Daily Logs

Hanami II - Telechargement de fichier Grib en mer: Iridium ou BLU ou ... les deux?

Telecharger des fichiers Grib depuis la mer semble evident depuis MaxSea ... si l'on possede un telphone satelitte, cependant les tentatives faites durant ces 2 derniers jours prouvent que parfois ca ne marche pas.   Sur les 4 dernieres tentatives faites avec l'Iridium 3 ont echouees lors du raptriement du fichier et en general dans le dernier tiers de celui ci, soit a la fin du processus. La consequence est que "on n'a pas les donnees mais la facture reste et a plus de 1 euro la minute cela devient vite significatif" si le fichier est gros.   En fait ce que MaxSea fait c'est de transmettre une requette "Saildoc" au serveur du NOAA aux USA, recuperer le fichier et le reacheminer vers le Pc depuis leur serveur. Bien sur ce service est gratuit. Ce pour quoi on paye c'est la duree. read more...

Ariane - Iguacu-Fälle und Itaipu-Staudamm

Die Iguacu-Fälle und Itaipu-StaudammLiebe SegelfreundeAm ersten Tag bewunderten wir diese grössten (und schönsten) Wasserfälle der Erde von der brasilianischen Seite aus. Der Fluss Iguacu führte knapp doppelt soviel Wasser wie üblich, nämlich 5000 m³ pro Sekunde!!! Dies sieht natürlich sehr beeindruckend aus, hat aber den Nachteil, dass man z. B. beim "Teufelsfall" wegen der Gischt nicht die ganze Höhe sehen kann; ausserdem wird man auch nass, was wegen der lange ersehnten Wärme nicht unangenehm ist, aber Kameras sind in Gefahr. Die Stege führen teilweise bis 2 m an die Fälle heran! Wunderschön ist auch die ganze Umgebung mit subtropischen Pflanzen. Sehen Sie sich am besten einige Bilder an, denn um diese traumhaften Fälle angemessen zu beschreiben, müsste man Dichter sein...Etwa 20. read more...

Serendipity - Fidgeting in Fiji

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A Lady - LOG DAY 19 :: Brass Monkies

WEDNESDAY  23rd  MAY  2012   Brrrrr, brrrrrr, brrrrr, Its blooming freezing here, clear skies, 10 knots of wind from the NNW and a bumpy sea, ohhhh , its so cold and its only 18.oohrs now,  We all have the winter woolies on at this stage and the nights are so cold its like being in the Antartic.  Distance to our destination :--  416 miles Distance travelled   :-             1,474 miles   We are lead boat at present, but that really means nothing, the final results will depend a lot on the amount of motoring each boat has done over the trip. however, so far we only used the engine onour way out of Bermuda. but will have to use it a lot over the next couple of days as the wind. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - log 15,16,17 November

Saturday 15th November  Ripping along with the spinnaker Whilst the weather the previous day had been perfect spinnaker weather, the wind and sea conspired against us today.  By morning, the sea had worked itself in to a choppy frenzy and the wind increased and backed to the north-east. We were woken up by a call from Malcolm on deck at 7.00am "All hands on deck!" As we all emerged from our bunks and lurched in to the cockpit, poor Malcy was tackling the spinnaker on the foredeck. The spinnaker had ripped across the foot; it had got caught in the navigation light attached to the bow. An hour later we had the spinnaker firmly stowed away, replaced by the yankee, which needed to be poled out (the pole prevents the yankee from collapsing, a tendency it has when shielded by the main sail). . read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - logs 12,13,14 November

Wednesday 12th November DEPARTURE AT LAST AND A BOAT PET AT LAST! Customs and Immigration turned up at 6.30am to check us out of La Reunion.  We left at 10.45am headed for Durban, South Africa, approximately a 1,400 mile leg, taking us around the south coast of Madagascar.  Winds were initially light but soon strengthened to a south-easterly force 3 and we were making good speed on a close reach.   Lindsey put together the lunch; fresh French baguettes, cheeses, hams and salad.  As JB was munching through the lettuce leaves she came face to face with a tiny little baby slug munching its way through a leaf.  There was a momentary stand off before both realised that this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.  Lindsey and JB promptly built it a home in a plastic container and she is. read more...

Ariane - Rio de Janeiro

Rio de JaneiroLiebe SegelfreundeRio ist definitiv eine Reise wert! Die Stadt beeindruckt schon durch ihre einzigartige Lage am Meer und um diverse Hügel oder Berge. Der Corcovado und der Zuckerhut sind eindeutig ein Muss. Sowohl die Zahnradbahn, die auf den Corcovado führt, wie auch die Gondelbahn auf den Zuckerhut sind aus Schweizer Produktion. Besucht man den Zuckerhut, sollte man das Tragseil genau kontrollieren, da der Beisser von James Bond 007 dieses bekanntlich angenagt hat!!! Der Überblick über diese interessante und lebendige Stadt ist atemberaubend. An den Stränden Copacabana, Ipanema und Leblon tummeln sich Einheimische und Touristen. Hier kann man problemlos im warmen Wasser baden. Zahllose Strandcafés laden zu einem Trunk ein. Beliebt und durstlöschend ist der Saft der. read more...

Luna - Log 13 - Det er ischkooldt!

Når søens folk ikke har meget at berette om selve sejladsen, kan man jo altid fortælle historier om andre ting. Og i dag vil det handle om, hvor overraskende varmt, man skal klæde sig på her ude...Det er ikke fordi, det i sig selv er super koldt. Da vi sejlede fra Bermuda, var det da bestemt shorts og t-shirt-temperaturer. Men så snart man ikke bevæger sig (aka sidder stille i cockpittet), så bliver man kølet ned overraskende hurtigt. Og når man så på en nattevagt skal sidde ned uden at røre sig stort i fire timer (sådan har vi inddelt nattens 12 timer i tre lige store portioner), så skal man klæde sig meget varmt på.Vi har alle fundet det lange skiundertøj frem og har 3-5 lag. read more...

Sapphire II - 1 July, Blue Lagoon/Avatar/Cast Away....

...just a few of the movies which used fabulous Fijian locations in their cinematography. We've visited 2 of these and they were striking.The Fijian islands (there are 330 or so), are verdant, hilly and most have deserted long white beaches. In contrast to the Tongan islands they are tamer, marginally more inhabited and English is more widely spoken.The tourist industry is the mainstay, displacing sugar cane, which was historically the cash crop and which encouraged the colonial power to bring in 60,000 Indian indentured workers. We have seen no sign of the ethnic tensions this has created.What we have seen is a myriad of low-cost "backpacker" style resorts on each island catering mostly to 20 something's who come mainly from the US and Australia. There are also 5 or 6 International. read more...

Crazy Horse - Feb. 18

Yesterday we took a trip into the interior of Brazil with Carolina as our guide. The town of Cachoeira was about 110 km from Salvador. It was interesting, a long journey, and not quite what we expected. Some were looking forward to a waterfall. There was no waterfall. But there was a wonderful place we stopped after a long bumpy bus ride for lunch. It was a wonderful hacienda where we were able to rest and have fish, filets, chicken, and local veggies and fruits. We visited a cigar making operation. The women were rolling the cigars and taste testing them as we watched. They make about 600 cigars a day. However, they were expensive -$50 a cigar and we didn't purchase any. We didn't have anyone to buy any for. Our friend Walt from MYC would have enjoyed one but he has passed away. We. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE - Richards Bay to Durban

We left Richards Bay at 6am and arrived in Durban at 11pm last night (2100GMT)   After our big welcome in Richards Bay, we slept long and hard.  Forsome reason, however long or short, a sailing leg always seems to leave theSkipper with a big gap in his total of sleep.  However, making up the gaptakes a few days until land-based sleep patterns become familiar oncemore.  As usual, there was a list of tasks to do to make Cleoneship-shape, and there were, inevitably, parties and the prize-giving, whereCleone scooped a second prize for the leg.  This was pleasing, but onceagain Windflower was worryingly in first place!   Once we settled in, the Norfy's Tours machinery slipped smoothly intogear.  Alex took off with his friends from Strega for a two-day tour of thenearby Game Park, whilst Chris. read more...

Time Bandit - Are we there yet?

36 23N 44 41W 12 noon UTC 23rd May Firstly, for all (or any) Yachtmasters out there....1. What shows a fixed yellow light - or maybe it was a dirty white? 2. and if it's showing 2 vertical reds? 3. and if it has both red and green nav lights? 4. and if it has a flashing yellow above the 2 vertical reds?Answer below.The wind finally gave up the ghost about 6am yesterday and we had to put on the donkey until about noon when a light SSE filled in giving us a pleasant yacht along at about 4 knots until early this morning (like 1am) when again, it vanished. We've only just turned the engine off, hopefully for the last time until we get to Horta although its filled in from the north which is the remains of the "old wind" so it could die before the forecast westerly fills in. As soon as we get. read more...

Samsara - the poor babies are sick

July 1We had a long process checking into Fiji - it's a good 24 and sometimes (as in our case) 48 hour process. We have checked in and are at another port but both girls have been sick for the past 24 hours so we haven't gotten to do too much. Lee went to shore yesterday and got butane (we usually use propane) for the stove. Should work fine. Today I'm going to go to shore for a bit with Sarah if she's feeling better and do some internet stuff. Sam has already announced she isn't going to shore today.We haven't gotten to really do anything in Fiji but hopefully will before the next passage. The ratio of time in port to passages isn't suitable for me - I would like more time in port between passages!Hopefully the little ones will not be ill today.Pauline. read more...

Anastasia - The Blue Lagoon

16:56.6S 177:22.1E   We are anchored in the Blue Lagoon, where the 1980 movie of the same name was made (Brooke Shields shipwrecked on an island with a boy).This is looking more like a tropical island should.  A shame about the cruise liner moored just out of the picture. 29F. read more...

Voyageur - Leg 2 - Log 5 Back to beating - A Great Circle Route!

21/22 May By lunchtime, our fifth day at sea, the skies became grey and overcast. The frontal trough had arrived. We took the pole in just in the nick of time as a sudden wind shift had the wind coming from the north. As the day wore on, it veered more and more to the east, the track appearing on the chart as a nice half moon circle. W e were hard on the wind again.  Our watery world looked every inch the North Atlantic. But the rain that came was not too much and the winds nothing more than 20 knots. By being this far south we had escaped the worst of the weather thanks to Herb’s sound advice. The roast dinner was postponed once more and corned beef hash appeared on the menu. I cannot imagine life without the cockpit tent. Last night was so cold and I was absolutely full of. read more...

La Boheme - 15 November - Zulu dancing

Today we went to a remote Zulu village where the locals held Zulu dance contest. This was magnificent, a true experience not a tourist show. We were the only white people. The stage was an open paddock with the view over the mountains. Watching, we moved (to amazement of locals)to the rhythm of musictogether with them. The Zulu War Dance was a highlight, what an experience! This was a fantastic day compliments of the Zululand Yacht Club.Thank youLa Boheme. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Thursday, 17th February 2011  We had lots of rain during the night, but another hot sunny morning. Skipper had a shower on the marina facilities where he met many of the other sailors, these showers in comparison to other places were small and cramped, and badly in the need of some redecoration. Back on board, we had a light breakfast before going down town to sort out skippers phone once more. Despite being told in Rio that the chip purchased there would work all over Brazil, well it does not and will not. It seems that each state has its own phone network, and all independent of one another, so a new chip had to be purchased, now at 10€, it wont break the bank.  Marcelo's men cleaned the a/c pumps, repainted them and replaced many of the rusty steel fittings which. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Wednesday, 16th February 2011 Another hot day in Brazil. We continued with our house keeping, following that Skipper went to the fishing shop and purchased a few more lures, while strolled off down the street to another Basilica, and said a few prayers for us all, plus all the friends and relations, and their requests.  Later, Marcelo called and his merry men replaced the impellor in the main engine, and cleaned out the bilge, however they broke a wire on the fuel filter when they were changing that, so skipper is insisting they remove it and solder the wire back into place again. Always the same, they fix one thing and screw up something else on the way, so a careful eye has to be kept on them all. It just seems to be part and parcel of boat. read more...

Cleone - Fw: CLEONE Leg 20 Day 4 - Wind over Current

Subject: CLEONE Leg 20 Day 4 - Wind over CurrentAn interesting day.   Bruce was right about everything except the exact time of the change in theweather.  We made good progress reaching on the starboard tack allyesterday afternoon.  We had put put a reef in the mainsail justbefore lunch, the seas were reasonably comfortable, and by and large we weremaking our six miles every hour.  But it was humid, and the current wasbehaving oddly.  Sometimes it was with us, sometimes against us, andsometimes half-way in between.  Feathers of Cirrus suggested that theremight be some wind on the way, whilst some Cirrocumulus (mackerel) cloudsspelt rain.  In short, the weather and the seas feltunsettled.  Well, this was just as Bruce predicted, and his lenghtyexplanation in his two forecasts so far were. read more...

Irena - Dan 8

Mirno. Nic vetra. Ze 20 ur "motorimo". Sicer je ugodno, ker ni majanja in poskakovanja po valovih, vendar si pa malo vetra spet zelim. Imamo se 948 milj do Horte na Azoris in se priblizujemo polovici poti. Povprecje do sedaj je v redu, saj plovemo s povprecno hitrostjo vec kot 6 vozlov. Ob takem nadaljevanju lahko pricakujemo prihod v Horto naslednji cetrtek. Na bark1 vse v redu.. read more...

Anastasia - White water rafting on the Upper Navua

17:46.21S 177:22.97E   We have been here in Port Denerau in Fiji for a few days for some maintenance work, so Andrea and I took the opportunity to go white water rafting on the Upper Navua river.  The Upper Navua river area is Fiji's first conservation area, established to protect the rainforest from logging.   You get to the rafts after a three hour bus journey (two hours on road and one hour on a logging track) and then twenty minutes of hiking through the forest.  There you board the inflatable rafts, four to a raft.  We were paired up with an Australian couple, Peter and Evette, from Melbourne.  Evette is half Fijian and was bringing Peter to visit Fiji for the first time.  Evette's mother taught her some Fijian,. read more...

Andante of Mersey - Arrival South Africa

This coastline from Richards Bay round to Cape Townhas a very bad reputation for rapidly developing lows, strong currents (upto 4to 6 kts), gales galore and steep seas (4metres quite normal) etc.. Anyway uptonow it is living up to its reputation! The 24 hour before arriving hereconditions were close to the worst we have had all year.  At one point weseemed to be cresting waves with the bow then descending nearly vertical intothe trough with the sea covering the deck and crashing into thesprayhood.  Also we were apprehendsive about our mast as a shroud hadsnapped and wasn't as well supported as we would have liked.  Luckily ourcockpit is enclosed and so long as the covering does not blow away we willmanage to keep reasonably dry.  We didn't eat that evening. We have been here 6 days now. read more...

Crazy Horse - Feb. 16

Our position is 12 58.S 38 30.WWe are back to the Terminal Nautica marina after being out in the bay since Sat. It was nice to be out away from the city and get some of the air and explore around some of the beautiful islands off Bahia. We decided to stay out an extra day to dinghy around some of the beaches and collect some shells. Hopefully we will get out to visit the bay once again before we take off for Recife. There is a river that everyone has been talking about with some nice quiet villages to visit along the way. We might do that before we take off up north for carnival.Tomorrow we have our tour to Cachoeira that we all have been looking forward to. Carolina will be our guide once again. She is from Bahia and is somewhat of a historical expert on this area. We should learn a. read more...

Serendipity - Pacific Paradise

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Hanami II - Quand 2 anticyclones se rencontrent ...

Mardi 22 mai 2012, 22:02 UTC, 19:02 LOCAL 36 52.7 N 48 16.5 W Cap 99 Vitesse: 5N, au moteur, Il reste a peu pres 940 miles et nous approchons de la mi-parcours.   Et bien en depit de tous nos efforts pour passer entre la depression et l'anticyclone base au dessous, nous nous retrouvons dans cet anticyclone qui a fusione avec un autre venant de l'ouest, celui qui devrait etre sur les Bermudes. Les previsions de surface a 48h font bouger le centre de cet anticyclone vers l'Est, vers les Acores donc mais il va nous gener quelque temps. Il faut donc prevoir de faire du moteur pendant encore au moins 2 jours! Comme le disait Pierre Yves dans son mail "prepare toi a 50h de moteur et garde une marge de 30%". Si c'est en moins c'est parfait, si c'est en plus, les 600 litres de gasoil. read more...

Glamorous Galah - Frigates pass

Bernie headed off to the airport on Tuesday to celebrate his son Nathan's 21st birthday, and to catch up with family.Dave & I left the Royal Suva Yacht Club where Dave's backpack and laptop were stolen. We had locked the boat but we surmised that the thief used a boat hook through the small cabin top hatch above his bunk. Police were informed and questioned a suspect, but no joy.We anchored off Yanucca Island and were greeted with a fire dance and school choir. We dined at the small resort and organised a boat trip out to Frigates Pass for the morning. Despite the fresh trade wind, the waves were reasonable and we enjoyed surfing the lefts with Ross from Coco Beach Florida and John from New Zealands Dunedin.Juba anchored nearby just on sunset and Eve came ashore for dinner and a chat. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

TUESDAY  15th  FEBRUARY  2011  Crips, we still have some blinking moths from our stop over in " ReUnion Island" last Oct./ Nov. every now and then, a few appear and say hello!   we sincerely hope they are not breeding,  We checked the state of our Batteries with or meter reader, and sure enough, there are 2 down, and following many call to different companies, it seems these batteries will have to be flown in directly from europe ......... or somewhere else. We also got the engine serviced and some of the pipework under the galley floor re done,,   never a dull moment,  Aileen , Sylvia & Herman took off to the shopping areas, while skipper kept an eye on the servicing , etc. including trimming the stops around the batteries, polishing. read more...

First Edition lll - Not so good

The saga continues with the alternator - we replaced a dead alternator in Bermuda and -----While I would like to report everything is rosy, actually not so good. Mentioned in previous blog about rigging issues - we are also having issues keeping the batteries charged. The problem is that the alternator is not charging the batteries. Oh it may throw a few amps in and then not supply any more charge, the charge indicator flashes on and off. Our only reliable means of charging is with solar and because today has been very cloudy and stormy weather to come, the prospects of getting ample charge is bleak. Batteries are needed for communication and the all important auto pilot, as we are only a crew of two. Hand steering the remaining thousand miles brings frowns not smiles to this short. read more...

First Edition lll - Rigging work 1000 miles from shore

Just a couple of days prior to leaving Hampton, Virginia all standing rigging was replaced on s/v First Edition. Today, a thousand miles from shore I noticed shavings and slivers of wood in the cabin at the base of the mast and found many of the wooden wedges between the mast and deck to be loose. Clearly the mast was wobbling! After rummaging through the boat a hickory axe handle was found that I once thought might come in handy, though I had no idea what for - with hammer, chisel & saw, wedges were fashioned from the axe handle, the boot around mast at deck was removed and hickory wedges pounded into place. Then while sailing in light wind tightened the leeward shrouds; tacked and tightened the remaining shrouds and then found plenty of play in the backstay to tighten. So very. read more...

Glamorous Galah - Goodbye Lonesome George

We just learned that the worlds last remaining Pinta tortoise has died. Bernie, David and I checked him out when we were in the Galapagos.We are all saddened by the news which brings home the fragile nature of many of the world's species... especially when man is involved.Ted. read more...

Crazy Horse - Feb 15

Our position is 12 53.246S 38 41.266WYesterday was Valentine's Day and we spent a nice day in the town of Itaparica. The crew and passengers aboard Chessie and Brown Eyed Girl shared a nice waterfront meal with us. Later we walked to the Chocolate Factory which was also a bed and breakfast. Daniel and Natalie run the place. Daniel is a native of Brazil and the house is owned by his grandfather. Natalie is his wife who is a native of South Africa. They grow the cocoa and make their own dark chocolate. It was good and not too sweet. We also tasted the raw seeds of the cocoa which was quite good but a little slimy. Natalie explained the whole process of drying and making the chocolate. They have a wonderful plot of land along the water with avocado plants, cocoa trees, and various other. read more...

Windflower III - Auf dem schwarzen Kontinent

Endlich!!,mal wieder ein Lebenszeichen von der Windflower.Die hinter uns liegende Zeit auf Mauritius und Reunion diente wirklich dazu Schiff und Besatzung wieder auf Vordermann zu bringen.Ein 2-taegiger Werftaufenthalt,bei dem die Windflower gekrant wurde ,reichte aus, um die Ruderanlage zu reparieren und dem Unterwasserschiff einen neuen Anstrich zu verpassen.Sightseeing,Baden,Bummeln und kulinarische Genuesse standen danach fuer die Besatzung auf dem Programm.Mauritius,asiatisch gepraegt, mit quirligem,geschaeftigem Treiben lud uns mit seinen Straenden zum Baden ein.Reunion ca. 130 sm entfernt und typisch franzoesisch hat eine atemberaubende Bergwelt vulkanischen Ursprungs.Die Ausfluege ins Inselinnere u.a. zu einem Dorf,welches auf 2000 mtr. in einem erloschenen Vulkankrater liegt. read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World, ( presently in Salvador, Brazil )

 MONDAY  14th  FEBRUARY   2011  This morning was put aside for cleaning and scrubbing on the boat,  ie, some housekeeping, The deep freeze needed a complete clean out, this took a few hours, Aileen was not happy with Skipper using her hairdrier to defrost the ice, but it had to be done, and proved to be a very usefull tool  for a slow tortous job. Aileen did a load of washing in that wonderfull ss Bosh washing machine. plus cleaning out the forward cabins,  We also booked ourselves into the " Oyster " regatta in Granada in April , this should be a great event, However it does clash with the final World ARC rally in St. Lucia, so we are trying to figure out how we can be in 2 places at one time. After lunch, we took off on a tour of the. read more...

Aniara II - May 22

 22 May We are now more than halfway towards the Azores and have not more than 750 NM to go. We plot our exact position at 13.00 every day, and calculate our speed and make up our plans after that. It´s now just after 13.00 and we have done it again. During the last 24 hours we sailed 192,4 NM, which gives an average of more than 8 knots. This is as long distance as a Stena ferry goes on two return trips Gothenburg - Fredrikshamn. Wind is moderate, 12-15 knots, from North and we are still heading 80 degrees directly towards Horta. Total distance sailed on this leg is 1039 NM and our total average speed is 7,2 knots. Bosse, one of our favorite crew members, asked in a mail about our night watches. We have three 4-hours-watches starting at 20.00. We rotate the watches. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Quasar V log for 9th, 10th and 11th November

Sunday 9th November2008   THE USUAL SUSPECTS   The usual suspects, namely John, Judith and JB,have re-boarded the good ship Quasar V making the numbers on board 6.  That includes Malcolm and John, thegeriatric pensioners, with criminal and juvenile tendencies, Judith theenthusiastic cook, Lindsey the needle happy quack, Ian the ship?s boy andJB.   We left Mauritius today at 3.30pm localtime, headed for La Reunion, a small island 130 miles off the south west coastof Mauritius.  With light southerlywinds we unfortunately needed to motor sail.   However, a treat was in store for us.  Within 30 minutes of leaving Port Louis,Judith spotted a pod of sperm whales. John, on helm, immediately abandoned the heading in pursuit of thesewhales to have a closer inspection. We stopped within 50 metres. read more...

Sapphire II - Passage Making, 22 June 2012 in Fiji

We are all, of course , struck by the beauty of the destinations we reach and savor. But we tend to skate over the details involved in getting to these  places. For those non-sailors who read the blogs, I thought it would be worthwhile taking one blog to sketch what is involved in getting from Paradise A to Paradise B!  Our passage from Tonga to Fiji is typical and so, gentle reader, we can do a thumbnail sketch of it.First we decide roughly on what date we should leave. Not as easy as you might think. Check the weather forecast. Is it OK? Check with other crews to see what they might be thinking. See if there is something that one wishes to stay in the anchorage for ( a party, or in our case, the Rugby Test between Ireland and the All Blacks). We decided to leave on the Sunday. read more...

Anastasia - Bekana Island and Bounty Island resorts

17:40.1S 177:18.7E  Last night we anchored off Lautoka, Fiji's second largest town after Suva.  We were hopeful that there would be a nice place on nearby Bekana Island for a cocktail, but the resort has been closed for several years.  We still went ashore on the island to have a look round.  The place opened in 2003 and closed after only five years of operation.  The problem with this part of the coast of Fiji is that there is a lot of organic run-off from the mainland and the water is quite green and cloudy.  There were just too many resorts nearby with whiter sand and clearer water.  Today we are travelling down to Port Denerau, but we probably can't get a mooring there until 4pm so we have made a detour to Bounty Island resort for some. read more...

Luna - Log 12 - What to do?

Det så ud til at blive endnu en dag, hvor vi stille og roligt cruisede af sted. Men så skiftede vinden retning, så den blæste lige mod Azorerne. Desværre var der for lidt af den til at kunne fylde sejlene, så de stod konstant og klaprede. Vi besluttede derfor at ændre kurs til at gå lidt mere nordligt for at få vinden mere skråt ind.Sådan sejlede vi lidt tid, inden vi så, at der var meget sort ude foran. Vi rebede ind for at komme evt. vindskifte mm. i forkøbet. Det viste sig at være fornuftigt, da vinden pludselig skiftede retning igen og kom lige forfra. Efter at Jørgen var blevet gennemblødt af at sejle os gennem regnen, fortsatte det grå foroven med at give direkte modvind ved. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 20 Day 10 - Arrival in Richards Bay

Cleone arrived in Richards Bay at 2315 GMT on 10 Nov 08.   And we are very glad to get here.   Tomorrow (actually today) the bad weather should pass through, but we don'tcare - we are tied up in the Zululand Yacht Club and enjoying the party. And what a fantastic welcome we had here, undoubtedly the best since we left theCarribean.  The Zululand Yacht Club turned out in force to welcome Cleone,even though it was well past one o'clock in the morning.  Champagne, aband, a police escort through the harbour entrance, and the yacht club committeewaiting to take our lines in the marina - nothing could have been betterorganised.  Even at this stage, I can see we are going to be sorry toleave here!   All is well with us, and best wishes to everyone.  James, Norfy (Chris) and AlexYacht Cleone. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 240 - A Sunday Sail

13 February 2011We have a natural curiosity. We always want to see just what is around the corner. So to that end we lifted the anchor early on Sunday morning in company with Tzigane and Tucanon and headed across to the northern tip of Itaparica Island. A posse of World ARC yachts were anchored off the town but we will save that for another day. Civilisation gradually petered out as we made our way down the Canal de Itaparica lined with mangroves on either side. At its deepest point it is 22 metres, its shallowest depth, 5 metres. It is all part of the adventure and if you don't try these things you would never go anywhere. Every now and again an isolated village would appear nestled on the banks of the channel. It was well marked with port and starboard hand buoys. Here you have to. read more...

Irena - Dan 7

Po dolgem casu mirna noc. Jadrali smo v vetru 13 do 18 vozlov proti jugovzhodu.Proti jutro, ko sem bil na strazi ,pa sem opazila, da se veter obraca proti vzhodu in ne proti zahodu kot sem pricakoval. Obrnili smo nazaj proti severu, vendar tokrat lahko jadramo v smeri severo-vzhod, kar vceraj ni bilo mogoce. Temperature so res nizje, saj je sedaj samo 19 stopinj tako, da smo vsi kar dobro obleceni. Ves cas nas spremljajo jate delfinov in nas zabavajo s svojimi akrobacijami. Do sedaj nismo videli se nobenega kita. pocasi se priblizujemo polovici poti, imamo se 1049 milj do Horte. Veter je sicer ponehal in malo motorimo tako, da skupaj z jadri dosegamo slabih 5 vozlov. Moramo priti na 38 do 40 severno, da tam dobimo kaj od zahodnih vetrov.. read more...

Samsara - sailing along to Fiji

June 24We've been sailing for about 30 hours now and so far the wind has been pretty good - a bit heavier than we would like perhaps but not too bad. We've got roughly 20-25 knots and seas are about 3 meters on the beam and aft of abeam - so no pounding which is really nice!We're making pretty good time. Still planning on checking into Suva. It's chilly at night now so we're wearing jackets and long pants - we're almost 19 degrees south of the equator.Looking forward to reaching Fiji - probably only 2 more days to go.Pauline  . read more...

A Lady - Sailing around the World

Sunday, 13th February 2011 We have just returned from a trip to the Foz do Iguacu falls for 2 nights and then Rio de Janeiro for 3 nights.  The Waterfalls were fantastic. When we arrived on Tuesday 8th, our driver took us to the Brazilian side of these falls and were we impressed. The number of falls varies from season to season between 160 to 270 and they border Brazil and Argentina. We have been to the Niagra Falls which border USA and Canada, and we think these falls were much more spectacular. 1,300,000m of water per second fall over the cliffs here, so you can imagine the volume and roaring waters as they cascade down the cliffs. Later we were taken to our Hotel, "Loi Suites" which was on the Argentinian side, and by now , the rain was comming down in. read more...

Cleone - CLEONE Leg 20 Day 9 - Variety is the Spice of Life

The most variable weather we have ever had.   Unquestionably, this leg has produced the most difficult, unpredictable andchangeable weather that we have had on our round-the-world Rally so far. Against Bruce's prediction of strengthening Northeasterly winds developingthroughout the evening and night, the wind dropped just after we had finishedsupper.  Looking at the Skipper's hand-drawn schedule (which showedour ETA in Richards Bay at various speeds), we started the engine straightaway.  John from Chantelle had warned us about the current.  Althoughthe boat speed through the water was always an impressive six and a half toseven knots, our real progress was slow - around 5 knots.  And this meansthat we are going to have to battle to arrive in Richards Bay before the nextlow-pressure. read more...

Kasuje - Durban - yee haa!!!

We arrived in Durban around lunch time yesterday,Sunday.  After a thorough clean up of Kasuje, it was straight into thenearest yacht club (there are three here) for some beer that stays where you putit down and a really nice meal in the fish restaurant beside themarina.  Bit of a hangover this morning.  But, hey it was worthit.   We, along with the rest of the fleet had a prettyrough crossing at times, which was actually quite exhilerating.  Especiallywhen you realise that Kasuje can actually take in her stride everythingthat was thrown at her and a lot more if necessary.   It is probably quite difficult for those whohaven't experienced "heavy" weather in an open ocean to appreciate what it islike.  It is also quite difficult to describe.  However I would liketo try to paint a picture of. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 239- Alone at Anchor....

12 February 2011With a few days to spare before our five day land travel trip we had a fancy to explore some of the anchorages that abound in the Baia de Todos os Santos. We cast off our dock lines and headed deep into the bay. A gentle downwind sail 13nm from Salvador brought us to Ihla do Frade. Giving the reef at the southern tip a good offing we rounded Ponta de Guadeloupe dropping the hook some distance off a white sand beach. It was so lovely to be swinging to our own anchor once more. Apart from our one night in the river at East London we have not had this treat since Cocos Keeling as long ago as September. It was so far back I had to look up our log sheets to check. With only one other yacht at anchor and off the now deserted beach, it is all peace and quiet, away from the heat. read more...

BRIZO - 23 June 2012

We are 856 miles from Suva, expecting to arrive Thursday which is really Friday because we will be crossing the International Date Line just before arriving. We have had a lively discussion onboard during dinners as to whether we are gaining a day or losing a day, we'll find out on Thursday.Everyone has recovered from seasickness and are doing well. The weather conditions are somewhat rougher than forecast but still okay. We have had to further shorten sail with the current conditions of 25-30 kts on the beam from due south, still making over 5 knots nearly straight to Fiji. Passage Weather is still calling for favorable conditions throughout the remainder of the trip but we have generally found wind strength to be about 5 kts greater than forecast. Still, their forecast areas are so. read more...

Sookie - Leg 2 Day 6 Wwelcome to the Nothh Atlantic

From midnight this morning the winds were generally 25 knots gusting up to 35 knots so we sailed with reefs in both the Genoa by two thirds of the sail and half a mainsail.  The sea conditions were also what one would call considerable but not concerning (for all you relatives).  As dawn approached we encountered a large squall with variations in wind speeds and direction followed by two further smaller squalls.    The result that followed was a change in wind direction from SW to NNW, some 112 degrees.  The genoa is slightly damaged on the foot line and leech lines but there is no damage to the actual sail structurally.  Two visits to the pointy end were required in the testing conditions.  One to run a Genoa sheet (rope) around the. read more...

Matilda - Fabulous Fiji

It's been almost 2 weeks since our last blog from Tonga, and now we are in Fiji. You may remember that I had just started with a nasty cold, which I am almost over now. Unfortunately Heather contracted the cold and suffered quite badly with it. She is on antibiotics and it seems to be on the way out at last.The last few days we spent in Tonga were a little traumatic. A 50 foot Bavaria that had been moored next to us, Navillus, smashed into an island on the way to Australia with two lives lost. We had spoken with the guys aboard the day before, mainly because one of them blew onto us in his dinghy when cleaning his hull and we towed him back to Navillus. We timed our departure until after bad weather had passed through, but they decided to go the day before as they didn't think it seemed. read more...

La Boheme - La Boheme

Day 9 - We are now 10 miles from Richards Bay - hurray!!!!Sailing from Reunion to South AfricaWe chose to sail at least 130 miles south of southern tip of Madagascar to avoid the potentially dangerous conditions known to occur there including thunderstorms, strong winds and freak waves: our other challenge was to sail through the seas close to the South African coast, where the strong south Agulhas flowing current can create dangerous conditions when opposed by the frequently occuring southerly wind changes originating from Antarctica. Strong winds opposed by up to 5 knot current create steep, high and short waves making the eastern coast of South Africa one of the most dangerous seas in the world.Anna, Greg and PeterLa Boheme. read more...

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