world. They provide every kind of service to the visiting yachtsmen from holding mail, to changing money. It has great atmosphere. I was particulary pleased when Jose the grandson of the original owner let me hang a PS ceramic on the wall which can be seen as a white disc above my head.

In a couple of days I will depart for St George, a demanding sail of all of 20 miles. The island can be seen in the distance to the left of Pico.

Bermuda-Azores May 2011

2011-06-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

Before setting off from Bermuda, I decided to change the big genoa for the yankee as it's a bit of a handful in the best of conditions. Whilst I was hauling up the yankee the winch came apart just as I was pulling very hard and flung me backwards so that my pelvis hit the corner of the fore hatch. I think I was extremely lucky not to break bones. After 3 days I felt I could manage to sail the boat albeit still with a fair bit of pain and some serious bruising which took 3 weeks to disappear.

Horta on the island of Faial in the Azores is around 1780 nm from Bermuda. Various factors such as wind direction and course changes to skirt round a storm add to the distance actually sailed. We had to sail 2200 nm which took 19 days. The detour to avoid the strongest winds of the storm turned out to have been unnecessary and added nearly 2 days to the passage. In the event, we experienced gale force winds despite the detour. The best 24 hour run was 157 nm and the least 93nm. A high percent of the sailing[perhaps 70%] was hard on the wind in big seas at times that batterd PS to a worrying extent. She came through the experience ok but the movement stired up contamination in the paraffin supply tank originating from fuel taken in Trinidad. This got unwittingly transfered to the pressure tank and then blocked the jets and pipes on the cooker. I had to dismantle the cooker at sea in very testing conditions and then filter clean fuel from the supply tank. It took a whole day to achieve. But this setback was nothing to the problems with Eva the Polish crew.

Before leaving Bermuda I had thought about asking her to leave given the difficulty in communicating with her which had nothing to do with language. She simply resisted any effort to be a sociable part of a team. Alarm bells rang when I lay injured on the deck and evenually dragged myself to the cabin to get pain killers and recover from shock after the incident with the winch-she sat impassively in the cockpit never offering to help or even to sympathise.But I suppose my mind was concentrating on the passage to the Azores and I let it pass. Once at sea, her unremitting sullen, unpleasant selfish behaviour was a source of constant stress and I noted in my journal on day 3 that I was seriously considering turning back. This drove me to speak to her in capital letters to make the point that we were 2 mature adults embarked on a serious passage and we had better make the best of it in a professional seaman like way. For the whole of the 19 days at sea she spoke only to ask for something or in response to my questioning. Attempts at normal conversation were simply ignored. With time to reflect I believe she was unable to accept she could ever be wrong or be criticised and took umbridge if she was. A few examples of her reaction to being asked to do something as I would like it done, rather than as she did it, illustrate the problem.

Of her own volition she took to pumping the bilges but although asked several times to tell me the number of pumping strokes so I would know whats going on she simply refused to do it. Then the way watches worked out she was on when it was necessary to record the days run and I showed her what to record but she never did as I asked and then stopped doing it after I had asked many times for the details I needed to be recorded. I found she was snacking on bread we had carefully calculated to last the passage and was therefore having more than her share. She reacted badly to me asking her to stick to the rationing we had agreed. There were many other examples of this stubborn refusal to anything other than the way she decided. All this made for a very stressful passage relieved at times by the visits by dolphins and the wonderful flight of the Sheerwaters which were constant companions.

Its not easy to get a good picture of these masters of the art of gliding. They use the air compressed above a rising wave to give them lift. Somehow, they keep just a few centimeters above the water diving into the troughs between waves then soaring up on the front of a rising wave to perhaps 20 feet before diving down low again. They manage this flight pattern for hours on end without the need to beat their wings.

I believe that when they are really close to the water they sometimes pick up food from the surface but I have never seen that happen. They manage to keep this up after sundown in very poor light, in rain and high winds.

There is a drawback to this form of flying. When its calm with no swell they can't generate the free lift so they sit on the sea, usually in small groups and wait for the right conditions. When I've approached such a group motor sailing in the calm, the birds are very reluctant to take to the air waiting to the last possible moment before moving.

None of my reference books say what food they pick up in flight. I wondered if they might take the very small Portugese Man of War which sporn in great numbers in places in the open ocean.

The nightmare passage ended in Horta a place I have visited twice before and like very much. Some friendly conversations over a glass or two of Super Bock in the famous Cafe Sport with fellow ocean sailors, many of whom had similar horror stories, soon began to restore sanity despite the Silent One rushing off without paying her contribution to food costs. I look forward to exploring these islands during the rest of the summer.

Bermuda

2011-06-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

Some time ago I made contact with Sue Smith via a crewing agency when I was looking for crew for the passage to the Azores. The timings didn't suit her but she offered to show me around Bermuda where she lived when I arrived. I phoned her a couple of days after I arrived and true to her word she arranged to collect Eva and I and give us a guided tour of the island. She was very generous with her time and laid on a wonderful lunch on her yacht which she lives on moored at the old naval dockyard. We saw the whole island with a guide who I believe is 10th generation Bermudean. Thank you Sue you were very kind.

Bermuda is a neat somewhat overcrowded well to do island with some spectacular views. It has no underground water supplies to speak of so by law every building must have a water catchment set up. Most of its economy is geared to banking and reinsurance with tourism an also ran despite the frequent visits by cruise ships.

The island was strategically of great importance to the Royal Navy and they built a fine dockyard to support the fleet. This now hosts the cruise ships with buildings restored and offering every kind of wallet emptying opportunity for the passengers.

The very small section in the center lifte to allow a mast to pass!

Perhaps I should send this picture to our Met Office-it might improve the accuracy of their forecasting.

A day or two before Sue's guided tour I hired a scooter and with hide sight this picture below has some significance as will become clear in the account of the passage to the Azores.

Antigua-Bermuda 30 April to 8 May

2011-06-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

After a few days for Eva the new crew to settle in, we had good weather to set off for Bermuda. Final preparations produced some unsettling incidents. I had changed oil and fuel filters and the engine had run well afterwards for a short test but when we went into the harbour from the anchorage to take on fuel the engine stalled a couple of lengths from the pontoon, restarted and died alongside. When I opened the engine compartment I found to my horror that all the engine oil had leaked out. After a lot of searching it transpired that the oil filter "O" ring hadn't seated and this allowed the oil under the pressure of 2000rpm to spray out.

Filling up with water at the same pontoon produced another heart stopper when I discovered the bilges were full-PS bilge will hold upwards of 50 gallons. The natural asumption was that a tank was leaking. To invesigate I had to remove the saloon table and starboard settee bunk to get at the tank under suspicion. I discovered in the end it was a simple error of leaving open a gate valve that had allowed the tank to syphon its contents through a breather pipe into the bilge.

The third event happened the next morning atemping to start the engine. After many attemps the starter motor refused to deliver. By chance a Canadian electrician was able to come straight out to PS at the anchorage. Repeated attempts to start had made the solonoid hot and it stuck-solution was to bypass it and all was fine except my wallet was $50 lighter. Some lessons were learned.

We had a cracking start to the passage with a beam wind of around 15 to 18 kts which enabled PS to cover 163 miles in the first 24 hrs, a record for her. The next day was similar and we clocked up 153 nm. The winds became lighter and I changed to the big 135% genoa. This is not undertaken lightly as it involves a lot of effort and even more should it become necessary to take it down in stronger winds.
We were still able to make around 115 miles a day but not until the final 2 days were we able to make the course to Bermuda. On the last but one day we had a storm with up to 34 kts fortunately well abaft the beam. I was caught with the full main up and for a while attempted to steer PS by hand but it was lock to lock stuff with big breaking waves looking like they would dearly like to jump into the cockpit. In the middle of the night I finally screwed up courage to reef the main. I whipped PS into wind and locked the wheel hard over. To my relief she just sat calmly at 60 degrees apparent wind whilst I put in a double reef. I flopped back in the cockpit and took 10 minutes blissful rest with PS laying calmly in the teeth of a near gale. Back on course she handled easily and the Monitor self steering took over.

The storm produced some amazing lightening bolts fortunately none of them too close. We arrived off Bermuda in the dark and hove too until dawn before entering St George's harbour completing a passage of a little over a 1000nm.

Antigua

2011-05-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

After a few days sorting some minor snags I made the passage from Guadeloupe to Antigua. The first stage involved negotiating the river Salee which splits the island into two halves. At the southern end the bridge opens at 5am so I moved up to the area and anchored for the night. The drawback to this was I was first under the bridge and had to lead 5 others through to the northern bridge about 5 miles up river. Although well buoyed, it was easy to stray out of the channel on the long bends. I had read in the guide that the area is full of ferocious mosquitoes so I was pleased I had remembered even at 5 am to pile on repellent.

After the northern bridge there was a 6 mile passage through coral strewn waters before reaching the open sea. I dawdled to let others show the way and was pleased I did as a French yacht charged off and got himself into serious difficulties. A German yacht then took charge and we all exited safely the very difficult to follow channel. The passage north to Antigua was mostly motor sailing in light winds but during the later stages I was able to sail. I elected to anchor in Falmouth bay since it was the end of the Antigua Classic Week and English Harbour would be very busy. It's only a short walk from Falmouth to the customs office in English Harbour located in the restored 18th century naval port facilities. Just as I was attending to sail covers Valsheda [J class yacht]departed looking absolutely fantastic and I failed to get a picture. There were many other lesser classics about.

Here are a few examples.

Mary had posted a small package of parts for the outboard to an agent. I discovered that this might well take upwards of 6 weeks to be cleared at cost of around $80 a little over twice it's value. We should value our own Post Office more!

I moved round to Jolly Harbour which had the best supermarket for provisioning and is also a shorter distance from the airport and thus more convenient for Eva to join ship.

After a settling in period for her to familiarise herself with the boat and surroundings, we set off for Bermuda on 30 April with a good beam wind. The first 24 hour run was the best I have managed with Plane Song covering 163 nm and this was followed on the second day with a run of 153 miles and all on the course for Bermuda. Gradually the wind shifted and reduced in strength and we were pushed west of the course. With the wind down to 8-10 kts we changed to the big 135% genoa which helped to keep us moving. Two days out from Bermuda we ran into a fairly vigorous low and found ourselves making rapid progress with a F7 behind us gusting to gale force but at least we were able to make the course. The low included the biggest electrical storm I have experienced. As we arrived off the island in the dark I elected to wait until daylight before entering the harbour at St Georges. We had sailed 1010 nm in 8 and half days.

Guadeloupe April 2011

2011-05-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

Mary and I set sail for Iles des Saintes on 6 April. The islands are at the southern tip of Guadeloupe and only 20 mile s from Dominica. The anchorage is delightful and well protected from winds in almost any direction. It boasted the best baguette this side of Paris.

A small island known as the sugar loaf had an interesting rock formation which I assume was cooled to form a crystalline structure. The rock formed the end of a very nice little sandy beach where we snorkeled.
For some exercise we walked up a steep hill to a fort overlooking the anchorage. This formidable structure was built in the 1890s and houses a fine museum. One exhibit had model ships displaying the dispositions of the English fleet under Admiral Rodney and the French fleet which was roundly defeated. It must have been quite a set too.

The view of Dominica from the fort was spectacular.

From Iles des Saintes it was a 20nm sail north to St Pierre the main port for Guadeloupe. Here our holiday ended and Mary caught a fast ferry back to Martinique and a flight to London via Paris.

Martinique and Dominica March-April

2011-04-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

I set off for Martinique on 1st March in good time for the Carnival and Mary's arrival on 16th. It took me 6 hours to sail the 37 miles to Fort de France. The anchorage is in the lee of Fort Louis but suffers a little from the constant movement of fast ferries plying the various small communities around the bay. Checking in is very simple and is done on a customs computer, in this case located in a chandlery.

The town is one of contrasts with renovated 19th century municipal buildings and some pretty rundown areas as well as some impressive new buildings. The island is a department of France and you can see the obvious advantages of the arrangement. There is a cruise ship dock which is visited frequently by ships from a variety of lines. The town copes with the influx of a couple of thousand visitors without too much trouble.

I made a separate entry for the Carnival. Mary's arrival was delayed a day due to fog and unserviceable aircraft. Air France looked after her well and paid a fair compensation for the inconvenience. We moved the next day to Les Trois Ilets which was a quite anchorage on the south side of the bay. We were the only cruising yacht there. The Empress Josephine was born in the nearby small village. A few days later we moved north with the intention of anchoring at Case Pilotes, a small fishing village halfway to St Pierre but there was too little space for PS so we enjoyed a fine broad reach up to St Pierre.

The town was obliterated in 1902 when the nearby volcano exploded killing 30,000 people. Two souls escaped, one of whom was a prisoner in a dungeon who was found 4 days later badly burned. We hired a car and drove near to the summit of the volcano and from this lofty perch it was possible to see both the Atlantic and the Caribbean with only a slight turn of the head. The island has excellent roads and is well cultivated with large plantations of bananas and sugar cane. Significant areas of rain forest remain. On this trip we managed to take in a banana museum, a rum distillery and a 15 kilometer drive along a track through the rain forest.

The crossing to Dominica was typical for the island chain with impressive seas and accelerated winds off the headlands. We picked up a buoy off Roseau and checked in. Not a great deal to say about the place except that it boasts a fine botanical garden and the most rolly anchorage I have experienced. A couple of days later we headed for Portsmouth which nestles in Prince Rupert Bay some 20 miles north of Roseau.

Just had to include this sign high up on a remote track.

Taking the advice of a local sage we engaged the services of a registered guide who goes by the name of Fire to take us up the Indian River. He was excellent giving us "extras" such as a walk through forest and small farms where avocardo, cinamon, grapefruit and other exotic trees were identified. A lot of Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed up the river. His home, which we were invited to, is in the village where the oldest person in the world lived to be 128 years. On the walk we met an Amerindian who were the very first people to settle the island. He kindly allowed me to photograph him and the difference between him and the rest of the population is very obvious. The government allows them to have land free on the basis they were there first!

The crab rests his claw close to or in the water waiting for the unwary to pass by. If this fellow gets a grip of you, you are in deep trouble.

Only about 80,000 people live on Dominica and it is covered in pristine rain forest. We took a taxi to the Syndicate Estate high up in the hills and walked a mile or so through the rain forest to Milton falls. It was a wonderful experience.

Some of my favourite fruit in production.

Most of the ships beached in Prince Rupert Bay are of Venezualian origin and the government promises to come and remove the ships which were blown ashore by hurricanes. They don't seem to be in a hurry to complete the task.

We greatly enjoyed our stay on this beautiful island whose people were friendly and generous.

Martinique Carnival

2011-03-30T18:27:00.000-07:00

The carnival lasted 4 days with different colour themes for each day. It was very well organised with lots of wonderful food stalls to keep people going. Thousands of people came to enjoy themselves and were very well behaved. I never saw a sign of a policeman. By morning the streets were all cleaned. Entering into the spirit I dressed Plane Song overall for the occasion. Hope you enjoy a sample of the pictures I took.

St Lucia February 2011

2011-03-05T06:14:00.000-08:00

During my 3rd stay in this lovely part of the Caribbean I have used the opportunity to continue essential maintenance and enjoy the company of friends made along the way. Plane Song has plenty of exterior teak which I have chosen to keep varnished. It's not too arduous a task but it does require regular attention. Suprisingly, the cockpit coaming, companionway hatch and wash boards had their last coat in the UK more than 18 months ago and now only need freshing up.

This rather spindly calabash tree produces fruit nearly the size of a football but the fruit is of no use to man nor beast. The gourd on the other hand is made ino all sorts of useful utensils

When Mary was aboard last year we had supper at a marina side restaurant and both suffered severe food poisoning. We were offered a free meal after I complained but neither of us felt brave enough to take up the offer when we had revovered several days later. During my recent stay I got to know the owner and as he remembered the incident I had dinner with him at half price with a lot of good wine thrown in-I thought it fair to offer half the cost given the time since we were poisoned. We were joined by his cousin whom he described as the Richard Branson of St Lucia. He owned an estate and an exclusive resort on the east coast frequented by the very rich and famous. A small group provided music and of course the singer turned out to be good friends of them both. She was very good and reminded me of Cleo Lane-my opinion of her talent was highly valued as my wife is an opera singer! It was a memorable evening.

However, this little corner of paradise has for me begun to loose it's appeal. Ashore at the marina I was plagued by reggae music played at unbelievably loud volume opposite my berth by a local water taxi. If this wasn't enough a charter organisation flushed diesel tanks from a catamaran upwind, spreading fuel on the water and doing this three days on the trot. My complaints to the marina had no effect.

Much more significantly than this was the unruley behaviour at the anchorage. Rodney Bay is a large bay upwards of a mile wide with lovely sandy beaches. Unlike the rest of the Grenadines, jet skiis are not banned and flourish, hired out to holiday makers who drive them at top speed amongst the yachts at anchor. They pass close by unaware that yachts swing at anchor and that their occupants like to have a swim now and then. Add to this water taxies and other local craft travelling through the anchorage at high speed and you have an accident waiting to happen. The bay has lost its appeal as an anchorage and for me it will be a brief stop over in future if need be. Ideas are afoot to charge for anchoring and if carried out will certainly drive away the cruising community.

Bequia to St Lucia February 2011

2011-02-17T12:08:00.000-08:00

During most of our stay in Admiralty Bay the wind had been strong especially at night and in rain squalls. The topography of the bay accelerated the normal trade winds and at times it was uncomfortable when a swell developed.

Just before leaving I took a ferry to Kingstown, the main city and principle port of St Vincent. The chief attraction was the botanical gardens, although not very large it boasts some fine specimen trees.

As it rained for most of my visit, I spent time looking round the cathedral and the newly restored Methodist church. Sadly the cathedral has suffered a severe attack by termites. Most of the buildings were poor examples of modern architecture but the Police HQ had some character about it. Looked to me like it was built London bricks not doubt originally brought over as ballast. There is a fine covered market with a wonderful choice of fruit, vegetables and spices. For the equivalent of £1-20 I purchased a bag of around 30 nutmegs. Most of the fresh produce in the Grenadines comes from St Vincent.

We made an early start for the passage north with the anchor up and stowed by 0515. The channels between Bequia and St Vincent and St Vincent and St Lucia are both noted in the local guide as potentially hazardous. With 2 channels to cross in one day, I decided to leave the decision to sail the windward or leeward coasts of St Vincent until I could see the conditions. Conditions were at best marginal but a threatening large rain squall made the lee side the obvious choice.

It was possible to sail most of the length of St Vincent enjoying spectacular views of a very green island. Within 5 miles of the northern tip the large volcano which dominates the end of the island started to accelerate the wind and build up the seas. This is the price for taking the lee coast. Conditions were very rough for the next 6 to 7 miles and then gradually eased as the influence of the land diminished. Once in the lee of St Lucia the last few miles sailed to the Pitons were a delight. With the help of half a dozen boat boys we picked up a buoy and secured a line ashore round a tree in the Shadow of Petit Piton.

Next morning we made a detour round the bay before heading north to see the extent of the damage from hurricane Tomas which from the sea didn't look much. However, we were told that 20 people had died in the mud slides and quite a few of them had not been recovered. The passage north to Rodney Bay was mostly fine on the wind with a NE swell.

I decided to berth in the marina so that I could complete a number of jobs best tackled alongside. In any case, it is always nice to have power and hot water and to be able to boil an electric kettle. Just some of life's simple pleasures we tent to take for granted. It also enabled me to watch the opening games of the 6 nations rugby!

Largely because I changed my plan to head for Panama and the San Blas islands, Geva my current crew decided to try to find a boat heading in that direction. Eventually, she decided to fly to Curacao where she thought her chances of finding a boat heading west were much better than here in St Lucia. I have also decided, provided I can find experienced crew, I will now head for the Azores, rather than see out the hurricane season in the ABC islands. So now I am actively seeking crew for the Atlantic crossing to join me after Mary's holiday which ends in April. It will be lovely for us to have PS to ourselves for a month to explore Martinique and Dominica.

In the meantime, I have enjoyed dinner aboard with friends and returning hospitality on PS. I'm using the time in St Lucia to spruce up the varnish work in what must be the best possible conditions.

Carriacou and Bequia Jan 2011

2011-01-29T06:58:00.000-08:00

The Tyrrel Bay anchorage was more crowded than I expected but then it was the beginning of the high season. A few of the yachts were well known to me from Trinidad and Grenada. Charter catamarans from the north, mostly French flagged, made up the majority. Some are crewed and mostly know safe anchoring techniques but even so they do like to get up close and personal. The holding in the bay is not very good and a friends' yacht dragged some 200 metres whilst they were ashore. Thankfully they returned in the nick of time before their anchor would have lost contact in the increasingly deeper water as it drifted away.

At a beach side cafe where I left the dingy oars for safe keeping when ashore, I noticed a tiny nest in a plant hanging from the roof inside the building. A pair of humming birds had raised young and now one of them was returning to take the goats hair from the nest to build another. All this inside a busy cafe.

We stayed 9 days before there was some relief from the strong trade winds. I thought it would be nice to go the Chatham Bay on the west side of Union island which involved checking in at Clifton just 6 miles north of Carriacou. Wind and current through the channel made for a rough passage and Clifton harbour is not very inviting so I elected to carry on to Bequia. By passing close to Mayreau it was possible to make the 15 mile passage north in one tack.

Admiralty Bay Bequia is one of my favourite anchorages despite the difficult holding on compacted coral. It took 3 attempts to get the anchor to hold and it was still necessary to re anchor the next day. The main anchor on Plain Song is a 45 lb CQR and it is not well suited to such a sea bed. The Trades continued to blow fresh to strong gusting to 25kts and more, mainly at night. I detect a patten over a 4 day cycle in which the winds build and then decline briefly with winds at night a few knots stronger. There is not much variation in wind direction which is usually east or east north east but sometimes unhelpfully north east.

The bay is busy with charter yachts heading south or returning north to their base. There is plenty of room but they like to bunch up close to the lovely beaches. We experienced a close call when a large catamaran dragged its anchor passing within 10 feet in the middle of the night. That same night the dingy detached itself. It was a particularly dark night with no moon and I discovered its disappearance at the time of the dragging incident. I spent the rest of the night wondering how it could be replaced-a logistical nightmare. At first light, to my astonishment, I could see it tied to the stern of a yacht anchored 300 metres astern. The rescuer,an Englishman, had seen the dingy passing and immediately dived in to catch it. The odds of a successful outcome to this sorry event must be astronomical and I showed my gratitude with some good wine and a contribution to his cruising fund. Since then Mercury Man the outboard, who has been very troublesome, runs smoothly-perhaps the thought of his fate in the open ocean has brought about a change of character.

Not all the visitors are chartered catamarans. Lovely to see a Dutch sail training ship and several of the sailing cruise ships not to mention a fellow Shannon 38, albeit ketch rigged.

Although this is my 3rd visit to Bequia, I still find new delights. A recent find was some really stunning hand made silk prints featuring beautiful geometric pattens in subtle colours by a French artist. She is in her mid 80s and has lived on the island for many years. I visited her in her studio which has spectacular views over the bay. The photos hardly do justice to her work.

Another find was two brothers who make model boats often commissioned by visiting yachts. They work with a small range of simple tools, using mostly local timber, in a small very basic workshop. I had a happy time talking with them and may be able to help by putting them in touch with makers of model ship parts in the UK.

On the subject of wood, you may be interested to know that the wonderful sandy beaches lapped by the warm blue sea have a darker side to them. Some are shaded by the Manchineel tree. Its leaves, bark and fruit can make life very unpleasant.

My original plan was to transit the Panama canal and head west but the difficulties of finding good crew and the magnitude of the commitment called for a rethink. The attractions of the San Blas islands were strong enough for me to plan to go there via the ABC islands but I failed to give sufficient thought to returning east. Further research and advice from experienced cruisers has made me decide against that long haul east as the sailing back would be a serious challenge. So now I intend to rough it in the Windward and Leeward island chain until the start of the hurricane season and then head south to the ABC islands staying there until late November. Then I will head north again up the island chain and around early May 2012 head for the Azores.

In the meantime life is very pleasant and fulfilling here in Bequia. Next stop will be St Lucia.

Christmas in Grenada

2011-01-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

There is a choice of bays to anchor in on the southern end of Grenada and each has its merits and disadvantages. For my purposes Prickly Bay was best which I was able to see for myself when I visited most of the others on social calls.

Christmas was 10 days away when I arrived giving plenty of time to settle in and meet new people. For the day itself I signed up for a "pot luck" lunch and for a contribution I made a potato salad which I'm pleased to report was soon snapped up. A great time was had by all. I was very pleased to meet up with Dan and Cindy, Canadian friends, who when we left Trinidad in company had had the good sense to turn back and sailed the next day in much greater comfort. On my way back to PS I was invited aboard a nearby yacht for drinks but still managed to climb aboard PS before dark. Skype kindly provided contact with family and friends including my brother and sister and their families in London. Skype's inventor should be nominated for a Nobel Prize and a Knighthood.

There was some drama among the cruising community when a 28 foot yacht, home to an elderly couple was reported overdue. They remained overdue until their Pan Pan call was picked up by a radio ham. It was heartening to see how effectively the cruisers rallied round to alert ham nets, various maritime SAR Agencies and support the rescue when they were located. Both had been injured but thankfully not too seriously.

I joined a group to travel up the west coast by bus to Victoria which puts on a food festival to celebrate local cuisine. I liked a breadfruit bake and some fairly conventional chicken dishes but most of the traditional dishes would not have me seeking a second helping. Still, it was a great outing and it was nice to mix with the local community including some keen fans of the England football team. It seems there are still a few left.

The reliability of the tender and its outboard at an anchorage is fundamental and mine let me down just before new crew were due to arrive. The result was a lot of rowing and tows from helpful friends. The Avon suffered from a dirty valve mechanism and the outboard from contaminated fuel.

Geva, short for Ginger, flew into Grenada and had a little time to settle in and celebrate the New Year before the more serious business of sailing PS. Having owned a yacht herself she soon learned how everything worked on PS. Mastering the Taylors paraffin cooker has been the cause of some grief to others but Geva got to grips with it soon enough.

A weather window for the passage north to Carriacou appeared 6 January and we set off in good time for the 35 mile passage. Headwinds, unhelpful seas and the west going current did exactly what the guide books described. So 51 miles and 12 hours later we set the hook in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou. The trip gave Geva the chance to experience PS under sail and motor in a range of conditions. She is the first crew I have had learn straight away to handle the Monitor wind self-steering gear.

We now await fair winds to progress north towards Bequia, as currently the Trades are blowing fresh to strong for a few days.

Trinidad to Grenada 15 December 2010

2010-12-30T11:51:00.000-08:00

I had a strong desire to leave Trinidad not least to get sailing again. Anchorages there are limited, the air quality is poor and sea pollution unhealthy. All the signs were that there would be suitable weather for the passage north on 15 December. Chris Parker a weather guru warned of squalls.

Two other yachts were leaving the same day and plans were discussed over coffee after clearance from customs and immigration. The passage through the Bocas to the open sea was straight forward in calm conditions allowing time to stow warps ,fenders and put a reef in the main. As the open sea neared it was clear sea conditions were rough. Once out there the winds strengthened, gusting to 32 kts with very short choppy and confused seas. Sometimes the bow platform dug deep into breaking waves and I was soon drenched. I had to motor sail to stand a chance of keeping to the course but after a couple of hours things improved enough for me to start sailing, now with double reefed main and yankee. Gradually the wind veered enough for me to maintain a course well east of the desired course, always a good thing given the variable conditions and strong west going current.

In the middle of the night the wind dropped so much I couldn't sail the course and once again the iron horse was called up. Before long though the wind returned and now I was going to arrive before first light. I had to heave to off the southern end of Grenada before entering Prickly Bay as the sun came up. Not the most enjoyable sail and you will understand why I failed to produce any pictures on the way.

PREPARING PLANE SONG TO LAUNCH

2010-12-23T06:30:00.000-08:00

My return flight to Trinidad 9 November was direct as damage from hurricane Tomas had made BA's crew change in St Lucia impractical which meant I arrived in daylight at Plane Song. During her layup Plane Song was fitted with an airconditioning unit over the fore hatch which kept the interior dry and free of mildew and made living aboard for the next month more comfortable. Equally beneficial was the shrink wrap cover over the topsides which minimised damage to the varnish work.

The first job was to fit new engine mounts and crankshaft seals. This was done with the engine suspended from a bar across the companionway. Other work was needed once the engine was lifted and it was certainly the right time for the work to be done. Naturally the job took twice as long and cost 50% more than estimated. To add to the financial strain I then discovered were on the way out having given 8 years service. In the time available I had to fit AGM batteries which are likely to give the best service.

One leftover job from earlier in the year was to inspect and clean the paraffin supply tank which a crew member had topped up with 30 litres of water. This involved dismantling the quarter berth roof and aft bulkhead along with the SSB ATU. A couple of days work in the tropics. Earlier efforts to remove the water via the vent tube had been reasonably successful as there was very little to clean up. But then it only takes a small amount to block the cooker burners.

And then there were the ants-the little fire ants whose sting is painful and if scratched the blisters go septic.

I was stung so much whilst I was rubbing down the hull that I had the yard move PS to a better spot. There was a nest inside one of the blocks supporting the keel. I was well advised when PS was put on the hard to grease everything that would provide a route onto the boat. Once aboard these guys are not inclined to leave.

I was not the only one under attack. A nasty bug got into my laptop despite the usual defences. Getting this put right was not a simple task in Trinidad. A further complication was a glitch with the Wirie wifi booster which had worked in the UK. This was not finally resolve until I met up with the designer on his boat in Grenada. The system is very effective and unlike many of its rivals supported by user friendly software. The after sales support I enjoyed was outstanding.

PS was launched 9 December and once again it was a skillful and efficient operation. I docked in the small harbour at Peake's to bend on the sails and provision. The mechanic made the final alignment check on the propeller shaft. I started passage planning for the sail north to Grenada.

PUTTING PLANE SONG TO BED FOR THE HURRICANE SEASON

2010-06-30T11:10:00.000-07:00

Trinidad is considered to be outside the hurricane belt although there was one in 1934. During my earlier stay in Trinidad I took a look at the 3 main yards where I could leave Plane Song during the hurricane season. Basic costs were very much the same but Peak's yard seemed the best organised and so I booked a place and a date for lift out on 21 June.

After a week at the Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association anchorage I moved to the small dock at Peak's yard where I enjoyed having the benefit of the PS's air conditioning and very good showers and toilet facilities.

Weather on lift out day brought difficult conditions due to strong wind from the south which quickly raised a big swell. However, by early afternoon conditions were good enough to enter the lift out dock. Once secured, the team took over and I would say that it was the most caring and efficient lift out I have ever experienced. For example 2 divers were used to ensure the slings were in the right place. Once washed down, PS was transferred to an amazing low loader which moved her to her berth and then deftly set her down on blocks at the chosen place. Very impressive indeed.

Given the rain, the power of the sun and the amount of varnish work on PS's topsides, I decided to have her shrink wrapped. Additionally, I have rented an air conditioning unit which is fitted over the fore hatch. This will reduce the chance of mildew in the high humidity that prevails here. A particular problem here are ants which make determined efforts to set up home on yachts. Not sure if this is a strategy to colonize the world, but it is necessary to take care to foil their efforts to get aboard. The most effective barrier is grease so cables, support stands and blocks all have to have a ring of grease. I have met cruisers who have got ants aboard and had them for years unable to get rid of them.

If I owned a yard like Peak's I would have a large yacht with a private dock and a permanent maintenance crew. This is exactly what Mr Peak enjoys. He was kind enough to let me have a look over his impressive yacht.

I'm pleased I gave myself lots of time to get things organised because although there are very good facilities for yachts, it pays not to be in a hurry. There are quite a few jobs on my list which include canvas work for sun and rain protection, lifting the engine to have a new seals and mounts, as well as some work on the sails. Then there is all that varnish.

I promised a picture of Pelicans which I regret I failed to capture diving. The insect visitor to PS passed away peacefully in the cockpit which was rather less traumatic than had it crashed into me.

In a few days I return to the UK. After 9 months aboard, sailing nearly 6000 miles and visiting 9 countries, some adjustment to the change of life style will be necessary. I will continue the diary when I return to Trinidad in the autumn.

Grenada and on to Trinidad

2010-05-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

From Chatham Bay Union Island it was a brisk 10 mile sail to Hillsborough on Carriacou where I checked into Grenada. I then moved round the corner to Tyrrel Bay which is a very well protected anchorage. After two days I set off for St George Grenada. About 10 miles SW of Carriacou there is a submerged active volcano which was in action about ten years ago. It's shown on the chart as Kick-em -Jenny and has a 1.5 mile prohibited zone around it and a 5 mile red alert zone. It is well monitored and there is a web site to check the alert state. Passing so close to an active volcano is a new experience and I was pleased when it was astern.

The 38 mile passage was typical for this region but sadly lacking in any marine mammal sightings. I dropped the hook in St George's anchorage. I thought I was well dug in sand and a good tug in reverse satisfied me that all was well. During the first night winds got up to 20kts and the GPS was showing larger positional changes than the normal range but I was well clear of any other yachts. Next morning I snorkelled the anchor which had left drag marks of about 50 feet and was on hard broken coral. I reset it and this time visually checked the CQR was well dug in which for some reason I neglected the first time.

A few days later I discovered the Grenada Yacht Club was offering a discount of 1 day free for every 2 paid for. Given that the daily rate was about £12 this enticed me to take a berth. It was a good move as the club has all the basic facilities and helpful friendly staff. Having resident Customs and Immigration checking out was simplicity itself. I met some interesting people most noteably Harold La Borde for whom I made a separate entry.

St George is almost a town of two halves connected by a tunnel which rather alarmingly is used by traffic and pedesrians. Hurricaine Ivan's [2004]handiwork is still much in evidence with a number of prominent buildings still without roofs. The C of E cathedral and parliament buildings are but two of more than a dozen that I saw. On the local radio I heard that the Australian Government had agreed to build them a new parliament. I wondered what we the British were doing for our former colony. It was noticeable that the catholic cathedral also severely damaged had been repaired.

I organsed a trip with some German cruisers to Fish Friday at Gouyave some 15 miles north of St George. They set up stalls in one of the side streets offering a wide range of samples of different fish cooked on the spot, mostly very tastey and excellent value for money. The taxi ride however was not a pleasant experience-not for the faint hearted.

Because of the threat of pirates it is now possible to submit a Float Plan to the Coast Guard in Grenada and Trinidad to let them know your plans which I did. Before setting off for the 80 mile passage to Trinidad I stopped off at the anchorage to clean the propeller which had a fine collection of barnicles. A German couple on a ketch Wanderer2 teamed up to sail in company.

The wind was predicted to be east with a touch of south south east at first, around 15 kts reducing to 10 kts within 24 hrs. Someone got it very wrong and within 3 or 4 hours after setting off rain squalls produced 25 kts of wind and by nightfall I must have been in a tropical wave front with winds now in the 25 to 30 kt range and gusting for periods to a full gale. Putting in a second reef in 25 kts in the dark was testing. PS does well in the heavy seas. There was a moment of excitement when a large fishing vessel with nets out came straight for me then turned away just before there would have been a real crisis-I had done everything to get out of his way. It turned out that Wanderer2 had the same treatment.

By first light some 15 miles off the coast of Trinidad the wind shifted so the best I could do was head east to make the angle to head for Boca de Monas, a gap in the islands that leads to Chaguaramas. The passage plan suggested a 15 hour trip which turned into 22 hours. I took a mooring with the help of a charming Dutch lady who got in her dingy to assist. I discovered the next evening when she and her husband came over for drinks that they had been run down by a freighter the same night that I sailed south only a few miles from my track. They were exceedingly lucky to have survived. Had they been 10 feet further on they would have been cut in two. As it was they were struck at the pullpit and bounced down the side if the ship. Their yacht is very strongly built but they estimate around £8000 of damage.

I now have plenty of time to get organised for the haul out later in June. The rainy season is now underway. There was serious flooding from the storm I encountered and the harbour is awash with flotsum and rubbish. There are also a lot of Frigate Birds, a bird I have been fasinated to watch. It is the supreme bully taking food off terns and other diving birds. Aerobatics are second nature to this large bird which can also soar with the best of them. I notice it does not try its luck much with Pelicans another bird I love to watch. I'll try to get a good picture of them too.

Meet the Circumnavigator Harold La Borde

2010-05-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

I happen by chance to be berthed next to Hummingbird III A 53 ft ketch built by Harold La Borde, a Trinidadian. Harold now in his seventies, is an extraordinary man so I have decided to write a special entry to tell you a little about him. Not only has he circumnavigated, he has done so twice and each time in a yacht he built himself. By way of a warm up he built a 26 foot yacht which he sailed to England as a young man without any of what we might consider the basics such as an engine,electrics, sink or toilet! He tells the story in his first book An Ocean to Ourselves published in 1962.

Hummingbird II, a 40ft yacht he built himself took him and his family round the world. He wrote of his experiences in All Oceans Blue , published in Trinidad in 1977. For their exploits he and his wife were awarded the Trinity Cross[Gold], Trinidad's highest award.

To build Hummingbird III took 8 years and was launched on his birthday in June 1983. Harold his wife Kwailan and eldest son set off in May 1984 to follow the southern route around the world, used by the clipper ships. This involved rounding the 3 great capes: Good Hope, Leeuwin and Cape Horn. His third book Lonely Oceans South, published in 1989 records his experiences.

Now he sails Hummingbird III up to Grenada every year for a few months to the Yacht Club at St George to potter about and do a little maintenance. He has been doing his long enough to be an honorary member of the club. It was a great privilege to have him aboard Plane Song and listen to his stories, told simply with great modesty. A rare and very likable man.

Bequia to Union 11 May 2010

2010-05-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful sail in near perfect conditions broad reaching in calm seas making 7 knots without trying. The island of Canouan had been my chosen destination but with a bit of north in the wind the pilot suggested it might be problematical anchoring so I decided Chatham Bay Union Island would be a wiser choice.

Enterprising individuals have set up restaurants and bars to entice the cruising community and they range from shacks to one beautifully built establishment.

The only drawback to this wonderful away from it all anchorage were the charter catamarans some of which were loud and lacking common sense when it came to anchoring. But the swimming was fantastic and shared with a resident turtle who wasn't too put out by the humans. I had a meal at the thatched restaurant a few feet from the waters edge gazing at Plane Song whilst the sun set with an amazing range of colours.

Union is the southern most island of St Vincent and so it was necessary to clear here before entering Grenada. Clearance is done at Clifton which by boat would involve a 4 mile motor into wind and waves to a small crowded harbour. I decided to walk there over some impressive hills and get clearance to leave the following morning. How nice it was to get some real exercise. The customs lady couldn't believe I had walked. Not much to say about Clifton except I was able buy the biggest mangoes I have ever seen call Imperial. Great flavour and not at all stringy but to eat a whole one was a real test!

From Union it is but a short 10 mile hop to Carriacou to clear into Grenada.

St Lucia to Bequia 8 May 2010

2010-05-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

The pictures are not in a logical order but at least they are labeled. Maria's cafe is where I write this blog-some view!

Anchoring spots don't come much better than Harmony Bay.

The anchorage at Harmony Bay St Lucia to Bequia is a 55 mile sail so I started at 0500hrs and decided to sail on the eastern Atlantic side of St Vincent. Too late I discovered that this may not have been the best choice as the wind shifted to SE making it a close reach in choppy seas. I made Bequia a little before last light and was able to select a good anchoring spot.

At the north end of St Vincent there is a big mountain that does funny things to the wind on the lee side of the island and was the main reason why I elected to sail the windward side of the island.

I plan to visit some of the many islands in the Grenadines as I head south back to Trinidad where I have booked a haul out on 21 June. If the wind permits I would like to get to Tobago but generally that would involve a hard slog to windward against the current.

Back to St Lucia

2010-05-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

The sail south to the marina at Marin developed into a hard beat to windward across the southern end of Martinique, made more testing by wind over tide. Chris Doyle's guide is very helpful with detailed descriptions of the entrance channel and the numerous anchorages in the Cul de sac du Marin. There are several hazards for the unwary with one or two abandoned yachts to make the point.

I wasn't quite prepared for the sheer scale of the marina and the number of yachts at anchor nearby. Yachts were anchored very close to each other and in places obscuring the channel buoys. I guess the it was a question of shortening the dingy ride to the minimum. I had not booked into the marina and had to wait a few hours for a berth to be available which are all stern or bow to with a buoys to pick up at the critical moment. Being on my own, I asked for help and got a tender with bow fenders to push me about and a couple of guys on the pontoon so it all worked well.

The place was a messy builders yard with very minimal shower and toilet facilities which were so far away that careful planning was needed to avoid being caught short. Never have I seen so many catamarans in one place all for charter. Mono hulls were definitely in the minority. The best thing I can say about my stay was I could stock up on some nice wine and eat fresh baguettes every day.

The sail back to St Lucia was a joy but apart from flying fish I saw no marine life. My problems began at Rodney Bay because I arrived on May Day and apart from a few security staff there was no one on hand to help at the marina. As a frequent visitor I know my way around the place so all was well in the end. The main reason to come back was to book flights back to the UK after PS is hauled out in Trinidad. No cheap flights from there.

My plan is to leave 7 May, overnight in Harmony Bay and then make a very early start for Bequia which could be a 60 mile sail.

April 2010 St Lucia and Martinique

2010-04-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

The pictures show in reverse order the north end of St Lucia, Diamond rock at the southern end of Martinique, Plane Song on the move and the beach at Anse Lane Martinique. The top picture is of an almond tree on the beach at L'Ane. I spent time drawing it over a beer or two! I haven't got the hang of placing text and pictures on the blog so this time I'm trying pictures first!

It was soon apparent that Mary was not going to have a good holiday sharing PS with Gail who was then paid off at some cost. Days later when we were at Harmony Bay, I discovered the parafin supply tank had been topped up with about 30 litres of water by Gail when she was asked to fill the water tanks while Mary and I attended to our arrival at Rodney Bay. Unfortunately, I was unaware of this and topped up the pressure tank which then clogged up the cooker when it was next used. As a result we had to cut short our stay and head back to Rodney Bay marina where I spent about 2 days dismantling the cooker and cleaning everything. The supply tank still has small amounts of water in it despite efforts to drain off the water, so I will have to remove most of the quarter berth to get access to the tank inspection plate-another two days work which will wait until lift out in Trinidad. Some people do not pay attention to instructions and repeated warnings about taking care filling water tanks.

The parafin incident limited what Mary and I could do but it was lovely to have her company in paradise for 3 weeks. She made it back to the UK just in time before the disruption caused by the volcanic dust from Iceland.

After many delays I finally had the lazy jacks fitted and some minor canvas work completed. I decided finding reliable crew was too much hassle. Distances between islands are in anycase quite small with only one, between Grenada and Trinidad, being more than a day sail. My first solo from Rodney Bay to Anse de Mitan Martinique was in perfect conditions. Checking into the island has to be the most simple and pleasant of all the places I have called at so far-a simple form on the computer in any of several locations around the island.

Anse de Mitan was not quite as I expected it to be despite having talked to a number of yachtsmen who had visited the anchorage. I took a dingy trip a mile round the corner to Anse L'Ane and found a really beautiful spot with very few other visiting yachts. There is a well stocked little super market where I can indulge my love of camembert and baguette. Wine is very keenly priced too. Sailmail HF connections are good in the evening and there is free wifi from a cafe from where I can see PS at anchor. Paradise is slightly spoilt by day mosquitoes and fast ferrys but its hard to imagine a better anchorage.

The view of Diamond rock is included because of its facinating history. St Lucia and Martinique have changed hands been the English and French many times in the past. At one time the Royal Navy managed to put a detachment of about 120 marines with canons on the rock who caused havoc to French ships. Some 12 thousand French troops never managed to dislodge them from what became HMS Diamond Rock. A cock up with resupply from St Lucia ended the saga.

From here I will head south to Anse de Miran which has many anchorages within it and the only large marina on the island. All the big hyper markets are there so it will be a joy to provsion!

St Lucia [Part 2]

2010-04-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

2010-04-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

Exploring St Lucia[Part 2]

Mary and I sailed south from Rodney Bay to Harmony Bay a couple of miles from Soufriere the former capital of St Lucia. Here Mary was able to try out her own new snorkeling gear. There isn't much interesting coral but there is enough fish life to make it worth the effort.

A few years ago Hotel Chocolate bought the Rabot Estate with the aim of rebuilding cocoa farming on the island which went into decline as banana growing increased. They want to produce their own estate grown chocolate and are investing in new trees and processing facilities at the same time selling trees at cost to the local farmers. The trees produce beans suited to make the finest dark chocolate. To verify the the quality of the trees they raise, Reading University analyses samples using DNA technology. Mary and I had the incredible luck to be able to tack on to the last but one guided tour of the estate booked a long time ago.

At one stage of the tour we were shown how grafting is done to maintain the quality of the trees. Mary produced one which will be planted with her name on it!

We walked the 2 miles down hill to the anchorage stopping at the famous Ladera Hotel for a fruit cocktail which has the most spectacular view of the Pitons.

St Lucia

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We watched the cruise ship depart Castries. There were two others in this small harbour and they departed one after another. I wondered how the town managed to cope with so many visitors. The palm frond hat and bird were made to order on the beach by a very skillful man.

The beflagged boat is operated by a fruit seller who plies his wares around the marina and Rodney Bay

Bougainvillea-Maniku Gardens

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Exploring St Lucia [Part 1]

From the Pitons we sailed a few miles north to Marigot Harbour in company with Sam aboard Semezana ,a beautiful Shannon 51 ft ketch. We picked up a mooring buoy as anchoring is difficult in this very attractive little harbour. It takes all of 10 minutes to walk round the facilities which included a choice bakery with excellent baguettes.

For a change we ate out in the evening and were entertained by a troup of local dancers in colourful if brief costume and fire eaters leaving a whiff of kerosene neither of whom were good for the digestion. The food was excellent.

The next day we had a testing sail to windward in short choppy seas north to Rodney Bay. Testing because progress could only be made with enough canvas to punch through the seas and the variable wind added to the difficulties. The cutter rig on Plane Song ensures she copes well.

The Rodney Bay Marina has all the faciities you could wish for and is efficiently run. Charges seem reasonable but as in most of the islands water is in short supply and has to be puchased. Mary met her friend Ian Cowan whom she last saw 40 years ago. He runs Island Water World chandlery and is well known for his yachting expertise and of course a fund of local knowledge. He and his wife Rosemary have given us some generous hospitality treating us to a wonderful supper at their beautiful home and dinner out under a Flambouyant tree.

Early in our stay here Mary and I ate at a local restaurant and got a dose of food poisoning. Both of us were decidedly under the weather for 3 days so our plans to see more of the island had to wait. When we were well enough we hired a scooter and crossed the island to see something of the rain forest and central hills before descending to the east coast to find the Mamiku gardens and local canoe building. The gardens were a real treat both for the trees, plants and birds which included an Oriole and humming birds. The dug out canoe building was a damp squib but some friendly locals showed us the small crabs that live in the mangrove trees, something I had seen in the mangrove swamp in Trinidad.

The new cacao growing venture at the Rabot Estate by Hotelchocolat is high on our list of must see and hopefully we will fit that in next week after Mary's birthday.

2010-03-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

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Bequia to St Lucia 17 March 2010

Given the trade winds had been light for a few days I decided to sail north up the east or windward side of St Vincent to reach the southern tip of St Lucia. The benefit of this was to avoid the erratic and often very strong winds encountered on the west side of the island caused by the valleys and mountains. Sam joined us in his Shannon 51 foot ketch. We kept together all the way north although by the halfway stage Plane Song began to overhaul the larger yacht. We both took some action pictures en route on what turned out to be a wonderful sail in near perfect conditions.

We checked into St Lucia at Vieux Fort which has a container port and the main airport where Mary would land two days later. It was the easiest check in todate and best of all didn't incur any charges unlike any of the other ports of entry. The town itself is very poor but does have a reasonable supermarket to stock up at. The anchorage suffered from blustery winds and junk on the sea bed which snagged anchors on at least 2 yachts including PS.

Mary arrived on time laden with all the many things which can only be obtained in the UK. The next morning we set off for the Pitons with Sam and Semezana for company. It was a memorable short sail with only the main up we covered the ground at over 11 knots at one stage with 4.5 of current underneath us. To add some spice we had to round up into 34 knots of wind to get the main down.

The Pitons which I suppose are volcanic plugs are truly spectacular. Mary had her first taste of snorkeling and was greatly impressed. Later we toured what is billed as a drive in volcano and bathed in hot sulphurous baths-my first bath for 6 months! It was a wonderfully relaxing experience. Later we dined at the Harmony Beach restaurant which has the most spectacular view out over the bay.

2010-03-11T07:53:00.000-08:00

Grenada to Bequia 28 Feb to 6 Mar 2010

Prickly Bay was no more than a convenient stop over. On a walk about we did manage to find a bar hidden away that had happy hour all day long but of course the real attraction was the free wifi. After a couple of days we moved up the coast to a small anchorage called Dragons Bay which has a nice beach and quite good little reefs to snorkel. This was my first proper swim in the Caribbean. Grenada has much to recommend it and the intention is to spend more time exploring the island on the way back to Trinidad.

Sailing north to Carriacou the next day was quite a test. Anabatic winds off the mountains produced winds varying from 17 to 38 knots. Fortunately the sail plan of double reefed main and yankee coped with this and the boisterous seas that came with the winds. We made good progress but it was a very wet sail. Several of the yachts we knew in Trinidad were anchored in Tyrrel Bay-Black Cat-Slow Dancing- Kijiro. To get a feel for the place we hired Simon and his taxi and toured the island. There are some stunning sea views and I was impressed by some wooden boat building on the beach with very little more than hand tools.

A couple of buildings caught my eye on the tour-a little house clad with cedar tiles and the post office-for those unfamiliar with London it has one of the largest sorting offices in the world called Mount Pleasant. We joined up with friends for a meal and listened to a steel band-some danced, some played dominoes with the locals and some just watched and took it all in.

Jason Lara John Gail Bruce

Our next port of call was Admiralty Bay Bequia just a half day sail north from Carriacou. It turned out to be a near perfect sail with 15-20 knots on the beam with an almost flat sea and of course hot sunshine. Sailing doesn't get much better than this. Of all the places visited so far this is certainly tops of the list. A beautiful anchorage, friendly people and all the basic facilities needed.

We hired a scooter to tour the island which is small enough to complete in half a day. At the north end of the island we stopped at the turtle sanctuary set up by the remarkable Orton King.

He raises the young Hawksbill turtles native to this island and releases them on beaches when they are old enough at 4 to 5 years to defend themselves and mature into adulthood. The females return to the same beach 25 years later to lay eggs. Why does he have to do this ? Locals still hunt them and eat their eggs despite it being illegal-old traditions die hard.

Shannon owners tend to spot each other in an anchorage. We had a get together with family and crew of a 51 and 43 foot Shannon in Admiralty Bay.

I am always interested in trees and this venerable Almond tree caught my eye. If people want to meet up in Bequia they just say under the Almond tree as it is so well known.

2010-03-02T11:59:00.000-08:00

Trinidad to Grenada 27/28 Feb 2010

For a variety of reasons, not least to be able to attend my son Daniel's wedding in August, I decided not to continue into the Pacific this year. Finding somewhere safe to leave Plane Song en route as well as the cost of a return flight were key factors. So I was delighted that Gail Isaacs joined me on 23 Feb from Miami to crew in the Leeward Islands. With a firm plan it was now possible for Mary to join me mid March in St Lucia for some well earned sunshine.
We set off from Trinidad for Grenada during the evening of 27 Feb. Before I left I filled a Float Plan with the Coast Guard just in case we had any problems with the pirates who operate from Venezuela. Once clear of the coast, the wind settled at around 18 kts from the east and progress was rapid with one reef in the main, staysail and yankee. I sailed as close to the wind as was comfortable to make some easting so that the later part of the passage could be sailed on a beam wind. This also helped to counter the west going current which is very noticable at the southern end of Grenada.

Some 20 miles off the coast there is a gas field with 2 large platforms lit up like the proverbial Christmas tree. Most of the time we were making about 6.5 knots in a moderate sea. The swell increased as we closed with Grenada at dawn. The whole trip from TTSA took about 15 hours. Entering the anchorage at Prickly Bay on the southern tip of Grenada was not difficult despite a number of hazards. The atmosphere is very different from Trinidad-clearly the locals take a pride in their island and make an effort to welcome the cruising community. Despite the form filling checking in was a pleasant experience.

2010-02-16T06:47:00.000-08:00

Exploring Trinidad

For the last 3 weeks whilst I have been looking for crew for the next part of my journey, I have had the oppotunity to explore Trinidad. Crews Inn where I have stayed a couple of times is an excellent marina with some great facilities and near to all the chandleries, sail lofts and workshops but it is expensive so I moved to an anchorage close to the Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association[TTSA]. In the last couple of days I have taken one of their moorings for peace of mind. Good move as the anchorage has filled up and there have been yachts dragging their anchors. During the afternoons the wind pipes up from the east and quite a swell develops but then the wind generator can do its stuff.

TTSA on a calm morning

There are a few very nice anchorages only a short distance away and Scotland Bay is the nearest. It can get a bit crowded at weekends. Saw a frigate bird and and osprey here.

Scotland Bay

A wonderful organisation called Members Only run by a great character called Jesse offers a number of excursions at reasonable rates. I went on one that took in the ASA Wright Nature Centre which is located in the Arima Valley about 1000 ft up in the rain forest in the central mountains. A knowledgeable guide took on forest trails to see some amazing trees,birds,ants,termites, spiders and an impressive lizard. Back at the Centre we were able to view some exotic tropical birds just a few feet away from the veranda that look out over the forest. Regretably I didn't manage to get a decent picture of the humming birds.

The last part of the trip was too see the Scarlet Ibis roost on a remote island in the mangrove swamp. I have never been in a mangrove swamp and was fascinated by the root systems. Our guide knew his stuff and stopped several times to point to rare sights such as an ant eater and a type of Boa Constrictor hanging a few feet above us hunting mainly birds. Termites nested everywhere you could see.

It seems the scarlet colour of the Ibis is a result of it eating a small crab that crawls up the mangrove roots. The tips of its claws are indeed scarlet but nothing compared with the Ibis which almost looks as if it is on fire! We were not allowed to get nearer that about 800 meters to the roosting island so the picture is not very good.

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Mindelo St Vincent Cape Verde to Chaguaramas Trinidad 28 Dec 09 to 16 Jan 10

The decision to call in to Mindelo and spend Christmas there proved to be a good one as we all enjoyed the very relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Long hikes and good friends were made not to mention a fine Christmas lunch. It's the sort of place where everything takes much more time to achieve than you would normally expect-well that's my explanation for leaving our departure until late afternoon. As soon as we left the shelter of the excellent natural harbour a double reef in the main was needed and we then made rapid progress down the channel between the two islands of St Vincent and Santo Antoa aided by a strong current. However, to our surprise it was not long before we found ourselves in the wind shadow of the 6000 foot mountains of Santo Antoa necessitating 2 hours use of the iron sail. Once clear of the islands good progress was made in a ENE force 6 wind despite a large swell and confused sea.

After a couple of days the seas moderated and the crew settled into the watch routine of 2 hours on and 4 off. By late morning we would usually all be up and share the watch keeping on a more informal basis. First thing in the morning I would use the HF radio to link with Sailmail and download e-mails and weather reports which come as grib files showing wind speed and direction and atmospheric pressure up to 4 days ahead. Early on it was clear the best wind would be found further south than our intended track so we headed more south than west for a day or so. This brought us into the trade winds proper which were fairly consistent ENE force 5/6.

It was only after a couple of days that I started to include in the 24 hr daily run the distances recorded both by the log and the GPS as well as the distance made good towards the final way point. This highlighted the miles covered by virtue of the current which at times was as much as 25 nm. The best daily run was 154 nm and the least 99nm. For most of the way it was possible to sail close to the rumb line course especially in the stronger winds. There were several days when rain squalls would generate sudden sharp increases in wind speed which would temporaliy overwhelm the Monitor self -steering. But for 99.9% of the way George as it became known steered but he did need constant attention when the wind speed varied. During periods of very light following wind there was not enough wind over the vane to allow it to function. However, without him life would have been very tough.

Marine life was not much in evidence although we had dolphins visit on two occasions and sighted a pod of about 6 pilot whales. Petrels visited along with tropic birds which seemed very interested in us and would circle as if wanting something from us. One loan turtle made an appearance. A constant joy were the flying fish which were seen every day sometimes in great numbers. Quite a few landed on deck but none were cooked. We towed a lure that had previously caught 3 dorados but some large fish took it and the trace which ended our attempts at fishing. Fresh provisions held out for over two weeks with some items lasting very much longer than anticipated. The most surprising of all was supermarket "plastic" bread which we were happily eating more than three weeks after purchase! However, we did bake our own bread and the photo of Charlie in the galley shows her kneading the dough.

At first light on 15 Jan Charlie sighted land which turned out to be Tobago. By dusk we were sailing along the north coast of Trinidad. It was clear it would be dark before we could enter the anchorage at Chaguaramas so we reduced sail and waited for first light. During my watch a fishing boat about 45 foot in length made a serious attempt to ram us. It was a very near miss and a deeply upsetting experience. I have reported the incident to the authorities.

The approach to Chaguaramas is spectacular. By 1030 we were alongside the customs dock and checking in, a rather tedious process. We have been fortunate to have a berth at Crew Inn which allows me to sort out my list of jobs rather more quickly than if I was at anchor. Theo left 18 Jan and Charlie and I will explore the Island and some of its wonderful anchorages. The cruising community has been enormously helpful pointing me in the right direction to find goods and services. I can quite see why some people have found it impossible to leave.

16 January 2010 13.00

2010-01-15T12:02:00.000-08:00

10 57N 60 42W - position reported by cellphone!

14 January, 2010 11:08

2010-01-15T00:09:00.000-08:00

11 28 N 58 40 W with only 10 kts wind- off heading by 30 degrees seas still a bit rolly. 136 nm to E end of trinidad. winds due to increase to 15 kts tonight. 24hr run 106nm. every one well. bonked my head on staysail boom-bled a bit and head ache for a bit but ok now. saw dolphins and gadfly petrel. loads of flying fish. rain squalls from time to time

13 January, 2010 11:45

2010-01-14T04:13:00.000-08:00

11 33 N 57 14 W making good course. Last 24 hr run was 142nm. now 220nm from east end of trinidad

10 January, 2010 11:25

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13 46N 51 24W 5 to 6 kts bit south of desired heading. yesterdays run 132 NM rain storms last night lumpy sea. Fresh fruit gone only onions left - bags of tinned stuff.

9 Jan 2010

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9 January, 2010 11:38

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14 27N 49 26W making 5kts close to desired course rain squalls in night required lots of reefing. 24 hr run 142nm

6 January, 2010 10:25

2010-01-07T03:29:00.000-08:00

16 00N 43 20 W on port tack just about making out desired course. Yesterdays 24 hr run 154 nm best so far. Next 2 days wind drops bit to 15 kts. Just been visited by a tropic bird-1000 miles from land-got to be unusual.

5 January, 2010 9:35

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15 35N 40 44W making about 295 degress at 6kts yesterday 24hr run 150nm. only 1200 mn to go.

2 January, 2010 9:54

2010-01-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

14 08 N 33 33W 295 degrees at 5 kts. very slow over night making only 2 to 3 kts. JUst saw our first ship which passed 1.5 miles ahead! hoping for more wind soon.

31 December, 2009 9:25

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14 03N 30 17W making around 6 kts 210 mag trying to get a bit further south to avoid light winds. yesterday 24 hr run 127 nm. Sea state reasonable now.

30 December, 2009 10:36

2009-12-30T12:37:00.000-08:00

15 57 N 29 23 W heading west at around 6 kts yesterday 24 hr run 132nm-Seas still lumpy with swell 3 to 4 m-Lots of flying fish-4 on deck this morning. Charlie saw whale she thinks.

29 December, 2009 9:12:00

2009-12-30T12:35:00.000-08:00

16 40N 26 46 W wind ne 20 kts making 6 to 7 kts 276 degrees seas boistrous with NW swell

28 December, 2009 4pm ish

2009-12-30T12:32:00.000-08:00

Left Sao Vicente Island marina

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Las Palmas Canaries to Mindelo Cape Verde 12 - 22 Dec 09

After refueling and checking out we made a cracking start sailing south down the eastern coast of Grand Canaria, setting the ships record at 9.6 kts. A ridge of high pressure had moved in to create an area of very little wind and it seemed best to head south to get through this in the shortest time. Only when 80 miles off the African coast did I start to make progress west.

During a watch change with Theo in the middle of the night a whale surfaced only a couple of boat lenghts off our port quarter. Made us both jump!It was probably interested to know what we were and popped up to breath and have a close look at us.

For the first time on this voyage we decided to tow a lure and within half an hour we had our first catch-a small dorado. It wasn't long before we had caught a 8-10 kg dorado which provided 4 main meals for the three of us.

The good sailing didn't last and with very little wind and difficult seas it was time to use the iron sail. When the wind returned it was the turn of the cruising chute to move us along and good progress was made for over 24 hours before a lack of wind meant more motoring. At ths point it was clear there would be very little wind until well south of Cape Verdes for the next several days so it was decided to make for the island of St Vincent, still some 140 miles to the south. One of the main islands was clearly visible at 50 nm. As we arrived off the islands at sunset, I decided to hove-to for the night rather than enter an unfamiliar harbour in the dark. Entering Mindelo the next morning I was surprised to find a new marina apparently opened last year. The WiFi signal is good enough for me to write this from the chart table!

The locals are very friendly, the weather warm and sunny and the music infectious. Fish is plentiful and very cheap, fresh vegitables are available and the beer isn't too bad. A good place to spend Christmas and wait for some good winds to take us west.

2009-12-05T14:12:00.000-08:00

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Vilamoura to Las Palmas Canaries November 26 to 2 Dec 2009

We set off, planning to make for Madeira to avoid a large area of high pressure with near perfect wind from NW at 15 kts and made 50 nm in the first 10 hours despite increasingly large swell and confused seas. The wind then deserted us and after trying the large drifter sail which made little difference, we motored 60 miles to find the wind. At this point weather data received via the SSB radio on sailmail necessitated a change from the original planned destination to the Canaries.
Dolphins came to play and stayed with us riding the bow wave and having great fun together for half an hour. Theo captured the scene with his new very impressive camera as you might expect a budding film director would do. On most days dolphins would visit and the bigger the seas and the faster we sailed the more it seemed they enjoyed the encounter. Some rather lonely looking turtles difted by occasionally but not many birds were about.
Most of the time it was possible to maintain a course for the Canaries. The wind did vary from ENE to N, before settling at NNE at 15 t0 20 Kts gusting occaisionally to 28 kts. Given an inexperienced crew, the sail plan was modest with yankee, staysail and double reefed main, yet we were able make 6 to 7 kts despite the swell. Our best 24 hours was 130 nm during the passage of 654 nm.
The passage was a great introduction for Theo and Charlie before the much longer and testing Atlantic crossing. We are currently enjoying the warm weather and the company of a very interesting collection of sailors. Some minor repairs are being tackled and a review of food stocks and stowage is underway. We plan to visit a couple of the smaller western islands in the group before setting off for Trinidad. In all probability we shall enjoy Christmas at sea.

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Cascais to Vilamoura 12 to 14 Nov 09
Athough conditions were very well suited to continue south, I put in to Cascais to have the new main repaired, as the luff rope fittings were chafing the rope and repeatedly causing it to break. I also was keen to meet up with friends who live close to Cascais. It was also here that Delphine departed and Charlie joined.
The passage of Atlantic lows once more influenced the departure date and this time conditions were not that good but with a swell of up to 8 meters predicted to move down the Portugese coast in the next few days, it was best to head south ahead of it.
We set off in light winds to cross the mouth of the Tagus. It seems every headland is there to impose its will and Capes Especial and St Vincent certainly did that. For most of the passage the sea state was very confused with a NW swell competing with one being generated by a SE wind. The iron sail was again needed from time to time to keep up a steady progress. Once round Cape St Vincent it was noticeably warmer and as we progressed east the sea state improved until it was virtually flat. There were jobs to be done that needed Plane Song to be alongside so the plan to anchor near Faro was changed for a berth at Vilamoura marina. It is so large that a water taxi is needed to get about!
Mary joined me on my birthday, the best present I could have wished for. She brought with her the numerous things I discovered I could not exist without, including a new laptop-thank you Bill for helping out! Shortly after Mary leaves my nephew Theo arrives and we will be looking for some fair winds to take us south to the Canaries.

Delphine's Log

2009-11-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

Delphine's Log

2009-11-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

Elena - a near neighbough in Bayona

2009-11-05T10:04:00.000-08:00

Bayona to Cascais

2009-11-05T03:39:00.000-08:00

There are few better places to wait for the right weather than Bayona and the sailing club once again lived up to its outstanding reputation. We were not the only ones waiting to head south as several French boats arrived with varying tales of their exploits crossing Biscay. The passage weather site predicted the wind would go north sunday afternoon and stay that way at 15 to 20 kts for the next 4 days. As the flags on the fort moved round so did we to refuel and head out into heavy seas as we cleared the harbour mole with intense rain for a bonus.
Once clear of the offshore rocks, we made rapid progress with full main and working jib, a deliberate choice of to allow for stronger winds during the night. Rather than run dead down wind, always a difficult point of sail but more so in the heavy swell we encountered, I decided to tack either side of the wind line with the going tack only 15 to 25 degrees from the desired heading. In the first 24 hrs 138 nm were covered. Most of the time we could see the lights on the coast and I was struck by the immense waste of energy involved in lighting empty streets.
South of Peniche it was possible to make a long reach down the coast and pass very close to Cabo Roca, the furthest point west in Europe, and despite a good sea state and 15kts of wind the cape still managed a reminder to exercise caution rounding this cape by way of an extra 10 kts of wind and some rough seas. Soon after we were checking in at the marina at Cascais having sailed the 238 nm in 38 hours. I am pleased to have made it to the 38th parallel and hope for some easier sailing as I head south. Had I not been able to set off as the wind went north, the swell from a severe gale pounding the UK was predicted within a few days to increase to 6 to 9 metres along the Portugese coast.
Lots of dolphins came to play and seemed to enjoy diving under the hull when it was being elbowed about in the swell at 7 kts.
Now its time to sort out some minor problems and prepare to move down to southern Portugal.

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Concarneau to Bayona NW Spain

After a week of waiting for suitable weather the prospect of 4 to 5 days without near gales arrived and we set off the afternoon of 24 October. The intention was to get round Cape Finisterre but failing that La Coruna would do. Strong westertly winds made for a cracking start and 70 miles were covered in the first 12 hours. It was not to last and on the second day motor sailing was necessary in very light winds. When the wind returned it was from the SSE which was just what was needed and at times Plane Song was broard reaching at over 7 knots as the wind increased on what was by now a relatively good sea state. Within sight of the Spanish coast the wind died away and the first of a few fog patches made for interesting progress. The new radar was an essential tool.

At this point it was very tempting to head into La Coruna now abeam but given the good sea state and light winds it seemed best to get around the Cape which can be a real barrier especially at this time of the year. So the iron sail helped progress all the way to Bayona where we arrived in warm sunshine the afternoon of 28 October to moor at the fabulous yacht club.

One of the delights of the night pasages for me was the amazing night sky and to see shooting stars so clearly. On one 3 hour watch I saw 5, one of which left a sparkling trail behind it. Dolphins came at times but were no too interested when the engine was on. A small unidentified bird, not a seabird, came aboard twice for a rest-fate unknown.

The next passage is to Cascais in Portugal where I think the Atlantic lows will be less inclined to disturb progress

2009-10-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

2009-10-18T07:50:00.000-07:00

Falmouth South

After an overnight stay in Falmouth we set off south with a possible weather window to cross Biscay. The iron sail was needed for the first few hours before a moderate breeze had us making good progress under sail. I elected to go outside Quessant as in the prospect of riding the Chanal du Four a night had no appeal. By the next day when we were just south of the TSS grib files downloaded from sailmail made it clear we needed to pause before heading out into Biscay.
The best option then was to make for Concarneau but it was a real struggle to make progress against strong winds, choppy seas and an increasingly strong tide. We put into the little port at the entrance to Audierne. Here I discovered a genoa sheet car had come appart with a vital screw missing for which I had no replacement. This meant it was necessary to make for Conarneau where we arrived late afternoon 16 Oct and in the event missed a good weather window to cross the Bay. Car now repaired we await another window which is not a real hardship in this wonderful town.

2009-10-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

2009-10-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

Exmouth to Falmouth

Delphine Holman joined ship at Exmouth and on 7 Oct 09 we made the short passage to Torquay where the water tanks were flushed and refilled. After another short sail in perfect conditions the following day we picked up a mooring at the Royal Western Yacht club Plymouth, conveniently on the water taxi route to the Mayflower steps. Two days later we set off for Falmouth in pretty testing conditions with 25 kts on the nose and short choppy seas. By the time we were off Fowey we had had enough and put in there for the night. The next day brought more lovely weather and after testing the cruising chute we made Falmouth late afternoon picking up a visitors buoy for the night-no run ashore as the water taxi stopped running at the beginning of he month.

2009-10-02T03:46:00.000-07:00

Progress

2009-10-02T03:30:00.000-07:00

The weather and crew availability limited sea trials a bit but we are now loaded up and ready to go. A long fine spell of fine weather is now ending so I am waiting a window of opportunity before setting off with my new but very experienced crew. We will have a gentle introduction via Brixham, Plymouth and perhaps Falmouth before heading south.

Refit and Preparations

2009-07-21T02:34:00.000-07:00

Plane Song's refit is nearing completion. Launch date set for August 2009.

If you would like to read an article I wrote for the Cruising Association discribing why I bought the Shannon 38 please click here.