We have just completed the second leg of our second Transatlantic! Now this isn’t going to be a huge long blog, because as you know we did the Atlantic in 2014 and to be honest, it hasn’t changed that much.
This is the view from the front…
…and this is the view from the back. Or to use the correct nautical term, the patio.
We only put the mainsail up once, before quickly realising it was a mistake and pulling it down again. Most of the time we used twin headsails – the screecher out one side, and the genoa on the other.
We call it “goose-winged,” but for once the Germans are more poetic and call it “The Butterfly,” which we’re going to use from now on.
It doesn’t feel like sailing. Basically you just put them up and are more or less blown across The Atlantic. But it’s very comfortable, and very easy, so what’s not to like.
Of course there are the usual mega sunsets…
Some amazing clouds…
A squall or two…
Which look even worse on the radar..
And one night we sailed by the light of Jupiter, Venus & Saturn.
OK, so it looks like a little white dot, so you’ll just have to take our word for it. That is Jupiter. And it was pretty amazing.
It took us 14 days and 11 hours from Mindelo, and we came 38th arriving just before midnight.
This is crossing the finish line. Ju looks like he’s just been beamed down.
And so we set sail for the first leg of our trip across The Atlantic.
900 nautical miles to Mindelo, Sao Vincente in the Cabo Verde islands. It took us about six days. The first two days were quite rough with strong winds…
True Wind Speed of up to 86 knots – hurricane force – but at least it meant we went fast at over 33 knots, which should put us in the running for the Americas Cup. Either that or there was something wrong with the instruments.
But by day three it had calmed down a bit..
…and we were able to start collecting the flying fish that kept landing on deck overnight.
Five in one night! Not quite big enough to eat, but not so small that they don’t make a horrible slippery mess where they land.
Land ahoy! – We arrived at Cape Verde just after sunrise.
So time to send the crew forward to sort out the ropes.
While the captain attended to more important matters.
Pretty soon we were moored up in Mindelo Marina.
And while it was nice to be back on land, Mindelo Marina is the windiest marina with the biggest swell we have ever been to. The pontoons were rolling all over the place – walking along them felt like you’d had ten pints. We were more seasick on the pontoon than ever we were at sea! Three people along from us actually fell in – and these are experienced ocean navigators. Still, at least it meant we kept our sea legs for the next stage of the journey.
Sao Vincente is a beautiful island and the people are really friendly and welcoming. We did a little island tour – first stop, the beach.
Where we tried the local grog.
Strong enough to knock out a camel. So up into the mountains to the tea bar to sober up.
One day we took the ferry to Sao Antao, another of the Cape Verde Islands, where we tried the traditional food…
Saw the traditional cottages…
And watched farmers collecting yams in the traditional way.
Next we got in a minibus to go up into the mountains. We went at breakneck speed up these little cobbled roads with sheer drops either side.
It was quite terrifying. This is Ju trying to not look scared.
Not doing too bad a job of it, but he’s holding on to that wall with both hands. What you can’t see is that behind that wall is a thousand foot sheer drop. It is all unbelievably high. We’ve been in many minibuses, but never one where we’ve had to worry about turbulence.
But once you dared to open your eyes, the views are spectacular.
The photos of course don’t do it justice.
But here’s a few more anyway.
You’ll just have to come and see it for yourselves.
But back to Mindelo, where Lyn enjoyed the street art…
…and Ju enjoyed the cultural events.
Some of the wall art is amazing. This picture is not painted on the wall, but chipped out of the plaster.
We had a great social life with the ARC while we were here in Mindelo. Here we are with the crew of Zan eating the bruschetta (which they serve by the metre.)
Just time for the arty farty prize, which has only one entry called “Street Scene,” and that is from Ju – so he is the winner!
And of course it wouldn’t be a proper Boatblog ® without a gratuitous sunset. Though actually it’s a sunrise.
We are planning a full circumnav – that’s circumnavigation for you landlubbers; sailing round the world. So once we’re across the Atlantic, it’s through the Panama Canal and then to….. Infinity and Beyond. Well – Darwin anyway.
We have just signed up to do the first leg of the World ARC, which is very exciting.
We were sorry to leave Madeira, but all good things must come to an end.
It’s two or three days sailing to get to Gran Canaria and we had a pretty good run, though we arrived in the middle of the night and it was quite scary manoeuvring among all the massive ships and oil rigs when we got there.
It was great to be back in Las Palmas. We’re doing the ARC+ this time which is Las Palmas to St Lucia, but it calls in at Cape Verde instead of going straight across like the regular ARC.
We spent our time there doing last minute repairs, stocking the boat up with provisions, spare parts and tools and everything else we could think of that we might need for a round the world trip.
One thing you really have to have on board is an angle grinder…
…just in case we ever need to cut away the rigging in the event of a dismasting. Now those of you who are aware of my DIY skills will probably be horrified to think that I would ever be let anywhere near such an awesome power tool.
Do not worry.
I’ve never used one before and I don’t want to use it for the first time in an angry sea and accidentally cut my leg off, so I found the time to practice.
It’s actually really good fun.
Though once you get started it’s quite hard to stop.
WARNING TO OUR YOUNGER READERS. We are trained professionals. Do not try this at home.
We also needed a new drill, which came with a fantastic selection of gadgets.
I wonder what they’re for.
And we had SSB installed.
SSB stands for Single Sideband Radio. It’s the big radio type thing with the microphone attached that you can see underneath the computer screen. It’s quite a miraculous piece of kit. By bouncing radio signals round the globe you can talk to people in Australia or Tokyo or anywhere in the world from right out in the middle of the ocean. It doesn’t use satellites or anything so fancy, but it just bounces the signal off the ionosphere, back to the ground and up again, right all the way round until it gets to where you want. It’s quite amazing.
Though it’s a bit weird because whenever I hit the transmit button, the lights come on and the electric winch goes round. But you soon get used to that. It reminded me of Nick’s house in Cape Town. The electronics were incredibly sophisticated but didn’t quite work, so every time someone rang the doorbell the toaster popped up.
But apparently that’s quite normal with SSB. The power that the transmitter puts out is massive, so its bound to interfere with the electrics. There’s not much you can do about it apart from switch everything off before you use it.
So far all I’ve really heard people say is things like…
Hiss crackle FX
“Hello this is Mike Echo India November Niner, do you read me? Over”
More hiss crackle FX
“Mike Echo India November Niner, this is Zulu Tango Yankee Bravo Fower, you are a bit faint, but I read you. Over”
Hiss crackle FX
“Thank you Zulu Tango Yankee Bravo Fower. This is Mike Echo India November Niner. I read you loud and clear. Over”
Hiss crackle FX
“Thank you, Mike Echo India November Nine. Over”
Hiss crackle FX
“Zulu Tango Yankee Bravo Fower out.”
And that’s about it. No one seems to have actual conversations; they just ask each other if they can be heard. And then move on to see if someone else can hear them as well. But I expect it will come into it’s own when we are at sea.
Jan and James (Lyn’s sister and brother-in-law) came to visit with their daughter Lizzie.
I did try to find a photo of us all that wasn’t eating, but we don’t seem to have one. I think eating was all we did.
And very nice it was too.
But enough of this messing about. We’ve got a rally to do.
Ahoy there Boatbloggers ® and welcome back to another exciting episode in the life of the good ship Domini and her good looking crew.
In the last episode we left you on the coast of Portugal in a beautiful anchorage called Culatra, somewhere near Faro.
And much as we loved this little bit of the Caribbean in the middle of the Algarve, it was time to move on. Next port of call, Madeira – or more accurately Porto Santo which is a little island just to the North East of Madeira. It’s about 500 nautical miles from Culatra, so a bit of an ocean passage which took 3 or 4 days.
The weather was predicted to be good, but even so, it’s important to prepare properly for long trips…
and to wear a silly hat.
It was a pretty easy crossing with calm seas…
…and Homer’s clouds.
I’d like to say they are called that because of some literary reference to the epic Greek poet, but no. It’s because they look like the opening credits of The Simpsons.
Land Ahoy!
Eventually we arrived at Porto Santo and anchored off the beach.
Intrepid explorers that we are, we set off to discover the island…
and as luck would have it, we soon came across a delightful little Caribbean Bar.
Though we wouldn’t want you thinking it’s all boozing and enjoying ourselves.
Even if it is.
It’s all very pretty…
But basically it’s just a great big lump sat somewhere off the Atlantic Ocean.
Jokes on a ten pound note please.
It was time to head off to Madeira, only about 30 miles away. There aren’t many anchorages in Madeira because it’s volcanic and the seabed tends to drop away very quickly, so we headed for a marina for the first time in months.
…and for a few days it was actually quite nice to not have to get into the dinghy to go anywhere.
Legend has it that the pattern in the rocks…
…was the inspiration for Munch’s famous painting, “The Spaniel.”
Madeira is famous for it’s hiking, so we donned our boots and set off into the unknown.
It’s knackering…
..but worth it for the views.
We discovered that it’s much easier to get up the mountains in a cable car.
To come down again, against all the advice, the Madeirans invented the sledge.
They didn’t seem to realise that sledges need snow.
But it’s all good fun.
The entries for this blog’s arty farty prize are “Cool Rocks,” by Lyn,
and “Cool Cactus,” by Lyn.
And the winner is…
LYN.
So that’s Madeira M’dears.
Watch out for the next installment the Boatblog ®, as we head to The Canaries and get ready to cross the Atlantic.
We found this in a field somewhere outside Canet en Roussillon…
So we made an offer, and in the space of a few months the nice people at Catana turned it from this…
into this…
and then to this…
and this…
And finally to this…
It was bloody cold when we picked it up, but we still celebrated.
You’re meant to break the bottle on the side of the ship, but we didn’t want to put a dent in it so early on. Besides, why waste all that lovely French champagne?
But it’s not all just boozing and enjoying yourself. Well it is, but moving onto a boat is about the same moving into a house,
…except you have to walk the plank every time you bring something on board.
But it wasn’t long before we had everything Shipshape and Bristol Fashion, and we were off to sunnier climes…
First stop down to Barcelona, then Menorca and Mallorca, up to La Grande Motte and Toulon on the South coast of France, then back down to the Balearics, over to mainland Spain and following the coast to Gibraltar, through the Strait to Cadiz, before ending up on the Algarve coast.
Doesn’t she look great! (All together now) And the boat’s not bad either. Here we are moored up in Gibraltar.
Gib, as us sailors call it, has everything you need. Duty free fuel, duty free fags, a Morrisons selling black pudding, bacon and Melton Mowbray Pork Pies and all the other things you miss when you’re away for a long time.
And this…
What more could you want? Curry and Sushi in one place. Though it turns out it’s a bit difficult eating curry with chopsticks.
One of the great things about having a superyacht in the Med is that it turns out that you have a lot of friends. OK, so technically it might not be a superyacht, but we it’s pretty darn super. So we have had lot’s of visitors…
James & Emma
Nick & Shelagh
Paul & Selina
Martin
Carol &
Simon
Jo
Jane & Ian
And of course – this bunch…
And Mr Nick Cursi came all the way from Cape Town to see us – but we didn’t get a picture. Oh no! You’re just going to have to come again Nick.
When Joe arrived he had come direct from a wedding, which is why he turned up half sailor, half usher.
…But we soon got him into the proper gear.
Rory taught us to windsurf
Joe even caught a fish…
…though Lyn doesn’t look too impressed. We were going to use it as bait to catch something bigger, but unfortunately Joe dropped the rod over the side. Doh! However, this was not the end of our fishing triumphs. One night, a wave broke over the trampoli…sorry – I mean the nets, and we caught a squid!
Though it was a bit whiffy by the time we found it.
It’s always good to have guests, as their help is invaluable when crewing the boat.
* Editor’s Note:-Simon is rather pleased with the picture of him and Ju by the dinghy, because he thinks it makes HIS stomach looks smaller than Ju’s. Our readers can rest assured that this is in fact nothing other than a trick of the light caused by a highly unusual camera angle. For those Boatbloggers® who wish to get a more accurate impression please scroll to Appendix A at the end of this article.
One of the things that has struck me as we have sailed down from France, is how many things you aren’t meant to do. There are little signs put up all over the place banning this that and the other, so for one blog, and one blog only, please welcome…
THE BOATBLOG® SIGN COLLECTION
No Cars
No Horses
No People
No Dog Poo & No Stealing Trees
No Climbing
No Trilbys
We’ve told you about that dog before
No Drowning
No Anything
And you definitely mustn’t do this…
(That’s enough signs. Ed)
Ju thought it was time to get with the zeitgeist, and follow the fine example set by Ben and be a bit more vegetarian. It didn’t start well.
TOFU
RIBS
It’s nice to socialise, and enjoy a few quiet sundowners in the evening. Ju and Martin went to an All You Can Eat Argentinian Steak House. Unfortunately Martin thought it was an All You Can Drink Argentinian Steak House.
Ben struggles to reach his glass…
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And Lyn enjoys a piscine of rosé.
But it’s not all just boozing and having fun. (Hmmmm. Ed)
There’s work to be done.
(Editor’s Note:- That’s Simon in the yellow shorts helping to put the bridle on. His stomach may be smaller, but who’s got the best bum? Answers to the usual address, and the first person with the correct answer gets to take the Captain out for dinner. )
Keeping fit is vital for the international sailor, so we have yoga…
Swimming…
And acrobatics…
This week’s blog competition is called, MATCH THE WALL. This is an advanced technique used by the Urban Warrior to blend into his or her surroundings.
RORY
LYN
JU
And the winner is ……Ju. With his wonderfully garish orange and black combo. He’s not called The Chameleon for nothing.
His “sun-bleached” hair even matches the window frame. Splendid attention to detail. Well done Ju.
And now we come to the Arty Farty Prize. And this blog has a number of very strong entries.
“Misty Sunrise” by Lyn
“Sails” By Paul Miller
“Boat” by Ju
All excellent contenders, but the winner is…. Rory with “Spike Leaves.”
And in a new category called “Sailor’s Delight,” we show off some of the Red Sky At Nights we have seen – no filters used…
And this last one – just to prove that we do use an anchor ball.
Sometimes.
And finally a random bunch of photos from our travels, in no particular order…
Africa Through The Mist
Cave boat – The Caves of Drac
Exploding Clouds
Nice Buildings
Green Flash (For James)
Lagoon
The Red Duster
Cat in the Middle
Don’t like the look of those clouds…
A View From The Bridge
Adios for now amigos. And thanks to all our friends who came to visit us, (and let us use their photos)
Welcome back Boatbloggers – or should I say BoatVloggers…
We’re sorry for the long radio silence, but until recently we have been boat-less, so we haven’t had that much to Boatblog about. And The-2-Bed-Flat-In-Brentford-Blog just didn’t seem as much fun.
But that is all in the past. At last we have taken delivery of the all new improved Domini, so the Boatblog is back!
It wasn’t long before the family came to visit…
And this month’s Boatblog Competition is…
Can you name the type of boat?
Entries on a €20 note, and the winner gets to take the Captain and First Mate out for a slap-up Michelin star meal.
Hello again Boatbloggers ® , or as we say over here, Buenos Dias Barcobloggers y bienvenido a una edicion neuva del BarcoBlog,
We have at last reached The Mediterranean.
Our first stop in Spain, but still on this side of the Gibraltar Straits was…
Which is a beautiful old town…
…with a long and proud history. Most of which seems to consist of various illustrious British sailors from Drake to Nelson, turning up and setting fire to all the Spanish ships. We decided it might be better to anchor out rather than sail straight into Cadiz Harbour in case they held a grudge, so we dropped the hook in a place called Port Sherry. Which has to be the booziest name for a town that we’ve ever come across.
And no wonder. This is home to the “Sherry Triangle.” It is almost obligatory to take a trip round the local sherry factories. Or is that breweries? Distilleries? Sherryeries?
Anyway, we were invited to sample some of the finest vintages – although if you know about sherry, you will appreciate that they don’t actually have vintages because the way it works is that they just keep topping up the barrel when it starts getting a bit low. Well, it’s a bit more sophisticated than that, but that’s the general idea. And what that means is that some parts of the glass that you are quaffing might be hundreds of years old, while other bits are quite new.
The tasting was an elegant affair…
but unfortunately, Ju wasn’t drinking that day…
So Lyn had to drink his.
Well, it would have been rude to leave it.
Not too early the next day, and very quietly, we set off for the Gibraltar Straights. We went past another famous landmark from British naval history,
…Trafalgar. And on through the Straits. It was exciting to have Europe on one side of the boat, and Africa on the other.
Eventually, we arrived at Gibraltar itself.
The cradle of history.
Which I guess means we went in and burnt a load more Spanish ships.
You already know about the Rock, and the monkeys and the WW2 tunnels, so here at the Boatblog® we’re not going to bore you with the usual Gibraltar photos. And that’s not just because we forgot to take our camera that day. What we can tell you is that Gibraltar is a really unique place. The locals speak a strange dialect called – you’ve guessed it – Gibberish, which is a strange half-English, half-Spanish concoction. Actually, it’s not very far off Ju’s Spanish. On this tiny strip of land, they still use pounds sterling, and there is no tax or VAT. So diesel is 44p a litre and cigarettes are £2.60. So cheap in fact that Ju, who can never resist a bargain, has decided to take up smoking.
Generally speaking, it is fair to say that the Spanish are a bit miffed that Britain still owns Gibraltar, and they make their displeasure felt at the border which can take two hours to cross if you get the wrong time of day.
LYN COMING IN FROM THE COLD. CHECK POINT CHARLIE
The border guards can be quite intimidating.
The Rock and the views and the people of Gibraltar are all fantastic, but to be honest, quite a lot of it is like Croydon with palm trees.
Maybe if they paid a bit more tax they could get their pavements repaired and potholes filled in.
So think about that before you vote! What would you rather have – decent infrastructure, or cheap fags?
(Dave – don’t answer that.)
But of course the highlight of any trip to Gibraltar is this.
Expats, holidaymakers and sailors come from miles around to stock up on PG tips, Proper Bacon, Branston Pickle and Morrissons’ Own-Brand Oatcakes. All the things you miss about Blighty.
The other unusual feature is the airport.
There’s not many places in the world where you have to dash across a runway to get to the supermarket.
And you have to wonder why they get the fire engines out every time an Easyjet flight comes in.
But alas dear reader, it is time to bid you a fond adios as we head back to…
But this time by boat.
But there is just time for this edition’s arty farty prize, which this time goes to Lyn.
CADIZ SKYLINE
And before we go, a reminder that a lot of people in Europe still welcome foreigners – even the one’s whose ancestors kept on coming over and burning all their ships.
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