Have just returned back to St Lucia after a trip down to the Grenadines where we spent Christmas Day in the Tobago Cays with bubbly on the beach and lots of swimming with the sea turtles. Managed to buy a 10lb Turkey in the local supermarket in Bequia which we roasted for dinner. Peter has now worked out the correct heat settings for the BBQ as he cooked them perfectly then turned the heat down (or so he thought) and proceeded to cremate the turkey legs! Fortunately the breast was oven cooked so that was OK. So after imagining we would have turkey leftovers for days we actually polished it all off on boxing day.
Stayed overnight in Admiralty Bay Bequia on Monday and set off as early as we could yesterday for a long sail c102 miles back to St Lucia but as Customs did not open until 9am that was not as early as we had hoped!! Eventually lifted the anchor at 10.30am and arrived in Rodney Bay 11pm last night so anchored in the dark! Dinner was on the run in the dog bowls as we were quite well heeled over although the seas were reasonably flat at 3-5 feet. Wind dropped later after dinner so had to motorsail for the last part of the journey.
Will be having a day here in St Lucia before leaving tomorrow to visit Martinique for some French shopping!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Holiday time before the big trip!
Have been joined on board by Dave & Alison who flew in from England last Tuesday. The following 3 days we were on the dock in Rodney Bay Marina getting yet more jobs done on the boat. Now we are almost ready we decided to go off to explore the islands and spent last night at anchor off Pigeon Island where D&A went ashore and climbed to the top of the hill and saw all the old cannons and other relics from when this was a fort protecting the Island from invaders. We stayed on the boat and swam and sunbathed. Peter intended to swim under the boat to check everything looks OK but he could not get his mask to stop letting in water due to several days beard growth!! He has now shaved so next time should be better!!
The plan at the moment is to sail to Marigot Bay today which is where they filmed Dr Doolittle and is also the local Moorings base so D&A want to see old friends as they used to work from this base on a 62' crewed catamaran. We also need to buy a courtesy flag for the Grnadines as we want to sail to Bequia tomorrow.
We hope to spend Christmas in Bequia if we can find a good place to anchor as it is very popular with maybe 200 boats in the anchorage who come to see the fireworks!
The plan at the moment is to sail to Marigot Bay today which is where they filmed Dr Doolittle and is also the local Moorings base so D&A want to see old friends as they used to work from this base on a 62' crewed catamaran. We also need to buy a courtesy flag for the Grnadines as we want to sail to Bequia tomorrow.
We hope to spend Christmas in Bequia if we can find a good place to anchor as it is very popular with maybe 200 boats in the anchorage who come to see the fireworks!
Monday, December 12, 2011
St Lucia at last!
Just arrived in the anchorage outside Rodney Bay Marina and Peter has gone ashore in our new dinghy to do Customs and immigration.
Quite an eventful journey from the BVI!! We left the BVI very early Friday morning as soon as there was enough light to see and 10 miles after leaving hit a severe squall with winds of nearly 40 knots and lashings of heavy rain! This is when we discovered we have a leak in the foreward hatch as we took on loads of water over the bow. Oh well add it to the list of jobs to do in St Lucia!!
Saturday was a much calmer day with lots of hot sun to dry the boat again.Sunbathing on the deck in the early afternoon we were circled three times by a French Air Force plane obviously looking to see who and what we were!! There was a ship not under command nearby so we assume this was something to do with it and we heard on the VHF that an EPIRB had been activated so someone was obviously in trouble!
There was enough wind to sail until night and we had to use the engine from midnight until 9am on Sunday as there was not enough wind to sail at least in the right direction!!
Arrived here in the anchorage outside Rodney Bay Marina early this morning so now installed and await the arrival of our crew David and Alison who fly in tomorrow!
Quite an eventful journey from the BVI!! We left the BVI very early Friday morning as soon as there was enough light to see and 10 miles after leaving hit a severe squall with winds of nearly 40 knots and lashings of heavy rain! This is when we discovered we have a leak in the foreward hatch as we took on loads of water over the bow. Oh well add it to the list of jobs to do in St Lucia!!
Saturday was a much calmer day with lots of hot sun to dry the boat again.Sunbathing on the deck in the early afternoon we were circled three times by a French Air Force plane obviously looking to see who and what we were!! There was a ship not under command nearby so we assume this was something to do with it and we heard on the VHF that an EPIRB had been activated so someone was obviously in trouble!
There was enough wind to sail until night and we had to use the engine from midnight until 9am on Sunday as there was not enough wind to sail at least in the right direction!!
Arrived here in the anchorage outside Rodney Bay Marina early this morning so now installed and await the arrival of our crew David and Alison who fly in tomorrow!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Time to leave the BVI
We have finally completed all the jobs we had to do on the boat so are now ready to leave the BVI. Fuel tank has been filled along with 9 spare Jerry cans giving us a total of 600 litres of fuel which is enough to motor for around 800+ miles. The plan is to leave at first light tomorrow morning before the sun is really up around 5.30/6am and head off down to Guadeloupe first for an overnight stop on Saturday then on to St Lucia to be there by Tuesday which is when David & Alison fly in from England to join us.
The new Bimini arrived today after several attempts by the sailmaker to get it fitting correctly!! We even had time to varnish the outside Chart Table areas so the boat is looking very smart now.
We have a berth booked in Rodney Bay Marina for 14/15 & 16 Dec and hopefully there will be WiFi so I can update the blog! It will also be easier for the crew to join us in the Marina rather than trying to ferry people and luggage by dinghy from the boat at anchor. No danger of getting too wet! (we hope).
Getting excited about the World ARC now and Peter just wants to 'get on with it!!' as he is fed up of doing jobs on the boat.
Having dinner with Dave & Dawn on More Amore tonight and she has a bottle of champagne in the fridge for us! Have been giving bottles of wine to the Moorings staff as the Dockmaster is not charging us anything for spending time on the dock which has saved us a fortune (cUS$700).
The new Bimini arrived today after several attempts by the sailmaker to get it fitting correctly!! We even had time to varnish the outside Chart Table areas so the boat is looking very smart now.
We have a berth booked in Rodney Bay Marina for 14/15 & 16 Dec and hopefully there will be WiFi so I can update the blog! It will also be easier for the crew to join us in the Marina rather than trying to ferry people and luggage by dinghy from the boat at anchor. No danger of getting too wet! (we hope).
Getting excited about the World ARC now and Peter just wants to 'get on with it!!' as he is fed up of doing jobs on the boat.
Having dinner with Dave & Dawn on More Amore tonight and she has a bottle of champagne in the fridge for us! Have been giving bottles of wine to the Moorings staff as the Dockmaster is not charging us anything for spending time on the dock which has saved us a fortune (cUS$700).
Monday, December 5, 2011
Back at The Moorings dock
Arrived back on the dock this afternoon as James the dockmaster kindly found us a space by moving a boat out!
Had a good weekend at Anegada although the initial sail up on Saturday was very tedious as we had wind and tide against us so it was quite late when we arrived. Booked a table at The Lobster Trap restaurant and had a huge lobster dinner which was 3 halves of lobster each!! Unfortunately Peter had a sore mouth the following morning so we think he could be allergic to lobster?
Having bought a new BBQ for the boat we were anxious to try it out so last night we unwrapped the box and Peter cooked us two lovely steaks to perfection. We were anchored in Eustacia sound and were the only boat there which was lovely. Not so lovely was the rolling motion of the boat when the waves came over the reef so sleep was difficult.
Anyway now we are on the dock sleep should not be a problem tonight and dinner is being cooked for us by Dawn on More Amore as they just finished their charter on Sunday. Both Dave and Dawn have been really kind to us since we arrived back and are helping out where they can.
Peter has been to collect the new security bars he has had made for the hatches to stop unwanted visitors to the boat as crime in some parts of the world is a problem as not all islands are low crime like here in the BVI.
Should get the new bimini tomorrow fingers crossed as Greg who is making it for us assured us on Friday it would be ready. It is his day off today so we will see him tomorrow!
Apart from a bit more shopping the boat is nearly ready to leave which is just as well as we are able to stay on the dock here just until Friday. So looks like Friday will be our departure from the BVI.
Had a good weekend at Anegada although the initial sail up on Saturday was very tedious as we had wind and tide against us so it was quite late when we arrived. Booked a table at The Lobster Trap restaurant and had a huge lobster dinner which was 3 halves of lobster each!! Unfortunately Peter had a sore mouth the following morning so we think he could be allergic to lobster?
Having bought a new BBQ for the boat we were anxious to try it out so last night we unwrapped the box and Peter cooked us two lovely steaks to perfection. We were anchored in Eustacia sound and were the only boat there which was lovely. Not so lovely was the rolling motion of the boat when the waves came over the reef so sleep was difficult.
Anyway now we are on the dock sleep should not be a problem tonight and dinner is being cooked for us by Dawn on More Amore as they just finished their charter on Sunday. Both Dave and Dawn have been really kind to us since we arrived back and are helping out where they can.
Peter has been to collect the new security bars he has had made for the hatches to stop unwanted visitors to the boat as crime in some parts of the world is a problem as not all islands are low crime like here in the BVI.
Should get the new bimini tomorrow fingers crossed as Greg who is making it for us assured us on Friday it would be ready. It is his day off today so we will see him tomorrow!
Apart from a bit more shopping the boat is nearly ready to leave which is just as well as we are able to stay on the dock here just until Friday. So looks like Friday will be our departure from the BVI.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Anegada this weekend!
Have nearly completed all the work we wanted to do on the boat here in the BVI so we are giving ourselves the weekend off and going to sail up to Anegada which is our favourite island here and is famous for their lobster.
It will be interesting to see if we can get into the anchorage as it is quite shallow and we draw 6' 6'' so not much room under the keel when we enter!! Have not filled up with fuel deliberately so it makes us a little lighter and higher in the water. Just hope we can sail and do not have to motor or use the generator.
Expect to be back on the dock Monday night as the dock staff have said it will be OK to stay then. Have been invited for cocktails on Tuesday on Sea Leopard by Darcy & Peter as they want to give us some information about our sail down to St Lucia next weekend.
It has been really useful having good internet access here and Peter has ordered some more elctronic charts for our world cruise. Have stocked up the boat with food and drinks and just fresh stuff to get when we are ready to leave.
The weather here is VERY hot and muggy with not much breeze especially when we were on the Garden Dock getting the boat polished! It will be good to get out and get some sea breezes whilst we sail.
It will be interesting to see if we can get into the anchorage as it is quite shallow and we draw 6' 6'' so not much room under the keel when we enter!! Have not filled up with fuel deliberately so it makes us a little lighter and higher in the water. Just hope we can sail and do not have to motor or use the generator.
Expect to be back on the dock Monday night as the dock staff have said it will be OK to stay then. Have been invited for cocktails on Tuesday on Sea Leopard by Darcy & Peter as they want to give us some information about our sail down to St Lucia next weekend.
It has been really useful having good internet access here and Peter has ordered some more elctronic charts for our world cruise. Have stocked up the boat with food and drinks and just fresh stuff to get when we are ready to leave.
The weather here is VERY hot and muggy with not much breeze especially when we were on the Garden Dock getting the boat polished! It will be good to get out and get some sea breezes whilst we sail.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Arrived in BVI!!
Well we made it! Three weeks and two days to cover around 3000 miles.
A very good crossing with good winds and no nasty stuff around so that was good. Made full use of our spinnaker sail which is like a huge kite and flew this for most of the crossing so now we have a big rip down one side due to flogging in light winds!! Have managed to get dock space at the Moorings so Peter sorted a hire car today and took the spinnaker to the sail loft at Quantum Sails in Nanny Cay to get repaired as they said they could finish the job by Monday. We are having a new Bimini made by Greg at the Moorings sail loft who
assures us he can finish the job next week. Peter wants to buy a new dinghy as the one we have is old an worn and patched so much that it needs constant inflating.
Have around two weeks here in the BVI before we need to leave to sail down to St Lucia to meet our crew for the World ARC. Originally thought crew were flying in on 15th so we booked 3 nights in the Rodney Bay Marina for 14/15/16 Dec to accommodate. Have now received e mail to say crew fly in on 13th!! Will have to change Marina booking!
It was great to be greeted with a warm welcome by so many of the Moorings staff who we regard as friends. Have lots of work to do on Trompeta before we leave here so need all the help from friends we can get!
We eventually worked out the SSB radio and how to get quick weather forecasts so that is good as we will us this a lot during the World ARC.
Have had a good old fashioned meal out tonight of English fish and chips at Fort Burt which was excellent and we also had the company of Dave and Dawn too!!
A very good crossing with good winds and no nasty stuff around so that was good. Made full use of our spinnaker sail which is like a huge kite and flew this for most of the crossing so now we have a big rip down one side due to flogging in light winds!! Have managed to get dock space at the Moorings so Peter sorted a hire car today and took the spinnaker to the sail loft at Quantum Sails in Nanny Cay to get repaired as they said they could finish the job by Monday. We are having a new Bimini made by Greg at the Moorings sail loft who
assures us he can finish the job next week. Peter wants to buy a new dinghy as the one we have is old an worn and patched so much that it needs constant inflating.
Have around two weeks here in the BVI before we need to leave to sail down to St Lucia to meet our crew for the World ARC. Originally thought crew were flying in on 15th so we booked 3 nights in the Rodney Bay Marina for 14/15/16 Dec to accommodate. Have now received e mail to say crew fly in on 13th!! Will have to change Marina booking!
It was great to be greeted with a warm welcome by so many of the Moorings staff who we regard as friends. Have lots of work to do on Trompeta before we leave here so need all the help from friends we can get!
We eventually worked out the SSB radio and how to get quick weather forecasts so that is good as we will us this a lot during the World ARC.
Have had a good old fashioned meal out tonight of English fish and chips at Fort Burt which was excellent and we also had the company of Dave and Dawn too!!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
This is it!......well nearly!
Last day to do work on the boat before we leave the Marina tomorrow after breakfast.Thank you to everyone who has e mailed/ text their best wishes for a safe passage. Peter and Brent drive to Santa Cruz this morning to get the passports stamped for leaving in the morning and pick up exit papers.
I will be cooking so we have the first dinner already prepared before we leave. Laundry was done yesterday so all clean sheets and towels for the trip.
Just have one or two last minute things to buy then I think we are ready! Let us hope so. Peter has been studying the weather forecast and we should have favourable winds but a big swell so progress may be slow. Anyway we do expect to reach the BVI before the end of November.
The next blog will be from the Caribbean so it will be in 3/4 weeks time...all being well!
I will be cooking so we have the first dinner already prepared before we leave. Laundry was done yesterday so all clean sheets and towels for the trip.
Just have one or two last minute things to buy then I think we are ready! Let us hope so. Peter has been studying the weather forecast and we should have favourable winds but a big swell so progress may be slow. Anyway we do expect to reach the BVI before the end of November.
The next blog will be from the Caribbean so it will be in 3/4 weeks time...all being well!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Final preparations before the crossing
Brent arrived as expected last night so we now have crew to do the Atlantic crossing with albeit one not two.Peter has spent the last few days studying the weather and has decided we can probably leave Thursday after provisioning the boat. We have a hire car for two days so can drive to the larger supermarket to stock up taking advantage of cheaper prices. It seems to be preferable to clear out of the country at Santa Cruz which is a main sea port. We will use the car to drive to Santa Cruz as it is a 6 hour trip by boat to the north of Tenerife. This means we get all the right paperwork when we enter the BVI as the immigration officers are very fussy.
Peter went through the boat systems and showed Brent how to put up the storm sail today. Luckily it was very light winds this morning whilst sails were being hoisted. This afternoon the wind has turned around into the south west and was blowing strongly at over 25 knots right into the cockpit! Brent went off to find a hotel where he can work in peace without any distractions whilst we finish preparing for the trip but returned for dinner on board.
Peter went through the boat systems and showed Brent how to put up the storm sail today. Luckily it was very light winds this morning whilst sails were being hoisted. This afternoon the wind has turned around into the south west and was blowing strongly at over 25 knots right into the cockpit! Brent went off to find a hotel where he can work in peace without any distractions whilst we finish preparing for the trip but returned for dinner on board.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
End of Holiday
Mike has left us now and flown back to England. We did manage a sail on his last day with us but really there was no wind and it was cooler and cloudier. Monday we set off to sail to Gomera and managed about an hour before we had to motor. Stayed in San Sebastian for 4 nights but at least the berth was good and no surge this time. Sailed back to San Miguel Friday and left as soon as it got light arriving back just after 4pm.Saw dolphins on the way!! We stopped on the fuel dock as we went into the Marina and filled the tank up so now we are ready to leave whenever the weather is right. Peter calculated it was £75 cheaper to fuel up here than in Hamble England!!
Have had lots of e mails back and forth between potential crews and most have fallen by the wayside for one reason or another eg smokers;flights too expensive;crew wanted paying!;dates did not fit etc etc So...just one prospect left which we are not hopeful about as he is in Germany and it sounds as though he would sail here rather than fly!
Anyway the good news is that Brent arrives tonight and he is easy going about the crew situation and happy for us to go with 3 if that is what happens. So now making plans to provision the boat this week and get ready!!! Earliest date we can probably leave is Friday looking at the weather forecast as the next few days are so calm with next to no wind to sail.
Peter is going to show Brent all the sails and have a general boat briefing this weekend so we can go for a sea trial with him as soon as the wind allows some sailing practice. Probably going to have to go up to Santa Cruz Tenerife to clear out as this is the main sea port and we can be sure of getting the right paperwork before we leave the Canaries as the BVI authorities are very particular about this.
Have had lots of e mails back and forth between potential crews and most have fallen by the wayside for one reason or another eg smokers;flights too expensive;crew wanted paying!;dates did not fit etc etc So...just one prospect left which we are not hopeful about as he is in Germany and it sounds as though he would sail here rather than fly!
Anyway the good news is that Brent arrives tonight and he is easy going about the crew situation and happy for us to go with 3 if that is what happens. So now making plans to provision the boat this week and get ready!!! Earliest date we can probably leave is Friday looking at the weather forecast as the next few days are so calm with next to no wind to sail.
Peter is going to show Brent all the sails and have a general boat briefing this weekend so we can go for a sea trial with him as soon as the wind allows some sailing practice. Probably going to have to go up to Santa Cruz Tenerife to clear out as this is the main sea port and we can be sure of getting the right paperwork before we leave the Canaries as the BVI authorities are very particular about this.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Crew!?!
Had an e mail from Rob yesterday to advise he is not now coming with us as he has accepted a place on an ARC boat as they leave later and the timings suit him better which is fair enough. Oh well we still have a few possibles out there. Received an e mail from John Martin friend of Paul Sowman who is keen to do another Atlantic Crossing (has done 3 already!) so this morning have e mailed back for more details regarding his availability as he is in Germany at present. Have another couple of prospects from the ARC Cruisers Forum who we are waiting to hear from too - oh and Brent may have someone also! So...............hopefully it will not be too long before we know where we stand with regards to crew.
It is possible to do the crossing with just three of us and indeed many couples do the crossing on their own without difficulty so we shall just have to wait and see how things progress. Just frustrating that is all when we thought we had everything sorted!! Oh well as the saying goes 'best laid plans....' and all that!!
Anyway where are we? Oh yes back in San sebastian on La Gomera having had a funny old sail across with wind then no wind then strong winds just as we approached La Gomera! The Marina have put us in exactly the same berth we had before but this time there is no surge like ther was last time when we were here with Jenny & Bill so the boat did not dance about all night thank goodness! We went out to eat last night (later than intended as Peter saw Saltwhistle 111 was in and went across to talk to Tony about his rigging) so an hour later we walked to the lovely sea front restaurant only to find it was closed! So back into town for a different venue and found a small local place which gave us a good dinner at Eur50 for the 3 of us including beer and wine was not bad.
Staying put today as we are all pretty tired and have another night booked in the Marina. Maybe do some exploring this afternoon. There is another HR42 next to us with a lovely English couple called Andy and Sue who are our age and very interesting to talk to them as they have done quite a bit of ocean sailing but on another boat as they have only had their HR42 since January. The boat is an HR42E and is called Spruce.
It is possible to do the crossing with just three of us and indeed many couples do the crossing on their own without difficulty so we shall just have to wait and see how things progress. Just frustrating that is all when we thought we had everything sorted!! Oh well as the saying goes 'best laid plans....' and all that!!
Anyway where are we? Oh yes back in San sebastian on La Gomera having had a funny old sail across with wind then no wind then strong winds just as we approached La Gomera! The Marina have put us in exactly the same berth we had before but this time there is no surge like ther was last time when we were here with Jenny & Bill so the boat did not dance about all night thank goodness! We went out to eat last night (later than intended as Peter saw Saltwhistle 111 was in and went across to talk to Tony about his rigging) so an hour later we walked to the lovely sea front restaurant only to find it was closed! So back into town for a different venue and found a small local place which gave us a good dinner at Eur50 for the 3 of us including beer and wine was not bad.
Staying put today as we are all pretty tired and have another night booked in the Marina. Maybe do some exploring this afternoon. There is another HR42 next to us with a lovely English couple called Andy and Sue who are our age and very interesting to talk to them as they have done quite a bit of ocean sailing but on another boat as they have only had their HR42 since January. The boat is an HR42E and is called Spruce.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Lazy Day
Mike arrived last night as expected and the Marina staff were on hand to take him and his bag to the boat in one of their little electric buggys so saving him a short walk!
Peter is relieved to see the dinghy stayed inflated overnight so it seems his patches have worked thank goodness so said dinghy is now rolled up and back in it's bag again ready for the trip.
Mike is happy to spend the day with Peter tinkering on the boat so we will head out for a sail over to La Gomera first thing tomorrow. Cloudier today which makes it seem cooler although at 24 degrees C it is not really cold!!
Have made a decision regarding crew for the Atlantic Crossing and offered Rob Freeland a place on the trip. He sounds ideal and is even talking about a family sailing holiday in the Caribbean when we arrive. So he has a quote from The Moorings already!
Rob expects to join us on 30 October so we could still be away by the end of the month if we leave on 31 October putting us in the BVI around 24/5 November maybe? Depends on how much wind we get and how fast we can go but the distance is around 2,800 miles. When we did Hamble to Tenerife it took 13 days to cover 1,562 miles and that was 3 days motoring across Biscay included.
Met a couple in the bar last night called Kate & Phil who own and charter their Oceanus 50 called First Essential. They have been in France for the last few months and actually moored next to Paul & Debs on Chicago Breeze whilst they were in the Marina at Cannes. CB is a charter boat with The Moorings and we actually know the crew so it is a small world!
Peter is relieved to see the dinghy stayed inflated overnight so it seems his patches have worked thank goodness so said dinghy is now rolled up and back in it's bag again ready for the trip.
Mike is happy to spend the day with Peter tinkering on the boat so we will head out for a sail over to La Gomera first thing tomorrow. Cloudier today which makes it seem cooler although at 24 degrees C it is not really cold!!
Have made a decision regarding crew for the Atlantic Crossing and offered Rob Freeland a place on the trip. He sounds ideal and is even talking about a family sailing holiday in the Caribbean when we arrive. So he has a quote from The Moorings already!
Rob expects to join us on 30 October so we could still be away by the end of the month if we leave on 31 October putting us in the BVI around 24/5 November maybe? Depends on how much wind we get and how fast we can go but the distance is around 2,800 miles. When we did Hamble to Tenerife it took 13 days to cover 1,562 miles and that was 3 days motoring across Biscay included.
Met a couple in the bar last night called Kate & Phil who own and charter their Oceanus 50 called First Essential. They have been in France for the last few months and actually moored next to Paul & Debs on Chicago Breeze whilst they were in the Marina at Cannes. CB is a charter boat with The Moorings and we actually know the crew so it is a small world!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Holiday time again!
Mike is due to arrive tonight at some ungodly hour - his flight gets in at 11.45pm!!!! Needless to say Peter will be the only one up to meet and greet him and I expect a few beers will still be consumed. The plan is to head off to La Gomera and maybe onto La Palma with him.
Managed to do the weekly wash today despite winds in the marina over 20 knots still. Had a narrow escape when the dinghy bag blew overboard but fortunately Peter dived in and rescued it just before it started drifting out to sea! The poor old dinghy has spent the last couple of days getting patches replaced as it was starting to lose air in one side. the test is tonight when it will get inflated again and examined in the morning to see if it is still hard!!
Have met another World ARC boat here in the Marina - Juba a Bavaria 44 owned by a German couple Bergen and Uwe. Bergen spent some time chatting to us yesterday and seems good fun.
We have met a really kind guy called Rob from Newcastle originally who lives nearby in Los Abrigos which is where there is a good chandlery. He very kindly spent yesterday afternoon driving Peter around the island getting all sorts of spares and a full gas bottle as well!
The replacement crew for Mick has been narrowed down to Jack or Rob (a coincidence as not the Rob above). Rob sounds good as he posted an Ad on the WCC forum and has sailed all his life and is being made redundant end Oct with new job not starting until Feb 2012. Also he is aged 42 which is quite close to Brent so they should get on (oh and he has also worked in the States!!). he has told us he can be with us 30 Oct which although later than we originally planned Peter has looked at the long range weather forecast and we may not be able to leave until then in any event.
Managed to do the weekly wash today despite winds in the marina over 20 knots still. Had a narrow escape when the dinghy bag blew overboard but fortunately Peter dived in and rescued it just before it started drifting out to sea! The poor old dinghy has spent the last couple of days getting patches replaced as it was starting to lose air in one side. the test is tonight when it will get inflated again and examined in the morning to see if it is still hard!!
Have met another World ARC boat here in the Marina - Juba a Bavaria 44 owned by a German couple Bergen and Uwe. Bergen spent some time chatting to us yesterday and seems good fun.
We have met a really kind guy called Rob from Newcastle originally who lives nearby in Los Abrigos which is where there is a good chandlery. He very kindly spent yesterday afternoon driving Peter around the island getting all sorts of spares and a full gas bottle as well!
The replacement crew for Mick has been narrowed down to Jack or Rob (a coincidence as not the Rob above). Rob sounds good as he posted an Ad on the WCC forum and has sailed all his life and is being made redundant end Oct with new job not starting until Feb 2012. Also he is aged 42 which is quite close to Brent so they should get on (oh and he has also worked in the States!!). he has told us he can be with us 30 Oct which although later than we originally planned Peter has looked at the long range weather forecast and we may not be able to leave until then in any event.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
All Change
OK so we popped out for a sail last Sunday and spent a few hours beating to windward to get to the anchorage and then Peter says the wind is coming out of the East which will make the anchorage untenable so why are we doing this?!! So at 4pm we were back in the Marina tied up in our berth!!
Yesterday was SO hot as the temperature touched 34 degrees C it was hotter than the BVI! Saw a sweet little baby turtle pop it's head up in the Marina just behind the boat - that is the second time we have seen it so it must live here. Went for a walk along the coast path yesterday and everywhere you look it is all black volcanic rocks and sand but they do try and pu some sort of path in and fence it all off neatly as it runs alongside the golf course so it has to look good!
Monday afternoon we spotted another HR 42F called Saltwhistle 111 come into the Marina and realised they were taking part in the ARC so went across to introduce ourselves to Tony and Rachel the owners. We ended up inviting them over to Trompeta that evening for drinks and they stayed for supper too. It is always interesting to see how oither people adapt their boat and inside Saltwhistle 111 it is a different layout as they have two armchairs rather than the sea berth/setee that we have. Saltwhistle is a year newer than Trompeta and they have spent quite a bit replacing things (well they have owned their boat 3 years so have had time!!) and the end result is a smart boat. We said our goodbyes that evening as they were planning to leave in the morning to sail to La Gomera and stay in San Sebastian so we told them about the surge in the Marina and hope they got a better berth than we did!
Tuesday we received a disappointing e mail from one of our crew Mick saying he cannot now spare the time to do the crossing with us :-( So back to the drawing board again with only 10 days to go - yikes! Fortunately we remembered Jack (who sailed from Hamble to Tenerife in August with us) was looking to do an Atlantic crossing with the ARC so we sent him an e mail and await his reply. In the meantime we are trawling the cruisers forum to see if there are any suitable candidates there. Have found a few hopefuls but most cannot spare time until November and we want to leave by the end of October. Oh well will just have to wait and see what responses we get.
Yesterday was SO hot as the temperature touched 34 degrees C it was hotter than the BVI! Saw a sweet little baby turtle pop it's head up in the Marina just behind the boat - that is the second time we have seen it so it must live here. Went for a walk along the coast path yesterday and everywhere you look it is all black volcanic rocks and sand but they do try and pu some sort of path in and fence it all off neatly as it runs alongside the golf course so it has to look good!
Monday afternoon we spotted another HR 42F called Saltwhistle 111 come into the Marina and realised they were taking part in the ARC so went across to introduce ourselves to Tony and Rachel the owners. We ended up inviting them over to Trompeta that evening for drinks and they stayed for supper too. It is always interesting to see how oither people adapt their boat and inside Saltwhistle 111 it is a different layout as they have two armchairs rather than the sea berth/setee that we have. Saltwhistle is a year newer than Trompeta and they have spent quite a bit replacing things (well they have owned their boat 3 years so have had time!!) and the end result is a smart boat. We said our goodbyes that evening as they were planning to leave in the morning to sail to La Gomera and stay in San Sebastian so we told them about the surge in the Marina and hope they got a better berth than we did!
Tuesday we received a disappointing e mail from one of our crew Mick saying he cannot now spare the time to do the crossing with us :-( So back to the drawing board again with only 10 days to go - yikes! Fortunately we remembered Jack (who sailed from Hamble to Tenerife in August with us) was looking to do an Atlantic crossing with the ARC so we sent him an e mail and await his reply. In the meantime we are trawling the cruisers forum to see if there are any suitable candidates there. Have found a few hopefuls but most cannot spare time until November and we want to leave by the end of October. Oh well will just have to wait and see what responses we get.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Windy!!
The wind over the last 3 days has been pretty strong so we are still in the Marina as we did not fancy going out in 30 knots of wind!
Have discovered the Marina bar does a Happy Hour each day from 5 to 6pm and we have met quite a few other crews at this. Serendipity the Oyster doing the World ARC is here and David has four others on board at present but the two girls fly home soon leaving the men to sail to the Cape Verdes next week.
Went shopping yesterday with Adrian and Sam who have hired a car to do their provisioning as they leave for the Cape Verdes today. There is a larg English expat community here and we went to an Iceland which had all English products on the shelf and even English staff which was weird. The prices were about 40 % more expensive than UK prices but I did manage to buy bread flour!!
We also went to another Spanish supermarket where you could buy litre cartons of wine for 55 Euros which is about 50p!
The Bimini top is getting repaired as it had rubbed a hole where the boom touches so patches ar being sewed onto the weak areas and we expect it to be returned to the boat today. all being well we will go out to anchor later today ( if the wind drops!) or tomorrow morning.
In the meantime just topping up the tans!!
Have discovered the Marina bar does a Happy Hour each day from 5 to 6pm and we have met quite a few other crews at this. Serendipity the Oyster doing the World ARC is here and David has four others on board at present but the two girls fly home soon leaving the men to sail to the Cape Verdes next week.
Went shopping yesterday with Adrian and Sam who have hired a car to do their provisioning as they leave for the Cape Verdes today. There is a larg English expat community here and we went to an Iceland which had all English products on the shelf and even English staff which was weird. The prices were about 40 % more expensive than UK prices but I did manage to buy bread flour!!
We also went to another Spanish supermarket where you could buy litre cartons of wine for 55 Euros which is about 50p!
The Bimini top is getting repaired as it had rubbed a hole where the boom touches so patches ar being sewed onto the weak areas and we expect it to be returned to the boat today. all being well we will go out to anchor later today ( if the wind drops!) or tomorrow morning.
In the meantime just topping up the tans!!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Holiday time!
We have just spent a pleasant few days with Jenny and Bill who arrived on time Friday afternoon. After settling into their new home we set sail on Saturday to visit La Gomera and the pretty Marina in San Sebastian. Unfortunately there was very little wind and we ended up motoring all the way from Tenerife!!Saturday night in the Marina was VERY noisy as it was Fiesta time and loud music played until 3 am Sunday morning making sleep impossible for me at least. Everyone else managed to get some kip. The good news is that Sunday night was quiet. The Marina in San Sebastian does suffer from swell and surge as they have two ferries going in and out most of the time. This means the boat is dancing all the time! You do get used to it eventually. The trip back to Tenerife was a little better than going as we did get enough wind to sail which was nice for Jenny and Bill to feel how the boat sails. Jenny was suffering with a bad back so after 4 nights with us they decided to go to the Hotel Jenny had pre booked from Monday although they were a day late arriving there.
So.......very little maintenance on the boat took place whilst Jenny and Bill were with us so Peter was hard at it yesterday. The good news is he has traced and fixed the engine oil leak so no more oily mess to wipe up after the engine has run. Today he has the floor up to examine the diesel tank and make sure everything is in order with no movement. Also on the repair front we have Rick the stainless steel welder from West Yorkshire coming tomorrow to weld the starboard navigation light back after it came loose following the fight with the spinnaker line coming down from England!! We all met Rick on Monday night as he came to the boat to meet Peter. He is a very down to earth with a broad West Yorkshire accent! We will probably ask him to quote for replacing the stainless steel plate behind the anchor as we never got around to this whilst we were at Hamble.
We are now back in our berth at San Miguel Marina where the weather has changed and is cloudy and overcast today. Still warm at 28 degrees C but no blue sky. Th weather forecast is for strong winds Thursday to Saturday so we will probably stay put until Saturday then sail up to the Bay of Abona on the East coast of Tenerife about 12 miles away and anchor there for a few days until Mike arrives on 15 October. It will be cheaper for us as the Marina is expensive by Canarian standards!
In the meantime we have a good marina berth overlooking the golf course and open sea so we have a pleasant view each evening and usually some hot sunshine in the cockpit. Another smaller boat has moved in alongside us with an English skipper again called Peter and his Peruvian wife Martha. The boat on the other side of us across the pontoon is Belgium but the crew fly back Saturday so maybe it will be empty afterwards?
We have discovered the Oyster Serendipity is based here in the Marina and we did meet the owner David whilst in Hamble so he is known to us already as another World ARC boat! He plans to leave in about 9 days time for the Cape Verde Islands.
So.......very little maintenance on the boat took place whilst Jenny and Bill were with us so Peter was hard at it yesterday. The good news is he has traced and fixed the engine oil leak so no more oily mess to wipe up after the engine has run. Today he has the floor up to examine the diesel tank and make sure everything is in order with no movement. Also on the repair front we have Rick the stainless steel welder from West Yorkshire coming tomorrow to weld the starboard navigation light back after it came loose following the fight with the spinnaker line coming down from England!! We all met Rick on Monday night as he came to the boat to meet Peter. He is a very down to earth with a broad West Yorkshire accent! We will probably ask him to quote for replacing the stainless steel plate behind the anchor as we never got around to this whilst we were at Hamble.
We are now back in our berth at San Miguel Marina where the weather has changed and is cloudy and overcast today. Still warm at 28 degrees C but no blue sky. Th weather forecast is for strong winds Thursday to Saturday so we will probably stay put until Saturday then sail up to the Bay of Abona on the East coast of Tenerife about 12 miles away and anchor there for a few days until Mike arrives on 15 October. It will be cheaper for us as the Marina is expensive by Canarian standards!
In the meantime we have a good marina berth overlooking the golf course and open sea so we have a pleasant view each evening and usually some hot sunshine in the cockpit. Another smaller boat has moved in alongside us with an English skipper again called Peter and his Peruvian wife Martha. The boat on the other side of us across the pontoon is Belgium but the crew fly back Saturday so maybe it will be empty afterwards?
We have discovered the Oyster Serendipity is based here in the Marina and we did meet the owner David whilst in Hamble so he is known to us already as another World ARC boat! He plans to leave in about 9 days time for the Cape Verde Islands.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tenerife again
We arrived yesterday at San Miguel Marina which is about 4 miles away from the main Tenerife South airport where Jenny & Bill are flying into tomorrow. So have spent the day washing down the boat as we had a quite boisterous sail across from Gran Canaria and got lots of salt water on the decks! Have discovered a small leak in the forward cabin hatch handle which Peter has now repaired by replacing the washer which was missing!
Had a lovely night Tuesday in a quiet anchorage just outside Plastito Blanco Marina which is right on the south side of Gran Canaria. It was our first night at anchor on Trompeta so now we know the anchor works and sets well so we can sleep peacefully knowing we are secure. There was no wind when we lifted the anchor at first light about 8 am and motored for 3 hours. The wind picked up late morning and we must have hit one of the acceleration zones as win speeds were up to 30 knots and the seas were quite high at probably 10 to 12 feet swells!! It was. Good job we decided to dose up on stugeron before we left just in case. We had been in Las Palmas Marina for 3 weeks so needed to get our sea legs again!
Anyway let me tell you about San Miguel which is a new Marina on the South side of Tenerife which is still not finished but fortunately no construction is actually taking place at the moment. There are lots of unfinished roads and gravel paths about. It's quiet with an amazing number of English people nearby as there is a golf resort called Pebble Beach village which I walked through today to find a cash machine. There is a club called Fairways with an English bar a bistro with typical English food. No local housing for miles as far as I can make out. The Maria is righ nex to th Golf Course so there is a strip of green grass to break up the rocky surrounding area. Lots of concrete apartments and hotels.
We have met some other sailors who live in the Marina including a comical fellow called Rick who originates from Wakefield an has a very broad Yorkshire accent! Also a young French couple called Jeremy & Ord who speak good English. There seem to be very few visiting boats and lots of small local fishing and motor boats moored here.
When we arrived last night a French skipper who helped us said h could see we had something in the propellor so a diver came this morning and retrieved a plastic sack for a charge of 30 Euros! Peter wishes we had a mask and snorkel on board so he could do this in future but our snorkel gear is in the BVI waiting for us to collect it! At least we know we are good to go now.
Had a lovely night Tuesday in a quiet anchorage just outside Plastito Blanco Marina which is right on the south side of Gran Canaria. It was our first night at anchor on Trompeta so now we know the anchor works and sets well so we can sleep peacefully knowing we are secure. There was no wind when we lifted the anchor at first light about 8 am and motored for 3 hours. The wind picked up late morning and we must have hit one of the acceleration zones as win speeds were up to 30 knots and the seas were quite high at probably 10 to 12 feet swells!! It was. Good job we decided to dose up on stugeron before we left just in case. We had been in Las Palmas Marina for 3 weeks so needed to get our sea legs again!
Anyway let me tell you about San Miguel which is a new Marina on the South side of Tenerife which is still not finished but fortunately no construction is actually taking place at the moment. There are lots of unfinished roads and gravel paths about. It's quiet with an amazing number of English people nearby as there is a golf resort called Pebble Beach village which I walked through today to find a cash machine. There is a club called Fairways with an English bar a bistro with typical English food. No local housing for miles as far as I can make out. The Maria is righ nex to th Golf Course so there is a strip of green grass to break up the rocky surrounding area. Lots of concrete apartments and hotels.
We have met some other sailors who live in the Marina including a comical fellow called Rick who originates from Wakefield an has a very broad Yorkshire accent! Also a young French couple called Jeremy & Ord who speak good English. There seem to be very few visiting boats and lots of small local fishing and motor boats moored here.
When we arrived last night a French skipper who helped us said h could see we had something in the propellor so a diver came this morning and retrieved a plastic sack for a charge of 30 Euros! Peter wishes we had a mask and snorkel on board so he could do this in future but our snorkel gear is in the BVI waiting for us to collect it! At least we know we are good to go now.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Last night in Las Palmas Marina Gran Canaria
Just arrived back from Salila the Catamaran on which we were entertained by Peter tonight and his daughter Liz who is here for a holiday. Also met Keith and Heather from Sookie a Sun Oddessey 54DS just like the ones we crewed in the BVI. Keith is doing the ARC with his brother in law and maybe 2 other crew. Heather is staying at home to look after the Horses and dogs and 4 children who are there at the moment!
Interesting day on the dock today as the tide was very low this morning the pontoon sliding mechanism got stuck and the dock sunk on one side (not ours!!) and there is still no electric on this side.lots of Spanish workers turned up and divers were sent in to release the jam. Eventually they blew the dock back up with compressed air and it is now level! Tides
have been quite big here just recently with a good 2 metre range.
We spent today getting yet more food and drink on board in preparation for our guests arriving soon as we are not sure what provisions will be available in San Miguel on Tenerife. Since it is quite a journey we plan to anchor overnight just outside the Marina at Pastito Blance on the south side of Gran Canaria tomorrow then leave to sail to Tenerife and San Miguel Marina. The Marina is convenient for the Tenerife South airport which is where Jenny and Bill arrive on Friday lunchtime. Jenny has promised Yorkshire tea which is just as well as we are down to our last box!!
Weather is a degree hotter in the south of Gran Canaria so it will be very hot there! The temperature topped 31 degrees C today!
Anyway it will be good to get sailing again and have a fresh change of scenery as we have been here 3 weeks already! Time really does fly when you are having fun!
Interesting day on the dock today as the tide was very low this morning the pontoon sliding mechanism got stuck and the dock sunk on one side (not ours!!) and there is still no electric on this side.lots of Spanish workers turned up and divers were sent in to release the jam. Eventually they blew the dock back up with compressed air and it is now level! Tides
have been quite big here just recently with a good 2 metre range.
We spent today getting yet more food and drink on board in preparation for our guests arriving soon as we are not sure what provisions will be available in San Miguel on Tenerife. Since it is quite a journey we plan to anchor overnight just outside the Marina at Pastito Blance on the south side of Gran Canaria tomorrow then leave to sail to Tenerife and San Miguel Marina. The Marina is convenient for the Tenerife South airport which is where Jenny and Bill arrive on Friday lunchtime. Jenny has promised Yorkshire tea which is just as well as we are down to our last box!!
Weather is a degree hotter in the south of Gran Canaria so it will be very hot there! The temperature topped 31 degrees C today!
Anyway it will be good to get sailing again and have a fresh change of scenery as we have been here 3 weeks already! Time really does fly when you are having fun!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Rain??
Experienced our first bit of rain yesterday since arriving! We had almost forgotten what it is like?!? Mainly during the night so it reminded us of being back in the BVI where you often get night squalls and showers. Anyway it has done th ground good as everything was so dry. It has also freshened the air so that is pleasant too.
My task today is laundry as all the bedsheets and towels need washing so will take them to the laundrette as I is easier to handle the bulk then. I also hav another task if stitching the ends of our new bedsheets or rather lengths of cotton as we could not find what we wanted in the store. The material came from a huge haberdashery shop which sold everything a dressmaker could want! You just do not see these in England anymore.
The World Cruising Club have allocated a blog for us to write text and upload pictures so next month when we get nearer to our crossing I will start using the official daily log which can be found on the World Cruising site under World ARC 2012/13 Daily Logs then look for Trompeta!!
My task today is laundry as all the bedsheets and towels need washing so will take them to the laundrette as I is easier to handle the bulk then. I also hav another task if stitching the ends of our new bedsheets or rather lengths of cotton as we could not find what we wanted in the store. The material came from a huge haberdashery shop which sold everything a dressmaker could want! You just do not see these in England anymore.
The World Cruising Club have allocated a blog for us to write text and upload pictures so next month when we get nearer to our crossing I will start using the official daily log which can be found on the World Cruising site under World ARC 2012/13 Daily Logs then look for Trompeta!!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Still in Las Palmas
We have booked another week here in the Marina. Several reasons really apart from the fact it is cheap! The fridge and freezer seemed to run best when the battery charger was switched on whereas they should run a couple of days just on the battery. Peter opened up the wiring box and found some wires needed replacing so with the help of Adrian an English electrician who is on a Contessa 32 called Blue Moon he was able to remedy this. Fridge is now working as it should so should keep everything cold whilst we are at sea!
Have heard from Jenny to say she and Bill have a week off work early October so they are flying out to Tenerife (south) on 30 Septmber to join us at San Miguel Marina as it is near to the airport. They will stay 3/4 nights on the boat then in a hotel for the rest of the week.
We had intended to go to Mogan and anchor outside the Marina (which we understand is expensive)as the South West coastline is supposed to be very scenic but after talking to another sailor Ludo, who is a Belgian but speaks good English as he worked in London for 2 years,we changed our mind as the swell can affect the anchorage.We may get a bus to take a look at this coast instead.
So we have taken the extra days here to do more little jobs like getting sail numbers made and replacing the zip in a cockpit cushion which had come apart. Hopefully the sail loft can do these before th weekend!
Peter found a really good shop yesterday with a huge selection of tools and hardware and he got really excited about the choice!! We may get some extra mossie netting as the screens are starting to wear and may need replacing at some stage.The sunshade in the aft cabin now does not slide as the spring went whilst cleaning it! At least the mossie side works!
Entertained another Peter who is on a Catamaran here and doing the ARC and Ludo the Belgian on Sunday night just for drinks and nibbles which made a nice change.
Have heard from Jenny to say she and Bill have a week off work early October so they are flying out to Tenerife (south) on 30 Septmber to join us at San Miguel Marina as it is near to the airport. They will stay 3/4 nights on the boat then in a hotel for the rest of the week.
We had intended to go to Mogan and anchor outside the Marina (which we understand is expensive)as the South West coastline is supposed to be very scenic but after talking to another sailor Ludo, who is a Belgian but speaks good English as he worked in London for 2 years,we changed our mind as the swell can affect the anchorage.We may get a bus to take a look at this coast instead.
So we have taken the extra days here to do more little jobs like getting sail numbers made and replacing the zip in a cockpit cushion which had come apart. Hopefully the sail loft can do these before th weekend!
Peter found a really good shop yesterday with a huge selection of tools and hardware and he got really excited about the choice!! We may get some extra mossie netting as the screens are starting to wear and may need replacing at some stage.The sunshade in the aft cabin now does not slide as the spring went whilst cleaning it! At least the mossie side works!
Entertained another Peter who is on a Catamaran here and doing the ARC and Ludo the Belgian on Sunday night just for drinks and nibbles which made a nice change.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Departure looms
We visited the largest supermarket here yesterday to stock up on all non perishable items for our Atlantic crossing. Just like Tesco they do free delivery to the boat so we had a trolley full of goods which were left at the store only to be delivered a couple of hours later! Service indeed!
Peter has managed to obtain all the bits he needed from the Chandlery so we are good to go. Just need to collect our sail numbers from the sail loft tomorrow and we are kitted out ready to leave.
We now have a fan in each cabin so sleeping will be easier when in the Caribbean. Peter just needs to work out how to fit the two fans left in the saloon and it will make it cooler all round.
It has been very hot here in the afternoons so we try and do all our jobs, cleaning, shopping etc in the mornings before the sun gets too high.
Our German neighbours on Twelve Moons have left today to fly back home to Germany. So now we have no neighbours and life is good!!
Peter has managed to obtain all the bits he needed from the Chandlery so we are good to go. Just need to collect our sail numbers from the sail loft tomorrow and we are kitted out ready to leave.
We now have a fan in each cabin so sleeping will be easier when in the Caribbean. Peter just needs to work out how to fit the two fans left in the saloon and it will make it cooler all round.
It has been very hot here in the afternoons so we try and do all our jobs, cleaning, shopping etc in the mornings before the sun gets too high.
Our German neighbours on Twelve Moons have left today to fly back home to Germany. So now we have no neighbours and life is good!!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
ARC Boats continue to arrive
We have a new neighbour today. Yesterday a Hanse 545 called Twelve Moons was brought in alongside us with a German couple Stefan @ Christine aboard. Twelve Moons is doing the World ARC too!! The couple tell us they are leaving the boat at the end of this week to fly home and will return in November. They speak good English which is just as well as our German is minuscule!
Last Sunday we took a very long walk around the town and came across a lovely park with loads of lavender plants and smelt fresh and clean. There is obviously a shortage of water as the fountain had been turned off and the irrigation system was not working either. It was a contrast to all the buildings here.
The supermarkets take some getting used to as they do not stock everything you find in Tesco! I tried to find dried fruit today for a cake and no luck at all. The locals obviously like toffee and caramel as there is a big choice of Dulche de Leche and Creme Caramel products. Managed to find dried yeast today but expensive at nearly 2 Euros for 5 sachets. Will hav to ask Mike to bring some out from England when he comes.
The weather is always overcast in the mornings but by lunchtime the sun is out and the beach is getting busy with mostly local people from mid afternoon when they finish work. The people we see are very active lots of runners and cyclists ( there are cycle lanes on all main pavements) and we have seen a lot of fitness centres and pilates classes advertised.
We are having another maintenance day. A least I have finished my varnishing job as applied the 3rd coat of varnish yesterday! Now it is Peter's turn so he has just gone into town to the hardware store.
Last Sunday we took a very long walk around the town and came across a lovely park with loads of lavender plants and smelt fresh and clean. There is obviously a shortage of water as the fountain had been turned off and the irrigation system was not working either. It was a contrast to all the buildings here.
The supermarkets take some getting used to as they do not stock everything you find in Tesco! I tried to find dried fruit today for a cake and no luck at all. The locals obviously like toffee and caramel as there is a big choice of Dulche de Leche and Creme Caramel products. Managed to find dried yeast today but expensive at nearly 2 Euros for 5 sachets. Will hav to ask Mike to bring some out from England when he comes.
The weather is always overcast in the mornings but by lunchtime the sun is out and the beach is getting busy with mostly local people from mid afternoon when they finish work. The people we see are very active lots of runners and cyclists ( there are cycle lanes on all main pavements) and we have seen a lot of fitness centres and pilates classes advertised.
We are having another maintenance day. A least I have finished my varnishing job as applied the 3rd coat of varnish yesterday! Now it is Peter's turn so he has just gone into town to the hardware store.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Sunday again!
Hello
Well we have been here a week already now and had a proper Sunday breakfast of boiled eggs and soldiers and the grill on the new oven works great!
Had a really good meal at a restuarant called Pier 19 last night to celebrate our Anniversary after opening the special champagne given to us by Jenny & Bill before we left England. The meal was excellent value for money at 61 Euros including wine!! Starter was spring rolls, Peter had Confit of Duck which was really cooked nicely and Jane had Sea Bream fillet dessert for Peter was a trilogy of 3 desserts!! He likes his sweets!
Back to routine jobs on the boat today so have just given the aft cabin hatch surround another coat of varnish, already it looks so much better.Peter is finally getting around to sorting out the wedges around the diesel tank.
The Marina is starting to get busy with ARC boats arriving now. We plan to leave before the end of the month when it will be busy.
Overcast start to the day but it usually gets brighter and hotter by lunchtime!
Day of rest today as it is Sunday after all!
Well we have been here a week already now and had a proper Sunday breakfast of boiled eggs and soldiers and the grill on the new oven works great!
Had a really good meal at a restuarant called Pier 19 last night to celebrate our Anniversary after opening the special champagne given to us by Jenny & Bill before we left England. The meal was excellent value for money at 61 Euros including wine!! Starter was spring rolls, Peter had Confit of Duck which was really cooked nicely and Jane had Sea Bream fillet dessert for Peter was a trilogy of 3 desserts!! He likes his sweets!
Back to routine jobs on the boat today so have just given the aft cabin hatch surround another coat of varnish, already it looks so much better.Peter is finally getting around to sorting out the wedges around the diesel tank.
The Marina is starting to get busy with ARC boats arriving now. We plan to leave before the end of the month when it will be busy.
Overcast start to the day but it usually gets brighter and hotter by lunchtime!
Day of rest today as it is Sunday after all!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Wedding Anniversary!!
Hello
Well yesterday we had another visit from the Rigger and bad news - apparently one of the cap shrouds is definitely showing signs of rust in a very small crack ( so small we had to use the magnifying glass!) anyway the advice is to change it completely so new wire was put in today. Peter called Jerry the Rigger in England to ask about warranty as all our rigging is brand new! He says the piece will have to go back to Selden in Sweden so the Riggers here will save the offending piece of rig for him to collect when he comes out to Las Palmas in November to inspect the ARC boats.Peter also had a new jammer fitted to the mast so we reckon all in all the rigger is going to want about 750 Euros so Peter has just gone off the find out the damage!!
It is our Anniversary today so we will treat ourselves to our first meal out since we arrived here in Las Palmas. There is a nice place overlooking the Marina so we will probably go there tonight.
Last night was quite noisy as the music from the night club could be heard until the early hours of this morning! All quiet and peaceful again apart from the regular ambulance sirens as the main hospital is just across from the Marina so all ambulances go there.
Yesterday we met an English guy called Brian who has a little wooden boat anchored outside the Marina and has lived on his boat for 12 years!! He has an Avon dinghy ( same brand as ours ) but a lot older and he says his valves are worn so that is why he dinghy des not hold air. Peter helped him lift the dinghy over he wall last night and he says there is a hole in the dinghy which is quite big! Brian told us he used to have a girlfriend with him but she was fed up of not being able to wear dresses etc so it did not last. He told us the flour here is OK to make bread he uses it and it works so will have to try today. We bought a couple of bags yesterday to experiment with.
Mike has e mailed to say he flies out to meet us in Tenerife on 15 October so in the meantime it is just the two of us! We have booked another week in the Marina as the spare Carr ends Peter needs are not due to arrive until Friday . It will cost 100 Euros to get them sent express delivery but Peter needs them so we will just pay.
Have a few tasks to do today - nothing too taxing- Peter is going to find the shower filter so he can remove my hairs which are making the pump slow to empty the tray. I will sand down and varnish the hatch surround in our cabin which will involve removing all bedding first so dust does not get into the sheets!!
Looking forward to a pleasant afternoon in the sun and a good meal out! Cheers to all at home!
Well yesterday we had another visit from the Rigger and bad news - apparently one of the cap shrouds is definitely showing signs of rust in a very small crack ( so small we had to use the magnifying glass!) anyway the advice is to change it completely so new wire was put in today. Peter called Jerry the Rigger in England to ask about warranty as all our rigging is brand new! He says the piece will have to go back to Selden in Sweden so the Riggers here will save the offending piece of rig for him to collect when he comes out to Las Palmas in November to inspect the ARC boats.Peter also had a new jammer fitted to the mast so we reckon all in all the rigger is going to want about 750 Euros so Peter has just gone off the find out the damage!!
It is our Anniversary today so we will treat ourselves to our first meal out since we arrived here in Las Palmas. There is a nice place overlooking the Marina so we will probably go there tonight.
Last night was quite noisy as the music from the night club could be heard until the early hours of this morning! All quiet and peaceful again apart from the regular ambulance sirens as the main hospital is just across from the Marina so all ambulances go there.
Yesterday we met an English guy called Brian who has a little wooden boat anchored outside the Marina and has lived on his boat for 12 years!! He has an Avon dinghy ( same brand as ours ) but a lot older and he says his valves are worn so that is why he dinghy des not hold air. Peter helped him lift the dinghy over he wall last night and he says there is a hole in the dinghy which is quite big! Brian told us he used to have a girlfriend with him but she was fed up of not being able to wear dresses etc so it did not last. He told us the flour here is OK to make bread he uses it and it works so will have to try today. We bought a couple of bags yesterday to experiment with.
Mike has e mailed to say he flies out to meet us in Tenerife on 15 October so in the meantime it is just the two of us! We have booked another week in the Marina as the spare Carr ends Peter needs are not due to arrive until Friday . It will cost 100 Euros to get them sent express delivery but Peter needs them so we will just pay.
Have a few tasks to do today - nothing too taxing- Peter is going to find the shower filter so he can remove my hairs which are making the pump slow to empty the tray. I will sand down and varnish the hatch surround in our cabin which will involve removing all bedding first so dust does not get into the sheets!!
Looking forward to a pleasant afternoon in the sun and a good meal out! Cheers to all at home!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Boat Maintenance
The last couple of days have kept Peter busy on the boat. We had a rigger from Alisios Sailing Centre (recommended to us by Jerry the Rigger) go up the mast to check all is well with our rig.He has seen a small bit of rust on the cap shroud which they are coming to fix today. Also making us a new jammer for the mast as there is only one at present. Have ordered some plastic carr ends for the spinnaker carr as the old one we have has cracked ends. We got a new spinnaker carr for the new pole from Jerry the Rigger and that seems OK. It seems they have to order the carr ends from Sweden so may take a week to arrive! Oh well it is not bad here as the price is now 10 euros a night so Peter is quite happy to stay put for a few more days. The Marina is not busy until 30 Sept when they are full. We will have moved on by then as want tio explore the scenic South West coastline.
Also having sail numbers made by Alisios which they will stick on the mainsail when ready. Apparently it is recommeded you have sail numbers if you sail offshore. Our number is GBR2819L.
Visited the local fruit and fresh produce market on Tuesday and bought some good quality stuff including some freshly ground coffee -----yum!! Prices are not bad we paid Euro 1.90 for 250g of fresh coffee; Euro 2 for 15 eggs and small canary bananas are around 68 cents a kilo. The local green beans are yummy and cheap too! Wine is 57 cents a litre for reasonable quality house red rose and white in cartons.
The largest supermarket here is Hiperdino which is well stocked with most things. Not sure about the bread flour as we found small 1Kilo bags which we think contain bread flour but Jane will have to experiment before placing an order! The supermarket will deliver free to the boat so that is good and we will do this before we leave with non perishble goods for the crossing.
Alison will be pleased to here there is even a Lidl Supermarket in Las Palmas although we have yet to locate it!
Weather remains a balmy 29 degrees C during the day and 22 degrees at night so sleeping with the hatch open each night.
Also having sail numbers made by Alisios which they will stick on the mainsail when ready. Apparently it is recommeded you have sail numbers if you sail offshore. Our number is GBR2819L.
Visited the local fruit and fresh produce market on Tuesday and bought some good quality stuff including some freshly ground coffee -----yum!! Prices are not bad we paid Euro 1.90 for 250g of fresh coffee; Euro 2 for 15 eggs and small canary bananas are around 68 cents a kilo. The local green beans are yummy and cheap too! Wine is 57 cents a litre for reasonable quality house red rose and white in cartons.
The largest supermarket here is Hiperdino which is well stocked with most things. Not sure about the bread flour as we found small 1Kilo bags which we think contain bread flour but Jane will have to experiment before placing an order! The supermarket will deliver free to the boat so that is good and we will do this before we leave with non perishble goods for the crossing.
Alison will be pleased to here there is even a Lidl Supermarket in Las Palmas although we have yet to locate it!
Weather remains a balmy 29 degrees C during the day and 22 degrees at night so sleeping with the hatch open each night.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Las Palmas Marina Gran Canaria
Hi
Last night was a bit tedious. The Marina Office is closed on Sunday afternoon. We had been given two keys - one for the security gates at the end of the pontoon and one for the shower block. Jane went for a shower using both keys - no problem. Peter went for a shower and before he even left the pontoon managed to get our gate key stuck in the lock - good & fast - it would not budge!! Anyway the guy on the next boat assured us no problem just tie the gate back overnight which is what we did. Ever fearful of security we decided to eat on board instead of trying the restaurant and duly retired for the night.
This morning we awoke to sounds of swearing and crashing metal! The skipper of the boat moored opposite us had found the gate closed (our key had been removed) and tried to open the gate to no avail. He put his key in the outside lock and it stuck there!! Anyway Peter to the rescue with a big screwdriver and the other skipper forced the gate open and off he went quite happy.
Peter had to report to the Marina Office to pay for our berth at 9am so he reported the incident and was duly given another gate key. In the meantime 3 officials from the Port Authority turned up to investigate and took the broken lock away. The gate is still tied open!
The Marina fee here is a very reasonable 12 Euros a night which is about £10 so not bad! You would be hard pressed to live at anchor and run the generator a few hours each day at the same cost. PLUS we have water on tap as well as electric and free WiFi so internet access at all imes - not bad at all! The shower facilities are in need of refurbishment so we will shower on board tonight.
Managed to talk to the Rigger recommended by Jerry in Hamble and he will come and check our rigging either tomorrow afternoon or sometime Wednesday.
Peter found some bits & pieces he was looking for in
Last night was a bit tedious. The Marina Office is closed on Sunday afternoon. We had been given two keys - one for the security gates at the end of the pontoon and one for the shower block. Jane went for a shower using both keys - no problem. Peter went for a shower and before he even left the pontoon managed to get our gate key stuck in the lock - good & fast - it would not budge!! Anyway the guy on the next boat assured us no problem just tie the gate back overnight which is what we did. Ever fearful of security we decided to eat on board instead of trying the restaurant and duly retired for the night.
This morning we awoke to sounds of swearing and crashing metal! The skipper of the boat moored opposite us had found the gate closed (our key had been removed) and tried to open the gate to no avail. He put his key in the outside lock and it stuck there!! Anyway Peter to the rescue with a big screwdriver and the other skipper forced the gate open and off he went quite happy.
Peter had to report to the Marina Office to pay for our berth at 9am so he reported the incident and was duly given another gate key. In the meantime 3 officials from the Port Authority turned up to investigate and took the broken lock away. The gate is still tied open!
The Marina fee here is a very reasonable 12 Euros a night which is about £10 so not bad! You would be hard pressed to live at anchor and run the generator a few hours each day at the same cost. PLUS we have water on tap as well as electric and free WiFi so internet access at all imes - not bad at all! The shower facilities are in need of refurbishment so we will shower on board tonight.
Managed to talk to the Rigger recommended by Jerry in Hamble and he will come and check our rigging either tomorrow afternoon or sometime Wednesday.
Peter found some bits & pieces he was looking for in
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Hamble to Tenerife - The Journey
Leaving Hamble we expected the Bay of Biscay to be the most challenging part of our journey when in fact it was the English Channel that tested our sea legs!!
Biscay was flat calm so much so that we motored for 3 days and were concerned about running out of fuel! Luckily the wind picked up once across Biscay and down the Spanish and Portugese coastline.
It was a lovely journey, not much rain, calm seas and dolphins playing in our bow wake.
Most of the trip was downwind so the new kite got tested fully. Tricky to furl unless we had the geneoa out to shield the wind. Managed to break off a strop but now repaired by stitching using a Stitching Awl.
Some rolly sloppy seas which made it difficult to stay in your bunk so Jack used the sea berth in the saloon for most of the trip.
All in all not bad for our first ocean passage!
Biscay was flat calm so much so that we motored for 3 days and were concerned about running out of fuel! Luckily the wind picked up once across Biscay and down the Spanish and Portugese coastline.
It was a lovely journey, not much rain, calm seas and dolphins playing in our bow wake.
Most of the trip was downwind so the new kite got tested fully. Tricky to furl unless we had the geneoa out to shield the wind. Managed to break off a strop but now repaired by stitching using a Stitching Awl.
Some rolly sloppy seas which made it difficult to stay in your bunk so Jack used the sea berth in the saloon for most of the trip.
All in all not bad for our first ocean passage!
Hello!!
You are now reading our newly created blog for our journey around the world on Trompeta a 42' Hallberg-Rassy sailboat which was purchased earlier this year from Transworld Yachts in Hamble. After a major refit she left Hamble Point Marina on 17 August with crew of Peter, Jane and Jack Luxton who joined us for the initial passage down to Tenerife. Arrived Santa Cruz Tenerife early hours of Tuesday 30 August for a well earned rest and to explore Santa Cruz. Having AIS on the boat was invaluable as we encountered some busy shipping lanes!!
In Santa Cruz we walked miles and miles as nothing was nearby and shopping was limited to what you could comfortably carry!! Very little by way of supplies at the 2 Chandleries Peter found some distance away. The Marina itself was comfortable and not at all busy with good clean showers and laundry facility. Jack bought us dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Casino Restuarant which had a good WiFi connection as the Marina had no WiFi at all.
Met a lovely Irish couple on Jiliana another HR 42 who live in the Canaries so were a useful source of local information. They also donated a old cockpit cushion to us for a sun lounger as they had just had a new set of cream (??) cushions made!
After two nights in the Marina on our own again we decided to depart early Saturday to sail across to Gran Canaria and check out the facilities in Las Palmas Marina which is where the ARC depart later in November. The Marina must have good chandleries?
Left Santa Cruz Tenerife 7am Saturday 3 September and arrived in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria 5pm. The pilot book we have is well out of date as lots of information is incorrect. We tried calling up onVHF channel 9 to no answer (the Marina use 11 now!) and tied up on the fuel dock (as Pilot book advised) to be told to move to the pontoon outside the Port Authority office. Anyway all seems well and now in a berth stern to having picked up lazy lines for the bow on pontoon S which is near the North side of the Marina. Have walked around and found there are many shops and chandleries with a delightful restaurant overlooking the Marina which we will try tonight!
Lazy, lazy Sunday.
You are now reading our newly created blog for our journey around the world on Trompeta a 42' Hallberg-Rassy sailboat which was purchased earlier this year from Transworld Yachts in Hamble. After a major refit she left Hamble Point Marina on 17 August with crew of Peter, Jane and Jack Luxton who joined us for the initial passage down to Tenerife. Arrived Santa Cruz Tenerife early hours of Tuesday 30 August for a well earned rest and to explore Santa Cruz. Having AIS on the boat was invaluable as we encountered some busy shipping lanes!!
In Santa Cruz we walked miles and miles as nothing was nearby and shopping was limited to what you could comfortably carry!! Very little by way of supplies at the 2 Chandleries Peter found some distance away. The Marina itself was comfortable and not at all busy with good clean showers and laundry facility. Jack bought us dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Casino Restuarant which had a good WiFi connection as the Marina had no WiFi at all.
Met a lovely Irish couple on Jiliana another HR 42 who live in the Canaries so were a useful source of local information. They also donated a old cockpit cushion to us for a sun lounger as they had just had a new set of cream (??) cushions made!
After two nights in the Marina on our own again we decided to depart early Saturday to sail across to Gran Canaria and check out the facilities in Las Palmas Marina which is where the ARC depart later in November. The Marina must have good chandleries?
Left Santa Cruz Tenerife 7am Saturday 3 September and arrived in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria 5pm. The pilot book we have is well out of date as lots of information is incorrect. We tried calling up onVHF channel 9 to no answer (the Marina use 11 now!) and tied up on the fuel dock (as Pilot book advised) to be told to move to the pontoon outside the Port Authority office. Anyway all seems well and now in a berth stern to having picked up lazy lines for the bow on pontoon S which is near the North side of the Marina. Have walked around and found there are many shops and chandleries with a delightful restaurant overlooking the Marina which we will try tonight!
Lazy, lazy Sunday.
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