Driving to Spain, Asturias, Oviedo

The Town Hall Oviedo

A quick reminder of the last post maybe needed.  We have been kindly loaned a car and have decided that instead of wasting money renting a car in Spain and paying for flights that we would drive from the UK to Spain; a trip we have made in the past and are happy to complete again.

We departed Wolverhampton around 16:00 as we had to make our ferry from Dover at 02:30 in the morning and due to it being a Friday it was suggested that we gave at least seven hours for the journey and to expect long delays.

We met only a couple of delays and stopped off for some dinner off that boot of the car before setting off again and reaching the check-in at Dover by 00:30.  We had two hours to kill and apart from adding our headlight deflectors there was nothing much to do except trying to sleep as we had a long journey ahead.

The cruise over to Calais came and went; luckily we managed to get some sleep amongst the torturous screams of what seemed to be 100 children.  Before we knew it we were called back to car to continue our journey through France and onto Spain.

If you have ever driven through France you will probably agree that it is a somewhat drab experience and it is not until you reach the border to Spain that the land scape becomes interesting.  I know that France is a stunning country and it is a shame that whilst passing places such as Boulogne-sur-Mer, Abbeville, Rouen, La Mans, Nantes and Bordeaux that we could not stop, but we had already experienced how uncomfortable it is sleeping in the car and we just wanting to make it to a bed and the comfort of Carlotta’s home.

 

Tiredness crept in 3 hours into our trip as I had not slept for nearly 24 hours. I have found through experience that the first 5-6 coffees may make a difference to alertness but after that there is no point in drinking more as all you feel is sick.  We had covered 400 miles before pulling over at a French service station and sleeping 4 hours.

After a much needed break we carried on through France looking at the same monotonous land scape with only the money grabbing tolls to distract / upset us.  It cost us over £100 pounds in French tolls alone.  I may complain but actually the roads are good and can you believe that we hit no traffic at all?  Take a look at the below photo.  Can you spot the difference?  One shows rush hour into London and the other shows rush hour on one of the main roads into Oviedo, the Capital of Asturias.

    

We enjoyed greatly our drive through the North of Spain.  Nothing had changed since the last time we drove these beautiful roads.  The scenery is stunning.  You follow the Picos de Europa though out your journey  with dramatic cliffs on your left and the Atlantic on your right.  The roads are empty, smooth and dotted with spectacular bridges that cross sleepy winding rivers.  Apart from unbelievable fatigue I felt happy and at piece.  I love this part of Spain, I love everything about it and we have not got to the best part.

Entering Spain

We made Carlotta’s house by 16:00 Spanish time and were kindly welcomed by her father (Carlos) and her Mother (Maria).  There were a few reasons for coming to Oviedo, one: to spend time with family and friends, two: I need to improve of my Spanish and three: to look for a house / apartment for the future.

Since I first arrived in Oviedo I knew it would be a city I would be more than happy to call this home in the future; maybe the time is nearly right.  It is nice to know that since my last visit nothing has changed.  Oviedo is immensely historic, founded as a city in 761.  It is a clean city being awarded several times as Europe’s cleanest city.  You can still get a coffee for 0.78p and a pincho for the same price.  I have breakfast out every morning and it costs me no more than a small Starbucks coffee in the UK and tastes much better.  You can walk around the city at any time at night and not worry when you here footsteps behind you.  The food and wine are exquisite.  Life is based on the streets and it is not uncommon to see young children playing without supervision; why would they need it, even at 23:00hrs? Girls between the ages of 7 to 13 are still allowed to be children and not dressed up in clothes that make them look like 18 year old mini whores and that is so prevalent in other western Cities.

I could carry on listing why this city is so spectacular but it is better that you come and see it for yourself.  Outside the City the sea awaits only 20 minutes’ drive away  at Gijon.  The Picos de Europa creates a stunning back drop and offer unbelievably walks and other outdoor pursuits.

Anyway, I hope the photos do this fantastic city justice.  We also travelled to Avilez and Gijon; a few photos are included.  Enjoy.

Peter Island, Norman Island and Tortola

Well, it has been a busy couple of weeks.  We headed back to Road Harbour shortly after the last blog to stock the boat up with food, water and fuel.  We were still with Rafiki and enjoying every moment of their company.  After a couple of days in Road Harbour we decided to both sail back to Dead mans Cay with Rafiki.  We spent a glorious day there sipping tea with Calley and Rob and swimming with Emily and James.

We saw the most amazing wildlife below the water and had an absolute shock when we saw a Spotted Black Stingray glide gracefully past us. Rafiki had to depart but we spent the evening enjoying the quite of Deadmans Cay.

The next morning we headed to Norman Island, where the parties and beaches are meant to be the best around.  We met up with another yacht called Fabiola and anchored next to them.  When Rafiki arrived we all met on the beach for cocktails and lunch, kindly provided my Rafiki and Fabiola.  In the afternoon Calley, Emily, James and their new crew member Andy took us to some caves just around the corner from the bay we were anchored inIt was a great day and Carlotta and I decided to finish off the evening by visiting an old schooner that has been converted into a bar/restaurant.  The boat is called Willi T and the parties are said to be legendary.  So off we went for a few drinks.  As soon as we had sat down a couple of guys start naked decided to throw themselves of the stern, followed by another naked girl and and then 10 more.  Apparently this is all part of the party and whoever jumps off naked gets a free T-shirt; we declined to take part on this occasion.

We set sail the next day heading for Gorda Sound.  This is a beautiful spot situated on the north western side of Virgin Gorda.  There we found paradise again.  This is a huge protected bay. There are a few reefs to navigate when entering but once in you are clear of most dangers.  We anchored briefly in Gun Creek to do some shopping and then to Biras Creek where we were to spend the night.  Our main concern at this point was to make Happy Hour at Saba Rock, which is literally a rock with a small beach and an amazing bar/restaurant.  We topped up with Painkiller Cocktails and had a great meal although service was not a strong point, thankfully the food was great.

The next next day we sailed to Leverick Bay as this would be the departure point for Rafiki and the time for us to go our separate ways was fast approaching.  We spent the day swimming in the resort swimming pool and after that we went aboard Rafiki and were treated to an amazing ‘fry-up’ before they had to leave.  The time had come for Rafiki to leave us and what a sad occasion it was.  We said our fair wells and amongst all the tears Rafiki departed into the sunset.

We had met another yacht called Rufian, which is a Sadler 34. The lovely couple onboard are called Fiona and Ian and they invited us over for a fantastic Chilli.   The following day we were surprised to come across our friends in Limbo who had sailed their 26 foot yacht from England to the BVI’s.  We all decided to go for a walk around Virgin Gorda and experience the pleasant views.

The next day Rufian had to depart and continue their passage up the East coast of America.  We sailed with Limbo down to Tortola as they have to have their boat shipped back to the UK although they would be staying with us for a few days before they catch their flight back to England.

Sint Maarten’s to The British Virgin Islands

 

So, all was in order.  The wind had decreased and we were set to leave Marigot Bay for our sail to the British Virgin Islands where we would meet up with a friends onboard Rafiki.  The journey was 80 miles and the winds favorable with a lovely Easterly pushing us from behind.  We lifted anchor at 02:00 in the morning and sailed off into a full moon and calm sea.  An hour into our sail we poled out the Genoa and I managed top get some sleep whilst Carlotta took on the first watch.

The journey was pretty uneventful, which is just what we needed after a few hard sails in previous weeks.  The journey took 15 hours to complete 83 miles, we were certainly not rushing and the winds went light as we approached Virgin Gorda; the first Island of the BVI’s. As we rounded Virgin Gorda and Ginger Island we were greeted into a new world of calm sees and stunning scenery.  It was very much like enetering a forgotten world with islands doted around us in every direction and lush green mountains dropping down to golden sands below; it almost looked fake and nothing like what we had expected.  Our first stop would be Savannah Bay, which is located just North of Spanish Town, which is the main town in Virgin Gorda.  We radioed Rafiki and let them know that we were approaching the reef-strewn bay.  Kindly Rob and the children took to their dinghy and met us at the entrance to guide us into the bay, which was absolutely gorgeous.  We had settled down and had dinner with Rob, Cally and the children whilst catching up on the past months events; it was so nice to be with friends again and to be surrounded by such bewildering beauty.

The next day we needed to check in so we sailed, or rather motored, to Spanish Town and whilst the Rafiki’s took the chance top victual along with Carlotta I began the process of filling out 4 different forms and being nicely questioned by several members of Customs & Immigration.  All of this done we set off to Trellis Bay to join in on one of their Full Moon Parties, which take place every last Saturday of every month or the closest weekend to the full moon.

We had a great sail from Spanish Town to Trellis Bay making sure we took photos of each other as we went.  The thing about Trellis Bay, especially near party time is that the anchorage gets very busy but we found space and were settled.  We headed to the party around 18:00 and were in for a great surprise. The atmosphere of the party hits you as soon as you arrive.  There are plenty of craft stores, bars and restaurants on the side of a white sandy beach.  Later on the music got going and the atmosphere increased.  They have metal sculptures dotted around and filled with wood, which the light after 21:00.  It seemed like a bit of a hippy set up with plenty of odd people dabbling in crafts of all kinds, but it was pleasant and we had an amazing evening with friends, beers and great entertainment.

The night unfortunately went sour.  When we reached Troskala we found a Catamaran was trying to make love to her and had damaged her Pull-pit and navigation light not to mention a lot of damage to our rubbing strake.  The damage caused to the catamaran looked far greater and we dreaded speaking to the owners the next morning.  We finally re-anchored and had a sleepless night.

The next morning I went to investigate the damage and speak to the owner.  He had sustain a lot of damage to his port side and bow and I expected the worst with insurance companies and the like.  We had come in last the previous night but were located far away from the Cat, the only thing we can assume is that he had way too much chain out and as the wind died he came to greet us.  Anyway, we were in luck and met a lovely Greek gentleman whoi was very understanding to the situation and did not want to exchange details.  We felt much better and decided to continue our journey.

We were heading to Cane Garden Bay http://www.bvitourism.com/wtd/cane-garden-bay-beach on the North side of Tortola.  As the winds were light we had to motor but the scenery made up for the noise of the motor and soon enough we found ourselves anchored in a glorious bay.  We went for a swim after the rain had ceased and walked up to a view point to get a better perspective of our surroundings.  So far we love the BVI’s.  It has a Caribbean feel but the people are more friendly and the scenery is much more diverse than previous islands.  The BVI’s have also to succumbed to mass tourism so places feel like they would have been twenty to thirty years ago.

We were joined later by Rafiki and after swimming with Emily and James we had a lovely meal onboard Troskala whilst the moon moved slowly across the sky; it was a perfect end to a perfect day.

The next morning brought more sunshine.  Carlotta and I went to get some ice and were joined by some other friends on Easy Rider who we had met during the ARC.  We departed Cane Garden Bay Shortly after and decided to head to Sandy Cay Spit, which is a small island just off Tortola and Little Jost Van Dyke.  It was, as you would imagine from the films, a small island with white sand and a few palm trees.  We both picked up a mooring buoy and went for a swim in crystal clear waters.  We decided later to investigate the island but after a tricky entrance with a confused swell and then followed by a full-on attack from sand flies we decided to make a quick exit.

We sailed on to a small anchorage just off Little Jos Van Dyke.  Nearby you could see the angry swell of the Atlantic crashing on coral reefs but we were tucked in close to some rocks and forest; it was a blissful spot and the moon again provided the evening entertainment followed by a lovely meal on Rafiki.

The next day we were joined by another yacht and a few of us decided to explore Little Jost Van Dyke. The main attraction is a bubble pool, which is basically a rock pool that is ravaged by the Atlantic swell.  After a short work through scrubland and forest, and being careful not to touch any poisonous tress we reached our destination.  The pool was literally a bubble pool and every so often huge waves would crash through a small gap in the rocks filling the pool with white spume and bubbles.  It is a dangerous place if not respected and two people had already dies this year after being swept through the gap and into the Atlantic beyond.  Unfortunately we had no battery power in our camera but Rob took photos, which will be posted shortly but if you cannot wait please see the following link: http://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/en/news/update-us-tourist-dies-after-bubbly-pool-incident-at-jvd and a nice one: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g580449-d2461948-Reviews-The_Bubbly_Pool-Jost_Van_Dyke_British_Virgin_Islands.html

After our lovely visit to Jost Van Dyke we set sail for Sopers Hole on the north east side of Tortola.  This was a lovely place although anchoring is very limited and the harbour very deep.  If you do not want to pay the $30 dollars a night your only option is to anchor in the far corner, which is not so idyllic.  We however managed to grab a spot and spent the afternoon looking around the shops and stocking up on some wine at the supermarket.

The next day we were in baby-sitting mode and as Rob and Cally had work to finish off before setting sail to the Azores we offered to take Emily and James for a day sail to Peter Island and visit Deadmans Cay.  Unfortunately the wind was on the nose and we had to motor all the way there but as we are in the BVI’s the distance is not more than 7 miles.

The motoring was worth it and at around midday we entered Deadmans Bay.  Again it was idyllic with beautiful sand and green mountains.  We had a fantastic swim with the children and we enjoyed our time in their company although I was completely worn out after two hours of ‘lets push Oliver out of the dinghy’.

We sailed back to Tortola to drop Emily and James off at Nanny Cay where Rafiki was now located and then we sailed on to Road Harbour where we anchored for the night after a few attempts.

Anyway, the plan is to stay in the BVI’s for the next month before we decide on our next plan of action.  We will post more photos shortly and will keep you updated on all the islands visit.  We wish you all the very best and we look forward to posting more soon.

All the best from the BVI’s J

 

 

Deadmans Cay

 

 

Rob and Emily on Sandy Spit Cay

Carlotta with Emily & James

Back up North – Antigua to Sint Maartens, via St Barts:

Jolly Beach – Antigua

 

 

I am currently sitting in Shrimpy’s (www.shrimpys-stmaarten.com) in Marigot Bay (St Maartens).  This is a great place for cruisers to meet, use the Internet and buy second hand goods.  They also offer water and information on where to get things done in and around St Maartens.  Mike and Sally who run the place will do laundry and also provide a radio net at 07:30 each morning for all cruisers.  Discussion ranges from Safety and Security, new arrivals/departures, general info and weather.  We managed to sell our lovely sat phone yesterday for half the price we brought it but at least it is not going to sit in a draw for the next 10 years loosing more of its value.

Well, I would love to share more photos and say we have been up to a lot in the past week but this would not be true.  Firstly we have been stuck in Marigot Bay for 4 days whilst high winds blew through so due to this we will miss Anguilla this time round and head straight for Virgin Gorda tomorrow, which is in the BVI’s (British Virgin Islands), where we will meet a few friends and spend a month exploring the 54 islands that are there including Richard Branson’s.

 

I better start from the beginning of our trip instead of at the end.  We left Jolly two days after being launched.  We victualed, fuelled and prepared for a passage from Jolly Harbour to St Bart’s.  We departed at 04:00 in the morning and had to complete 80 miles to Gustavia.  With a clean bottom Troskala flew and averaged 6.6 knots.  We made Gustavia 12 hours after departing, which is a record for us.  We again anchored in the same place as we had before although the anchorage was packed as it was just coming to the end of their Richard Miller Regatta.

 

We walked around Gustavia and to Shell Beach the following day.  We decided not to check-in this time and instead move on the Anse De Columbia for the night and then depart and head to St Maartens to explore this island further.  We left Gustavia in the afternoon and all went well for the 2.7 miles until we reached the beach.  I had recently fitted a longer painter to the dinghy, which was made out of an old halyard – big mistake.  Carlotta was on the helm and as I dropped the anchor she engaged reverse.  Thank God the anchor held as a split second later the engine cut out – a first for our engine.  I did the stupid thing of re-starting it without finding the cause of the issue before but I guess that under stress we all do things we wish we could have not done.  Luckily for us the engine again cut out and I quickly established that the painter was caught around our prop.  For us we could not be in a better place, the water was clear and I was able to snorkel down to free the rope with the knife.  No damage caused but a good lesson.

 

We spent one afternoon in Anse De Columbia before sailing the 12 miles to Philipsburg to pick up some duty-free alcohol and then onto Simpson Bay.  We still cannot understand the excitement people have with St Maartens.  The Dutch side is very developed and because that damaged.  In Simpson Bay there is not a lot on offer except a long busy road with various restaurants and a Mac Donald’s.  We spent our first day exploring with the dinghy the Lagoon but even this was not great and mainly consisted of chandleries and restaurants.  The beaches are nice but the water is not clear.

 

We did not spent too long in Simpson Bay and instead decided to sail around the coast to the French side and anchor in Marigot Bay.  We knew the wind would pick up and as soon as we rounded the corner we were hit with 35 knots of wind and one hour bashing under motor to get to Marigot Bay and the security of the anchorage.

Marigot Bay, along with the other bays: Grand Case and Anse Marcel are great spots.  The French have managed to keep these places cultural instead of ruining them with hotels and cheap bars.  Marigot itself is a lovely town with some good shopping but a local feel not forgetting Fort Louis, which is an old fort looking down onto the town and the bay.  The people are friendly and the Supermarkets are cheap. Marigot has a great Shopping Centre and the highlight of one of my days was to ride an elevator for the first time in 10 months – we need to move on.

 

The wind increased whilst we were in Marigot but it was not a bad place to get stuck as it is fairly sheltered and there is a lot to occupy yourself in town should you wish to explore.  The days lying at anchor gave me the opportunity to work on the engine and luckily I did.  I have been having some problems getting charge through to our batteries from the alternator and I put this down to the belt slipping.  I adjusted this and fixed the issue but to my horror, when adjusting the alternator I could actually move the engine.  This was not good news and further inspection showed that all but one of our engine mountings were loose with two bolts missing.  The engine is only a year old and I should have checked the mounts earlier but thank goodness it was checked now and all bolts are now tight and the engine is secure.

To some up St Maarten’s I would have to say that there are nicer islands in the Caribbean.  If you have work to carry out on your yacht, then this is the place to do it.  You can miss the Dutch side unless you like noise, cheap bars and need and Mac Donalds.  If you like you can take a trip to Maho Bay and sit on a beach close to the runway and watch air craft land only a few meters above your head.  We decided we did not want to be sand blasted and past on that option although in the guidebooks this is the only ‘must-see’ place, so that just sums up the Dutch half.

If you want quality, head to the North or North East coast.  There are some great parties and great towns not top forget, culture, walks and great scenery.  Grand Case is the gastronomic capital of the island and you will not be disappointed.

 

Anyway, we need to press on and we will be heading to the British Virgin Islands tomorrow morning at 01:00AM.  We have a lot to investigate and hope to spend a month there.  We look forward to new islands and meeting up with some old friends, so watch this space.

 

Goodbye for now.

 

Troskala on the Hard – 04th to 09th April 2013

Okay, enough Superyacht stories.  We made it back safely to Troskala but unfortunately she was not in the state we had left her.  She had now grown a lovely green beard and a nice black oil stain on the waterline from the dirty marina we had left her in.  It was also noticed that three impacts had been made to port side and bow side, but only faint scratches, but nothing too serious but still annoying nonetheless.

We were quick to leave and take her up to Jolly Harbour ready for checking out.  On the way we found her sluggish and less than responsive due to growth.  At 2,500 revs I was only making 4.0 knots over ground whereas I would normally achieve 5.5 knots.  As we were walking around Jolly Marina Carlotta suggested that we could have her hauled out now instead of in America; I could not agree more.  We visited the yard on the night we arrived and were booked for 10:00 the following morning.

Jolly Harbour was a great choice as the yard staff were all kind and extremely knowledgeable.  We were ready the next morning by the crane and at 10:30 she was being lifted out after 6,700 sea miles and 9 months on the water.   It was true; she was very fouled with all sorts of marine growth clinging to her belly.  We had also noticed a strange vibration on the propeller shaft, which we had put down to the rope cutter.  This was the case as two of the supporting washers that keep the blade in-line had completely deteriorated; it was time to completely remove the rope cutter and instead fix another anode on the shaft as we had already lost the end shaft anode and I could already sea electrolysis occurring on the end of the propeller; thank God we took her out now instead of later.

After a spray down she was settled into her stands and the work progressed, first to clean up the prop and the second to sand her down.  I hate antifouling but the worst part of it has to be the sanding.  As we had used a European Antifoul that could not be brought over here I had to strip her paint right back to primer.  Here is the most useful piece of information I can give here.  If you want to Antifoul your boat buy the antifoul in St Martins or America.  We paid for a gallon of Seahawk (heavy stuff) 10,71 EC, which works out to be £300 per tin, we needed two so already the antifoul was double the cost of the haul out, which was very cheap.

We did the necessary work and I even painted the Hydrovane rudder, which manages to get fouled every two weeks.  The total cost came to £900, which includes the yard fees and paint, a little more than I expected, but she looks good and will hopefully sail much faster than before.  The good thing about taking your yacht out in Jolly is that you have a great Supermarket 5 minuets away and the best beach in Antigua 10 minutes away so when the heat of the day was too much we would just head to the beach to cool down before continuing work on Troskala.

Again, I cannot sing the praises of the staff any more.  Everyday a gentleman would come over to gave advise and help for free, it made the cost just about bearable.  After 5 days on the hard Troskala was launched looking like new and with no vibrations coming from the shaft.

The finished article

Oualie Bay (Nevis) to Reggae Beach (St Kitts) – 16th February 2012

Oualie Bay (Nevis) to Reggae Beach (St Kitts) – 16^th February 2012

 

After we had fixed Oscar (Outboard) we were ready to hop over to St Kitts, which is only a 3 miles sail.  We were heading to Reggae beach, which sounded like the place to be, plus they had a bar, ice and a shower.  We completed our small voyage under motor and within an hour after navigating the narrows we found ourselves in a very secluded and beautiful little anchorage.  The wind was still blowing but we were able to position ourselves nicely behind a mountain and only a few yards from the beach, which was already filling up with tourists.

Reggae Beach is a great spot.  The popularity of Reggae Beach comes mainly from cruise ship tourists that excrete their tourists from the city of Baseterre, only a few miles north.  Even though it is mentioned in the guide book as a busy place we found it quiet.  There is a lovely bar and beach.  We were the only yacht at anchor for the two nights we spent there, which is a first and a unique experience.  We spent two days at Reggae, swimming and relaxing, I think that Nita and my Dad are finally seeing what we see in this life style, no rushing, no stress and sun every day.

What is different about St Kitts is the landscape.  Yes, it has a mountain but it is a lot more arid than previous islands we have visited.  You could say that St Kitts looks more like the Canaries than the Caribbean due to its lake of rain.  There are plenty of beaches around the South coast but most are stony instead of sandy.

Antigua – 06th February – 14th February

We had made it to Jolly Harbour just in time to meet my Dad and Nita at a lovely bar on the waterfront.  We had spent our first night in Jolly Harbour but after the costs we decided to move out after victualing the boat and making sure we were prepared for a long stint at anchor.

Jolly Harbour is a lovely place but more accustomed to Condos and hotel guests, it seemed to lack any real ‘feel’ or atmosphere.  The lagoon and beach are great and the contrast in color from turquoise sea to clear blue sky; it is exactly what you would expect from a post card sent from paradise.

We moved on to English Harbour the following day, unfortunately we had top head straight into the wind so for Nita and my Dad, their first sail was under motor beating into a 25 knot head wind for 12 miles.

It states in our Pilot Book that English Harbour is one of the most beautiful harbour’s in the Caribbean; I have to disagree.  He anchorage is crowded but sheltered.  You do swing a lot on anchor so a stern anchor is useful but we did not use one throughout our stay their.  The water is not as clear as we have seen before but a guess we have been spoilt with St Lucia.  Nelsons Dock Yard however is an experience.  As you enter by way of dinghy it is similar to walking into a living museum.  All the buildings have been tastefully restored and turned into gift shops, cafes and restaurants.  There was a lovely atmosphere in the evening and if you want more nightlife you can walk for 10 minutes into Falmouth Harbour.

One evening we went to Shirley Heights with another couple from Golden Fleece.  Shirley Heights hold a magnificent party on Sunday Nights.  You have to hike up what feels like a mountain to get to it but it is worth it.  They start the party at 16:00 and carry on through the night.  There was an amazing atmosphere with near enough 400 people there.  We were completely astounded by the steel drum band they had playing, their talent is incredible.  If you are ever in Antigua make sure you take part in this party; it is a must. We will certainly pay another visit on our way down and make sure we there earlier to take better photos of the sunset.

After a short period we decided to head to Falmouth Harbour.  The decision was made after nearly colliding with another boat on anchor so we made a quick escape before any damage could occur.

The great thing about our anchorage in Falmouth Harbour was in our proximity to the Maltese Falcon.  The Maltese Falcon is, I believe the largest and most technolically advanced Super Yacht in the world and we were a stones throw away from it.  I had studied this yacht when it has been built a few years early and could not believe we were now anchored so close to it.

There is not too much to see in Falmouth but there is a good atmosphere mainly due to tourists and Super Yacht Crew.  We had a brief look around before heading back to the boat and watching some dinghy racing.

As we were heading to the islands of Nevis and St Kitt’s the following day we decided to return to Jolly Harbour to stock up on food, fuel and water, which took most of the day to complete.  The good thing about checking out in Jolly Harbour is that you don’t seem to have to pay for your check-out or for garbage disposal.

Marigot Bay to Antigua: 31st January 2012

It has been so difficult to leave Marigot Bay.  We had been planning to depart for some time as my Dad is arriving shortly and we need to get to Antigua before the 06^th February.  Anyway we were invited to a fantastic Bar-B-Q hosted by one of the Super Yachts.  I have never tasted steak and Chicken as good as that evening.  We were also joined by many friends we had come to know, which only made it harder to depart but there is plenty more to see and our paths will cross again in the not too distant future.

We departed Marigot Bay early on the 31^st.  We hit a 20 knot wind on the nose as soon as we left and had an absolutely awful 3 hours just to cover 9 miles.  We had to pull into Rodney Bay to sort out an issue we had with our newly purchased camera. The idea was to head on to Martinique but after the disaster coming up to Rodney we decided to pick up a mooring in the Lagoon.

We were only meant to stay in Rodney Bay for one night but three nights later we were still there with 25-30 knot winds blowing outside the harbor.  There was not a chance in the world to leave, which has not put pressure on us to make the leg to Antigua.

It is a shame we cannot give you more information on Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe.  We had to race up north but did manage to stay in each island but did not clear customs, as we had to leave the following morning.  We had a good passage to Martinique.  I don’t know who said that the Caribbean is all plain sailing; as soon as you leave the Lee of the Island you are battered by swell, current and strong winds and then when you are in the Lee of the next island you are constantly changing sail as the wind scoops around the bottom and then surprises you by going from 5 knots to 30 knots the other side of a mountain.

We headed to the north of Martinique to San Pierre.  What a surprise, we decided to take a quick trip ashore and found it to be a lot more European than we had expected.  As this is a French Island there were more expensive cars (Renaults, BMW’s etc.)  We took a walk to an old theatre that was destroyed in the 19^th century by a hurricane and a prison.  It is a shame we could not stay longer but the contrast from St Lucia was refreshing.  The buildings were not well cared for but the people were very friendly and it did have an atmosphere that was very European compared to what we had been used too.

Martinique to Dominica – Monday 04^th February

Dominica is a stunning island when seen from land.  Apparently when Columbus was trying to describe this island to the Queen of Spain he scrunched up a piece of paper and showed her the likeness.  Dominica is so green especially when seen from a very blue sea, the mountains and valleys are very distinctive.  We had the same issues with forever changing winds and gusts that knocked Troskala about a bit but all in  all it was a pretty uneventful sail but the scenery was stunning.

We decided to anchor in Rupert Bay, which was a fantastic spot.  We sailed past the Star clipper (pictured below) and settled ourselves in 2 meters of water by the beach.  Again we had not the time to clear customs so decided to go for a swim and have an early dinner before heading to bed.  We will certainly re-visit Rupert Bay, the scenery surrounding us was quite spectacular and the stillness and quietness of the place is also to be noted as most popular anchorages have beach bars playing music all night.

Dominica to Guadeloupe – Tuesday 05^th February

We departed Rupert Bay at 07:00 and started our journey that would take us to the north of Guadeloupe to Deshaies.  We had a great crossing from Dominica to Guadeloupe with calm seas and a good breeze, the fun started when we rounded Guadeloupe with erratic winds and stupid calms, there was just no point in doing anything with the sails.  We lost our new caps that were given to us by a good friend, my cap actually flew before landing what seemed to be half a mile away – it could not be rescued.  Carlotta lost hers shortly afterwards; we tried to rescue this one but to no avail.  We were now in a force 7, we took the main down and used genoa, which seemed to work very well with little weather helm as we had previously experienced.  It has to be noted that it was not since the north of Spain that we were sailing close-hauled and you tend to forget what works and what does not.  Anyway we finally arrived in Deshaies feeling tired and battered.

Deshaies has to be the windiest anchorage I have ever been in.  The books say that Guadeloupe is a wind scoop and that Deshaies is a vent; yes, it is.  It was blowing a lovely force 7 through the night but we had held well and were close enough to the shore not to have anyone in front of us dragging into us.  We decided total e a visit into town and we are both glad we took this opportunity to experience and fantastic little place.

We thought that San Pierre was European; Deshaies is a mini French town.  It has a lovely main street with bars, bakery, and general store; it even had a Spar convenience store so we took the opportunity to stock up on Pate, wine and other nibbles that we have been so long without.  We had beer whilst the wind howled and then rowed back to Troskala for yet another early night.

Guadeloupe to Antigua  – Wednesday 06^th February

We now have our last leg on the journey to Antigua.  As mentioned previously it is a shame we have not really spent enough time in the islands between St Lucia and Antigua but we will re-visit these wither this year or next.

We departed Deshaies at 06:30; we would have wanted to depart earlier but due to the wind and the amount of other boats in the anchorage we thought it would be wise to wait for daylight.  My Dad and Nita would arrive at 16:00 local time and we still had 48 miles to complete to reach Jolly Harbor.

We left Deshaies with an amazing sunrise that appeared to set the sky on fire; it was an unbelievable sight and I doubt any photo can capture the scene. We had very little wind and had to motor sail for most of the journey just to keep 5 knots over ground.  Nothing really prepared us for the color of the water we saw on approaching Antigua.  Just as we were 3 miles south of Jolly Harbor entrance the water turned from a dark blue to a vivid turquoise, it was unbelievable. We can see coral only 3 meters under the keel with amazing contrasts; Carlotta was very excited and had finally seen her true paradise with golden beaches to our starboard, lush green hills ahead and this amazing water.

We checked into Jolly Harbor and were escorted to the main marina.  Now, unless you are filthy rich do not stay in Jolly Harbor Marina.  For Troskala we were charged £60 a night, yes, £60 GBP per night.  The facilities were not great and I still cannot get over the fact that this marina is more expensive than any we have come across since London, even Cowes Yacht Haven charged less.

Anyway, we were there for a purpose and the purpose is to collect my Dad and Nita for the next voyage north to the British Virgin Islands and beyond.  Nita and my Dad will be crewing for us for one month before we then head back to Antigua.

Jolly Harbour to English Harbor – Antigua – 08^th February 2012

We moved on to the anchorage the second night of being in Antigua just to save on costs.  It dod not matter as Carlotta was in her element with the paradise she found herself in.  When you wake up in the morning and cannot believe your eyes when looking out of the hatch it takes some beating.  We all went for a trip to the supermarket in the morning to victual the boat before the next passage.  We found time for a swim in the milky waters on Jolly Harbor and then set sail to English Harbor.

Unfortunately our sailing was cut short when we had to turn East into 25 knots of wind and having to motor 7 miles at an average of 3.8 knots.  We eventually arrived into the historic English Harbor and anchored in Freemans Bay, which is busy. We had a few attempts at anchoring and finally managed to find a space near the main channel.

 

 

Happy Friday to you all.

Well, this is the photo I imagined I would finally send when in paradise:

Marigot Bay, St Lucia

 

We sailed down from Rodney Bay a few days ago and I will post that trip shortly.  It is the first time we have ever been able to see our anchor at the bottom let alone swim down to it to make sure it had held.  if the rest of the caribbean is like this it will be an amazing place.  We will set sail on Monday heading to Bequia and the Grenadines before then heading back to St Lucia to meet friends and then on to Antigua for February.

I hope you all have a great weekend and I will send another post shorty highlighting our time so far in St Lucia.

Best wishes,

Oliver & Carlotta

 

Las Palmas to St Lucia – The Atlantic Crossing

Day 1 – 27^th November

We departed our pontoon at 10:30 along with around 150 other boats, so as you can imagine it was chaos in trying to keep your boat from being blown it another whilst making your way to the start line.  I have never seen so many boats on one place vying for the pole position.  We went out, past the press and photographers for a final salute before our epic crossing, we then raised the main and listened for the horn to mark the start of the cruising mono-hull division.

The weather was not to be kind after clearing the breakwater the wind piped up to 25-30 knots with a horrible rolling sea.  We put two reefs in the main and brought in the genoa and tried to settle into a downwind sail but it was uncomfortable.

  

The weather did nothing but get worst.  The rain started after leaving and the sea state only got worst.  We decided to have some stew in a can instead of cooking something that took any effort.  Tim was already feeling the starting effects of sea sickness so went for a snooze.

The rest of the night was miserable.  We were only under main so Hydrovane was not coping with the boat trying to pivot to port and corrections needing to be made on the tiller to counteract the movement.  I needed to sail downwind but could not risk putting any more sail up.  At 21:00 the wind picked up to 41 knots; it was pure hell on the first night and I hate to think what the others made of their new world for the next 21 days.

Day 2 – 28^th November

We were welcomed by easing conditions in the morning.  I had not been able to sleep all  night but made a hearty breakfast to start our day.  We continued to run under main solely as the only other option would be to head north, which was no option.  Later in the day we poled out our genoa and this seemed to have a marked effect on the amount of rolling we are experiencing.  It has to be said the our first day saw us break two records; one for speed (13.02 knots over ground) and 143 nautical miles in one day.

 

We are still heading south and have decided to head to Cape Verde before picking up the trade winds.  It is hard to realize just how little progress you make on a large scale chart.

We had Fajitas for dinner, which managed to role every-where and then watched some ‘Peep Show’.  Rafiki is not too far as we heard them on the VHF so thankfully I am not on a completely poor course.

I AM SO TIRED!

Post Written – 04^th December 2012

I have decided not to list each daily event as to not bore the reader.  We have managed to settle into some sort of routine.  The seasickness has passed all and we are fairly happy with our position and down-wind sailing.  I am still having great difficulty in sleeping with every noise I hear I wonder what may go wrong and how to deal with each situation as it happens.

 

Our watch systems now start from 22:00 with the first watch person standing post until 02:00 and then the second person standing watch from 02:00 to 05:00 and finally 05:00 to 09:00.  We rotate this daily so as to be fair and I have not received any complaints yet.

The days go quickly and we were lucky enough to have some great weather plus two separate displays from dolphins.  We have now seen 4 flying fish dead on the deck but they were way too small for dinner.

We had been making a good course of 270 degrees but the low pressure system was moving us to the north and away from the rhumb line so we decided to head south to move away from the low pressure system and establish ourselves fully in the trades at around 16 degrees latitude.  Unfortunately for us we have just had to endure 30-40 knots of wind for two days on a beam reach, which has been nothing short of miserable.  The cockpit continues to have swathes of water coming in from a fierce sea, I have lost my Kindle to one of them. We are currently sitting at 17 degrees and will turn west tomorrow on a bearing straight for St Lucia and with the North Equatorial Current and 15 knot trade winds we should have a great down wind run  and regain use of our cockpit without getting doused with salt water.

 

Our speed has been very pleasing with Troskala achieving just short of 150 miles a day.  In a week we have averaged 144 miles, which I did not expect but hope we can maintain this for the rest of the journey.

Troskala is holding up well to the strains, especially from the last two days.  Nothing yet has been damaged.  We have ran the engine an our each day to maintain electricity but for the past two days and with the wind generator doing most of the effort we have not had to run it.

 

In regards to food, we have been lucky enough to have only just run out of fresh meet and fruit.  We still have some peppers and onions left.  We did have to throw out some sausages and mince meat but have utilized most of the food we brought; we now have tinned food and pasta for the rest of the journey.  It looks like we will run out of milk before the end of the journey but that is not the end of the world.  Our water supply is around 250 liters and we are mostly drinking 3 liters a day.

Crew wise.  Tim managed to damage his hands on an exercise rubber band of all things so we are a man down when it comes to washing up and strenuous rope work but apart from that he is holding up well.  Will is also doing well.  We both tried to quite smoking but after the past two days all has reverted back to the usual.  There is no doubt that this is a challenge for all of us and certainly one of the biggest challenges I have faced in my life-time.  To be in small space, cook, keep entertained and exercise are all hard tasks and there have already been moments where we have had to try and calm down but all has been in good humor.

 

The constant worry and the need to believe in your course tactics and planning, not to mention worrying about food, water, disasters with the boat, lack of sleep and so on are enough to drive any one crazy but the first week is up and we have 1,800 miles to go.

Additional Personal Thoughts:

I do think it is important to highlight my personal thoughts about the trip so far so here we go and sorry if some of it does not make sense.

We have now been at sea for 7 days with another 13 ahead of us.  It is hard to describe the rate of time at sea.  I have previously mentioned how we do our shifts but that does not seem to matter much any more.  We exist solely to move West.  The Sun rises at 08:00 and sets at 19:00 with the moon rising at 01:00 and that defines what is day and what is night.  Time is now used for navigational purposes but not to stipulate when we go to bed or eat dinner.

 

The nights are stunning especially with a full moon and the days likewise but our scenery does not change.  It is strange to imagine that the great sailors of the past such as Columbus, Chichester, Knox-Johnson would have all experienced the same landscape on a daily basis and similar challenges.  We are in an untouched part of the world where no human can change the landscape.  Looking out tonight on 5 – 6 meter waves in pitch blackness with the noise of just the rigging and the boat occasionally slamming off waves is all we have to accompany our thoughts, which makes our existence pretty simple but thought provoking.

  

During our working life and personal life we never find time or have time to actually sit and think about our lives, mistakes and successes we have made in the past.  Try sitting on a 32 foot boat for 8 days and you will easily find the time to re-live your memories, plan your future and analyze mistakes.  I believe all three of us will do some soul searching on this voyage and I recommend all to try and experience such solitude in such a vast expanse of water it really is difficult to get your head around it.

Do I think I have made the right decision so far to seek adventure and give up my career at 30; I have no idea but I do think and strongly believe that it is an experience worth undertaking and so far this has proven very true.  We could have waited until we retired to live the dream but you never know when it is too late; would we have our health, the money and the want to carry out such an adventure.

Many people have said since we left London that we must be having the easiest life in the world but in fact I find it has become more of a challenge and therefore more stressful.  In our daily working lives we knew what to expect: you would wake up, commute into work, have some lunch and then commute back, all very predictable and stressful on occasions of course, but your day rarely changed.  Since we have left, every passage has had unknown challenges and dangers. If you get it wrong you may not only loose the boat but your lives and even now sat out in the Atlantic these dangers are not far from our mind on a large scale.  To put it in perspective we are 1,000 miles from any help or assistance currently.  We are 2-3 days away from search and rescue so if something does go wrong you are the only person who can deal with it -scary.  Some body I met before we departed summed up the sailing experience nicely by saying: ‘With sailing the highs are much higher and the lows much lower than that of a ‘normal’ life style’.  That comment does sum up our experiences completely, we have already experienced horrific times due to weather but we have also been in paradise on other occasions.

 

Our daily thoughts are of our destination and looking at the mileage to St Lucia decrease day by day, the rest for now has been pretty straight forward apart from the last two days driving winds and high seas. We should count ourselves lucky as already 15 boats have had to retire due to mast failure, rudder failure etc.

So, that is as personal as it gets for now unless you want to hear about our cleanliness. We all smell.  3 guys who have not had a shower for 8 days we are bound to smell.  Will managed to make use of a squall two days ago so stripped naked in the cockpit and waited for the rain to wash the soap off; he is the cleanest out of all of us.  There is salt every where and nothing dries so my shorts have the texture of card-board but plenty of talcon powder sorts out and chafing.  If we have enough water by half way we will treat ourselves to a shower but that does not look promising.

11^th December 2012

We are currently sitting at 1,909 miles with 1,189 to go.  We celebrated the half way mark in true style with some champagne and a great dinner of lentils and Spanish meats.  Today also marks two weeks at sea.  As mentioned before the days come and go and the time in between is spent cooking, sleeping and eating.

Troskala has still experienced no issues to which we are thankful.  We heard from Carlotta that our friends in ‘Quickly’ accidently gybed causing their boom to be severely damaged and thus they are now running under a small tri-sail and genoa.  I do hope we can survive the next 9 days without any breakages.

 

All crew are fine but you can tell that there are happy days, sad days and frustrating days for all of us.  Today we introduced a no criticism day, which seemed to work well especially as we mostly slept all day so did not have time to criticize each other; tomorrow is a no sarcasm day so we will see how that goes.  Tim has unfortunately lost his lap-top to a cup of tea and I nearly did the same with my computer today but thankfully I revived it.  Will has lost his computer to battery failure and my hard drive seems to have issues with the salty atmosphere.

We have been fishing but still with no success, which is a shame, as we would love some fresh food.  My squid lure (Sushi) got chewed by something with ferocious teeth and all that was left was his bitten metal head so it was probably a blessing we did not bring on board.  We did catch a tuna but he got away before we could bring him in.  We are now trailing another squid and using flying fish as bait, which seems to make a difference.

Water and food supplies seem to be doing well.  We have used water from our main tanks but still have 50, 1.5 liter bottles and 60 liters in containers so have no worry about water although food may be an issue as we are down to tins and pasta with no fresh food apart from 6 onions 7 eggs and 1 pepper.

We are all desperate for showers; I have not changed my clothes for 4 days.  We have not seen another ship for 8 days.  I think we all agree that two weeks at sea is enough and the strains are beginning to show.

In regards to our course, we headed more south than on our first attempt to reach more settles wind.  It is quite a balance to set the boat on a course that will not only take you where you want to go but also not strain the boat or the crew too much therefore a direct approach was needed and a heading of 210 – 180 was made in order to gain the more advantageous winds earlier.  I had not gone south enough and we were still too north and managed to sail straight into a calm patch so we motored for a day to get ourselves back south and continued this until we reached 14 degrees latitude.  We now have 25 knots winds from the East and hopefully this will stay with us throughout the rest of the journey.

 

We have noticed a vast improvement in the temperature.  We can now undertake our night watches in shorts and T-shirts as the temperature at night in 27 degrees and in the day it is rising to 33-35 degrees.

There is nothing more to report for the time being.  We have another bottle of champagne saved for when we hot the 999 mark and have less than 1,000 miles to go; hopefully this will be by Wednesday.  We anticipate to be in St Lucia by the 19^th all being well.

13^th December 2012

 

So our hope of completing this journey unscathed has not happened.  We have just finished a challenging 48 hours of breakages, torrential rain, zero visibility and a loss of the ships mascot (molly).  I awoke to the sound of the main sail gybing with Will on watch.  The block preventing this from happening literally exploded with the force of the gybe.  We prevented the main using the cleat on the bow instead of another block.

The weather looked pretty ominous behind us but we were making great speed with both main and genoa set full.  Just when I did not expect it the wind increased suddenly from 25 knots to 35 apparent, which would have been 41 knots of true wind.  Troskala, being over powered turned faster than I could correct and we experienced an horrific gybe.  The kicking strap that is designed to keep the boom from riding upwards snapped letting the top of the main sail twist over the shrouds.  I quickly raised the crew and we managed to get the main down with difficulty.  In the day-light we also noticed the fair lead had pulled out of the deck as well and is missing.  During our gybe our boat mascot (Molly), a large ugly looking doll managed to jump ship, which for me was a blessing but for Will and Tim loss as they had brought the ugly thing.

We motored the next day in order to repair the damage, which we have succeeded in doing.  The rain we had yesterday is like nothing Tim or I have seen before.  We are all wet, the boat is wet and there is now no wind to speak of.  On a good note we are now less than 1,000 miles away from St Lucia, which is a great incentive for all of us.

Over the next few days all went well and we were making good progress but we ended up becalmed for two days, which meant we had the chance to swim in the Atlantic, which we did.  Words cannot describe the feeling of swimming in water that is 5,000 meters deep looking at the boat in the midst of just sky and sea.  We all had a go at swimming round the boat with one person always on deck to stop the boat should any wind start pushing her away from us.  After a twenty minute swim we were all back on deck before any sharks came to visit.

The time is going slower and although the days pass quickly, time at sea goes slowly, or maybe it is just because we have now been three weeks in the Atlantic.  We now have no more fuel spare for pure motoring and have saved 20 liters to get us into the harbor at St Lucia should we make it.

Little things now matter and we look forward to our chart plotter reading 699 miles, then 599, 499 and so on; there is not much more to think about.  The wind has picked up and we are back heading in the right direction doing 6 knots; if we can keep this speed we may just be able to make the party but there are doubts that we will make the finish line before it closes.

21^st December 2012

WE CAN SEE LAND.  We are only 80 miles from St Lucia and can see the tips of the Pitons.  We have cleaned the boat and are steadily sailing on with the island becoming clearer we every hour that passes.  It must be one of the most frustrating things to see an Island but know that even with only 80 miles to go it will still take 7 hours.

We picked up the ARC finish boat on our VHF at 16:00; what a relief.  It is sure that we have missed the finish line but there was still to be a celebration for our arrival as the smallest.  Once we rounded Pigeon Island we were greeted with an ARC rib with Carlotta, Tim’s Parents and Emma all onboard with some beers.  It felt so strange to have the rib plus photographers and a myriad of boats around after being so alone for nearly a month.

 

We were escorted in and welcomed by other boats.  A special thanks to Katie and Lyle for organizing a welcome party but also thanks to Andy from Rafiki and Hannah from Peregrine who sorted us out rum punch and cigarettes.

Once tied up we had half an hour to sort the boat out and get a lift over to the ARC closing party; there was no time for a shower but after several rum punches it did not actually matter.  We made the party, gave a speech and picked up our hamper of rum given to us from the ARC to celebrate the last arrival.  It was a euphoric feeling and a very proud moment.  To be in the company of Carlotta and so many other kind people, making a speech to 1,000 people was a feeling I doubt I will ever experience again and it is all thanks to Troskala, Carlotta and my crew, Will and Tim.

Lessons Learnt:

• Our total trip was 3,150 miles, 300 of the miles could have been saved if I had better weather routing on board.  My thoughts were to head more south and pick up the trades but this year the trades were not in place and due to my more direct route south I put more miles on and did not benefit from the wind.
• I Sat Phone Pro) Inmarsat – I think all crew would agree that the worst bit of kit on the boat was the Satellite phone.  Not only would the phone not work with ‘Mail A Sail’ it would not work on the Atlantic.  Voice calls were always cut but the phone loosing the Satellite, Emails would not all come through and test messages were limited to only a few characters.  The first thing I will do is sell it and get either Iridium or Yellow Brick.  Maybe we got something wrong whilst using it but I very much doubt it.  My advice would be to stay clear of the I Sat Phone if you are sailing.
• Hydrovane – He deserves another mention as being the best kit we had on board.  For nearly a month the Hydrovane steered the boat flawlessly although did need some tweaking occasionally.
• Our ‘Down Wind Rig’ was a poled out genoa and main.  If the wind picked up we would reef the main by 1 or 2 depending.  We did not role much and whilst sailing down wind we found it pretty comfortable, maybe this is due to having a heavy displacement boat but I would have expected more rolling than we had.
• Chafe was not a problem.  Other boats did suffer greatly but we were fine.  We checked all ropes and the rig daily for any signs of wear and changed anything that looked like it needed it.
• Crew – We worked well together but I can see how fragile a relationship between crew and Skipper and crew & crew can be.  I do think that it is important to sail before hand as much as possible with crew before an Atlantic passage.  It is important to make it clear to all what is expected in regards to boat maintenance and the day-to-day responsibilities and running of the boat.  Laziness does not work on a boat and only infuriates other people so make sure you have someone who will pull their weight and not have to be asked to do everything.
• Food and water worked very well.  We were left with 4 liters of water but we did consume more as we reached land.  Food worked very well and even though we were on tinned food on the last week we still ate well and looked forward to dinner.

The first words I said to Carlotta when arriving into St Lucia was that I found this one of the hardest challenges of my life.  The constant worry and decisions that need to be made not to mention the lack of sleep all took their toll; then we heard of other yachts that suffered far more adversity than we did by losing masts, rudders, main sails, engines and personal injuries. This made our journey seem pretty straightforward and I have to be thankful that nothing serious happened to any of us during the passage.

Another big thank you is to all people who sent such kind emails and comments on the blog during our trip; they were all very thoughtful.

Happy 2013 to you all.