Bad end to a good day
After a long, interesting day on the lake and in the locks, we entered the Pacific Ocean just at dusk. Heavy rain and increasing wind against current made for a lumpy sea as we attempted…
After a long, interesting day on the lake and in the locks, we entered the Pacific Ocean just at dusk. Heavy rain and increasing wind against current made for a lumpy sea as we attempted…
After breakfast pancakes Miss Perfect and I went for a swim. I was already out of the water when the lads pointed out a crocodile approaching from the shore. A big fellow – perhaps 3…
Our line handlers arrived at 1 o’clock – 3 cheerful local blokes supplied, along with fenders and lines, by Roy Bravo. We motored across to flats anchorage and jilled about for an hour until our…
A word about transit of the Panama Canal. The Canal Authority makes a big deal of the 4 lock transit. That is quite understandable for a 100,000 tonne container ship whose fee may exceed $400,000,…
Friday was one of those boat days when things went smoothly. How such days stand out. To be honest, I didn’t think it would all happen. When I arrived back in Panama the boat sat…
Spectacular storm clouds roll over Shelter Bay daily. At night deafening thunderclaps rattle the buildings and jagged lightning illuminates dripping rainforest. Add the to that eerie calls of the howler monkeys and it is all…
After 25 years living in Russia, Little Miss Almost Perfect was banned from that country last year. Her egregious offence had been to incur a parking fine in Moscow. It was duly paid, and on…
Sailors and mountaineers commonly act in ways which make you gasp. Sometimes their actions work and then you applaud. Sometimes they don’t, and then you say “tsk tsk, how foreseeably stupid”. Sailing the coast of…
…both the season and the boat. All the work is done. Tainui has been very professionally shrink wrapped. She has a dehumidifier and a 240 volt fan which will run continuously, and the yard will…
…the captain and the king (princess) departs. As always, Little Miss Perfect has left a larger, quieter and emptier boat behind her. But I think she has been captivated by the prospect of a canal…
…but utterly beguiling. On the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal, Colon has a well-earned reputation for violence. Visitors are warned not to visit the old town except by taxi, in the mornings (while the…
A fast sleigh ride out of Santa Marta took us across the murky Rio Magdalena outflow, west past Cartagena. Then the wind died and Mr Ford was called upon. 2 noteworthy events en route –…
Looking back through our photos I am struck by a preponderance of statues, monuments and frescoes in them. I don’t know why. This blog contains nothing but random images I have uploaded from our Dropbox…
We decided to visit Cartagena by bus rather than sail 100 miles down the coast. However you get there, Cartagena is not to be missed. The narrow streets of the old walled town are a…
The Colombian coast hereabouts is notoriously windy. In December they had two 70 knot gales in Santa Marta and through January there were regular 40 knot breezes. Now, in early April, things are moderating but…
At 9 am we left Punta Vela for the run down to Santa Marta 130 miles west. After yesterday’s fresh easterlies we were expecting strong winds, but the breeze dwindled and Mr Ford was asked…
At Monjes del Sur we threw our bow line, poled out the big staysail and the yankee and loped west along the coast of Colombia in a respectably gentle breeze, ticking off lighthouses. Not rocket…
Monjes del Sur, the last of the Venezuelan offshore islands, is a lonely coastguard outpost some 20 miles off the Columbian coast. I don’t think that many yachts stop here, although it is an ideal…
We hadn’t intended to stop at Aruba, but a fast westerly trip from Curacao had us off the southern point at 11 pm and Maxine, Tainui’s fount of unassailable logic, asked why we shouldn’t anchor…
Our 15 year old 3.5hp Mercury outboard hasn’t run well since it was inadvertently filled with diesel instead of petrol, in Corfu. How that happened is a very private issue, but suffice to say the…
Bonaire is 35 miles west of Islas des Aves and our downwind run was gentle. The country came as a shock – 2 cruise ships, row upon row of candy coloured houses along a flat,…
Sotavento in Islas de Aves was the second last of our remote Venezuelan anchorages. We have run out of superlatives to describe the colours, space, silence and beauty of these islands. Apart from two fishing…
Archipelago Los Roques is an absolute jewel! We entered this vast array of coral cays, tranquil lagoons and islands soon after dawn, threading our way between coral heads into a broad, deep and protected anchorage…
Our 90 mile run west to La Blanquilla took less toll on us. A square run in dwindling breeze meant Mr Ford was called into service. 2 noteworthy events. First, in pitch black we passed…
The 105 mile run from Trinidad to Los Testigos Islands in Venezuela was a romp. With small yankee, storm staysail and one reef in the main we averaged over 8 knots. Mind you, there is…
Having prepared Tainui for sea I have had a self-indulgent week stocking up on all those experiences which will be denied me after Tainui’s RSM arrives – Bach keyboard music, the Beethoven fiddle concerto, some…
Ian is an enthusiastic and committed chef on board. But he is a tiny bit messy. Dave used to complain that he had to clean pasta off the deckhead after Ian had cooked. But before…
There has been much talk in the bay today. A single-hander was found dead in his cabin this morning, after his dinghy was seen to be floating upside down behind his boat. There were no suspicious circumstances…
In oddly green (shallow) waters we motored 40 miles along Trinidad’s steep and jungle-clad northern shore. Heady floral smells and occasional showers drift down from the mountains. Magnificent frigate birds, pelicans, boobies and lazy dolphins…
By midnight last night we could see the loom of Scarborough to starboard, and an hour later a scratchy image of Tobago was visible on the radar screen. Struggling against an inexplicable easterly current in…
Things are OK here. We’re loping downwind at 8 knots under twin poled out headsails, across iridescent and sparkling seas. Whitecaps break noisily on either side of the cockpit and send schools of flying fish…
For the last 72 hours we’ve been rolling downwind at 6-7 knots, under twin poled headsails. The seas are lumpy, with at least 2 cross swells, but our little CPT autopilot is managing them silently…
10 days and half way through this interminable crossing I find myself marvelling that I managed to survive that Southern Ocean crossing all those years ago. There are sailors out there/here who do this all…
Another windless 24 hours with lurching cross seas and slatting sails. It is very frustrating – not good for the sails or the soul. We spent the morning siphoning diesel into the tanks from our…
There is one, of sorts. We sail during the day, slop around at night as the wind dies and, finally, drop the sails and run the engine between 10pm and sunrise. Then the breeze seems…
now we have wind Last night we dropped the spinnaker at sunset. An excess of caution on my part, I thought at the time. But 2 hours later the breeze piped in and we…
Having just written a post about the absence of vessels this afternoon, I went on deck for a dingo’s breakast (a quick piss and a look round). I was astonished to see a sail on…
The horizon is sharp and unsullied by sails, masts or ship superstructure. Apart from flying fish and very welcome visits from spotted dolphins, we are quite alone. In the days of sail this westbound route…
plus ca change After a lovely (and suitably very expensive) birthday chat with Chris, who is sweltering in Alice Springs, we settled down to another languid and windless night. We have the yankee poled to…
Becalmed. This would drive Maxine bonkers. We’ve had almost no wind today (6 Feb). Our speed has varied between 2 and 4 knots. I have stopped scouring the horizon ahead for a first glimpse of…
6 February – day 5 Another tedious night of light airs and sloppy residual swell. We try to sail with full main well-braced forward, and poled out yankee. The fully battened main thwacks as we…
Overnight we motored over a restless, windless ocean. Under some cloud but with a life-affirming full moon. Yesterday I finally finished the new autopilot installation, rivetting the power unit bracket to the main steering pedestal.…
Frustration It has been a slow and challenging day. Not enough wind, and that which we had was from dead astern. I suppose we have averaged 4 knots. But the relentless gybing of main and…
We clocked up 175 miles in the last 24 hours in a remarkably constant northerly. I hope it will stay with us for the next 14 days. The skies are clear and empty of Western…
In point of fact the breeze arrived after half an hour last night and we had fresh northerlies all night. 7.5 knots under reefed main and yankee. That hole must have been Sao Anton’s wind…
Maxine will appreciate the irony of this. After fuelling we left Mindelo at 1300h. A bright day with 25 knot winds and unusually clear blue skies. Tainui romped down the channel at 8-9 knots under…
We have a robust old autopilot whose drive unit is said to be the starter motor from a 1929 Buick. I kid you not. Wise engineers tell us it is bomb-proof and we must never…
On Saturday I walked round the waterfront to clear customs and immigration for our Sunday departure. They had warned me to clear out on Saturday because the Police department is closed on Sundays. When I…