martyn

05. Coral, Arafura & Java Seas, Australia to Thailand 2008/9

This section of blog starts after Graptolite’s arrival in Australia in August 2008 and continues to departure from Phuket, Thailand in January 2009. For the Great Barrier Reef section I had mainly family for crew with my brother Duncan (Australia), son Tom (UK) and Pacific crew, Heike Richter (Germany). Heiki would become family in 2015. Duncan had to return home from Thursday Island and Heiki and Tom continued across the “Top End” to Darwin. In Darwin, new crew were needed for SE Asia and I took on three backpackers, Kwok Leung (Leon) Lee (Canada), Zach Ferbrache (Guernsey) and Eddie Dietz (Germany) to crew to Bali. From Bali to Singapore my crew were Bonnie Pinzel (USA), Aurelien Ferre (France) and Fannie Jossen (Switz). Bonnie also continued on through Malaysia to Thailand where we arrived in Phuket for New Year 2009. Old crew, Colin Laidlaw and Leon Lee returned for the continuing voyage from Phuket to Sri Lanka.  

16:55.23S 14:46.91W Cairns Marlin Marina 10th August 2008

It’s been a busy week. Colin left the boat as planned to re-enter real life with Belinda. Thanks Colin. It’s been good having you along and I’m sorry to see you go. My Australian brother, Duncan, joined on Monday as crew to Darwin as did son Tom currently on his own World tour by air (Colorado, Hawaii, Queensland). Duncan was put to work fixing things on the boat and even seems to have fixed the busted generator. A night out on Wednesday in Cairns took us to that prestigious floodlit sporting event – Cane Toad Racing. Only in Australia. All of us went diving on the Great Barrier Reef yesterday. It was the first time for Tom. He seems to like it. The water was cold though. Who would have expected that in the Tropics? The weather here has taken a turn for the worse and there are high winds forecast. That, combined with delays getting stuff fixed, is holding us and everyone else up here in Cairns. Today, Sunday, we took a drive north up the coast to Daintree National Park. No kangaroos. No koalas. We came back through Port Douglas and Yorkeys Knob and had a few XXXX’s on the way.

16:22.38S 145:33.82E  North of Low Islets, Great Barrier Reef 14th August 2008

Our useless chart-table chartplotter remains broken despite being reprogrammed and now needs a new motherboard that is no longer available so we are still without radar to detect incoming hostiles. We set off from Cairns yesterday morning in lighter winds than forecast and found a mooring under the pretty lighthouse at Low Islets. We are now heading north again to Lizard Island. ‘Andante’ has reported having a bit of trouble with sails about 65 miles further on from us so we are going to rendezvous with them to see if we can be of any help.

14:34.27S 145:02.72E North of Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef 17th August 2008

We arrived at Cape Bedford late evening Thursday but Andante had already moved on to more sheltered waters at Cape Flattery. We anchored there anyway but it was a bit bouncy. There were one or two lights on the beach probably from Aboriginal fishing camps but otherwise the bay was deserted. On Friday we arrived at Lizard Island where there were already a few boats we knew. Lizard Island is a very attractive place with granite hills and a coral lagoon, reef and really good beaches. We parked up in Mrs. Watson’s Bay. The eponymous Mrs. Watson was attacked here by unfriendly natives and she had to escape to sea in a big tub used for boiling up sea-slugs. She and her child and a wounded Chinese servant drifted northwards to another little island where they died of thirst. Captain James Cook named Lizard Island when he used the excellent view from the hill top to find a way out through the reef to the Coral Sea. The lizards they found there are related to Komodo Dragons but a bit smaller. We stumbled on one on the return climb from Cook’s lookout and it posed for photos for us. Saturday night was Andie’s (Tallulah Ruby) birthday and we had a beach barbeque (actually a fry-up) with singing accompanied by guitar and didgeridoo. We set off this morning at 05:00 to overnight at Flinders Island.

11:57.35S 143:12.12E Margaret Bay, Cape York, Great Barrier Reef 19th August 2008

There is something up with my engine. It seems to know when there is a situation where it is indispensable and then stops working until it has had a bit of attention. It always works at other times but twice recently on entering narrow channels under sail it has let us down. Duncan and Tom have got good at sorting it out before we pile up on rocks. I said I would ‘mention you in dispatches’ Duncan, so here it is. An extra ration of grog for the men, huzzah! This Cape York coastline is bleak. I don’t remember seeing anything quite like it. There is no sign of human activity for hundreds of miles. It seems worse somehow than being thousands of miles from anywhere in the middle of an ocean. And it’s windy with 20 to 30 knots of SE Trade Winds all day, everyday. We have been anchoring by night in the shelter of little islands and reefs but it’s been spilling our sundowners. We caught a big yellowfin tuna today (in a Light Blue Zone – for any officials reading this). Sashimi prepared minutes after landing is very good although unexpectedly warm from the fish’s exertions. Later we were buzzed by an Australian Customs plane that was probably checking up on any illegal use of wasabi and soy sauce.

10:37.84S 141:44.82E Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia 22nd August 2008

We anchored in Escape River on Wednesday night. The crew went off in search of crocs in the mangroves with dinghy and spotlight but fortunately didn’t find any, although we did see some salties the following morning basking on the sand when we were on our way out. The Albany Passage, which had so much discussion of its dangers on the radio, turned out to be very pleasant and then we were through to Cape York and the most northerly point of mainland Australia. A short hop further on and we were at Thursday Island which had a certain symmetry to it because it was actually Thursday. We anchored off Horn Island and caught the ferry across to TI (as it is known). We shopped for a few provisions (beer, chocolate, the usual) and had a night onboard playing cards and watching ‘Perfect Storm’ on DVD. Duncan was dropped ashore on Horn Island to get a flight home as he had a training course to attend in Perth. The rest of us, together with ‘Viva’, left TI for Darwin on the flood tide at midday, naturally passing Friday Island on Friday. We had another early evening fly-past from a Customs aircraft who wanted to know what the devil we were up to. It seems there is no chance of getting into any trouble in these waters even if you want to.

11:04.52S 136:43.55E Wessel Islands, Arafura Sea, Australia 25th August 2008

It was a rollercoaster ride across the Gulf of Carpentaria but other than that there were only a few memorable moments. Heike caught her first fish, a barracuda which was deemed safe to eat as it was caught in open water. After briefly passing through Papua New Guinea and Indonesian waters yesterday, we rounded a bleak and windy Cape Wessel and anchored in good shelter at Two-Island Bay. Many large Spotted Rays came and said hello by waving their fins at us. Apart from the fish and a few yachts the bay has no sign of life even though there are perfect little beaches all around, flanked by red sandstone slabs; a pretty but desolate spot. We spent a pleasant evening last night aboard Kasuje with the crews of Northern Sky and Viva. Kasuje is a lovely boat but I’m starting to get an inferiority complex about the size of my engine room. How come everyone else seems to have space to walk around in it while admiring their polished machinery while my engine is squeezed into a damp cupboard under the steps? Inevitably, most of this morning was spent with me covered in poo while unblocking the forward heads. Lime scale build-up in the pipes is a menace for marine toilets. We are off now across the Top End of Aboriginal Arnhem Land to Darwin which is 350 miles to our west. 

10:55.00S 132:24.00E North of Cobourg Peninsular 27th August 2008

We are now passing north of the Cobourg Peninsular, Northern Territories. We will need to anchor in Popham Bay this evening to wait for favorable tides at around midnight tonight to whisk us across the Van Diemen Gulf to Darwin. ETA Darwin anchorage sometime Thursday 28th.

12:26.91S 130:51.01E Tipperary Waters Marina, Darwin, NT,30th August 2008

The good tides were caught on Thursday from Cape Don through Van Diemen Gulf to the Beagle Gulf and on to Darwin. We anchored in Fannie Bay and the Fisheries diver came and squirted pink stuff in all our seawater pipes to kill any nasty shellfish. That evening we went ashore to the Mendil Beach Night Market. We had a nice selection of Australian ‘roadkill’ from one stall. Croc, possum, wombat etc. It’s that kind of place! On Friday morning we caught the high tide through the lock gates of Tipperary Waters Marina. There was a barbecue hosted by HMAS Coonawara Naval Base in the evening. Lots of beer was necked. Heiki flew down to Melbourne on Saturday night to drive the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide. She reports that it is the best scenic drive ever and she has seen hundreds of koalas clambering about hugging gum trees. Maybe. Saturday morning Tom and I breakfasted at the marina and went off to the One-Day Cricket International between Australia and Bangladesh. Even more beer was necked and Australia won, surprise, surprise.

A Heiki Blog Tipperary Waters Marina, Darwin, NT, 7th September 2008

Today is the day I am leaving Graptolite in order to go back to Berlin. I had an absolutely extraordinary time here on Graptolite and learned endlessly. I learned that there are two major food groups for British people:  beer and chocolate (sometimes a third one is added…antibiotics ;-(( I learned the meaning of beer o’clock and nervous pee. I learned that two red markers means: definitely not! I learned how to tie a bowline one-handed at night under water behind my back…;-)) I learned how to drive a dinghy, how to cook a three course meal at 30 knots of wind and to eat it out of dogbowls…;-)) I learned to navigate without a GPS and to change a lightbulb at the steaming light. I learned, that the diesel engine works like suck, squeeze, bang, blow…;-))) I learned a lot about the wonderful British culture (including lamb with mint sauce and the passion for food out of sheep stomachs…;-)) and how to make up song lyrics for Graptolite. Graptolite was home for me for the past 6 months and I could think of no better boat and no better skipper to be with.  I had an absolutely unforgettable time and I saw the most wonderful islands on earth, approaching by boat. Wow! I have hardly ever had this much fun and excitement in my life and want to thank Martyn and Colin for that! With these both I had two extraordinary companions who taught me all I know about sailing. They taught me to do night watches and everything else that was to do on board. And it was always unforgettable fun! They even taught me driving on the ‘wrong side of the road’ (left) and Colin sacrificed 7 of his 8 lives for that…;-)) Martyn, you are the best skipper any crew could as for because you are very smart, love to teach your crew how everything works and gave me every freedom I wanted on board to try out everything and to work with everything! You are courageous (you sail over land…;-))), adventurous (you go to Islands no man had ever gone before…;)) at least the coastline looks like this…. Atiu…;-))) and yet careful with engines and sails. It is wonderful fun to be around you and to be saved by you when I try out swimming in 5 knots of current. Martyn and Colin, I had a wonderful time with you in this World ARC-family and I want to say ‘farewell’ today to Graptolite. Martyn, I wish you the very best for your wonderful ongoing journey, always fair and favorable winds, enough beer for beer o’clock, enough chocolate for night watches and a working ipod-FM-transmitter: Take one day at a time and always look on the bright side of life! Heiki

12:24.80S 130:50.25E Spot-On boatyard, Ludmilla Creek, Darwin 8th September 2008

Alison arrived in Darwin last week following a side trip to New Zealand and Sydney so she could take our son Tom home and back to school. We all saw the closing performance of the Darwin Festival in the Botanic Gardens. It was some people swaying about up bendy poles inside illuminated balls. You had to be there really! Heike returned from Adelaide and we anchored out in Fannie Bay ready for an early morning tide on Wednesday to enter the boatyard at Ludmilla Creek. Grapto’s bottom wasn’t too badly covered with barnacles and weed but she will still take some cleaning up and painting. Later that morning, we went along to HMAS Coonawarra Naval Base to see the rest of the WARC fleet cross the start line for the leg to Bali. Heike had a couple of days walkabout in Kakadu National Park and left for Berlin yesterday afternoon leaving the skipper to organize his own repairs. As Heike has been doing all the organizing for the boat for the last half-year, it’s going to be difficult for me although as I’ve had emails and phone calls from all her stopovers on the way home it doesn’t feel like she’s actually left yet. Thanks for being my traveling companion for the past six months, Heiki. It’s been a lot of fun sailing from Galapagos to Darwin with you and an otherwise memorable trip has been upgraded to unforgettable by you being onboard.

12:24.80S 130:50.25E Spot-On Marine boatyard, Ludmilla Creek, Darwin, 9th September 2008

As you might expect for a small boatyard in the middle of a mangrove swamp; it is hot and steamy, all the insects bite and there are strange howling noises all around at night. The noises are more than likely to be from other boat owners who have gone mad waiting on spare parts and a tide high enough to leave. Progress so far is a folding propeller serviced, corrosion anodes replaced, gear oil changed, hull cleaned, waxed and scratches filled with epoxy and keel and sail drive primed with antifouling undercoat. And heat-stroke and about fifty mossie bites.

12:24.80S 130:50.25E Spot-On Marine boatyard, Ludmilla Creek, Darwin, 11th September 2008

I’ve lost count of the bites I’ve had and I’m doing my best to protect the few square inches of unbitten skin I still have left. I think these things are sand flies but whatever they are I never see them, and they must be too small to pull their tiny little wings off, which is what they royally deserve. Apart from insect infestation, working on a boat in 40 degrees of heat is very hard for a delicate white boy like me but I have managed to get one coat of antifouling paint on today. Maybe another tomorrow.

12:24.80S 130:50.25E Spot-On Marine boatyard, Ludmilla Creek, Darwin, 12th September 2008

Graptolite now has two coats of very expensive antifouling paint and the underwater works are happily more or less completed. The skipper beats that with a minimum of four coats of antifouling; boat paint splashes; bite cream; insect repellent and sunblock. As it takes time and money for these protective coatings to be applied, I’m resisting showering it off so I’m probably relatively repellent to humans as well just now. Fortunately, there are not many people around. I should have some new crew next week. There are a few other boaty problems remaining, but they can all be handled at anchor or in a marina away from these bloody sand flies.

12:25.41S 130:49.31E Fannie Bay, Darwin Tuesday 16th September 2008

The Aborigines are a strange bunch. The other day I watched a group outside a bakery. It wasn’t in a David Attenborough sense though, I was in my air-conditioned car eating a meat pie for lunch and they were camped out on the grass under a tree in front of me. Some of them would shout a bit at nobody in particular, and about every five minutes they would drift one at a time to the shade under another tree. It seemed very much like a timeless activity and the shopping centre barely an obstacle to their meanderings. I took a 4WD trip to Kakadu National Park over the weekend with local girl Marylou as my Aboriginal guide. I’ve been to Kakadu before but in the very different Wet Season. It is an oddity that a 50,000-year-old tradition of continuously overwritten rock-art has been brought to an end forever by notices saying there are heavy fines for doing any new ones. Maybe it’s just as well as pictures of whitefellas in cars, eating pies are definitely going to bring in fewer tourists. This morning at first light the tide was right for Grapto to be put back in the water and I motored around to anchor in Fannie Bay. It’s a huge relief to have working drains again and to be away from biting insects although as it is Spring Tide, I have to anchor miles from the beach.

12:26.91S 130:51.01E Tipperary Waters Marina, Darwin, NT, 25th September 2008

Fannie Bay had the advantage of being free and with sailing club facilities onshore but the disadvantage of being a very shallow bay making it about a half-hour motor by dinghy to get ashore. The big tidal range and a beach landing usually means dragging the dinghy across a wide muddy beach while soaking wet. As it’s risky carrying a laptop backwards and forwards, I’ve been leaving it in my hire car most of the time. A poor excuse for the lack of blogs, I know. The trip ashore is considerably longer when rowing. My outboard died last week, fairly permanently, as it turned out. It would have cost almost as much to fix as buy a new one, so I bought a new one. As the dealer’s lad forgot to put any oil in the new purchase, this motor died as well about 100 metres from shore. Engine number three seems to be OK. A new crew member turned up on Monday. Christine is an Australian of Chinese/Malay ancestry. Chris has travelled and worked across SE Asia and is, I think, going to be a useful guide. Her running costs are quite low as well, being a tiny, non-drinking vegetarian. This morning we came back into Tipperary Waters Marina to provision and dry out clothes before carrying on to Bali. Quasar has also arrived in the marina and we may well go in convoy with them to Bali next week.

12:26.91S 130:51.01E Tipperary Waters Marina, Darwin, NT 27th September 2008

Another minor disaster has struck as Christine has had to return to Melbourne to help with a family medical crisis. We spent most of yesterday trying to get her a flight. So, it’s now back to the drawing board to find more crew. As it happens I’m in no particular hurry to leave as I’m waiting on some spare parts being delivered. I’ve come to the conclusion that the busy shipping lanes of SE Asia are no place to be without radar and AIS so new kit is on its way from the good folks at ebay.

12:26.91S 130:51.01E Tipperary Waters Marina, Darwin, NT,  2nd October 2008

I got one new crew guy a few days ago. Leon from Canada. It’s not his real name which is Kwok Leung. Leon has been busy turning my galley into a Chinese restaurant kitchen and has been turning out some good meals. Number 14 with noodles is particularly good! Repairs to the boat are grinding on. While dismantling the genoa furling drum to change the furling line yesterday some parts jumped off the boat into the water, as they often do. Diving down to get them was a nasty job. Box jellyfish and crocodiles are less common on the Hamble River. The radar is now working and an AIS transponder receiver is almost installed. No big boat is going to be able to sneak up on me in the Malacca Strait. Leon has been getting DVDs out of the local library for our evening’s entertainment. ‘The Road to Bali’ with Bing and Bob was an excellent choice. It is now technically the Wet Season here in the Top End but the wetness is still all sweat and not rain.

12:20.83S 130:02.20E off the north coast of Australia, 11th October 2008

Grapto is finally underway again after a very long stay in steamy Darwin. We are now heading towards Bali with a possible stopover on the way at a speck of land called Ashmore Reef. My crew now is Leon from Canada, Eddie from Germany and Zack from Guernsey. They are mere babies compared to the old farts I usually recruit. None though are too clued up in the secret ways of this ocean cruising life but Cap’n Martyn will have them whipped into shape before arrival. One last panic on departure from Tipperary Waters was a complete failure of the navigation instruments which was eventually tracked to a blown fuse in the nether recesses of the course-computer. It took a long time to find the problem and we ended up having a night sharing a pier with some big smelly fishing boats. Out on the water this morning the biting insects and the humidity fell away behind us and I have to say, it felt good to be back at sea again.

12:12.51S 126:00.88E Timor Sea 13th October 2008

A couple of days at sea now and there’s been almost no wind. The boys are all excited about catching and barbecuing skipjack tuna but they will get over it when we land some better fish. Leon still has command of the galley and his unusual Chinese/Italian fusion cusine is strange but good. A tolerance for a lot of garlic is essential. I used the AIS in anger for the first time yesterday to call up a fishing boat by name to see if they had nets in our way. I’ve not been able to use it since then as we’ve not had another boat within 20 miles of us.

12:14.31S 122.58.93E Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, 15th October 2008

A few miles from Ashmore Reef the autopilot control cable snapped and we had to hand-steer into the reef in the dark yesterday evening. This place is not entirely deserted as Australian Customs keep a boat here to keep the Indonesian fishermen away but there is nobody else. We picked up a mooring buoy for the night and were visited by four Customs chaps in the morning. I think they were lonely. We had a small brown bird visit as well, maybe a noddy, which was also lonely and insisted on sitting on our shoulders like Long John Silver’s parrot. The reef is just three tiny islets above water and you are only allowed to visit part of one of them but there is lots of beach, coral, fish and green turtles. The turtles annoyingly wouldn’t stay still long enough to be ridden on but we’ll get them tomorrow. Leon, Eddie and Zack are beside themselves about getting up close and personal with desert islands, coral reefs and sea-creatures and it is a good reminder to me that it is something special. I was getting a bit ho-hum about it all. The crew also still likes eating skipjack tuna but I’m definitely past that stage. For a dose of reality, this afternoon was spent with me upside down in a hot machinery-space jury-rigging the autopilot control wires using sealing-wax and string (actually rigging wire and bulldog clips. It’s well worth keeping a supply onboard people). It seems to be working again. We are planning on a bit of turtle-baiting tomorrow and then off to Bali.

11:48.84S 122.04.03E 440 miles SW of Bali, 16th October 2008

Green turtles can swim surprisingly fast! We had another play on the reef then headed out to sea after lunch. We dined on roast kangaroo and beetroot (?) as we left offshore Australia and entered offshore Indonesia. There is still little wind so the engine is chugging away most of the time but we seem to have enough diesel to do the whole trip.

10:56.23S 120:10.92E 328 miles SE of Bali, 17th October 2008

Another of the autopilot’s cables snapped this morning which meant more fun time upside down and covered in grease to get it replaced. Grapto’s first black marlin was also dragged aboard in the early hours. Eat your heart out Colin! It was not the biggest specimen ever caught but the meat is excellent and will keep us going for at least a couple of days. Lunch was the boat special of fish kebabs with lime. No scurvy here!

08:44.45S 115:12.80E Bali International Marina, 20th October 2008

In one of those synchronized moments that can only happen on boats, yesterday evening while we were approaching Bali, in the space of ten minutes the skies opened up with rain and lightning; the wind and waves and tidal stream became unpleasant; the last spare autopilot cable snapped, and the engine started acting up with a blocked fuel filter. It was all a bit messy. Advised not to enter the harbour at night we looked around for a place to rest up. The nearby inlets were covered with people in coolie hats net fishing from outrigger canoes but having crept by them into something uncharted but described as an anchorage in a man-made lagoon in reclaimed land we found that the depth left something to be desired and we ended up grounding on soft sand. The tide lifted us off after we had had a short nap and we entered the harbour of Benoa in daylight. The marina was full of Blue Water Rally boats and one other stray WARC boat, ‘Calli Due’. With formalities completed the Grapto crew quickly got stuck into the local Bintang beer and plates of nasi goreng.

08:44.45S 115:12.80E Bali International Marina, 21st October 2008

The first day ended with a trip to the tourist town of Kuta for food and clubbing with the crew at the Ocean Beach Club. Obviously, I’m 25 years too old for that kind of thing and today has been spent resting up on the boat.

08:44.45S 115:12.80E Bali International Marina, 24th October 2008

I had a trip out to Denpasar, the capital city, with Leon today. It’s a fairly manic place and non-touristy with several hundred motorbikes at any one time aiming straight for you. I had to be helped across the road by a little old lady at one point. Seriously. The city, and I assume the rest of Bali, is awash with Hindu temples and always with a statue or two of some ferocious looking deity outside. For some reason they are dressed in cloth sarongs as well but there is no pleasing these particular gods. The market was a really interesting place and was piled high with strange fruits, flowers, spices and dead animals. Although the place looks as though it ought to smell pretty ripe the main scent in the air was only wood smoke from the street-vendors cooking fires and the exhaust from thousands of Hondas.

08:44.45S 115:12.80E Bali International Marina, 26th October 2008

All repairs are now finished on the steering so I shouldn’t have to spend so much time at sea with a spanner in hand. There are just a few fuel and water filters to change and Grapto is good to go.  If there were proper ships chandlers here I would do a few more less essential projects but buying stuff here is the usual painful process typical of the Third World. Haggling, assuming they have what you want, is supposed to start with a ridiculous price and an equally ridiculous counter-offer and you still always end up getting ripped off. Life’s too short. I’ll spend money in Singapore instead. The currency here is a bit un-nerving as well. Usually you have to deal in millions of thingies to get anything and the potential for getting the decimal point in the wrong place is high.

08:44.45S 115:12.80E Bali International Marina, 2nd November 2008

New crew are on their way, but I’ve probably got another couple of weeks to languish in this marina. They will be American, French and Swiss this time. I’m finding Kuta, the nearest town and of Bali Bomb infamy, to be intensely irritating but I’m forced into the place to eat and buy bootleg DVD’s. The locals have a severe case of tourist pollution which is not surprising given the western dross that turn up here on package holidays, but I am close to taking a fish-billy to the next local that tries to attract my attention by shouting ‘boss’ at me. There is a constant stream of ‘ello, boss, boss, boss’ as you walk down the street. Usually followed by ‘taxi boss?’; then ‘massage boss?’; then ‘girl boss?’ then ‘two girl boss?’ This is not right. The traditional trading rules-of-engagement here clearly demand that the vendor should start big and comes down to something that the customer is prepared to buy. Whatever happened to starting with ‘three sexy girl upstair longtime’? Scruffy backpackers have gone a long way towards destroying this very ancient and interesting culture! I had to get a new watch today which is surprisingly difficult if you actually need a real watch that works. Like the DVD’s the counterfeit ones are everywhere on the streets but none of them are waterproof to 10,000 fathoms and light up when somebody pesters you although some helpfully do have a compass built-in that points towards Mecca.

08:44.45S 115:12.80E Bali International Marina, 9th November 2008

I’m still in Bali watching the slow build-up of the monsoon rains and collecting mosquito bites. There’s no malaria here though. Just Dengue Fever and Japanese Encephalitis.  Yesterday, I made a half-hearted attempt at taking a ferry to the Gili Islands near Lombok. Former crew, Zack and Eddie, emailed me to tell me they are there now doing something hedonistic. Unfortunately, the boat was fully booked so I went into Kuta for another few dozen DVD’s and to eat. I also found a baker’s in Kuta yesterday that does a really good bread’n’butter pudding. Despite the highly exotic nature of this place you could probably carve out a fairly normal Brit expat lifestyle here if you work hard enough at it. The security forces on the streets are being fairly obvious to try and make sure nothing blows up following the executions of the last lot of bombers to operate here. My taxi even got searched last night. Osama, the taxi driver, wasn’t all that happy about it. One of my neighbours in the marina claims to keep a Kalashnikov under his bed. It’s not much use here but when running the gauntlet up the Red Sea next year it could be useful to have a battleship in the convoy.

08:44.45S 115:12.80E Bali International Marina, 10th November 2008

I had an interesting day today. I shared a car and driver with ancient mariners, Bill & Jill Dennis, first met in Australia, who tell me they have been at sea for 17 years. Certainly, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere else they haven’t been in the world except for the uplands of Bali. The day started out conventionally enough with visits to a bird park and a reptile park. Both good. Then a look at some workshops and market stalls in Ubud, with so much hassle from shopkeepers that I ended up only buying one batik shirt even though I wanted more. Artwork here is generally cheap and can be good quality but it seems getting to a reasonable price can only be achieved by them grabbing and shouting at you while you pretend to walk off down the street. Unfortunately, you also get the grabbing and shouting even if you don’t want anything to do with their hilarious penis-shaped bottle openers. Lunch was in a restaurant with a great view over the huge volcano of Mt. Batur and lake. We then had a wander around a couple of big intricately carved and very puzzling Hindu temples where we had to put on sarongs and sashes. I suppose it’s only fair as they make the statues and even trees wear them here. In the afternoon we went to a place that did coffee. I’m not sure what I was thinking of but I went for a cup made from coffee beans that have passed through the digestive tract of a mongoose-like critter. As Jack Nicholson says in ‘The Bucket List’ movie when he has his favorite expensive coffee explained to him “You’re shitting me” and a terminal but jolly Morgan Freeman replies “Nope, cats beat me to it!” In the evening we had a personal guided tour around Bali Zoo, in the dark with a young girl with a spotlight. Most things that can eat you are very active then. A big sleepy male orangutan reluctantly came to converse by the offer of some star fruit but the lions were very enthusiastic about some lamb chops which we had on the end of a big stick.

08:44.45S 115:12.80E Bali International Marina, 20th November 2008

New crew has arrived and I’m more than ready to leave Bali. Crew are now Bonnie from the US of A, Fanny from Geneva and Aurelien from Brittany, France. We have spent the last couple of days fuelling and provisioning and getting visas and permits sorted out. Now we just need to dash up to Singapore (about 1000 miles) and maybe catch a few tourist spots on the way. We’ll probably set off Friday morning.

08:01.58S 115:31.89E, Java Sea, 21st November 2008

We had a final night out last night on Kuta town with Leon and did those classic Indonesian things like eating Tex-Mex and playing pool. We left Bali this morning bound for Kumai, Kalimantan. Hopefully to see some orang-utan in the wild before they can only be found looking miserable in zoos. The cuisine de bateau now seems to be French and there is now a bit of elegance and finesse that has been lacking in Grapto’s dining hall recently. It’s been wet today and there were some huge waterspouts nearby as we motored up the east coast of Bali. Nighttime is also not easy hereabouts as the local fishing fleet goes in to stealth mode and considers navigation lights or radios to be a bit girly. As I write we are weaving our way through some small boats we can only see when they light up their ciggies.

05:55.95S 113:59.14E Java Sea, 23rd November 2008

Strong currents and headwinds have made even motoring to the northwest a bit slow. After using up a whole tank of fuel for not much progress we are now sailing gratifyingly fast but in the wrong direction. We should get to the Tanjung Puting National Park at Kumai before Pongo pygmaeus becomes extinct though. We’ve caught no poisson so far but that’s mainly because my last good lure plus hand-line got dropped over the side by mistake. The local fishing folk continue to think that if we can’t see them then everything is fine. I wouldn’t normally care all that much but the offshore fishing boats here look as if they are made from brightly painted railway sleepers and could do some serious damage. There are also a good number of freighters and tankers plying these waters and it all makes for a busy night watch. Fannie and Aurelien are also having a bit of trouble with the Mal de Mer. Mal de Mer has exactly the same symptoms as Seekrankheit except with different expletives. What use are galley slaves who prefer to sit out in the rain squalls rather than go near the galley? They’ll be all right in a day or two.

05:2.51S 112:24.57E Java Sea, 24th November 2008

As this trip has been a bit slow and tedious, we had a small diversion to the remote island of Bawean and the port of Sankapura to stretch legs and get a bit of fuel and food. Fanny and I walked into the town in search of food leaving Aurelien to guard the boat, anchored in the harbour, and Bonnie to guard the dinghy. They must not get many visitors to this island as we seemed to provide a major entertainment for the people. Dodging around the cycle-rickshaws that were everywhere, Fanny found a nasty little alleyway leading in to a dark warren of tunnels populated by toothless hags who were sat on the ground holding up tatty fruit and vegetables and dead things for inspection. I decided that food gathering here was best left to the women crew and I took Aurelien in search of the manlier diesel. Usually diesel and petrol is sold here in old litre cooking oil bottles from grocery shops. I ended up getting 80 litres laboriously ladled out of a bucket, with a ladle, into our jerrycans.

07:44.39S 111:43.65E Kumai, Kalimantan, 26th November 2008

After a long slog against the wind and current we reached the mouth of the Sekonyer River, Kalimantan (Borneo to those behind the times), this morning and the trip then turned into a scene from ‘Apocalyse Now’ as we pushed miles upriver through the mangroves to the small river town of Kumai. The weather is miserable with continuous rain and attack from the local mosquitoes. That and the wailing from the mosques across the river calling the faithful to prayer will give a flavour of the place. The plan for tomorrow is to haggle for fuel and food then go to say hello to some Dayak natives, orangutans, proboscis monkeys and other relatives then press on to Singapore.

07:44.39S 111:43.65E Kumai, Kalimantan, 28th November 2008

Thursday was mostly spent traveling to other towns to get money from elusive cash machines. Today, the Graptonauts chartered a speedboat and native guide and raced 40-odd miles up the Sekonyer River through the Borneo jungle. The destination was Camp Leakey, an orangutan research station and sanctuary in the Tanjung Puting National Park. There were plenty of the ginger chaps strolling about through the forest eating bananas. There were big intimidating males with flappy faces and even more of the downtrodden-looking females holding tiny orangutan babies with wide-eyed and bewildered expressions. Unfortunately, they don’t stand too much chance of being around much longer with all the illegal logging and forest clearance going on.There were also gibbons swinging about but no proboscis monkeys as it’s a bit flooded for them at this time of year. There were also lots of butterflies and there should be some good pictures posted eventually.

02:19.63S 108:53.02E South China Sea, 1st December 2008

On Saturday we completed fuelling and fooding and set off down the Kumai River in a soup of floating vegetation. Our next destination is Bataam, 500 miles to the northwest to clear out of Indonesia. At this time of year there is a 2-3 knot current against us and no wind so it’s going to take a while. The only wildlife in these waters seems to be fishermen. I can’t imagine what they are trying to fish for. We have had no bites in days. There are no birds, flying fish, dolphins or anything. A solution has come to me for the Southeast Asia deforestation problem. They should just stop chucking the trees in the water. We took a hit from a couple of big logs in the early hours of yesterday which smashed up our speed instruments (also called a log) and gave us a bit of a fright but no other obvious damage. There are also a lot of freighters and tankers around that seem to be unmanned as far as I can tell as they never change course if we are in their way but it makes the night watches go by quicker.

01:29.78S 107:32.13E South China Sea, 2nd December 2008

We had an excellent ragout of goat followed by crepes for dinner last night. I might have to get the gingham tablecloths and candles in bottles out. Progress is slow as there is three knots of seasonal current and wind on our nose. We are lucky not to be going backwards.

00:44.93N 104:33.62E anchored south of Bintan, 5th December 2008

We crossed back in to the northern hemisphere this afternoon near Lingga island. As seems to be usual with the Equator it was cool, cloudy and drizzly. We celebrated with the last couple of cans of Bintang having no champagne onboard. We are now in the Riau Islands anchored near the south of the Selat Riau between Batam and Bintan. Another 40 miles and we arrive at Nongsa Point to clear out of Indonesia and then we cross the Malacca Strait to Singapore.

01:17.66N 103:45.65E Republic of Singapore Yacht Club 6th December 2008

It was an early start from Nongsa Point this morning. It was something to do with having to get out of Indonesia before Immigration could fine us for outstaying our welcome. Some sort of scam obviously as the cost to ‘fix’ the problem was exactly the same as the fine would have been. The crossing of the Singapore Strait was very very scary. At any one time, hundreds of large tankers and container ships are ploughing through these waters in both directions at 20 knots with only a couple of ship lengths between them. It was a bit like creeping across an urban motorway with a Zimmer frame. The only problem though was the huge wash from the back of one giant tanker that bounced us around and dumped fresh sea water through an open hatch onto my newly laundered and dried bedding. We arrived at the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club this afternoon to clear in but we are not getting much rest in the marina with the mooring lines twanging in the swell. A nice luxurious marina otherwise with a pool, gym, restaurant and a marina manager who bought us all a beer.

01:17.66N 103:45.65E Republic of Singapore Yacht Club, 13th December 2008

It’s been a sticky week here in Singapore. Some of it has been touristy stuff like swilling Singapore Slings in Raffles Hotel, touring Sentosa Island and dining in Chinatown but there has also been the usual boat fixing-up and trotting around to chandlers for bits. The lack of spare parts for the steering system is currently keeping us here but that should be sorted out early next week. Fanny and Aurelien had a bit of a panic about having enough time to find a boat in Phuket to take them to La Reunion after Christmas and so caught a bus to Thailand today. So just one crew left to order about but that’s OK for coastal sailing. Singapore is looking more and more like a Disney World where people live. It is scarily prosperous, orderly and clean but this is mainly due to bullying by the government. There are heavy fines for doing anything remotely antisocial and taking durian fruit on the MRT seems to carry the death penalty. Fortunately, they seem to be out of season.

03:00.25N 101:23.32E Royal Selangor Yacht Club, Port Klang, Malaysia, 20th December 2008

The new parts for the steering system arrived and we sailed out of Singapore on Thursday afternoon. There is no question in my mind that the shipping in the Malacca Strait is heaviest anywhere in the world. This time though it was more like walking up the hard-shoulder rather than crossing the motorway. We arrived outside Port Klang last night and bobbed and weaved through dozens of anchored and slow moving super tankers and anchored ourselves near the harbour entrance until daylight. For you Old Colonials, Port Klang used to be called Swettenham and is the port for Kuala Lumpur. We had a bit of a treat this morning as we had a pod of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins playing around us. This species of dolphin is bright pink, almost shocking pink. We saw some before in the dolphinarium at Sentosa Island but never expected to see any wild ones. The formalities clearing into Malaysia were the usual farce with the Port Authority, Customs and Immigration all not understanding each other’s paperwork. They were very friendly about it though and Customs drove us around to various offices until they got their act together. I’m sure if I had just unloaded a couple of hundred shipping containers stuffed full of refugees and toxic waste it would have been a simpler process. It now looks like Penang will be our Christmas destination with Langkawi soon after and Phuket, Thailand for New Year.

03:00.25N 101:23.32E Royal Selangor Yacht Club, Port Klang, Malaysia, 21st December 2008

We took the commuter train into Kuala Lumpur today to say hello to the very shiny Petronas Towers. We couldn’t go up as they had sold out of tickets, but we did their monster shopping mall and then went up the nearby KL Tower instead (a telecoms mast a bit like the CN Tower in Toronto but bigger). Later in KL we did the Buddhist temple of Thean Hou which was a very silly confection of pagodas and dragons but some devotees seemed to take it seriously. Back to Port Klang for dinner and we took the dinghy a short way to a tumbledown restaurant built on stilts in the mangrove across the river. We ordered a few things including a fish which I’m sure we saw being caught to order by some lads off the rickety jetty we had just tied up to.

04:19.21N 100:25.38E Tanjong City Marina, Penang, Malaysia, 24th December 2008

The sail up from Port Klang to Penang was only marred by hundreds of kamikaze fishing boats. I hear they think it good luck to cross in front of a sailing boat. It would be mostly harmless if they had anything approaching regulation navigation lights. Most of them though seem to use a combination of Christmas tree decorations and road-mending equipment. The island of Penang and Georgetown seems nice if a little more gritty than Singapore and there are some remnants of the old Straits Settlements colonial buildings left. We will be here for Christmas and have checked out the venerable Eastern & Oriental Hotel which may be our venue for dinner. My dad, once known as Cpl. F Pickup REME, made it here before me doing his bit in the Army in the early 50’s. I’m not sure if I should mention that to the natives or not. A very Merry Christmas to all.

05:49.79N 100:12.92E Malacca Strait, Boxing Day 2008

Christmas Eve drinks were in the elegant Raffles-era E&O Hotel where the staff were all in Santa hats wishing all and sundry a “Mellyclissmas”. They apparently have many different hats and greetings for dozens of Western, Indian and Chinese festivals through the year. Dinner was a wild night in an outdoor food courtyard with a Chinese comedian and singers. Christmas Day was mainly spent with Bonnie and I looking around huge Buddhist temples. It’s all very jolly climbing pagodas, ringing bells and lighting joss-sticks and it makes the trappings of Christianity all seem a bit dull. I bought a lucky gold cat that waves happily when you put batteries in. In the evening we went up the funicular railway up Penang Hill hoping to see the lights of the city below but the top was in cloud and rain. There were some damp monkeys around to entertain and I made some phone calls back home. We are on our way towards the island of Langkawi now which is on the Thai border. Duty-Free and snorkelling is what it does.

06:59.70N 099:06.52E Andaman Sea, Thailand, south of Phuket, 28th December 2008

Boxing Day night was at anchor outside the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club. In the morning we stocked up on Duty Free booze and a few Marlboro for the thieving officials I’m expecting to have to placate in the Middle East. We fuelled up and saw the non-corrupt local officials for Clearance then sailed around to the southwest side of Langkawi and anchored off a very pretty beach and dinghied in for dinner at a beach restaurant. They did very good barbecued-king-prawn. It seemed a shame to leave but as the goal was Phuket by New Year, we sailed into Thai waters later this morning and through the Ko Tarutao Marine National Park where there are loads of perfect little islands and beaches with nobody on them. As night fell we stumbled into a new variation on the fishing boat navigation lights problem with the local fleet, maybe about 50 or 60 of them, blinding us with very powerful lights they use to attract the king prawns they sell to beach restaurants on Langkawi. Phuket could be tomorrow.

08:10.22N 098:20.40E Phuket Yacht Haven Marina, New Years Day 2009

First anchorage in Thailand was in the bay of Ao Chalong in the south of Phuket for formalities. Despite being a ‘one-stop’ clear-in it was just laughable with dozens of yacht crews milling about trying to guess what the forms could possibly mean and who wanted photocopies of what. When we were half-way through the process, they decided to throw us all out so they could have lunch but everybody sat tight until they carried on. On a sail to the north of Phuket we passed some limestone island stacks that seemed photogenic so we persuaded a passing shrimp fishing boat to take me on a photo shoot so I could get Grapto in the picture. We pulled into the Yacht Haven Marina where Brit managers Nick and Zara invited us to spend New Years Eve with them in a beach restaurant and bar with about 30 others yachties on the crowded Nai Yang beach where there were big firework displays for about four hours and hundreds of hot-air lanterns being set off over the sea. It was complete chaos with some of the big rockets exploding on the beach in the middle of crowds and some of the lanterns getting shot down in flames by other rockets. It was all very dangerous and very good fun. Happy New Year to all, from Graptolite in Thailand.

08:15.90N 098:29.29E Phang Nga Bay, Thailand, 3rd Jan 2009

The weather has not been too special for the last couple of days so we have been busy doing nothing. Today seemed a bit better although a bit windy (no pleasing sailors) and we left the marina for Phang Nga Bay. Amazing scenery, towering stacks of limestone, caves you can take dinghy in until it gets too dark. Pictures eventually.

08:04.60N 098:40.81E Ko Hong, Phang Nga Bay, Thailand, 5th January 2009

For the past couple of days we’ve been cruising around Phang Nga Bay. I don’t know how I’ve reached such a ripe old age without being here before. The sea is a bit silty in the northern part of the bay where some big rivers enter and here the sea is a jade green. There are hundreds of small islands scattered about. A typical one rises vertically from the sea for about 50-60 metres, there are plants growing out of every crevice and on the top and the bases are often undercut by the sea giving the impression that they are floating around. Down the sides of these (Permian) limestone cliffs are huge stalactites that drip off the bases where they overhang over soft white sand beaches. You will have seen some of these islands already as they feature in films like ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ and the ‘Beach’ but it’s not the same as clambering over them. The oddest thing about some of these islands is the ‘hong’ (Thai for room). Sometimes through a narrow cleft that you can dinghy into, or sometimes crawling through a tiny cave, you enter into a vast space of lost world in the inside of the island that is open to the sky and completely enclosed with big vertical limestone walls with a lagoon or mangrove for a floor. Dinner tonight was a pile of big shrimp bought from a passing fishing boat this morning. As we must have overpaid they threw in a whelk-like creature the size of a small melon that Bonnie turned into chowder. They also threw in a small crab but it was a bit too snappy to bother with so we let it go.

08:10.22N 098:20.40E Phuket Yacht Haven Marina, 8th Jan 2009

We sailed back to the Yacht Haven marina yesterday to collect Colin from Phuket airport. Since leaving the boat last August he’s lost all his hard-won suntan but he should soon look his usual weather-beaten self again. Leon should also be arriving back on the boat later this morning. I’ve never eaten so many shrimp. The little fishing boats just keep tempting us with their catch. We had an excellent few days cruising from perfect island to perfect island. The area is surprisingly quiet and undeveloped, and this is supposed to be High Season! We see may half a dozen other yachts through the day and it’s easy to find a whole island of your own to anchor off.

07:49.25N 098:21.25E Chalong Bay, Phuket, Thailand, 11th January 2009

Now all fully crewed with Colin and Leon back onboard we had a fine cruise around Phang Nga Bay and did some ‘cave boating’ in the dinghy. The sea caves here are real caves with stalactites and everything and with a bit of hunting around you can usually find one to paddle into with a torch for a few hundred metres until popping out into a big open space in the hollow centre of the island. We had the usual feast of giant shrimp on the barbie for dinner and then we were back in Chalong Bay to clear out to go to Sri Lanka. After a last night out ashore the weather had blown up and Bonnie ended up submerged after unsuccessfully boarding the bouncing dingy (1). Returning to where we had left Grapto in the crowded anchorage we found she had dragged her anchor some distance but cleverly managed to miss other boats on the way (2). After re-anchoring, the bracket holding the engine alternator on snapped off and our current problem is where to find a welder who will do a house-call on a Sunday (3). Problems with this boat usually come in threes and always seem to happen at night in howling wind.

04. South Pacific, Panama to Australia, WARC 2008

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08:54.70N 079:31.34W, 8th Feb 2008, Panama City

Still here. Whokoows what the local drik isc called but we had lots.

08:37.36N 0079:01.95W, 11th Feb 2008, Archipelago de las Perlas

Panama City was fun especially the disco-bus tour through the town on Saturday night. If I remember correctly.

Leg 2 to Salinas, Ecuador started yesterday. These race starts are very exciting. A lot of us got our spinnakers flying for a while which helps the spectacle. Although the only audience was a dozen anchored Chinese container ships. Almost immediately half the fleet decided to play truant and head for the Archipelago de las Perlas about 50 miles from Panama City. Everyone met up in a bay of Isla Contadora and Gerry (Northern Sky) organized a beach barbeque. My Japanese crewman Shin lit a big fire on the beach and surrounded it by an elaborate ceremonial structure of logs that will probably become a tourist attraction in the future. After the burnt offerings of chicken and steak to the sea-gods, Gerry produced a guitar and entertained everyone with a suspiciously professional sing-a-long. Graptolite was not easy to find afterwards as the anchor light bulb had blown.

No idea what we are doing today. Maybe a bit of snorkelling although some steak past its sell-by date went over the side this morning. No dorsal fins have been sighted yet.

07:03.81N 079:26.21W, 12th Feb 2008, 115 miles south of Panama City

We got some snorkelling in on the reefs near the beach on Ilas Contadora and after lunch we upped anchor and headed south along the island chain. It was a slow start in light winds with the kite out, but the wind picked up and by nightfall and we were making good speed. We are doing 3-hour watches at night and with the three of us that’s not too bad for sleep time. Shin has got the impression we only like pancakes for breakfast so he makes them every day. I’ll ask him to make something else tomorrow otherwise we are going to arrive in Ecuador looking like three sumo wrestlers.

01:53.33N 080:10.74W, 14th Feb 2008, in a squall 70 miles off the coast of Ecuador

Shin did a blog in Japanese for us today, but it turned into a row of little squares in the email. We’ll work on the technology.  We caught a huge dorado this afternoon. At least we got it to the side of the boat but it made a final lunge and snapped the line under the keel. It was well over a metre long. Shin said it was “a big brudder”. Can’t argue with that. So far, the score is Fish: 3, People: nil. Fortunately there is still plenty of chicken in the fridge to use up. The weather has turned a bit unpleasant. Cool and damp with lots of rain and the wind is no use at all. I have to say I expected something a bit more scorchio being this close to the equator. It’s only about 120 miles more until the water starts going down the plughole the opposite way. As none of us have sailed this far south before, holding a Navy-style Neptune’s kangaroo court doesn’t seem all that appropriate but we’ll think of something suitably celebratory.

00:30.23N 080:30.54W, 14th Feb 2008, 30 miles North of the Equator

It’s been cold and damp again today. I must have been too long in the Tropics as somewhere on this trip 25 degrees Celsius became ‘cold’. No success with the fish again today although Colin devised some heavy-duty tackle to get the lure deeper in the water and caught a drift net while we were distracted by a fast boatload of what we thought were pirates racing towards us.  The ‘pirates’ turned out to be fishermen trying to tell us about their net. Fortunately, the very strong line Colin was using gave way first. We are fast running out of lures. The Equator should be crossed in the early hours of the morning unless the wind dies altogether. This should sort out the old salts from the weekend sailors when everybody gets woken up to drink champagne in the drizzle.

00:00.00S 080:30.00W, 15th Feb 2008, on the Equator off Equador

We had an unpleasant night when we ran into another unlit tuna drift net in a squall. It took some time to hack ourselves free but as we still had some net wrapped around our prop we had to leave the scene under sail. A few small local fishing boats stood off but offered no comment or assistance. The very heavy rain, and some big ships crossing nearby, didn’t help the situation either. This morning at 07:00 Shin (James Bond) Terosawa used my diving gear (first time for the stuff in the water) and chopped off the remaining net and floats with a knife. Apart from some dodgy English, Shin has been a good find. Besides needing no instruction in sailing he’s an enthusiastic cook, photographer, engineer, diver and probably a lot more things we don’t know about yet. I’ll be sorry to see him leave Grapto in the Galapagos. Three miles to the south, we crossed zero degrees South and the rain started up again. We hove-to, my last bottle of champagne was cracked, and we feasted on sausage, eggs and an expensive can of luxury imported Heinz Baked Beans from St Lucia. The significance of the baked beans and HP sauce perhaps lost on somebody who normally has soup and rice for breakfast. As a homage to tradition, I also had an all-over No.1 haircut. It was curiously liberating.

01:46.99S 080:56.68W, 16th Feb 2008, 25 miles from La Libertad/Salinas, Ecuador

We got some sailing in through the afternoon, but the wind dropped, and we are back under engine again using up the last little bit of diesel before the finish line. As we have been asked to arrive in daylight, we are travelling very slowly about 10 miles off the coast. We can see many fishing boat lights all around. The locals obviously engaged in the traditional seasonal netting of fresh yacht. We also picked up a passenger today who just sits around on the deck waiting for food and drink to be brought. It’s a weary-looking Storm Petrel. This could be either a very good or very bad omen. The luck seems to be with the bird so far.

02:13.00S 080:55.31W, 17th Feb 2008, In the marina at La Libertad, Ecuador

We arrived early this morning, as did many other WARC yachts. Berthing in the marina was not easy. We ended up sitting on the fuel pontoon (without fuel) for most of the day. A problem with an oil spill nearby was making a mess of everyone’s hull and mooring lines. Another problem with the Panama clearance papers had Shin in danger of being repatriated to China for a while. Despite the fact he has never been there. Our Storm Petrel passenger had flown the coop by daybreak, having recovered from whatever was troubling him or her. It makes you feel proud to have helped one of our nautical feathered friends. Eventually we got a mooring off the marina wall and put the dingy into the oil slick to go ashore for dinner. Met up with Nick and Rosie (Kealoa) and John (Quasar) and taxied into Salinas for dinner then drinks later at the marina.

02:13.00S 080:55.31W, 20th Feb 2008, Puerto Lucia Yacht Club Marina, La Libertad

For the first time in my adult life, I have longer hair on my chin than on my head, although, in truth, my eyebrows are probably the longest. I recall the last time I tried this; parts of my beard were ginger. This time, I have distinctly snowy patches. It makes me look ancient. I believe I used to look much more distinguished.

Most of today was spent trying to devise a way to turn the dingy into floating bridge to the marina wall so we could leave the boat independently. The swell and the oil covered mooring lines put paid to that. We also had a trip to the local mall by taxi to scout out the provisioning situation for when we leave. We left the mall with mosquito netting and fly-spray as the local insect life is a bit too friendly. Shin changed the engine oil today. Full marks, but now I have to source more oil filters and oil. My top tip for those thinking of doing one of these jaunts is to stuff the boat with spares from home. It is by far the easiest and usually cheapest place, to stock up.

02:13.00S 080:55.31W, 21st Feb 2008, Puerto Lucia Yacht Club Marina, La Libertad

Berthing for many of us has been terrible. The mooring buoys have not been up to the job of holding the yachts off the marina wall in the swell and some have been grounded and had to escape and anchor off. Today we found we had clattered against our neighbour, Talulah Ruby, while both of us were off our boats. The damage was mostly to ourselves with my flagpole finally breaking in two. It was previously weakened in St Lucia by a previous crew member who shall remain nameless. (It was Lori). The oil and diesel in the sea, lack of potable water, rubbish WiFi and endless rain has made life here a bit miserable.

For the past couple of days, we have been exploring this part of Ecuador. Shin has gone off to the capital, Quito, to do his own thing. Yesterday, Colin and I took a bus trip North up the coast. Saw some sea salt workings, white things at a distance; saw some sealions, brown things at a distance; saw some flamingos, pink things at a distance, and saw some shrimp farms and this literary styling obviously breaks down here. We also saw lots of white birds. Egrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention….. Later we went to a quirky hotel/museum/restaurant full of nautical memorabilia where the old sea captain/owner clearly had a plank short of a full deck. There were lots of ships’s figureheads on display of the big booby kind. After that we visited a church on a promontory dedicated to a plastic statue of a Virgin that drips rust-coloured tears every decade or so. Moving. Later we rolled into a surfing resort called Montañita which is a little like Newquay with palm thatch roofs and muddy streets. The beach was filled with loads of young unattached ladies which made Colin and I conclude that we had arrived here perhaps a little bit too late. Maybe about 30 years too late. Today we took another long bus trip to the big city of Guayaquil. Memorable bits were a city park full of iguanas that you could play with and a zoo boardwalk through a mangrove with other local critters (sloths, monkeys, ocelots, parrots and the like). Provisioning and final repairs for the Galapagos run tomorrow.

02:09.77S 081:10.69W, 22nd Feb 2008, 18 miles West of Salinas, Ecuador

We are off again, heading for the ‘Enchanted Isles’ in the footsteps, or pawprints, or whatever, of HMS Beagle and Charlie D. The Boardroom Warriors in the fleet gave the WCC a bit of a spanking yesterday for miscellaneous cock-up’s with the marina accommodation (not all of it deserved) and everyone seems happy again. Lloyd’s of London must have been having kittens over the oily dinghies. … just had to break off writing to watch some dolphins doing synchronised somersaults. I’ve seen it before in Seaworld but not in the wild. I thought they only did it for girls with bikinis and buckets of fish. … just had to break off again to watch some whales. What a nuisance!

Last night was the Puerto Lucia leaving-do with a free bar. All these places we go to must be horrified by the amount of booze and finger-food we can collectively tuck away. The Minister of Tourism was there. A very nice-looking lady. I sent Colin to collect Grapto’s commemorative plaque from her as I didn’t really trust myself to behave appropriately. Too much finger-food, obviously.

We are now motoring towards the Galapagos and expect to have to motor most of the way. Fortunately, my own cabin is far away from the engine so I’m OK. Which is the main thing.

01:54.07S 082:23.80W, 25th Feb 2008, 150 miles out of La Libertad, Ecuador

This is the first time I have ever been silly enough to set off on a long voyage without having even a drop of fresh water in the tanks. For those of you imagining blazing sun and swollen tongues; out in the less oily water off the coast, we were soon able to make a few hundred litres with our trusty watermaker thus saving ourselves the problem of taking on bad Ecuadorean water. Last night was good sailing. Although little progress was made against a strong W-E current. With music blasting out in the cockpit it felt like we were hurtling along in the darkness. There was also an excellent firework display in our wake from the distressed luminous sea-bugs we churned through. The best light-show since the Devon coast last August. Unusually, we had seven or eight boats in sight most of the time, with several close enough for us to see the headlamps of the night-watch moving on deck. Normally the fleet quickly scatters like a pantry full of surprised cockroaches. Each skipper naturally believing they have a unique gift of insight into the secret workings of Mother Nature. No more sightings of whales yet today. Come back whales, you are safe with us even though we have a Japanese crewman in the galley! Colin now has fishing tackle strung out the back of the boat capable of hauling in submarines but now the fish are not interested in biting. What is going on?

01:46:84S 083:26.21W

What is going on? A few minutes after I sent in that last blog, we hauled out two decent-sized skipjack tuna. They both needed a good wellying with a winch handle to keep them still. Tuna are a bloody fish and the cockpit looked horrendous afterwards. Then, having no freezer and not wanting more fish than we could eat, we put the lines away.

We had some more good views of pilot whales around the boat this afternoon. We need all the entertainment we can get. Progress to the Galapagos is tediously slow. There is a strong current against us and almost no wind. Without motoring we would soon find ourselves back on the beach in Ecuador. And nobody can face that paperwork again. Let’s hope we have enough diesel to last. Shin skillfully sliced today’s catch into sashimi, and also sushi and other stuff I can’t spell, for dinner. Wasabi and other Japanese accoutrements came with it, sourced from Shin’s personal stash.

01:31.17S 084:17.43W,  26th Feb 2008, dusk 325 miles East of the Galapagos

Colin caught a biggie about an hour ago. A huge dorado weighing in at 24 pounds. Hauling the thing aboard and battering it with the winch handle got blood splattered everywhere. Some of the blood will form a permanent souvenir on the underside of the bimini cover. Some of the blood also turned out to be mine as the monster broke off the head of the gaff and flailed it around gouging my leg. Fair enough. It’s not going to be me that gets eaten later. It was difficult to finish off. Shin finally dispatched it by stabbing it in the head with a pair of pointy pliers. Ruthless, but it seemed to work. Cheap alcohol in the gills is also supposed to quiet them down quickly but we’ve tried it out on ourselves already and it doesn’t work. A dorado (a.k.a. mahi-mahi or dolphinfish) is a pretty thing. All yellow, blue and silver. Shin had it filleted and skinned in no time and I’m going to barbecue it on skewers with slices of lime. The crew teamwork is coming together.

01:06.52S 086:45.12W, 27th Feb 2008, 175 miles west of the Galapagos

Even bigger dorado and tuna have been dragged aboard today, gloated over but then released. The crew don’t even bother getting me on deck now. They just show me the photographs. Getting tired of fish, we had steak for dinner. Shin, who is a bit prone to nightmares, woke with a ‘smell-mare’ in the early hours and was convinced the boat was on fire. We spent some time checking the engine and wiring but all was OK. Freaked me out for a while as I thought I might have developed a head-cold without knowing it. We are still having to use the engine against a strong W-E current and the diesel fuel is getting uncomfortably low in the tank. It will be more than annoying if we run out and drift back to La Libertad.

00:53.76S 089:36..82W, 29th Feb 2008, Puerto Baqerizo Moreno, Isla San Cristobal

Grapto arrived in the Galapagos Islands at 06:22 local time with just a tiny bit of diesel left in the tank. Over 870 sea miles were logged which was several hundred miles more than expected due to the adverse El Nino disturbed current against us. On the approach, about five miles out, we got our first smell of land in five days. It was mostly vegetation with perhaps also a hint of tortoise poo. The sun came up as we neared the finish line and there was a really nice pink sunrise on display. Four or five boats, like us all waiting for daylight, arrived at the same time. Some sealions came to say hello as we anchored in the bay. Charles Darwin has long been something of a hero of mine. Not particularly for coming up with the theory of natural selection, which is all a bit obvious at this remove, but for his personal struggle to challenge some deeply entrenched ideas about Life, the Universe and Everything and get away with it. Here we are in a place that provided some of his evidence and as such it is of big historical importance even if many of the animals here are a bit ugly.

00:53.76S 089:36..82W, 1st March 2008, Puerto Baqerizo Moreno, Isla San Cristobal

Today we got up close and personal with the local wildlife. A trip out to Kicker Rock had us swimming with sharks and turtles. On the way back we swam with sealions and marine iguana. The sealions are probably the most fun. On the beach they are smelly, noisy and ungainly. But none of those things in the water. The beach near the anchorage is thick with sealions and given half a chance they climb up on the boats at anchor for a spot of sunbathing or sit behind the wheel and pretend to be sailing. The local boat-owners put barbed-wire up to keep them out of the cabins.

00:47.41S 090:04.69W, 2nd March 2008, off Isla Santa Fe

Last night in Puerto Baquerizo we had simple local fare for dinner. Mostly lobster. The restaurant had a problem with big black beetles running around on the tables. One climbed up on a grizzled old chap sat near us, which threw him into a panic. Said it reminded him of his ex-wife. How we laughed!

Shin woke in the early hours thinking he was having another nightmare, but it turned out to be a couple of sealions fighting on the back of our boat. I don’t know why they were squabbling as Grapto has twin ship’s wheels and they easily could have both pretended to drive.

We had an interesting bit of navigation about half an hour ago. We nosed into a sandy bay on the north side of Isla Santa Fe with the GPS telling us we were well inland and up on the side of a hill. The chart says “Here be Dragons” so perhaps the island hasn’t been surveyed for a while.

We are on our way to our next stop which is Puerto Ayora on the Isla Santa Cruz. We will be there later today. Shin will be jumping ship in Puerto Ayora. His replacement will be the lovely Heike from Berlin. She will be coming aboard on Friday for the long trip to the Marquesas.

00:44.91S 090.18.46W, 5th March 2008, Puerto Ayora, Academy Bay anchorage.

We arrived here on Sunday and anchored in the bay along with almost everyone else in the world doing a circumnavigation this year. There could be sixty yachts around us all preparing for the run to the Marquesas.

On Monday we went to the island of North Seymour. All the birds and animals, even fish, here are ridiculously unbothered by us eco-tourists and loaf around so people can have a good gawp. In fact, they are sometimes difficult not to tread on. We quickly had our fill of land iguanas, frigate birds and blue-footed boobies and other exotic birds nesting onshore and Galapagos sealions, marine iguanas and crabs playing on the beach.

The colours here are one of the more striking things. Santa Cruz island, where we are anchored, is very green and looks superficially like Surrey but on islands to the north the vegetation is sparse and the rock is black basalt with dashes of white where the birds sit. The sealions and marine iguanas are also bible-black but then there are flashes of crimson from the male frigates and the bright orange of the crabs all over the rocks and not forgetting the booby’s blue feet. The beaches are white or yellow and under the turquoise sea the fish are every other available colour.

Today, Tuesday saw us on the island of Bartolome. The volcanic rocks are very recent here and tower up into some fantastical black Gothic-style formations. After a hot slog up to the top of a volcano we took to the water with masks and snorkels. Lots of Galapagos penguins, manta rays, white-tip sharks, turtles and the usual collection of fish on show. There are no coral reefs here but the flying-buttresses of lava extend underwater and make a complicated playground.

We are going somewhere else tomorrow and there had better be some giant tortoise around or there will be trouble.

00:44.91S 090.18.46W, 6th March, Puerto Ayora.

No tortoises, giant or regular-sized, so I’m not happy.

We went to South Plaza Island today which is stuffed with land iguanas, sealions and all kinds of other birds and beasts creeping around under big cacti but not a tortoise in sight. Swam with some Galapagos sealions and the crews of Harmonie, Quasar and Viva after lunch.

It looks like our tortoise fix is going to have to be Lonesome George and company at the Charles Darwin Research Station later this week. Jacqui has suggested I give Lonesome a place on the crew so he can see the world and get some new girlfriends. His rope-handling and knot-tying skills will have to be checked out first.

00:44.91S 090.18.46W, 8th March 2008, Puerto Ayora.

A chap has just turned up to fumigate the boat. I have no idea why. We have no bugs. Seems to be some sort of official requirement.

Heike joined the crew yesterday ready for one of the longest stretches of open water on the planet. Heike has already taken charge of provisioning and Colin and I were used as pack-animals at the local Farmer’s Market early this morning. Provisioning here has been difficult as the only supermarket is not so super and has been virtually cleaned out. Departure for the Marquesas is tomorrow.

00:44.91S 090.18.46W, 9th March 2008, still at anchor in Puerto Ayora

On Saturday night it became clear why all the restaurant furniture here is so heavy-duty. After dinner with crews of Kealoa and Talulah Ruby in ‘The Rock’ most of us ended up dancing on the tables. It was just like Yarmouth IoW. There is something about the connection between islands and dancing on tables that needs more research.

We had a stressed Sunday morning, getting ready for departure, when our neighbour made a cat’s cradle out of our anchor chain and theirs. It got even worse when a few miles after the noon start when our GPS stopped working. Not wanting to become a statistic in the Pacific Ocean, we turned back for repairs and to think of alternatives if no local repair is possible. There are another eight WARC boats also still here, mostly for repairs, so we are not in last place yet and as the wind looks like it might improve, this could be the best place to be.

It’s not always true that worse things happen at sea. They happen back at home as well. In memory of ‘Tante’ Grace Andrews (12th March 1915 – 8th March 2008)

00:44.91S 090.18.46W (approx), 11th March 2008, still at anchor in Puerto Ayora

Hans the electronics man couldn’t fix our GPS antenna and a replacement part could easily take days, weeks, maybe months, to be shipped from Miami via rain-soaked Ecuador. So, I have now decided to continue this trip Old School.

“Ah!” I hear you saying, “pre-electronic-age navigation familiar to intrepid nineteenth-century adventurers such as Captain Slocum”. Well, not really. Sextants, dodgy timepieces and goat-chewed charts are also unobtainable here in the Galapagos. This journey, instead, will be more in the manner of the early voyaging Polynesians of the second-century BC. The migratory path of birds will be followed, and ancient sea-turtles will be consulted on the way. It is also hoped that once in a while the little yellow god, for it is he; the backup handheld-GPS, will send us a sign.

02:09.37S 093:06.42W, 12th March 2008, 150 miles southwest of the Galapagos

Colin caught just the one fish today, but it was an 8lb tuna. To try to cut down on the usual winch-handle blood-splattering, this one was welcomed onboard with a shot of Bacardi in the gills. Even so, with me filleting and Colin and Heike turning it into kebabs, it was still a bit messy and I wish I had paid more attention while I had a sushi chef on the crew.

Grapto has been motoring all day towards the southwest in almost no wind hoping to find the elusive SE Trades. We have little idea what the rest of the WARC boats are up to and what conditions they have. With most of the fleet being probably several hundred miles ahead, only a few crackly words could be made out from the daily SSB radio net this afternoon.

04:28.24S 097:04.96W, 13th March 2008, in a rain squall 420 miles southwest of the Galapagos

I’m struggling here to find much to say that is likely to be of interest and it’s much too early on the trip to be making silly stuff up.

The wildlife is keeping its head down. We caught a little bonito for lunch but that doesn’t really count. We did see some spouting whales in the distance to cries of “Thar she blows!” but that’s about it. Heike is having an unpleasant time with the ‘mal de mer’ and is working her way through the medical supplies for a suitable remedy. We’ve all been there, although facing the possibility of many weeks of it with no chance of getting off the boat can’t be nice. The wind seems to be picking up a bit although much of it is related to short-lived squalls coming out of the south east. We are continuing to head towards 6 degrees south, 100 degrees west as per weather-router advice. 

05:10.00S 098:31.00W

Im Gegensatz zu den anderen Tagen hatten wir gestern endlich einmal viel Wind (bis zu 6 Bft). Das führte nicht nur zu uneingeschränkter Freude, sondern zur Reduzierung der aktiven Mannschaft um 1/3 – Heike fiel wegen akuter Seekrankheit aus. Aber auch das hatte Vorteile – Colin hat einen weiteren leckeren Thunfisch gefangen, den wir uns beide dann zum Mittag teilen konnten. Aber wir nehmen nicht nur vom Meer – wir geben auch etwas zurück: Martyn hat heute die Vorräte neu sortiert und dabei sehr viel an die vegetarischen Haie ausgegeben. Das Obst und Gemüse hält sich in dieser Wärme wirklich nicht lange.

Als Belohnung haben sich dann am Nachmittag Wale unserem Boot genähert, die aber beim Anblick unserer sofort herbeigeholten Kameras unter dem Aufschrei „Vorsicht! Papparazzi“ sofort wieder abgetaucht sind.

Wir sind nun auch nicht mehr die Letzten, denn gestern hat sich die Farout aus Puerto Ayora auf den Weg gemacht und ist nun hinter uns. Über Funk hören wir jetzt jeden Mittag auch alle anderen Boote, manche sind aber schon 500 Meilen vor uns. Vielleicht können wir ja doch noch etwas Hilfe bei den Walen anfragen…;-))

Heike

05:41.34S 099:43.94W, 15th March 2008, Pacific

The impeller for the engine cooling water disintegrated last night. That’s another carried spare-part not wasted!

For some reason, the search is on for a song where the word ‘Graptolite’ can be worked into the lyrics. Front runners are ‘Israelites’ by Bony M and ‘Eidelweiss’.  

The wind has picked up finally and we are now living our lives at 20 degrees from the vertical. The worst thing is finding your mattress has slid up the wall of the cabin while it’s been slept on. There is absolutely nothing out there on the water. For you non-voyaging people, having no other human beings within several hundred miles might seem a bit daunting but at night it is a comfort to know that there is no freighter or fishing boat rushing to occupy the same bit of sea as yourself.

Heike has her sea-legs. There is still some chocolate on board, and all is well.

It makes you appreciate what a fantastic invention fishfingers are. Colin hooked a 20lb skipjack tuna this morning. As we are not using rods and reels, the lines get hauled in bleeding-hand-over-bleeding-hand. The Health and Safety Officer has made Colin promise to wear gloves next time. Anyway, guess what we had for lunch? And what we are having for dinner tonight? And tomorrow?

More Grapto lyrics have been concocted by the librettist team of Heike and me. Nothing fit for publication yet but one to the tune of ‘Israelites’ by Desmond Decker (did I say Bony M before?) is looking promising. This is the first verse:

      ‘Get up in the morning looking for good winds

      So that every sail can be filled

      Oh! on me yacht Graptolite’

We are at 07:02.44S 107:53.10W unless we have offended the little yellow navigation god. Jacqui advises me that the ancient Polynesians also used their testicles to locate magnetic north. After some experimentation magnetic variation feels to be about 10degE locally but we need an adjuster to properly swing the compasses to get deviation corrections. Something to try if Hiva Oa doesn’t loom on the horizon like it’s supposed too.

07:47.65S 111:51.12W, 19th March 2008, Pacific Ocean

An uneventful day for sailing. Trade winds good. No rain. No sightings of other vessels. No scurvy and no mutinies. Heike drank the last of a disgusting banana liqueur purchased in Puerto Ayora. She claims most of it must have got spilt on the deck. Nobody else drank it, that’s for sure. Everyone has had enough tuna now to last a lifetime. Even the nasty sausages in the fridge are starting to seem appetizing. If only we could catch a chicken…

08:25.06S 114:28.15W, 20th March, half-way between Galapagos and Marquesas

We are now over half-way across and it’s all downhill from here. I was horrified to discover we had no champagne in the wine cellar for the celebration. It’s not easy being the best part of 1,500 miles from an off-licence. Colin continues to fish even though we definitely don’t want any tuna. All the bites today have immediately taken all the line and snapped it off. This is fine, as anything that can break 100lb test line like it was cotton thread is not something we want either ripping off the transom or snapping at us on deck. It’s getting to be costly for tackle though.

Heike continues to surprise us with her bikinis. It seem like it’s a different one every day. Still, it adds a touch of glamour that Colin and I don’t seem to manage by ourselves.

08:56.03S 119:20.78W Easter Sunday 2008,

In an attempt to attract something other than skipjacks, Colin has deployed some cruise-missile-like lures which cost a fortune in the Galapagos. They are obviously splendid bits of kit as they easily attract creatures big enough to have little problem in breaking the 130lb test line they are attached to. Colin is distraught as he has a bet on with Adrian from Kealoa 8 over who gets the biggest fish. Never mind, we have loads of canned tuna in the stores to fall back on. Some sightings of whales earlier. Big head, big dorsal fin, but yet to be identified. I hope they’re not wearing a selection of our fishing lures.

Heiki has got into the habit of doing a Titanic-style ‘Kate Winslet’ up at the front of the boat each sunset. Guess who gets the part of ‘Leonardo’ to make sure she doesn’t fall off? It’s not a complaint.

Bikini of the day – Captain America stars and stripes.

08:59.93S 122:24.69W, Easter Monday 2008, morning

Seeing the lights of a fishing boat dead ahead last night came as a surprise. It was my first sighting of any other boat, or even aircraft, since leaving Puerto Ayora. They didn’t seem to want to talk on the radio. It can get lonesome on night watch here. According to the patchy figures we get on the daily SSB radio net, we seem to have caught up with the tail-end of the fleet that set out from Puerto Ayora two and a half days before us. Unfortunately, there are also a few boats that set off after us that are now ahead but as they’re real racing yachts it’s not too embarrassing.

We watched the DVD of ‘Master & Commander, Far Side of the World’ during a rain shower earlier. There are some good scenes set in the Galapagos Islands that we can now point to and say we’ve been there. And yes, Lori, there were extra rations of grog for the men! The DVD of the ever so camp ‘South Pacific’ is scheduled for “some enchanted evening” s

Bikini of the day – apricot coloured.

08:59.58S 124:19.02W Easter Monday 2008, evening

We had a 5lb dorado for lunch today. It’s a much nicer fish than those bloody tuna. The fillets were lightly fried in butter with a little lime juice and smoked paprika and served over rice. Rick Stein, if you are reading this, you can include this recipe in your next book if you want.

Guessing from the position reports, I think we got within about 17 miles of ‘Northern Sky’ today but no sighting and no VHF radio contact. Even so, people, and even people we know, that are just over the horizon counts as a party out here. As we are being rolled around quite a bit, sleeping is not usually the deeply refreshing experience it might be but it does mean that napping at other off-watch times is very easy. This slightly sleepy state seems to make time pass very quickly. Too little sleep can also make you psychotic but I’m keeping my eye on the other six crew for signs.

08:41.00S 125:57.00W

Die Crew versucht immer wieder festzustellen, wie viele Tage wir schon unterwegs sind. Aber es ist zu anstrengend, all die schoenen Tage zu zaehlen, so dass wir bei bester Musik von Santana und Scott McKenzie immer wieder aufgeben und statt dessen den tollen Wind und das wunderbare Wasser geniessen. Wahrscheinlich warden wir wirklich irgendwann ankommen muessen, ausser Colin und ich koennen gegen den Captain meutern und doch noch Kurs auf Hawaii nehmen…!

Colin hatte gestern frueh wieder mal geangelt. Dabei hat “irgend etwas” den Haken abgebrochen – Martyn tippet auf ein russisches U-Boot. Und dann gab es doch tatsaechlich rechtzeitig zum Mittagessen frische Dorade! Herrlich!

Statt “Bikini of the Day” weigert sich Colin hartnaeckig, den aus Tauen gestrickten String-Tanga zu tragen….Kann man gar nicht verstehen.

Heike

08:39.89S 127:29.30W 26th March 2008, Pacific Ocean

The wind and sea have been a little more Atlantic-like today with food, drinks and bodies all cheerily defying gravity when you least expect it.

There have been few signs of life out there in the Pacific. No fish, no boats and no Bank Holiday traffic jams. Just some seabirds now and then which seem to be following us. So much for the old navigational method of following them!

The skipper (me) gave one of his masterclasses this evening over cocktails and nibbles. This one was on the subject of knot-tying. My party-piece is tying a one-handed bowline and a true anecdote about me, bowlines and the Duke of Edinburgh. (Another time gentle readers if you have not already heard it). Colin was mainly interested in knots used for terminal tackle, hooks and line-joining when using heavy monofilament. (The uni-knot system works well for those who care). Heike was mainly interested in knots that can be used to secure wrists, ankles and necks.

Bikini of the day – orange one-piece with blue and green piranha fish.

09:19.26S 132:38.34W, 27th March 2008, Pacific

Life has developed into a routine of breakfast, siesta, lunch, siesta, dinner, siesta, nightwatch, sleep, breakfast. Obviously, in reality it’s a bit more complicated than that. But not much. You could insert catch fish and talk on radio, before lunch and have showers and sundowners before dinner and you might get some idea of the hectic social whirl of our existence. It’s more tiring than you might think.

All this is preamble to me saying nothing much has happened today.

Bikini of the day – green string with butterflies.

09:52.56W 135:05.10S 0300 29th March 2008 200 miles from Hiva Oa

We fiddled around a bit with the batteries today. Suspecting one or both of the domestics are not in good shape as we always seem to have the generator on. Could be they were damaged in the Aruba meltdown. They are supposed to last 15 years and will be impossible to get out of their locker as they had to be jumped on to make them fit.

The sky was particularly good for stars this evening. We are fairly sure we recognise the Southern Cross although groups of four stars are not exactly rare hereabouts. Heike was excited to see a light on the horizon but it turned out to be just another star. Reminded me of the time Lori and I nearly took evasive action from the moonrise off Morocco.

Colin has had the pointy bits of a few hooks break off on fish strikes recently. These are not trivial hooks and measure few inches across. The mechanics of it doesn’t seem to make much sense as the bungee cord the fishing line is attached to, and its beer-can alarm, usually barely registers. 

Bikini of the day – fluorescent orange scraps, like tiny little storm jibs.

09:47.86S 138:13.55W, 30th March 2008, 33 miles from landfall Hiva-Oa

If we were in the frozen North we would now be luxuriating with an extra hour in bed as it is apparently the start of ‘Summertime’. As we are actually in the Tropics, in a time warp all of our own, we get no such guilty pleasures. Ship time is still UTC-6 but when we land it will be UTC-9.5 or 10.5 hours behind the UK. So jetlag is still possible even travelling at jogging speed.

We’ve been tracking another yacht on radar for the past hour or two and can see its lights in the distance. This is the first yacht since leaving port so it’s fairly exciting. She seems to be heading south so is possibly not one of ‘ours’ but if she’s still around at daybreak I might call her up.

The next blog should come to you from the port of Atuona, Hiva-Oa, The Marquesas, French Polynesia, Far Side of the World.

09:48.22S 139:01.88W, 1st April 2008, at anchor Atuona Port, Hiva-Oa

We arrived in the Marquesas yesterday morning and we were given flower leis on the dockside. Hiva-Oa is not disappointing. There are towering green mountains with clouds around their summits, tropical flowers everywhere and very few signs of tourism.

Yesterday we stretched our legs and paid respects at the grave of Paul Gauguin and Heike got us all pareos to wear so we could go native in suitable style.

We rented a 4WD jeep today and bounced all over the island along scrapings on the sides of the near-vertical mountains that they laughably call roads. Fantastic scenery and nice black sand beaches but we were mainly on a hunt for ‘tiki’ archaeological sites. We found one on the northwest coast with the help of our very own ‘tiki god’ – the handheld GPS. The forest is just stuffed with fruiting and flowering trees. Everything tropical you can think of and many unrecognisable things. We collected a bagful of mangos straight off a tree on the way back.

We are aiming to leave for the Tuamotu islands tomorrow if our laundry comes back in time.

10:26.56S 139:49.17W, 2nd April 2008, at sea

We got in some food supplies in the morning and stocked up with some more fruit from the mango tree we found yesterday. It must have been a scary sight with the Graptolite hunter-gatherers brandishing boat-hook and machete in the forest.

In the afternoon we were invited to a party being held to celebrate the inauguration of the new Mayor of Atuona. There were local girls there doing traditional singing and dancing and local lads dressed in green grass war-dress doing a Hakka. Thankfully, there are no worries about sexual stereotyping here. The food was excellent although you had to be quick on your toes to get the best bits of the roasted pigs.

We then had just one final task before leaving, which was to take on diesel. We confidently turned up at the islands only petrol station with our jerry cans to be told we could only have a miserly 40 litres. Now this is a volume may have got us out of sight of the Marquesas but it was not enough to reach any other island group with any degree of safety. To be able to leave we were forced into a form of piracy where we took it in turns to put on disguises to get more 40-litre rations. One of the later raids involved Heike with a pillow under her clothes and a bandaged arm. A bit over-the-top, I thought, even though I suggested it. Dragging the full jerry cans back to the dingy a local woman offered Heike a ride in the back of her truck. Doubtless, the kind lady had a very low opinion of the skipper who would send out a heavily pregnant woman to carry fuel.

Just before dark we upped anchor and headed out of the bay back to sea.

“…a dramatic story of life, death, and the epic struggle of man against the forces of nature….gripping….compelling….a story as spellbinding and harrowing as any novel.”

So reads the blurb on the back of the book I’m reading, called ‘Rescue in the Pacific’ about the 1994 “Queen’s Birthday” storm. It’s nothing like that here and now. In fact it’s very pleasant indeed. The depth sounder and radar/chart-plotter problems seem to be sorted although the GPS is still down. It should stop us getting complacent in the Tuamotus which are almost entirely made up of coral atolls and reefs.

The idea now (according to my in-house tour guide) is to go first to the atolls of Manhini and Ahe. A lot of pearls come from these areas apparently. Then we are going to Rangiroa, maybe for some diving. It says in the ‘Lonely Planet’ guidebook that in one of the main villages on Rangiroa, around the middle of the day you could safely fire a gun and not hit anyone. We’ll see. There might be a few ‘popaa’ about in the midday sun. ‘Popaa’ are westerners like us.

11:20.13S 140:49.60W, 2nd April 2008, 330 miles from landfall at Manhini

Heute hat es unseren “Sailmaster” Colin endgueltig hingerafft: Anscheinend ist ihm das Essen beim Buergermeister von Atuona nicht bekommen. Jedenfalls hat er Bauchkraempfe und Durchfall und verweigert derzeit jegliche Futteraufnahme. Vielleicht liegt es aber auch daran, dass er derzeit weder fischen darf noch Tuna bekommt….

Martyn hat mich heute in weitere Geheimnisse der britischen “Nouvelle Cuisine” eingeweiht, die viel mehr als nur Wildschwein in Pfefferminzsauce bereithaelt: Koteletts in Senf-Ketchup-Sauce, Schweinebraten in Cola-Sauce…. Wow! Wenn man dazu noch eine Buechse Gemuese aus der bordeigenen Kombuese kredenzt, verblasst dagegen jedes Captain’s Dinner auf einem Kreuzfahrtschiff! Und zum Fruehstueck durfte ich eine weitere Delikatesse kennen lernen: Toast mit Scheibletten-Kaese und Blaubeermarmelade…wuerg! Wie gut, dass ich ansonsten fuer die Kueche zustaendig bin (nein, nein, das ist jetzt ungerecht, die Koteletts waren wirklich lecker!)

Ein Fischerboot am naechtlichen Horizont hat wieder den Thrill jedes Fernsehprogramms uebertroffen. Insbesondere, da unser Radar uns solche Dinge immer selbst entdecken laesst und sie auch nach der Entdeckung als Regen qualifiziert, obwohl sie angestrahlt sind wie ein Weihnachtsbaum. Das gibt dem Wachfuehrer doch immer noch das Gefuehl, gebraucht zu werden und trotz moderner Technik unersetzlich zu sein.

Uebrigens haben wir der Liste der Tuamotu-Inseln, die wir besuchen wollen, noch eine weitere hinzugefuegt: Fakarava. Die Jungs wollen mal sehen, wie so ein Stempel im Pass aussieht und sich gegenueber der prueden britischen Obrigkeit auswirkt, insbesondere wenn man den ersten Teil des Inselnamens stark betont….

Heiki

14:27.58S 146:03.34W, 5th April 2008, Manihi, Tuamotus Achipelago, South Pacific

We had a pleasant sail over the last few hundred miles to the atoll of Manihi (I might have spelt it wrong earlier). On the way I opened up some strange little leaf parcels that were bought on a whim in Hiva-Oa. They turned out to contain tasty dried bananas. Nobody else would eat them, so more for me then. In the distance, the atoll looked like a row of palm trees and it looked about the same closer up. We got to the pass into the lagoon while there was still an hour left of tide flowing out but Grapto has seen worse tides than that in the Solent and so we powered on through into the lagoon.

After anchoring near ‘the’ village we got a fast boat across the lagoon to the ‘Manihi Pearl Beach Resort’ for lunch. A fancy hotel with up-market thatched over-water huts for rooms. The place was almost deserted, so I hope for them that it’s very low season here. We borrowed some bikes from the resort and explored a bit looking for black pearls. We found that they are sold in the food store in the village which takes away a bit of the cachet.

Although we thought that we were the only yacht in the lagoon, two lads called John and Keith from New Jersey dropped by in the evening and stayed for beer and pizza. Their type of sailing makes ours seem like excessive hedonism, but they are of an age where anything is possible and nothing is dangerous.

14:27.58S 146:03.34W, 5th April 2008, Manihi, Tuamotus Achipelago, South Pacific

This is the official part of the trip where you can say “How come Pickup gets to go to such fabulous places when he’s so worthless?”

The Graptocrew went diving today. My first proper dive as it happens although Heike and Colin have done more. The water was crystal-clear, the fish and sharks were plentiful and the coral was huge. It was outside Manihi atoll where the drop-off down to the ocean floor made diving like flying around a mountain. Or falling off a mountain, in my case, until I got the buoyancy under control. I suspect that I’m now well spoiled for more run-of-the-mill dive sites. There will be video posted when I get Wifi again.

After a black pearl buying opportunity we set sail out of Manihi seven miles to the next atoll of Ahe. Ahe is a bigger producer of pearls than Manihi but has no hotels, bars, restaurants, internet cafes or shops that we could find but the natives are friendly and seem to be very happy just strumming their guitars, kicking footballs around and playing with puppies in the street.

14:56.98S 147:42.33W Tuesday 8th April 2008 AM Rangiroa atoll

We took our leave of Ahe and at first light this morning we entered the huge Rangiroa atoll at the Avatoru Pass and anchored.

With splendid Teutonic enthusiasm Heike massaged the skipper’s back, made breakfast, then stripped off and jumped over the side for a swim. Of course the fast outgoing tide that Colin and I noticed after throwing a surplus pancake into the water was not noticed by Heike until she was some distance from the boat and in danger of getting swept out of the pass and back into the Pacific. It was a good job she was still within rescue-line throwing range or there would have been the unusual sight of a British-flagged yacht chasing a swimming naked German girl across the lagoon. We hauled her back onboard like a tuna but she required no subduing with rum or winch handle.

15:00.57S 147:48.79W Thursday 10th April 2008 AM, Rangiroa atoll

For the past couple of days we have been anchored off the very posh Kia Ora Hotel on Rangiroa. Yachts are brilliant for this kind of thing. It’s just like staying at the hotel free of charge except the room service is a bit slow and there are no chocolates on your pillow. The restaurant was excellent and we ate there a few times. Last night there was a hula dancing show for the handful of hotel guests and us. Foolishly, I let myself be persuaded to wiggle my hips in public. I think some of the waiters appreciated it.

We also availed ourselves of the hotels diving centre and compared wiggles with huge Moray eels and Blacktip sharks. This diving thing is a piece of cake and I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to get into it although I should probably get a lesson or two sometime.

We are currently sailing across the atoll to go to the Blue Lagoon which is a smaller lagoon inside the bigger Rangiroa lagoon. For those of you not familiar with the scale of these features (I assume most of you), Rangiroa is a mere 38 miles wide.

The satellite phone charger has broken. When the battery is used up there will be no further news until Tahiti and until then you will need to find something better to do with your time.

15:30.67S 147:29.54W, 11th April 2008, South Pacific

The Blue Lagoon, or Lagon Bleu as the French seem to think it’s called, gets my vote for being the prettiest place on the planet. It’s set on the western edge of the Rangiroa lagoon and is about a mile across, the water is a really surprisingly bright turquoise colour and the whole place is fringed with small islets covered in palm trees. Best of all, we had it all to ourselves.

We anchored Graptolite in the main atoll took the dinghy over some coral reefs between two of the islets and puttered around until we found a good place to swim and collect coconuts. The more European of us frolicked around au naturelle a la Brooke Shields.

We are now on our way to Fakarava atoll. We only decided to go there because we liked the name but it seems that there are other WARC boats gathering there as well before going on to Tahiti.

16:57.57S 148:40.73W, 12th April 2008, South Pacific

We revisited our scheduling and decided that Fakarava really needed more than the four and a half minutes we seemed to have allocated it. Also getting to Papeete by the 14th to meet Belinda would not have been easy so we have changed course to the southwest and are now heading directly for Tahiti. We should be there later today. We really need some time in a marina anyway to do some running repairs. As well as the GPS antenna being on the blink, the radar monitor is now not working, the satellite phone is not charging, the wind generator is worn out and most of the light bulbs need replacing. A supermarket run and a laundry would also be quite delightful. I’m going to try using Colin’s antique sat phone to get this email out but if it doesn’t work you are not going to know any of this until we arrive.

17:35.16S 149:36.93W, 14th April 2008, Pape’ete, Tahiti

Grapto made landfall Tahiti yesterday morning. It’s a fantastical landscape of mountains and cloud covered spires. Moorea, the island you can see nearby is similar. Approaching Pape’ete there is a long coral reef offshore with a huge swell running and 2-3 metre breaking waves. There were a lot of surfers about and mostly surfing in the slightly less dangerous waves in a narrow break in the reef that theoretically leads behind the reef to Taina Marina. While fairly adventurous, surfing a 14 metre yacht towards the beach is not a sport I’m intending to take up anytime soon. Giving up on that entrance, we retraced our steps and eventually crossed the reef at Pape’ete town and got clearance to sail across the end of the airport runway between flights towards the marina. What an exciting place this is!

An early start (5:00AM) had us hitch-hiking (no taxis) to a Sunday morning street market in downtown Pape’ete. The fish stalls were as good as any coral reef visit.

This afternoon we had another diving trip, not to a reef this time but to a dive site called ‘The Wrecks’. There was a shipwreck and a seaplane wreck to dive around at about 18 metres. Diving again tomorrow.

The satellite phone is still broken but there is WiFi hereabouts.

17:35.16S 149:36.93W, 17th April 2008, Pape’ete, Tahiti

Bit of a gap in the blogs there. Sorry, but I’ve had better things to do.

On Monday we went diving again. More wrecks and fish. Why would anyone want to dive in the cold, dark and muddy waters of the Frozen North?

Tuesday was my birthday and Heike and Colin laid on a surprise birthday breakfast for me in the cockpit. Smoked marlin, fresh pineapple, croissants, everything. I was later ‘kidnapped’ and found myself on a car ferry going to Moorea.

Up to now, Moorea has to be the most beautiful island I’ve been on. The landscape has an unreal quality with tropical flowers, reefs, blue water and big rock pinnacles. Even the roadside stalls are nice. The local wild bananas taste slightly of oranges and when you buy loud tropical shirts they give you free grapefruit to take away.

We lunched at one 5-star resort, dined at another and for the night they got me an over-water bungalow with a coral reef as a view through the glass coffee table. I’m unable to put into words properly what a great time I had and how much I appreciate my crew as friends. Thank you, both of you.

Belinda has now arrived in Tahiti after falling foul of an airline strike and having to fly between LA and Pape’ete via Osaka, Japan. Crossing the International Dateline twice on one journey would have me out of action for a week. Colin and Belinda are now staying at the Intercontinental in Pape’ete for a few days to recover. Heike and I are going back to sea tomorrow and we might do a quick circumnavigation of Tahiti.

The satellite phone has been repaired and normal service is now resumed.

17:35.16S 149:36.93W, 18th April 2008,  Pape’ete, Tahiti

Normal service seems to be random selections of navigation instruments not working. After disconnecting the shore power and mooring lines to go on a trip around Tahiti, the autopilot, speed, depth and chart-table chart plotter all failed. We reconnected the mooring lines, thought about it for a while and then went for cocktails and dinner. We joined the crew of Quasar V who were there seeing Malcolm off to the airport.

17:30.98S 149:49.22W, 22nd April 2008, Cooks Bay, Moorea

After fiddling with the dead instruments for hours I finally cracked and got an electro-wizard in who reconnected a loose wire in about five minutes flat.

The crew has changed a little. Belinda is now on board and Heike has left Grapto temporarily, to play with an old friend from Germany. Wilhelm was cruelly told to bring over many silly items in his hand luggage which included a freezer; a pressure cooker and a blender. Fortunately for him the airline wouldn’t let him bring the freezer. It was a pity because the adventure could have made an excellent sequel to Tony Hawks’ ‘Round Ireland with a Fridge’. Colin and I replaced the broken GPS antenna with the one Belinda hand-carried so we now have full video arcade capabilities for navigation although the radar is still a bit temperamental. We lunched in the marina on some mussels and bread and wine brought around by Heike. The mussels were not the familiar small black and grey beasties but big bright-green and brown creatures that went well with the location. With renewed confidence in the instrumentation being able to get us through reefs and crashing surf we set off yesterday evening towards Moorea. The sunset over the peaks of Moorea was indescribable and so I’m not going to try to describe it for you. We sailed into Cooks Bay in the dark, past a few mega-yachts that couldn’t find anywhere else better to go, and anchored and ate dinner on the deck waiting for the view in daylight. (Excellent chocolate cake, Heike!) I knew it was going to be a good view as I had seen some of it on my birthday trip. I was not wrong.

16:43.36S 151:26.74W, 23rd April 2008, anchored off Uturoa, Raiatea, Society Islands

The view of the mountains around Cook’s Bay in the morning was amazing. Captain Cook didn’t anchor there though. It was apparently in the next, equally stunning, bay of Opunohu. So we had a look at that as well.

As we turned to head off northwest to the island of Raiatea, about 100 miles away, a traditional outrigger canoe paddled up alongside laden with baskets of flowers, mangoes and pineapples. One of the people onboard was a small, extremely beautiful, Polynesian woman, wearing almost nothing except tattoos around her hips and a large white flower behind her ear. She said, mostly in French, that her name was Iren’aa which apparently means ‘favourite woman of the chief’. When Iren’aa found out we were just about to go to Raiatea she said that was her spiritual home and she would like to travel there with us. It seemed churlish to refuse so I offered accommodation in the forward cabin where Irrenaa insisted on applying scented oils to the skipper and sang of the moving traditional story woven into the designs on her olive skin.

A little later the skipper woke up wondering why this kind of thing only happens in dreams.

Or does it?

16:30.44S 151:45.16W, 24th April 2008, Vaitape, Bora Bora

The morning after arriving at Raiatea, Iren’aa was dropped off by dinghy at a small inhabited coral motu called Fano. We were greeted effusively by family members and we met Iren’aa’s sister, Hinano, who is famous for being the model for the design on the local beer bottles even though she tragically lost an arm in a shark attack some years earlier. Iren’aa gave me a very shiny black pearl and the family gave us a basket of fei bananas, and lychees to take away. 

It turned out that Heike had flown to Raiatea the previous day to charter a yacht from Apooti Marina for a week. We met Heike’s boat at the marina and as we were the ones who were supposed to know what we were doing, we led the way through the pass in the reef at Taha’a and on to the fabled island of Bora Bora. We arrived at Bora Bora (as usual) in the dark and entered through the reef to the sound of drums from the island and found moorings near the Yacht Club. Night approaches (and exits) to these places can be a bit scary; to say the least, and I should really stop doing them.

Bora Bora was once described by James Cook as the ‘pearl of the Pacific’. Two centuries later it seems to have become mainly an excuse to charge the glitterati outrageous prices for everything. It is a pretty place though with its central jagged mountains, its circling island reefs and its blue lagoons.

A swim in the lagoon with stingrays and then tying up alongside the quay in the village of Vaitape was about all we did during the day. We are off now to an expensive hotel to spoil the privacy of somebody rich and famous and have dinner.

16:45.28S 151:38.79W, 25th April 2008, 15 miles southwest of Bora Bora

Dinner at the Bora Bora Hotel must be hard to beat. Guidebooks call the place one of the finest hotels in the world. Probably. Some credit though must go to its very sexy location.

In the morning, Heike brought her boat from the Yacht Club to raft up alongside us in the harbour. After breakfast, she hustled us all onto a helicopter she had secretly rented for a scenic tour. The largesse of the girl is getting worrying and I am beginning to suspect Heike might really be the head a major crime organisation or similar. Swooping around Bora Bora’s lagoons, reefs and mountain sides in a chopper is a bit special. Great trip Heike but you know I was going to let you come back to crew on Grapto next month anyway!

There was some demand for snorkelling later in the morning so we took the boats to anchor off the reef in front of the Bora Bora Hotel. Our on-water dwellings annexing, at no cost, the world’s finest thatched over-water bungalows of the hotel. Or indeed water buffaloes as our resident wordmangler Colin calls them.

It’s Friday afternoon now and we are sailing back to Tahiti to put Belinda on a plane on Sunday.

17:32.38S 149:34.16W, 26th April 2008, Pape’ete Yacht Harbour, Tahiti

An overnight sail has us back in Tahiti. This time on the Yacht Quay. Satellite phone needs topping up and WiFi is not working but I have managed to post a few pictures using Colin and Belinda’s internet in their room in the Raddisson where they are staying on B’s last night here.

More pictures and videos will have to wait.

17:32.38S 149:34.16W, 28th April 2008, Pape’ete Yacht Harbour, Tahiti

Colin took all day seeing Belinda off at the airport. I took the rare opportunity of being on the boat by myself to put equipment back into the places where I tend to look for them.

New crewperson, Jean Collins from Australia, arrived in Tahiti this evening and was waved at on her hotel balcony overlooking the harbour. We are meeting up for the first time for breakfast in the morning. As a type of dating, crewing and getting crew this way is a bit on the extreme side. Not only do you have to travel big distances from home to have that first shy awkward moment, but you are then committed to living together in some squalor for some time thereafter. Now how on earth am I going create a good first impression over breakfast?

17:32.38S 149:34.16W, 29th April 2008, Pape’ete Yacht Harbour, Tahiti

Jean arrived at the boat on Monday morning and all three of us went for a wander around the highways and byways of Pape’ete; crew-bonding while in search of breakfast then lunch. Once more, I seem to have struck lucky in my crew recruiting.

By late evening we had perhaps done too much bonding with micro-brewery beer in ‘Les Trois Brasseurs’ and some dangerous duty-free Ozzie solvent called ‘Bundaberg Rum’, on the boat afterwards. The current crew’s emotional bonding would seem to be now more-or-less complete although the secret dreams and aspirations that we must have exchanged along the way had become a bit hazy for all of us by morning. That’s the demon drink for you!

Today, Jean sorted out the food stores which had become mostly the unwanted residue of many earlier provisioning forays. The blokes did bloke-ish things with epoxy like patching water tanks and sticking bits of wood together. An early night for all.

17:32.38S 149:34.16W, 30th April 2008, Pape’ete Yacht Harbour, Tahiti

There is something about this place, maybe it’s the climate or maybe it’s the attractive people with few clothes and with flowers in their hair that says some skin decoration might be a nice thing to have. My recent encounter with Iren’aa near Moorea was certainly interesting.

There are a lot of people in the west, these days, sporting tattoo designs that would look pretty dreadful on a tee-shirt, let alone something to show at a job interview, but here the artwork is more of an ancient cultural thing and is normally fairly pleasing to the eye.

This is leading up to me saying that one of us recently got some artwork to take away. It is, of course, a very tasteful design and nicely done and, although not small, quite discreet. Who has had the skin-decorators in? All will be revealed in the fullness of time. It is definitely true that travel broadens the mind.

17:32.38S 149:34.16W, 3rd May 2008, Pape’ete Yacht Harbour

After seeing a good number of Polynesian song and dance shows, some amateur, as in Atuona and some very professional as at Rangiroa and three others here in Pape’ete, I think I can safely say that they are much more watchable than the Caribbean equivalent of limbo dancing, fire eating and steel drums. The combination of grass skirts being wiggled by smiling girls and sticks being shaken by scowling men provides a little something for everybody. It is unfortunate that the cost of being here in Paradise is so high. Most people are eating dinner at the food vans parked on the harbour front rather than taking the pain of restaurant prices. It is very good food though and relatively inexpensive but it lacks ambience and they don’t sell wine or beer. On the other hand, there can sometimes be a little money left over after paying the bill to be able to afford a beer somewhere else later.

Now girlfriend and mother have been informed (pleased and not so pleased respectively) it can be revealed that it was Colin (also pleased) that got the skin artwork recently. He will need a lot more to be invited to join in any serious Hakka.

17:35.04S 149:37.18W, 4th May 2008, anchored outside Taina Marina, Pape’ete, Tahiti

We left downtown Pape’ete yesterday and sailed inside the reef to Taina Marina for fuel and provisions. We carelessly fell foul of the local Sunday trading hours and missed collecting some laundry and the morning food shopping window but we did get some diesel. Monday morning we will have another go and then we can leave for Moorea, Raitea etc. Until then we shall just have to bask on the deck or do a little snorkelling on the coral reef nearby. I know it’s tough but somebody has to do it.

17:29.50S 149:51.15W, 5th May 2008, Opunohu Bay, Moorea, French Polynesia

After a bit of rushing about in the morning getting groceries and collecting laundry we set sail from Pape’ete to Moorea again and arrived in the afternoon at Opunohu Bay (fabulous mountain scenery already described following previous visits but this time with additional brooding rain clouds and rainbows).

After me and the crew had a quick snorkel on the reef and a slab of tuna the size of a housebrick for dinner, I had a call from my new Polynesian friend Iren’aa, last seen near Raiatea. It turned out that Iren’aa was also back in Moorea doing some interior design consultancy work for the Pearl Resort chain. There was me thinking she was just a simple local girl, but she apparently spends a lot of time working in Europe and the USA. Iren’aa and her business partner Wilson had been hired to redesign some rooms.

It sounds like a joke but there had been complaints of naked people swimming under the over-water bungalows and looking into the bedrooms through the glass reef observation coffee tables. I was offered free accommodation to test the new room designs but we had already agreed to meet up with Heike and her new skipper Petra on ‘Viva’ who should be arriving at the anchorage soon. Iren’aa was able to take a hotel launch out to meet me at Graptolite instead for a little late evening consultation.

17:30.98S 149:49.22W, 8th May 2008, Cooks Bay, Moorea

We just had two days of excellent diving outside the reef off Moorea. On Tuesday we had a Blacktip sharks and turtles experience. OK and not so very frightening. On Wednesday we upgraded to an enormous gang of huge Lemon sharks circling around us looking hungry. What me worry? You will have to wait for the photos and video to see how big and menacing they were. They actually smile at you when they about to bite.

We had lunch in the Sheraton Beach Resort. It was nothing special except for the price. They had a power cut in the kitchen half way through cooking which didn’t help. When we got back to the anchorage about an hour and a half later, Graptolite had GONE. After a quiet panic and motoring the dinghy around in circles for a while we spotted her in the distance. The naughty girl had gone and sailed off by herself half a mile across Opunohu Bay and was busy getting cosy with the big cruise ship ‘Tahitian Princess’.

There is no explaining how an anchor comes loose after two days and drags so far and so quickly without getting snagged but there you are. It could have been very nasty but it wasn’t. With as much nonchalance as we could muster we climbed back onboard and sailed out of Opunohu Bay towards Cook’s Bay like that’s what we had planned all along.

In Cook’s Bay (stunning scenery blah blah) we met up with Gerry and Isolde from ‘Northern Sky’ and Petra, Peter, Heike and Bill from ‘Viva’. Some of us went to see yet another Polynesian show at the Bali Hi Club and then we all went for dinner at an Italian place.

Back to Opunohu Bay now and then an overnight sail to Huahine. 

16:42.79S 151:02.35W, 10th May 2008, Fare anchorage, Huahine

Just before arriving at Huahine, Colin had a bite from a fish, thus finally christening his expensive fishing tackle bought ages ago in Pape’ete. This fish was a new type for us, eight pounds in weight, long and with big teeth. After anchoring near the tiny town of Fare we had a run ashore then invited the crew of ‘Viva’ over for a fish supper.

Soon after, small niggling doubts surfaced about the species of fish we had in the fridge. After the photographs were checked we realised that this fish was not the very excellent wahoo as we first thought. It was a barracuda. Barracudas being reef predators are unfortunately a bit prone to poisoning people with ciguatera. The fish fillets were gently released back into the wild and ‘Viva’ took it quite well that they had to have canned tuna. We had a visit to a pearl farm this afternoon. Apparently some of the oysters die after having a pearl nucleus irritant of Mississippi mussel shell inserted into their gonads. Are we surprised? Jean has had a contact lens stuck on the side of her eyeball all day after falling asleep with them in. Most of us have had a go at poking at it but it remains stuck and now she’s in denial that it’s there at all. Perhaps Jean’s contact lens will turn into a pearl.

14:40.93S 151:29.05W, 13th May 2008, Tahaa Yacht Club, Tahaa

Now in Tahaa, we were on a mooring off the Yacht Club on Monday night. We had no adventures worth reporting in getting here. Jean has loaned herself out to another boat called ‘Island Prism’ for a little while. Canadian Jim was sailing single-handed and needed the help.

This morning we were a water taxi and took Heike and Bill to the ridiculously luxurious ‘Le Tahaa Resort’ on a little motu off Tahaa. We had a fabulous lunch as taxi fare. Then Colin and I tried to get back into the dinghy. Appreciate that we have done this operation countless times before. Appreciate that we have done this in darkness and well sozzled without mishap. Appreciate that on this occasion we had nothing but water with lunch and it was broad daylight. Anyway we both somehow managed to end up in the sea, wallets soaked and cameras ruined. We provided some amusement to the otherwise bored staff of the resort but that was the only upside. Leaving the resort, we turned left to go clockwise inside the reef looking for another anchorage. There was some very nice warm rain with bright rainbows and then a good sunset over the peaks of Bora Bora to the west. Then it got dark then and we didn’t find any good place to moor until we had done a full circumnavigation inside the reef of Tahaa and were back where we started in the morning. The Pearl Regatta had in the meantime also arrived at the same spot and a mooring buoy was hard to find. In the Yacht Club there was yet another Polynesian dance show to be watched.

16:36.30S 151:33.42W, 14th May 2008 anchored off Le Tahaa Resort, Tahaa

In the morning we sailed about 6 miles across the lagoon between Tahaa and Raiatea. While going ashore in the dinghy there was an idyllic scene with waving coconut palms, yellow flowers that had fallen from trees into the blue water and two girls on a surfboard having a floating picnic. I mention this because it was only about fifty metres from the end of the Raiatea airport runway. Eat your heart out Staines! 

The trip to Raiatea was to do a bit of shopping for oil filters and new cameras. We had no success with either though we did bump into Jean and Jim from ‘Island Prism’ and had a beer. As we sailed back to Tahaa, there was the usual outrageous sunset over Bora Bora and also the scent of vanilla and wood smoke in the air.

16:29.40S 151:45.60W, 18th May 2008, Bora Bora YC

Another trip to Raiatea on Thursday to finally get some fuel and oil filters and get our Heike back onboard. Had a beer with ‘Wizard’ crew then onward and upward again to Bora Bora. We anchored off ‘Bloody Mary’s’ in water that was a bit too deep for our chain, but it seemed to hold and we went to ‘Kealoha 8’ for some late night drinks.

On Friday we motored around the lagoon to the Bora Bora Yacht Club where the World Cruising Club had set up shop. Jean also rejoined Grapto from her little flirt with ‘Island Prism’. The impressively named, although quite modest, Bora Bora Yacht Club had barely reopened after a change of ownership but they managed to put on a good buffet for the fleet. I made the mistake of turning up to the WARC do in native blue pareo and black pearl neckware. Hey, I’m a cool dude with a good tan! There were lots of ladies who thought a bit of touchy-feely was acceptable but it degenerated into some of the more excitable women (you know who you are) running off with my pareo as a trophy. Fortunately for me I needed pockets to hold enormous amounts of local currency so I had shorts on underneath. Ha.

On Saturday morning we had two excellent dives outside the Bora Bora reef with loads of nasty looking sharks. Look forward to seeing Colin’s excellent scary underwater video when I get good internet links. There is a bit where I kick a 10 foot shark to the surprise of both of us. Saturday afternoon was a bit of a waste with a lot of siesta time and we ended up missing the YC dinghy race. I’m sure others will write about it.

Today (Sunday) there was a bit of a blow coming in and some boats left for more sheltered spots or dragged their anchors. We are on one of the few mooring buoys so we could be reasonably smug about it. Nick and Rosie from K8 turned up in the afternoon and we ended up drinking all our wine supplies bought in for the next leg. More provisioning for us tomorrow. The start for the next leg has been delayed until Tuesday. We have opted to go to the Southern Cook Islands and Rarotonga rather than to the delightful but near-deserted Suworrow in the north as we wimpishly appreciate fresh food and other things to be had from civilization after a long sail.

16:29.40S 151:45.60W, 20th May 2008, Bloody Mary’s anchorage, Bora Bora

Did I say I was smug about being on a BBYC mooring buoy? Big mistake. The wind blew up as expected during the early hours of Monday. A radio call from ‘Northern Sky’ said they had dragged their anchor and were bouncing on the reef. Heike and I took them our long line in the dingy and Colin hauled them back afloat on Grapto’s winch. ‘Northern Sky’ then rafted up alongside Grapto sharing our buoy. So far so good. It’s all very exciting when it’s somebody else’s boat with problems. No worries, I’ll be waiving salvage rights this time Gerry. A couple of hours later the rusty mooring buoy chain gave way and both yachts, now lashed together, slowly waltzed towards certain destruction on same reef. Fortunately, Colin is a light sleeper. Engines were fired up and our makeshift Polynesian double-hulled canoe escaped seawards.

After some fuelling and provisioning in Vaitape we anchored again off Bloody Mary’s restaurant and did some more snorkelling. I took a speargun but didn’t catch anything although I would like to think some fish were badly frightened. Dinner was had in Bloody Mary’s. They do a drink of the same name with tomato juice and vodka which I’m sure is just a coincidence.

16:52.52S 154:26.57W, 21st May 2008, South Pacific west of Society Islands

The next leg to the Cook Islands started off the BBYC at 1200. Boats scattered in different directions. Some are doing the race leg to the utterly delightful but near deserted Suworrow while we and others are off to the southern Cooks stopping at as many islands as we can along the way.

The first attempt at landfall was at Maupiti which looks like a miniature version of Bora Bora. Unfortunately there is nothing miniature about the surf that pounds across the reef into the lagoon. The waves looked to be about 3-4 metres high in the pass and much bigger on either side. It would easily have been possible to make a dramatic entrance upside down which would have ruined our day. There was no argument from crew about giving the place a miss this time.

After an overnight sail the next place we reached was the tiny atoll of Maupihaa. The pass into the atoll was a bit hairy with 4-5 knots of tide against us, made worse by the longitude of the charts being wrong by 200 metres.  Just coconut palms, a few people and some pigs seem to live there. There were also a few other yachts at anchor. Some radio talk in German was overheard between two of the yachts which was less than complimentary about our presence and about the WARC in general. After identifying the offending boat we made sure that we dropped anchor close enough so that they had something to really complain about. Childish or what? Tee hee. We are now sailing for Aitutaki.

19:10.48S 157:11.64W Freitag 23 Mai 2008

Das Schoene am Segeln ist ja nicht nur, dass man sehr langsam und ab und zu unbequem an die Stellen kommt, wo man hinwill, sondern auch, dass man eben dort hinkommt, wo einen der Wind hinweht. Ich wollte ja eigentlich, dass uns der Wind nach Aitutaki weht. Das wollte der aber nicht, sondern jetzt werden wir wohl in Atiu landen.

Ich versuche ja immer wieder, die Jungs davon zu ueberzeugen, dass eine Insel nicht wie die andere aussieht… aber manchmal ist es wohl wirklich so. Nachdem Colin und ich uns schon ueberlegt hatten, wie wir in den haesslich schmalen und sehr, sehr flachen (1,3 m Wassertiefe…bei 1,7 m Kieltiefe…. grusel) Pass kommen (mit dem Dingi vorausfahren, mit Lot ausloten und dann mit Boot hinterherfahren…), hat der Wind auf Sued-Suedwest gedreht, so dass wir suedlicher gehen muessen und nun Atiu neuer Wegpunkt ist.

Aber dort gibt es eine ganz besondere Attraktion: Tumunus! Tumunus sind Busch-Bier-Trink-Veranstaltungen. Diese wurden eingefuehrt als die Missionare versuchen haben, das Kava Trinken in den Cook Islands zu verbieten. Zu dieser Zeit wurden die Maenner in den Busch geschickt, um dort selbstgebrautes, orangefarbenes Bier zu trinken. Diese Zeremonien werden heute immer noch abgehalten, man trinkt dann Bier aus halben Kokosnussschalen (daher auch der Name), der traditionell als Container fuer das gebraute Bier benutzt wurde. Zwar sind diese Zeremonien auch heute noch illegal, aber ansonsten wuerde es wohl auch keinen Spass machen, in den Busch zu gehen und Bier (wahrscheinlich dann schon warm…ekel) aus ausgehoehlten Kokosnussschalen zu trinken.

Heiki

21:00.41S 159:29.67W 01:00 Sunday 25th May

Aitutaki had to be missed as the winds were not all that keen on taking us there so we sailed for the island of Atiu instead. After timing our arrival to first light on Saturday we found a fairly impenetrable fortress of cliffs and surf with no obvious landing place. Atiu is supposed to be one of the last bastions of the old Polynesian way of life which is not all that surprising given how difficult it is to get on or off. Giving up on Atiu we continued on towards Avarua, Rarotonga. We should arrive there at first light in the morning. As it will be another Sunday in Polynesia, it means that everything will be closed. The practice of eating missionaries should be revived.

21:12.00S 159:47.00W, 26th May 2008, Avatiu, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Rarotonga brings us back to the English-speaking world once more. A bit of Maori is also useful but not essential to get by. As we approached Rarotonga early on Sunday morning the temperature fell and we had some drizzly rain just to make us feel really at home.

First impressions of Rarotonga are that it is a really nice place. The natives are very friendly, the cost of living high on the hog is much less than French Polynesia and the beaches, reefs and mountains are as good as anywhere else in the Pacific. There are some quirky things about the place though, one of them being that most houses seem to have gravestones of ancestors in the front garden. Also every second building seems to be a church of some denomination or other. Strangely, the churches don’t seem to be all that popular for burials.

Some new T-shirts were commissioned today as boat tropical uniform. The design is based on Colin’s tattoo. We rented a car for a trip around the island. Heike always drives in true German style at high speed on the right-hand side of the road. This makes for a white-knuckle ride for passengers when everyone else on the road drives at small-road speed on the left. She claims she never has accidents but the trail of destruction that must be going on all the time behind us makes it hard to believe.

21:12.00S 159:47.00W, 28th May 2008, Avatiu, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

We are still hanging off the harbour wall at Avatiu, Rarotonga. Yesterday we did a couple of dives on the outside of the reef. There were lots of nice fish at 25 metres down but not much that was big and dangerous. Lunch yesterday was a barbecue on the harbour wall. I think it was from somebody’s freezer that needed clearing out!

Last night was an ‘Island Night’ at the Crown Beach Resort. We went all psyched up for some eye-catching exotic dancing from young ladies, what we actually got were some very young girls that couldn’t possibly be filling their coconut-shell bikini tops. It’s not the same thing at all, guys. The bread-and-butter pudding from the buffet was the best bit.

20:56.75S 161:04.97W, 30th May 2008, almost lost in the uncharted wastes between Rarotonga and Niue

Wednesday night was a bit rough with northerly swells inside Avatiu harbour although the lines held. An old orange fender that joined our boat in the Galapagos decided to continue on alone but after a night dithering about near the harbour entrance came back to us on the wash of a departing island freighter.

Thursday lunchtime the voyaging canoe Graptolite once more set sail to discover strange new lands to the west. Our decks fully loaded with taro, drinking coconuts, chickens and pigs for the journey. The animals are actually in the fridge but the rest is more or less true. Thursday night at sea was fairly horrible with steep waves throwing us around. It’s not just a simple porpoising motion that non-yachties might expect but it’s also a rapid clockwise and/or anticlockwise corkscrewing movement and a repeated slamming of the hull onto what feels like wet concrete. It makes it hard to sleep. Especially if you head is also down the toilet.

20:14.94S 166:19.95W, 1st June 2008, between Cook Islands and Nuie

It was a bit chilly last night. I very nearly put on a pair of socks for the first time in six months. We are still bobbing around at sea between the Cook Islands and Nuie with about 200 miles left to go. About 90 miles up ahead there is an isolated bit of almost-land called Beveridge Reef. As we will be approaching in the dark, and a note on the chart says that the reef might actually be 3 miles from its charted position, we might be giving the place a wide berth, but it would have been interesting to drop anchor in an ocean that is normally two or three miles deep.

Not a lot has been happening otherwise. Some minutiae of everyday life; Colin is still catching only tuna of the skipjack variety which none of us much like although they sometimes end up on the table; I am trying to nag Heike into breaking a serious tomato ketchup habit but having no more success than Colin. Cooking a full English breakfast in a Force 6 is my challenge of the day and ketchup is permitted! 

19:17.19S 169:25.23W, 2. Juni 2008

Eifrige Leser von Asterix und Obelix wissen es ja schon lange: In Britannien gibt es Wildschwein in Pfefferminzsauce. Nun habe ich ja schon seit meiner Anwesenheit auf diesem britischen Schiff gelernt, dass es nicht Wildschwein, sondern Lamm in Minzsauce gibt (ja, und es gibt den feinen, aber offensichtlich wichtigen Unterschied zwischen Minzsauce und Pfefferminzsauce, der stets wieder betont wird, aber wohl nur dem seit Generationen in Britannien verwurzelten “Eingeborenen” gelaeufig ist).

Gestern gab es dann einen kulinarisch gesehen rein britischen Tag: Der Captain selbst erfreute die Crew mit einem “Full English Breakfast”: gebratene Eier (die kennen auch andere, weniger zivilisierte europaeische Voelker), Bacon (den kennt der frequentiell Amerika-Reisende gut), fried Bread (verkuerzt laut Colin das Leben um einige Jahre und besteht aus getoastetem Brot, das danach im Fett des Bacon gebraten wird *suendhaft, aber lecker!*), gegrillte Tomaten (irgendwas Gesundes muss es ja auch geben, wie haette sonst so eine Nation ueberleben koennen?) und eine grosse Kelle voller Baked Beans (in suesslicher Tomatensauce schwimmende weiche, weisse Bohnen…. Mag sich jeder selbst seinen Teil dazu denken…). Es fehlte laut Angabe des Kuechenchefs nur noch “Black Pudding”… auf Deutsch: Blutwurst….

Also das, was Asterix beschreibt, klingt dagegen wohl eher noch harmlos…Aber es war wirklich alles sehr lecker!

Natuerlich musste dieser wunderbare Tagesbeginn dann kulinarisch weitergefuehrt werden: Zum Mittagessen gab es dann Lamm mit Minzsauce. Es schmeckt tatsaechlich gar nicht so schlecht, wie es klingt. Aber es ist wohl wie mit vielen Besonderheiten so: Wer nicht Minzsauce mit der Muttermilch aufgesogen hat, gewoehnt sich schwer daran, ist wohl wie mit Peanutbutter.

Fuegt man in Gedanken dann aber ueberall eine ausreichende Portion Ketchup hinzu, beruhigen sich auch mitteleuropaeische Geschmacksnerven schnell wieder. Es geht doch nichts ueber wohlgenaehrte Vorurteile….

Ich muss nun schliessen, weil ich noch mein Handtuch auf die Sonnenliege legen muss, schliesslich geht  bald die Sonne auf….;-))))

Heiki

19:03.29S 169:55.54, 3rd June 2008, on a mooring buoy off Alofi, Niue

It is hard to describe the confusion onboard when the engine stops working; the engine is partly dismantled; the companionway steps are removed; the coastguard and several other yachts are trying to offer assistance over the radio; dangerous land is fast approaching; darkness is falling; the wind is doing funny things and worst of all there is a 20lb yellowfin tuna flapping around on the deck. For the benefit of fellow yotties, the taro root is a potato-like vegetable common in these parts that comes on a long stalk. In an emergency it makes a fine club for dispatching tuna.

We are, of course, pretty experienced in bringing the boat into strange locations entirely under sail, in the dark and with major equipment malfunction (see blogs from Aruba). Unlike the Lithuanian boat ‘Martha’ that piled up on the reef near us a couple of days before in similar circumstances. We had a little help from our former crewman, Shin on the ‘Gray Lady’ RIB and the crew of ‘Andante’ in locating a mooring buoy and then we were safe once more.

The weather has not been too special here, but we rented a car and tried to see the sights. Niue is an unusual raised-atoll and so is mostly hard coral limestone with many caves and sea-caves. A tour around the island in the rain was a bit strange. There is a rapidly falling population here and there are whole villages in the rain-forest that have been abandoned to rot. Like in the Cook Islands there is also the unhealthy practice of burying Mom and Dad on the front lawn in lavish style while the house behind falls down. In some ways it is a very post-apocalyptic scene.

The people themselves though are very welcoming. The under-worked Police happily issued us with local driving licences and the Premier himself gave a speech and joined us for a beer where he told Colin of his great interest in Welsh literature. Perhaps he also said the same to the French and Russians over the fish and chip dinner in the Niue Yacht Club. Niue is the smallest independent nation on the planet, and everyone is good at politics.

19:03.29S 169:55.54, 5th June 2008, on a mooring buoy off Alofi, Niue, Pacific Ocean

The weather has been somewhat wet today but we put on wetsuits and air-tanks and had a dive with hundreds of sea-snakes through a sea-cave. We have done enough dives now to know this was something a bit special. Tonight’s entertainment was a barbecue in the village hall. There was also local chap (I think a noni fruit farmer) who gave us an excellent Kiwi/Polynesian sing-along accompanied by banjo and ukulele.

While writing this, we got the sound of some very heavy breathing just off the back of the boat. It must have been a whale. We got the spotlights out but saw nothing. The whale watching season has only just started here.

19:00.56S 170:15.99W, 6th June 2008, between Niue and Tonga

It’s a strange thing that the entire population of the country of Niue is only about the same size as the secondary school I attended. My school never had a chip shop and government offices though.

Aside from clearing out this morning with Immigration and Customs we also joined the highly prestigious Niue Yacht Club. Good value at 20 Kiwi. It will be interesting to see what the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes makes of the customary reciprocal membership privileges.

We are now doing a short hop to Vava’u in the Kingdom of Tonga about 200 miles away. Due to the bizarre fact that the world spins from west to east and the weekend has to start somewhere, we will be losing a day at the International Dateline fairly soon. Locally the Dateline is at 172.5 degrees west as it jogs around our side of Tonga so we will get two celebrations close together as we also cross my nominal half-way point a little further on at 180 degrees, just before Fiji.

We wanted to take some uga (coconut crabs) as food for the journey, but none were to be had in the market today. It’s maybe just as well as they are probably quite capable of cutting their way out through a boat’s bottom.

18:41.09S 172:50.60W, 8th June 2008, 100 miles from Vava’u, Tonga

On crossing the International Dateline this morning, two things happened. The first is that, without doing anything fancy, we have now gone from being very late risers, relative to the UK, to being up very early. The second thing is that somebody stole our Saturday from us which seems like a poor reward for travelling so far. This morning we were 12 hours behind Perfidious Albion’s Summertime and now we are now 12 hours ahead. Makes my head hurt. We also had a bottle of iffy NZ champagne at the crossing and had some excellent fresh-caught mahi-mahi for dinner.

Storms are forecast up ahead.

18:39.49S 173:58.94W, 12th June 2008,  Port of Refuge, Neiafu, Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga

We arrived in Tonga early on Monday and found a mooring off Neiafu. We did the usual diving trips on Tuesday in some sea caves and reef drop-offs. The coral here is amazing with fans and soft corals of all shapes, sizes and colours. There have been a few Tongan feasts to get through since arriving, always with some unfortunate piglets getting turned into table decorations. There are a lot of piglets happily running around the streets here that seem to have no idea what’s in store.

Tonight’s extravaganza will be a kava ceremony at the ‘Bounty Bar’ which apparently involves getting anesthetised drinking something like dishwater out of a big bowl. I’ll let you know how it goes. If I can.

18:39.49S 173:58.94W, 13th June 2008,  Port of Refuge, Neiafu, Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga

The kava night had to be given a miss which was a shame. Somebody seems to have slipped a very nasty bug to me recently causing some unpleasant effects that do not need to be described in detail, although I will say thank goodness for the type of compact bathrooms you get on boats that allows the simultaneous use of both toilet and washbasin. This is the first problem of its type for me since setting out, so I’ve done quite well. There are reports of others in the fleet also affected. Jean has also had the same trouble for the past couple of days but has perhaps not had the sympathy deserved. Complications also with deteriorating weather and Belinda arriving in Fiji by air on the 17th is making life difficult. It looks now like Colin will be getting a flight to Fiji while we hobble along behind, storms, fuel and diseases permitting.

18:39.49S 173:58.94W, 15th June 2008, Port of Refuge, Neiafu, Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga

Saturday night we watched the England/All Blacks game in a waterside restaurant with Nick & Rosie and others. Sunday morning saw the faithful called to prayer and dinghies raced ashore with smartly clad sailors to one of the local churches. Not me obviously. I’m still recovering from Ebola or leprosy or whatever and anyway communing with deities is not my scene. Having said that I was curious to see what damage the missionaries had done to these unfortunate people, and I’d been told that the singing was good. After lunch Heike, Colin and I strolled down the near deserted main street following the sound of bells. The big Catholic church didn’t appeal. Too much S&M and ritual cannibalism for me. The Wesleyan Methodist place we found up the road had some good singing coming out of it. All in Tongan. People were still flocking in, dressed in their big pandanus overskirts but as we were fairly immodestly dressed for the occasion, we sat outside for a while listening. Heike went to another church for an evening service, but it turned out to be something like a Rastafarian disco. Big herds of pigs running up and down the road in the dark apparently made the walk back to the dock less than interesting.  

18:30.66S 174:29.54W, 17th June 2008, 25 miles west of Tonga

Colin flew off to Fiji to meet up with Belinda early on Monday morning, Jean jumped ship for an easier life on Gerrie’s boat ‘Wizard’ and I cleared out of Tonga with Customs and Immigration. I found I was also still clearing out some of Tonga in other ways too so to be on the safe side we hung around the harbour until this morning.

This morning saw the first sunshine we’ve seen in many days and it seemed a shame to leave but the paperwork was done and so Heike and I sailed away through the western islands of Tonga towards Savusavu, Fiji. It will take three or four days to get there.

16:46.66S 179:19.81E, 21st June 2008, Savusavu, Fiji

Yesterday we crossed 180 degrees which is a point close enough to be half-way around the world from the UK and something of a milestone. Naturally another bottle of fizzy had to be opened. A bit later, I caught a biggish mahi-mahi but had to wellie it a few times with a new Tongan carved fish-billy for it to come quietly and be filleted.

Before dark, we were in Savusavu, Fiji. There is a fine tradition of bureaucracy here, presumably left over from the time Fiji was British, and a big crowd of officials turned up at the boat with armfuls of forms. We had one sorry-looking orange confiscated but no other problems apart from writer’s cramp and then they gave us a permit to go ashore. But we didn’t and stayed aboard instead and watched ‘The African Queen’ on DVD and ate fish.

This morning we did go ashore to do some shopping and bought a big pile of dried kava root in the market. Kava is a druggy substance which is handed over to the island village chiefs to keep them from becoming hostile. Colin and Belinda also turned up today and we now have the full Fiji cruising crew.

17:16.54S 179:04.39W, 25th June 2008, south of Savusavu Bay, Fiji

This week has seen us exploring Vanua Levu (which is the big island in the north of the Fiji group). On Sunday we rented a 4WD car to look at the western side of the island and came very close to not making it back as the dirt roads here are so very nasty.

The next day we stuck to the heavily potholed sealed roads to take a look at Labasa in the north. A walk in the Waisali Rainforest Reserve on the way was an interesting but sweaty experience. Labasa turned out to be an Indo-Fijian town from the days when sugar-cane was king here. The place could have been anywhere in India and was well off the tourist trail. After a quick curry we headed back to the more Melanesian Savusavu in some heavy rain that flooded the streets knee-deep.

Yesterday, along another dirt road from Savusavu we found the Jean-Michel Cousteau resort which, not surprisingly, is mainly a diving place. We did two tank dives off the reef with them. The coral was good but big fish were in short supply. We are now enroute to the Yasawa Islands in the west which can only be reached by a long overnight sail through some very dangerous-looking waters.

16:44.75S 177:21.36E, 26th June 2008, West of Yasawa Island, Fiji

The overnight sail from Savusavu to the Yasawa Group needed some careful navigation through some tight passes and across Bligh Water but we made it OK. By lunchtime we were off a nice-looking sunny beach on the leeward side of Yasawa Island where we intended to barbeque the mornings catch of a monster 33lb yellowfin tuna. Can’t beat that, we thought.

The fly in the ointment turned out to be that the electric anchor windlass had developed a bunch of problems including blown fuses and corroded cables and so we couldn’t anchor to have our beach barbie. By the time we had made some running repairs while motoring around in circles, the wind was up and it was getting dark again so we are now heading south on another overnight jolly to find spare parts. There are hundreds, nay thousands, of reefs and islets to the south of us so we are actually heading in a westerly direction to try to go around them while it’s dark.

Saturday 28th June 2008, Vuda Point Marina, south of Lautoka, Fiji

After a fairly tricky night weaving through reefs and islets we arrived in Lautoka to clear in with the authorities. Lautoka is the main sugar cane processing and exporting city in Fiji and is colourful but is not all that attractive a place, so we moved on south to Vuda Point. The marina was not on our charts and electronically involved motoring towards a coral beach and well inland through an uncharted channel before finding a berth. I have to say I hate doing that!

We went into Lautoka today in search of some spare electrical parts, but shops shut down around midday on Saturday and we had no success. Colin and Belinda then went off to an expensive resort for some quality time before Tuesday’s flight and Heike and I took a look at the ‘Garden of the Sleeping Giant’ which is a nearby tropical rainforest walk and orchid collection.

17:47.57S 176:49.62E, 5th July 2008, West of the Fiji Islands

It has been a whole week without a blog from me but there is not a lot to tell. Vuda Point Marina was used as a base for a few days to explore Viti Levu island by car. The towns of Lautoka and Nadi were interesting for their Indian-Melanesian cultural melting pot, Hindu temples and sugarcane trains but it was otherwise of limited interest for us jaded global travellers. As in the island of Vanua Levu, the roads are mostly a mix of pothole and speed-bump which doesn’t exactly make motoring a pleasure. Heike has been introduced to curries but it looks like it is going to take a while for her to get used to them.

On Tuesday Belinda and Heike left for Nadi Airport. Belinda, to go back to work; Heike, to have a quick trip home to Berlin. Frau and Herr Richter, I hope you enjoyed your surprise visit. Heike will be back aboard this blog in a couple of weeks from Port Vila, Vanuatu. The next day, the menfolk, obviously bereft without female company, celebrated by sailing to Musket Cove Resort on Manolo Laillai island. Many other World ARC boats were also there. We managed to survive quite well on barbecue food and beach bar drinks.

Today, Saturday, was the start of the next leg to Port Resolution, Tanna, Vanuatu. It’s just a small hop at less than 500 miles. Just before the official race start the sky opened up and there was enough heavy rain for the start to be delayed and then the start changed to a safer guided line-astern procession through the inner and outer reefs. It looked like a Spithead Review of battleships. Nelson would have been proud. Colin and I are now braced for a wet and windy trip to Vanuatu. We have already abandoned German cuisine and have just had beans on toast. Bliss.         

19:37.57S 169:29.79E, 8Th July 2008, Port Resolution, Tanna, Vanuatu

This one was rough! Big seas and 30+ knots of wind for 470-odd miles.

Early on Monday morning the skipper was woken by a loud bang and a shout from Colin in the cockpit, “Martyn, Martyn, we’ve lost the rudder”, “We’re all going to die”. Maybe the last one was me. Maybe it was just in my head. One of the two ships wheel was spinning and Colin was fighting the other one while everything was bouncing around. It turned out that ‘Otto’, our trusty autohelm, had broken a control wire during a particularly nasty gust. It was impossible to repair at sea so we had to hand-steer from then on. “So what?” I hear you say. Everyone has seen films with some unfortunate lashed to the wheel, rounding the Horn. It needs to be said that I rarely touch the wheel on this boat. She can be told to go in a certain direction come Hell or high water by pressing buttons which leaves plenty of time to go below and darn socks or whatever. Standing in the cockpit fighting a wheel through the troughs and crests of waves is not normally what it is about these days and the uncomplaining crew member Otto usually handles it all.

Graptolite doesn’t have the best keel design to be hand-steered anyway and in Force 7’s or 8’s it’s not easy. Colin and I did 2-hour watches around the clock with aching arms and shoulders wearing full wet weather gear. Another two or three crew would have been more than useful.

Is that all? No it isn’t! Our spinnaker pole (the one already snapped in the Caribbean) broke an end-fitting and is now completely useless, the anchor windlass and radar are still waiting on spare parts and worst of all, an old gremlin, the salt-water cooling system on the engine died. It seems like an old story but here we are again hurtling towards an unknown island in what might well have been a bathtub.

The entry to Port Resolution was under sail with a few minutes of un-cooled engine at the very end to help anchor. Port Resolution is very grandly named after Captain Cook’s ship but is in reality just a pretty inlet with only one or two grass-roofed huts visible in the trees. A dinghy ride ashore got us cleared-in then back to Grapto to repair the engine and then a long sleep. It’s now Tuesday evening and I’m sore but wide awake and ready to party.

19:37.57S 169:29.79E, 9th July 2008, Port Resolution, Tanna, Vanuatu

A very interesting day today.

We had a formal ceremony in the morning with the Port Resolution villagers where there was dancing and an exchange of gifts. We gave them some western bits and pieces and they gave us baskets of fruit and vegetables, banana leaf hats, grass skirts and one very frightened-looking piglet.

In the afternoon we piled into the back of pick-up trucks and bounced along a dirt road to another village where dozens of men and boys gave us a display of dancing while wearing nothing but penis-sheaths. We didn’t see any women there. Who knows what the women traditionally wear?

Moving in the trucks, we bounced through a forest of giant tree-ferns up the side of an active volcano and then stood on the volcano’s rim as darkness fell and stared at the fountains of lava and ash being thrown out. Completely at our own risk, apparently.

Returning to Port Resolution, the villagers had laid on a feast which we ate off banana-leaf plates. The little piggy was very tasty.

17:44.87S 168:18.66E, 11th July 2008, Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu

We set sail northwards towards Port Vila but stopped off overnight at the next island of Erromango. We arrived at Erromango after dark and left before dawn so I can’t describe the place although in a village near our anchorage at Dillon’s Bay there is supposed to be an outline of a missionary chipped into the rock before they cooked and ate him. Medium-rare, I hope.

We upped anchor at 05:00 AM and headed towards Port Vila but the strong winds snapped our genoa halyard and our engine also stopped working. The engine was fairly easily fixable but the halyard needed someone to go up the mast. In gale force winds there are usually no volunteers for that job, so we ended up motoring most of the way.

As Colin seems to have cracked the fishing thing, we have lots of fresh mahi-mahi and yellowfin tuna in the fridge which we are giving away as fast as we can in case we catch more. First impressions of Port Vila are very favourable. There are places to eat and places to buy stuff for the boat which all makes a pleasant change.

17:44.87S 168:18.66E, 12th July 2008,  Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu

A Kiwi called Phil came by the boat today who said he had heard on the yachtie grapevine that we had engine troubles. He gave us a diagnosis then took our halyard away to fix for us. A few minutes later we found the heat exchanger was stuffed with 22 old rubber blades from broken impellers. It looks like our days of having to sail into anchorages might now be over.

Later we went to a big Efate island event, horse racing. There were many western women tottering about in big hats and high-heels like they were at Royal Ascot and the champagne flowed freely. I won 6,000 Vatu with a horse called ‘Texas’ (a place I have lived as an expat) all of which I put on ‘Tom’ to win in the next race. ‘Tom’ (my second child’s name) came in second after a Steward’s Inquiry but it was a good day out. I need to find a better way of picking winners.

17:44.87S 168:18.66E, 13th July 2008, Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu

I spent this morning dangling up the mast successfully mousing the fixed genoa halyard and at the same time made the alarming discovery that a shroud wire (holds the mast up) had broken. Not so good especially as it turns out that there is nobody in Vanuatu that has the equipment that can fix it. Some airfreight from Australia might be needed before we can leave.

We had a celebratory WARC lunch in the Yacht Club which continued at the Waterfront Restaurant for dinner. Had a few drinks with a fellow northerner who grew up on Pringle Street, Blackburn. Small world!

17:44.87S 168:18.66E, 15th July 2008,  Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu

We now have engine and sails in working order, but the mast is still a bit wobbly. Rigging parts are being made up and airfreighted from Brisbane but we are going to be here in Port Vila for a while yet before moving on to Espiritu Santo. There are worse places to be and there is still lots to do here.

Last night Petra (Viva) and Bob (Andante) had a joint birthday cake and champagne party on a beach on an island in Port Vila harbour. Apart from that it was a quiet night for the master and crew of Graptolite. Wear and tear doesn’t just affect the boat.

17:44.87S 168:18.66E, 17th July 2008, Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu

Last night we went to a restaurant called L’Hostalet which is fairly famous in Port Vila for its exotic menu. I had flying fox (fruit bat) in a red wine sauce that was really good. There’s plenty of meat on one fruit bat and there’s no wings, fur, little pointy teeth or a face like Peter Cushing to deal with on the plate. It’s a bit gamey, a bit like hare. Colin had the coconut crab which he tells me has an unusual taste for crab as they mostly scuttle about in the rain forest.

Today we had an abseil down a 50 metre waterfall with Gerrie (Wizard), Petra (Viva) and Val (Blue Flyer). Fun but a bit chilly. It was all very safely organized but that didn’t stop me falling over a rock at the bottom and twisting my ankle. It occurs to me that fruit bats probably have little interest in abseiling. 

17:44.87S 168:18.66E, 18th July 2008, Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu

Heike arrived back onboard this morning after an epic journey. She was loaded with very necessary spare parts for the boat but the most critical spare, the shroud wire, is probably still gathering dust in the corner of a warehouse in Brisbane. Most of the WARC fleet has already gone north to Espiritu Santo where they will start the next leg to Cairns on Sunday. I think Grapto will now have to leave for Cairns direct from here sometime early next week.

Had a nice lunch today of baby octopuses (octopi?) and a walk around Port Vila looking for ceremonial penis-sheaths (Sorry Jacqui, nobody seems to sell them so you might have to rethink your Xmas pressie list). Colin is on a PADI course and has been night diving and wreck diving and has lived to tell the tale.

17:43.55S 167:07.48E, 24th July 2008, west of Vanuatu

Colin had a trip up to Santo to dive on the famous 1942 USS ‘President Coolidge’ wreck. He said it was good. Heike and I had a bumpy drive around Efate Island. We found a nice beach covered in sand-washed bits of Coca-Cola bottles chucked over the side when the fleet was anchored there during WWII. I’m now the proud owner of a Coke bottle made in San Francisco in 1942. I’ll hang on to it in case I can get the deposit back.

The replacement rigging wire turned up yesterday and the mast is now less likely to fall off. Some final provisioning and paperwork and we were ready to leave Port Vila for Cairns by the evening.

Victor from South Africa briefly joined the crew, but Australian visa delays meant he had to be left behind on the dock. There’s probably some international dispute about the correct way to be mean to your indigenous population 🙂

Naturally we had a few boat problems to overcome after leaving. It wouldn’t be fun otherwise! The worst was the autopilot breaking a chain link. A bit of cursing and spanner-work sorted it out though.

I’ve still got a sore knee and ankle from my abseiling tumble. A rolling deck is not really the place to rest up. Still, only another 1200 miles to go.

17:22.39S 162:42.76E, 26th July 2008, north of New Caledonia

It’s a bit rough here. The crew have been looking greener than they have since starting out across the Pacific and Heiki has had to be drugged up with scopolamine patches which is my most serious pharmaceutical in the medicine chest for the ‘Seekrankheit’. It seems to work very well. As nobody is eating much, the annoying thing is that it looks like we are going to have to dump a lot of food before we get to Australian waters. The weevils in the ship’s biscuits will not be happy.

We hear Gerrie on ‘Wizard’ to our north has lost his mast and sails over the side yesterday which makes me even more pleased to have waited for my rigging spares to arrive before setting off. Our rigging is getting a good rattling even though we are mostly just motoring into wind.

17:15.82S 160:41.78E, 26th July 2008, 850 miles east of Cairns

The wind is now coming from the southeast, as it’s supposed to, and it’s been very pleasant sailing. The prospect of the crew having a ‘chunder in the old Pacific sea’ is now past.

Colin caught a good-sized Wahoo today. The first for Grapto. It was about 16lbs but we didn’t weigh it. For all you non-hunter-gatherers, a Wahoo is a long fish with very good white meat which should keep us going for a few days. Now we will have even more supermarket food to dump before Australia! An experiment with this fish was to just cover its eyes to keep it still instead of our usual beating seven bells out of it with clubs. Thanks for that tip, Joanne. It worked and saved us a lot of cleaning up. We have about 850 miles to run before Cairns. Arrival could be about 6 days from now for those of you waiting on the dockside for us.

17:10.08S 157:59.75E, 28th July 2008, 700 miles east of Cairns

There is no wind at all now apart from some tiny flurries that makes the wind direction indicator wander around lazily. The night sky is very clear, and we have the unusual effect of stars being reflected on the glassy surface of the sea. I don’t expect I will ever get to travel between the stars but this has got to be a similar effect. On the other hand,…

I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe; attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tan Hauser Gate. All those….moments….will be lost….in time….like tears….in the rain….time to die.

I’ll bet that last paragraph confused you, unless you recognized some lines by Rutger Hauer, from the movie ‘Blade Runner’. It has no particular significance. But I like it.

16:59.77S 156:14.42E, 29th July 2008, 600 miles west of Cairns

We found another cable connected to the autohelm was about to break so we fiddled around with spanners for a bit, then while testing the results, ended up with a fishing line wrapped around the rudder. It was time to put on the boat’s scuba gear and take a look. It’s very strange being underwater in the deep ocean. The sunlight streams down and just gets swallowed up, as does anything else that falls into it. I watched my snorkel spiralling down into the darkness for a while but couldn’t catch the thing. There is also the uneasy feeling that you might get swallowed up in a more literal way as well. Big sharks sometimes follow us, licking their fishy lips.

The wind has now picked up but it is coming from the west which is of course exactly where we are trying to go. We are mostly motoring slowly but the diesel is still going fast. It is painful progress, but better winds are forecast.

16:27.79S 154:27.63W, 30th July 2008, 500 miles west of Cairns

It’s been hard going today with big waves washing across the deck all the time and the boat heeled over so much that nobody dares to open any lockers to get food. It’s also been so cold that the oilies have had to have another outing. We’ve been huddled together for warmth like penguins on the pack-ice.

The three-hour night watch alone though is a time to indulge in chocolate and also music on the ipod that nobody else much appreciates coming through the speakers during the day. In my case it’s usually electronic stuff by Jean-Michel Jarre or didgeridoo music. I’m fairly sure Heiki secretly plays Berlin beer drinking songs and Colin plays bagpipe music so I’m not too embarrassed. Maybe we will get some SE Trade winds later today that will give us a more comfortable ride through the outer islands of the Barrier Reef.

16:52.74S 152:00.74E, 31st July 2008, 350 miles East of Cairns

We had a mini-submarine movie fest this evening with ‘The Hunt for Red October’ followed by ‘Das Boot’. It all seems so much more real when you are actually at sea in a small vessel and as Skipper you get to shout orders like “Just one ping” and “Prepare tubes one and two”.

The wind has been a bit variable, but we are making some progress now towards the Australia coast.

You may have spotted a few typos with my blog position reporting recently which can’t be fixed until I get internet access but obviously, we are still in the Eastern hemisphere and East of Cairns, unless the GPS has gone bad again.

17:12.98S 149:21.86E, 1st August 2008, 200 miles East of Cairns

We had a catalogue of problems yesterday, mostly related to water pumps for some reason.

The fun went something like this: **

Oh! The autohelm has stopped working and it looks like it’s because the batteries are too low.

Oh! The batteries are going flat too quickly, turn on the diesel generator to charge them.

Oh! The generator is cutting out. It’s overheating due to a broken seawater pump. It can’t be fixed here. Never mind, turn on the main engine to charge the batteries.

Oh! The main engine is also overheating because it’s not pumping seawater. We’ll have to take the engine apart. Looks OK to me. Let’s put it back together again.

Oh! It seems to be working now. Don’t know why. Better keep the engine running in case we get the same problem starting her up again.

Oh! If we keep the main engine on, we might run out of diesel fuel. I need a shower.

Oh! The freshwater pump for the showers isn’t working. Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

              ** substitute ‘Oh!’ for something more appropriate.

It’s not all been bad news. A big mahi-mahi was caught yesterday afternoon. Hurrah! but it slid off the back of the boat only half-filleted. This isn’t a real problem though as it still gave us more than enough fresh fish for the rest of this trip. Fingers crossed!

16:51.07S 146:26.02E, 2nd August 2008, 35 miles East of Cairns outside the Great Barrier Reef

There has been no wind worth speaking of and so we have been motoring very slowly through the Coral Sea to save fuel. I’ve no real idea how far we can go when the tank says empty, but I think we are going to find out real soon. Not wishing to seem like complete slobs when we get to Australia, we made a bit of an effort yesterday to tidy up and wash down a few things, although there is no disguising the fact that we have become a floating junkyard of equipment that has not survived the battering of the last 15,000 miles at sea.

16:55.23S 14:46.91W, 3rd August 2008, Cairns Marlin Marina

Yesterday was a bit tedious. We crept along through the Barrier Reef all day in sunshine and very light winds at 1-2 knots. There was barely a ripple. We knew the fuel situation was bad and had no choice but to turn the engine off and drift along under sail. For a while we watched a big whale waving its tail about in the air. By late evening we were in sight of the bright lights of Cairns and anchored in the estuary until daylight. This morning we upped anchor and motored for all of five minutes before the diesel ran out completely. As there was no chance of sailing against the tide and headwind, the Coastguard kindly loaned us a jerry-can of fuel and we completed the last mile or two of the Pacific crossing before lunch. The news this evening of Asolare going to Davy Jones’ Locker has made our problems seem not quite so bad.

03. Caribbean, St Lucia to Panama 2008

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14:04.59N 060:56.91W Rodney Bay, St Lucia 20th December 2007

During the crossing my credit card expired and it has caused all kinds of problems with the billing for the graptolite.eu website and me being able to update photos and video. It is proving tricky to sort out from the Caribbean, but normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. I can obviously still add words (like these..and these) but just now I have more interesting stuff to do. I’ll start it up again before continuing west. Summary of events in Rodney Bay, St Lucia so far. Eat, drink, party, party, beach, eat, drink, party etc. Tom arrived yesterday for Christmas and New Year. Lori leaves for Portugal tomorrow and is back New Years Day.

14:04.59N 060:56.91W Rodney Bay, St Lucia 22nd December 2007

The website access problems seem to be solved and there are now new photos on graptolite.eu . Although video is going to have to wait for a faster internet connection than they have here in the marina. The Award Ceremony was held today for the ARC. Graptolite got a special mention for blogging but no trophy. After the award do, Patti, Tamsin, Tom and myself went to the Gros Islet ‘Jump Up’ which is a Friday night shanty town street bash. A Notting Hill Carnival meets Cowes Week type do. Note to self: never let Tom loose with rum punch again. Lori left for Xmas in Portugal with family. The rest of us will be toughing it out here until maybe Boxing Day then having a sail south to the Grenadines. There are still a few more bits and pieces to fix on the boat before leaving though.

14:04.59N 060:56.91W Rodney Bay, St Lucia 23rd December 2007

A Crabbers blog,

Crew here; We realise that our public gets anxious when the blogs dry up but it feels to us that there is no news in port. Liz’s sister did remark that all we seemed to do or write about doing whilst at sea was eating. You wouldn’t think so if you’d have seen us on arrival; Skipper with new notches on his belt (to make it go smaller), others with a more svelte look – all now restored thanks to Caribbean cuisine and Piton beer.

Anyway, the prize giving was last night and we were there. The gig started off with a duf mic on the stage which when fixed came on at full volume plus feedback which blew all the fuses in the house. Time for more rum punch till it got fixed. You don’t know how boring these events can be till you have to sit through the whole thing and not the edited highlights. In the intermission Liz and I made for a less congested bar behind closed doors but didn’t stay long as the ARC MD was hosting drinky’s for the St Lucia PM, Cabinet Ministers and other hangers on – Ooops!  Got a good rum punch recipe from the PM’s wife tho’.  As for the results we came 16th in our class, one place in front of Andante of Mersey which may interest a couple of readers!

As for the awards, we wuz robbed guv!  As an example of witty / humorous blogs, Graptolite’s blog was quoted verbatim. (It was one of Martyn’s – not one of the really good ones) Then the prizes were given to three other boats. Pah!

Rant aside, the marina has seen a mini ARC exodus following the collection of trophy’s last night so after a serious go with a cattle prod to those in need, a number of jobs have now been ticked off.  After two stints at the top of the mast by Liz we finally saw the genoa halyard back in its rightful place and this am saw the new genoa furled (bent – for techies) onto the forestay. A trip to the supermarket and other checking out technicalities will see us heading out tomorrow for an anchorage in view of the Pitons 3 hours away.

Pitons, St Lucia 24th December 2007

Tom, Midshipman here,

  After succumbing to a lax Caribbean lifestyle, waiting at the fuel pontoon for an hour and Ian almost removing several of his own fingers with a sailing knife, we finally left Rodney Bay at set course for The Pitons.  A fine cruise all day with light hail and a minor snowstorm. When reaching the Pitons we were offered assistance by Boat Boy Ethiopia but then he buggered off leaving us with Equal Rights. He tied us up nice and tight onto a Palm tree, after dropping anchor just off a beach underneath The Pitons, and leaving us after taking $5. Five minutes after arriving I was off straight into the sea followed by Martyn and Liz. Ian seemed very keen but couldn’t due to risk of major infection. Were staying in tonight with Chicken on the Barbie. Nice.

13:14.73N 061:30W Walliabou Bay, St Vincent, Christmas Eve 2007

Cleared Customs and Immigration in Soufiere, St Lucia in the morning and then sent Tom for a swim to the beach to take the long line off the palm tree. We then set a course south with the Pitons mountains falling away behind us. By late afternoon we arrived at the equally mountainous island of St Vincent and pulled into the tiny Wallilabou Bay to check in with the St Vincent authorities. All the buildings looked strangely familiar and our boat boy told us it was the film set for ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. It’s a little bit decayed now but still recognisable as the dock Captain Jack Sparrow stepped ashore from the top of his mast. Serious toilet trauma was narrowly avoided this evening when a flying fish swooped in through the forward heads portlight. Fortunately no one was busy. A Merry Christmas to all our readers. If you didn’t get a card from me as usual then you are not alone. Due to ineptitude, sloth and being nowhere near post-boxes, I didn’t manage to send any out this year. Not even the electronic ones. I’m assuming nobody sent me one either except for my Uncle Reg and Auntie Nora who managed to get a card to Rodney Bay Marina before we left telling me I now own part of a cow in Africa. Well done. Best wishes to all. from Martyn (and Tom, Ian & Liz)

12:58.36N 061:14.85W, Petit Nevis, Grenadines, Christmas Day 2007

Santa didn’t turn up but it was possibly not putting mince pies out that did it. Some pressies though from family. Thank you very much. Had a swim off the back of the boat as one does on Christmas Day morning. It’s very warm here. Tom was sent towards the beach to untie us from a piling, and we set off for the Grenadines. The first island rounded was Bequia but we ended up anchored off a small uninhabited island to the south of Bequia called Petit Nevis. Near the landing jetty we found an old whaling station with cauldrons for boiling blubber which are apparently still used by the locals when the IWC lets them. Swam some more this afternoon but I think we may have missed the Queen on the telly.

12:38.09N 061:23.89W Mayreau, Grenadines, Boxing Day 2007

Just the usual Boxing Day activities here. Sailed to Tobago Cays in the St Vincent Grenadines. Anchored and swam with some turtles and stingrays. Then found another anchorage for the night in Saline Bay on the tiny island of Mayreau and watched the sunset.

12:56.54N 061:18.63W Bequia, Grenadines, 27th December 2007

Back to the island of Bequia (pronounced ‘Beckway’, apparently) and this time to the harbour of Port Elizabeth. Our cruising permit expired today, and we wanted to make sure we are legal to stay longer (we are). Nice harbour with lots of yachts on mooring buoys. We bought a crate of St Vincent beer called ‘Hairoun’ from one boat boy then haggled for some spiny lobsters from another and ended up with three huge ones weighing nearly four pounds each. Some of you will remember boiling up three lobsters at a time in a big pan on the deck of Graptolite a couple of years back on the Hamble River. These brutes had to be folded up just to cook one at a time. Two of them were more than enough for the four of us. Spiny Norman survived as he is the biggest and baddest and is now living in a lobster pot hung over the side of the boat. Nobody wants to mess with Norman.

12:59.40N 061:14.11W Bequia, Grenadines, 28th December 2007

A lazy day. Tom and I went into Port Elizabeth by dinghy to buy a St Vincent Grenadines courtesy flag then we all took a short sail to the other side of Bequia Island to Friendship Bay for a quieter mooring and swim. Spiny Norman was invited for lunch. He was quickly despatched with a knife through the head under veterinary supervision, but it takes lobsters a little while for them to come to terms with the fact they are actually dead. It’s not particularly nice seeing food jumping around by itself on the barbie but it doesn’t get any fresher than that. And very tasty too with an avocado and tomato salad. The mooring in the bay has been a bit bouncy with lots of surf on the rocks nearby. Talked ourselves out of going ashore through the breakers for dinner and watched ‘Shrek’ on DVD instead.

12:56.54N 061:18.63W Bequia, Grenadines,  29th December 2007

We nearly rolled the dinghy in the surf but eventually stormed the beach in Friendship Bay and had lunch in a hotel beach bar. In the afternoon we circumnavigated Bequia back to Port Elizabeth for clearing out formalities to be able to leave at first light to get back to St Lucia for New Year.

Port Elizabeth harbour in the evening was very raucous with parties on every other boat. We went ashore and had dinner in ‘Frangipani’s’ restaurant surrounded by smoking Italians and small dogs. Food was good though. Later Ian fell asleep on deck and was soaked in a rainstorm. It was probably just Natures little way of saying drink more water and less rum punch!

We plan to be back at Soufriere/Pitons tomorrow and then moor in Marigot Bay, St Lucia for New Years Eve.

13:58.00N 061:01.46W Marigot Bay, St Lucia, New Year’s Day 2008

Had a swim in the coral reef of the Pitons anchorage then sailed to Marigot Bay. Dinner of Lobster Thermidor and Beef Wellington at Doolittle’s, followed by limbo and fire-eating (by other more flexible people) and then big fireworks over the bay. Tom had nothing to do with the rum punch, for those concerned. Don’t know where he gets that from! Happy New Year to all at 00:52 Caribbean time.

13:58.00N 061:01.46W Marigot Bay, St Lucia, 2nd January 2008

Still tucked in the mangroves of Marigot Bay and easily managed to do almost nothing all day except watch the comings and goings of other yachts and buying a few croissants. Lori arrived back by helicopter as one does.

14:04.60N 060:57.45W Rodney Bay, St Lucia, 3rd January 2008

Moved up the coast a bit from Marigot Bay back to Rodney Bay. This time anchored off Reduit Beach. The marina will be seeing enough of us over the next few weeks. Everything is still shut here for New Year so didn’t do much today. No apologies.

14:04.58N 060:56.96W Rodney Bay Marina, 4th January 2008

Back into the marina so Ian & Liz could make an early morning flight to the BVI’s for some real sailing. Friends and relatives of the Crabbers need read no more of this blog as they left before 05:00 this morning. Ian & Liz, thanks for your reliability, resourcefulness, and northern sense of humour. It made an otherwise arduous Atlantic crossing a real pleasure. Good luck with the leg op, Ian. Port tack will never be as easy again.

14:04.58N 060:56.96W Rodney Bay Marina, 6th January 2008

A Lori blog. Well, it’s good to be back on Grapto and I am now over my jet lag. I’ll make the most of being in control of the blog to say a big thank you to my family and Ben and Kerry for a fab Christmas in Portugal – my only regret was that I didn’t get to see my dad – love and miss you loads dad. Thanks too to Baz, Jenny, Rosie and Ava for a great NYE.

Skip took Tom to the airport this afternoon and the next time he will be on the boat will be when it arrives in Cairns. He will be missed on the boat and it was sad to see him go. I had a day going thro’ the boat cleaning and making a note of the food we have and the food we will need for the next leg. Have the first hammock up for fruit and veg – shades of Las Palmas. I can feel the excitement building again – that promise of the next adventure ahead. World ARC boats are arriving and gathering on pontoon A.

I have been reading about the wildlife on the Galapagos (have you seen a picture of the blue footed boobie? how cute is that?) and in preparation I have started my open water PADI diving course. My first dive was off the Pitons in a marine reserve, the second was off a coral reef between the Pitons and Marigot Bay and I was completely knocked out by the experience! There’s so much to see down there! Seahorses, Norman’s great aunt, fish of such brilliant colours – ok, so you know but I didn’t. Everyone must take up diving immediately! Need to obtain the advanced level if I’m to see the Hammerhead sharks off Galapagos though so I’ve been studying for my first written exam in between cleaning. The next stage starts here in St Lucia. I can’t wait. Lori

Martinique 16th January 2008

In Martinique just now. I’ll put the location in sometime. Came here to get a generator serviced but ended up hitting a submerged wreck. Obviously, it wasn’t where it was supposed to be according to Sir Francis Drake’s chart. Should have posted someone up in the crows nest. I went over the side with a snorkel to have a look while Lori was looking for a diving manual and an instructor (Ian – you’re not the only one now to go over the side to sort out my problems). The sight was all a bit nasty with the keel bulb stuck in the flanks of this battleship and my bow crunched up on its topsides. We managed to drag it off using a kedge anchor just before it got dark and limped into the nearest marina. Left a lot of expensive anti-fouling paint behind but mostly it was just scrapes and bruised pride! Back to St Lucia tomorrow when the generator has been fixed up.

14:04.58N 060:56.96W Rodney Bay, St Lucia, 23rd January 2008

What has been happening to Grapto all this time? I hear you ask. She’s now back in Rodney Bay, St Lucia. Martinique, although it’s a nice place in itself, the visit does not rank up there with the best of experiences. While having the generator serviced, the fuel system turned out to have had been given some dodgy diesel at some point and was infested with diesel bug and water. The tanks needed cleaning out, biocide-ing and the fuel pump replaced. It all took three days to sort out. It didn’t help that after the first day the French engineer working on the problem got thrown in jail and had his tools and car impounded by the Police. Too much enforced idleness after many months at sea also got Lori and me to realize that maybe we could both do with a change of company. Lori’s family and friends will find her on another World ARC blog for the yacht ‘Quasar’ until the Spring.

New Grapto crew flew in a couple of days ago in the ample shape of Colin Laidlaw who you will remember from Lagos, Portugal. The next leg will be crewed by Colin and me to Panama, possibly stopping off at Aruba, Netherlands Antilles for a rest and a bite to eat on the way. I’m going to need a few more bodies for handling ropes for the Panama Canal transit if any of my gentle readers care to jump on a plane fairly quick. The World ARC start is out in Rodney Bay, midday tomorrow. It might take us a week to get to Cristobal, Panama. Watch this space.

13:55.0N 061:50.7W 24th Caribbean Sea, January 2008

Colin and I picked up a few groceries in the morning and mooched out of the marina about 11:00. Naughtily we zoomed past ‘Kealoa 8’ on the way out of the marina lagoon. Let’s face it, there are going to be very few opportunities for me to beat a 72-foot boat to anything on this trip. Any way I hope you got a good photo, Rosie. We anchored out in Rodney Bay and had a sandwich and a beer waiting for the off. We crossed the start line close to the hooter and everyone piled into the channel shoreside of the ‘Barrel o Beef’ rock, rounded a turning buoy near Castries and pointed towards Panama. (Actually, Aruba but don’t tell the Race Committee). As darkness fell there were boats in the distance ahead and to port and starboard. More importantly, some were also behind us. So. Result! The resident chef cooked up a spicy pork dish with baked potatoes and we started a watch system which should keep us nice and knackered for the next 500 miles. I’m writing this on my first watch and I’m going to have to have a look around outside now in case we are being overtaken.

13:26.0N 065:10.0W NW of Caracas, Venezuela, 25th January 2008

I was just in the process of writing what an enjoyable sail this has been when a squall crept up on us in the dark about twenty minutes ago and snapped my spinnaker pole in two. I’m not a happy bunny now. Still, I gather from today’s radio net that a good few boats couldn’t start on time in Rodney Bay because of problems with kit so it could be worse.

We are currently about 180 miles NW of Caracas, Venezuela. Still aiming for a quick Aruba stopover about 280 miles further on.

12:54.61N 067:19.10W North of Venezuela, 26 Jan 2008

We took a look at the busted spinnaker pole this morning and concluded that a shorter but probably useable pole can be cobbled together from the bits. It needs bigger pop-rivets than I have on board to do a good job but it can wait until Panama. Burns Night tonight. We have nae chieftain’o’the puddin race in the stores nor neeps and tatties but we could be having a wee dram of something later if the squalls stay away. We are only 24 hours from Aruba.. Only one day away from….

12:31.22N 070:02.56W Saturday 26th Jan 08

What an interesting day we’ve had. The morning was uneventful but just as we sat down for a lunch of some Jamaican jerked chicken off the barbie, all the boat’s 12v power died. This was not the usual batteries, which were good, but maybe something to do with a short in the isolator switch. Colin is an electrician by trade and we gave it our best shot but failed to fix it while bouncing around hove-to.  This was somewhat serious in that we had no way to start the main engine, no way to start the generator, no navigation instruments, and charts (more about this later), no radio comms, no autopilot, no radar, no depth sounder. We were thrown well back to the 19th Century in terms of sailing capabilities, and we didn’t even have the old salt who says “Three fathoms, sand and broken shell, Cap’n” either. Although we had planned to go to Aruba anyway and Aruba was only about 40 miles away, we suddenly found ourselves wondering if we could actually find the place. We did have a few bits of modern technology still functional. There was a primitive hand-held GPS out of the grab-bag. Our paper charts were a bit limited, Aruba being off the official route, but the laptop still had enough power to read our electronic chips of the main system. The sat phone also still had enough power to make a call or two but it really didn’t want to play (more about this later as well). As the chicken went cold on the deck table we set sail in the approximate direction of Aruba. Landfall was at night, naturally. If you ever need your bowels loosening, then approaching an unknown reef-fringed island in the dark without any navigation instruments, navigation lights or engine is the way to do it. As we were nearing our best guess at Oranjestadt, the capital, wondering where the marina was and if we actually had the right stuff to sail into a crowded berth anyway, we had an unlit Coastguard RIB come up alongside our own unlit boat demanding that we hand over our firearms and other contraband. Getting almost no sense out of either Colin or myself they took pity on us and offered to lead us through the reefs. Them in a RIB and us sailing (note: sailing) after them. They took us to what turned out to be the cruise-ship dock where we came to rest against some tractor tyres and concrete. Then we were thoroughly searched for the aforesaid firearms etc. Very politely too, I have to say. Later, fired up with adrenalin, Colin and I tried to head towards the sound of a loud music concert but discovered that nobody gets in or out of the cruise-ship dock without the right paperwork. A visit from Immigration and Customs has been promised for 06:00 tomorrow. Hopefully a specialist marine electrical wallah as well. The sat phone problem was found to be bits of yesterday’s broken spinnaker pole being lashed across the external antenna. Now sorted, this is how you are getting to hear this sorry tale.

12:31.22N 070:02.56W Orangestadt, Auruba 27th January 2008

It turns out that our power failure of yesterday was the result of an electrical fire and there are melted wires everywhere. It might take a while to get somebody in to fix it up. There are worse places to be stuck than Aruba at Carnival time. The boat will soon become uninhabitable without power or water so if news dries up for a while it is because I’ve not been able to charge up my laptop or phone.

12:46.48N 071:03.76W, Orangestadt, Aruba 30th January 2008

When all the major wiring and switches inside a boat turns into a nest of smoking, dripping black and red snakes, surely a skipper can be forgiven for thinking that it’s all over. To those I sent text messages to, saying just that, well, I might have been a bit pessimistic. After three days of rewiring by Clifford Rosa and his electrical men we got the welcome sound of engine and generator back. Not all is perfect and there are some circuits still fried but we had enough to put to sea about 22:30 UTC Tuesday and we are now going at flank speed to get to Panama while there are still WARC boats still around to be rafted up with. What was the problem with the wiring? The electricians had found that a big cable coming out of the generator had got heat and vibration damaged and short-circuited against the casing. The generator was only installed last summer. The company shall remain nameless for the moment (you know who you are) until they have had an opportunity to make amends. I’m sure you are all bored to tears by now about these problems. Not all was bad news in Aruba. Once we could get the main engine running we moved out of the cruise ship dock to the marina in Oranjestad. As part of the marina package we got full use of the Marriott Renaissance Resort & Casino facilities of pool, gym, spa and private island and beaches. Although we never got to the private island. Or used the gym either but they did have nice showers. Oranjestad is mostly a town set up for huge cruise ships to dump their portly American passengers for a day of spending in the Dutch-meets-Disney shopping malls, but the Aruban people seem friendly, and the place is probably worth a longer visit sometime.

12:03.38N 073:18.37W somewhere north of Colombia 31st January 2008

For most of the day, throwing caution and a degree in environmental science to the wind, we’ve been burning up diesel as fast as we can to try to get to Panama to make the transit with the rest of the WARC fleet. During the afternoon the wind picked up and we gave the engine a rest and got even more speed by hoisting the asymmetric spinnaker and goose-winging with the mainsail. That is until the wind topped Force 7 and we had thoroughly frightened ourselves. Other than that we have had the usual kamikaze squadrons of flying fish bombing the topsides and we had a big escort of dolphins for a while. No video this time though for a change.

11:04.02N 075:45.34W 40 miles north of Cartagena, Colombia 1st February 2008

We hear that the San Blas Islands are a good stopover before Colon, Panama. Not sure if we have the time now after our electrical adventures in Aruba but we are going to give it a try. The wind has been with us. Too much at times with up to 45 knots on our tail on occasion. It’s also been a bit bouncy. Colin goes a bit green-ish if I don’t make him bacon butties at regular intervals. That’s my theory anyway.

10:00.68N 078:13.76W 40 miles north of the Panamanian coast 2nd February 2008

It looks like we will miss the official end of this leg tomorrow by just an hour or two unless Grapto goes faster than she ever has before. “More steam down there in the boiler room!”

I’ve just been re-reading Capt. Joshua Slocum’s ‘Sailing Alone Around the World’ for inspiration. Thank you again Mike and Jacqui for the birthday pressie. I wonder how the good Captain would have handled suddenly becoming engineless and without electronics when he didn’t have any to start with. A simpler age when merely waving a rifle in the direction of thieving natives got them to run away. Times change.

09:22.09N 079:57.02W Shelter Bay, Panama 3rd February 2008

Graptolite has arrived at the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal 17:01 UTC and we are now in Shelter Bay Marina. We will probably be off through the canal on Tuesday but we have a few repairs and a few preparations to make before the canal transit including getting extra-long ropes and finding the bodies to handle them.

09:22.09N 079:57.02W Shelter Bay, Panama 4th February 2008

We are expecting to be into the Canal tomorrow (Tuesday). You may even get to see us on the Panama Canal webcams at http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html (just Google it, it will be easier).

08:54.70N 079:31.34W 23:00 near Panama City 6th February 2008

After fuelling-up and taking on an American, Dixon Cole and Danish/American, Stig Pedersen for additional line-handling crew, the departure from Shelter Bay was uneventful. The group of seven yachts assembled on the Flats near Colon before dark awaiting the pilot boat. After the pilot came onboard, we motored to the Gatun Locks entrance where we rafted up with a non-WARC boat called ‘Scratch’. On entering the big concrete locks, which were all lit up in the dark, heaving lines, to collect the long lines, came whistling in from the line handlers on the lock walls. The gates closed behind us and we were turbulently lifted through three giant flights to Gatun Lake where we anchored for the night. Before daybreak, the Howling monkeys in the forest ashore started a dawn chorus and by 6:00AM we were making breakfast. It seems to be pancakes with maple syrup every day these days for some reason. A new pilot came onboard after breakfast and we were off again across the Gatun Lake. Although a man-made lake (one of the world’s biggest apparently) it is exceptionally pretty with its rain forest covered islands. We motored mostly along the ‘banana route’ out of the main channel, through the islands for about forty miles and reached the down-going Miraflores Locks flight by mid-afternoon. After rafting up again with two other yachts we started in on the down-flight. Maybe somebody was watching the webcam. I waved.Leaving the Canal system, we motored to Flamenco Island Marina in sight of the towering modern city sky-line of Panama City, and then had a few beers and other drinks and a buffet dinner with the rest of the WARC-ers. ‘Graptolite’ is now bathing her bottom in the Pacific Ocean. Who would have believed it possible? This is also a point of no return in that the quickest way home would seem to be to keep going.

02. Atlantic Crossing ARC 2007

no images were found

This blog post is a compilation of smaller blogs sent from Graptolite during the 2007 ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers). These were originally posted on the Mailasail blog site http://blog.mailasail.com/graptolite and emailed in using a low-bandwidth, and horribly expensive, Iridium sat phone. The coordinates, in a machine-readable form, were read by the Mailasail website and used to create a map track on Google Earth. Connecting the blog coordinates with straight lines sometimes gives the impression of sailing over land. The map tracks on this post correct the most egregious areas but they are still approximations as actual navigation data is too detailed to be used here.

My excellent crew on this Atlantic leg of Graptolite’s Around the World voyage were Lori Murdock and Ian and Liz Crabtree. The crew made guest contributions to the blogs from time to time. Very sadly, Lori died in November 2015 after a brave battle with malignant melanoma. The tropical sun can be a dangerous enemy for those of us with northern skin. Fortunately the Crabbers are still going strong.

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

Tue 13/11/2007 23:52

28:07.68N 015:25.49W

Lori and I got up early and sailed over a hundred miles (from Lanzarote) to Las Palmas in a nice N F5. Lots of dolphins on the way. Arrived at the enormous harbour at Las Palmas in the dark and threaded our way through big ships and oil rigs to the marina and tied up on the reception pontoon just after the ARC office had closed. Bit of an anticlimax but nevertheless we are here……at the starting line of the race. 

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

Fri 16/11/2007 16:27

28:07.68N 015:25.49W

Checked in with the port authorities and was issued with a Mediterranean mooring on Pontoon 10. Checked in to the ARC office and got a pile of papers.

While eating lunch with Lori in the Sailor’s Bar Ian and Liz arrived making up the complete crew for the Atlantic crossing. That was Wednesday. We’ve had a couple of Happy Hours since then and the race safety inspection and also finished installing the wind/water generator.

I gather there are something like a thousand people living in the marina waiting for the off. There are a good number of parties to survive over the next week so there may be some gaps in this blog which are outside of the authors control.

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

Sun 18/11/2007 20:17

28:07.68N 015:25.49W

The parties and happy hours give almost no time for boaty preparations. I took Lori to the Boat Owner’s Cocktail Party last night. The poor thing doesn’t get out much. A new black frock bought from El Corte Ingles combined with tatty deck shoes looked at treat. Similar ‘smart yachting’ clothes for the skipper but in my case it was an old blazer that had been crumpled up in the bottom of a locker for years.

Earlier today we marched in an Olympics-style flag parade to the ARC opening ceremony. Team GB included a bagpipe player. 

Following accusations that my missives are a bit lacking in emotional content, such writings have now been delegated to crew. Expect some sooner or later.

Las Palmas, ARC minus 5

Wed 21/11/2007 02:18

28:07.68N 015:25.49W

Tuesday and five days left until the ARC. For those of you hadn’t appreciated it, the Atlantic crossing part of this circumnavigation is a race involving another 239 other boats. Most are here now in Las Palmas and very prettily flying signal flags from stem to stern.

The preparations are reaching the final panicky stage and we spent most of the day in El Corte Ingles buying food. In my opinion El Corte Ingles has to be one of the finest food emporiums in the world. I could easily live there and die very large. We still have fruit, veg and booze to buy and a rough calculation of volumes makes it look like we will be sleeping on deck until about half-way.

Had a problem with the new set of sails being to long but managed to find a sail maker called Charlie to chop them down a bit. Visited the yacht club in the early evening and had a swim in the excellent rooftop pool. As we are in Spanish territory I made paella for the crew’s dinner. Chicken, chorizo, prawns, squid, mussels etc. Damn good I thought.

The problem looming for tomorrow is what costume to wear for the ‘Jungle Safari’ fancy dress party. Lori has already made something out of a couple of scraps of chamois leather. This will get her a huge amount of attention from the lecherous crowd of salty dogs here. Even a normal day usually sees one or two other boats luring her onboard for drinks and trying to entice her to jump ship. Somehow I don’t see the situation improving.

Las Palmas, ARC minus 3

Thu 22/11/2007 18:50

28:07.68N 015:25.49W

Thursday and three days to go. The boat is beginning to fill up with supplies and the usual waterline has disappeared. Three hundred cans of beer takes a lot of stowing. Fruit, vegetables and meat are all ordered and hopefully will turn up in time for the off. Jerry the Rigger came by yesterday, shinned up the mast, then gave it a clean bill of health.

Yesterday evening’s ‘Jungle Safari’ fancy dress party went well and the weather was very warm. I went as the ‘Great White Hunter’ in bush hat and fly-fishing waistcoat (as did half of the other people who went). An earlier trip to El Corte Ingles produced a native bearer loincloth for Ian and some bird of paradise feathers for Liz. Lori’s scraps of leather mostly stayed in place although her lion’s tail was found the pontoon this morning. This is despite it being firmly tied on by the skipper. Lori danced with close to a thousand other party-goers and then returned to the boat, rain-soaked and bedraggled but unpoached. 

Las Palmas, ARC minus 2

Sat 24/11/2007 02:17

28:07.68N 015:25.49W

Friday, an interesting day for fruit and veg. The delivery arrived and instantly turned the boat into a fair sized greengrocers. Most of it was eventually stowed in fishing net hammocks. Somebody over did it with the oranges and pineapples on the starboard side and the woodwork gave way at one point.

Thursday night was dinner in an all you can eat place with the crew of ‘Minnie the Mooocher’ followed by some WOMAD concert. Food was good. The world music was a bit iffy.

The pace is hotting up with food, drink and equipment deliveries to boats on the marina. One delivery nobody wants is the delivery of cockroaches although some boats are rumoured to be overrun. One purchase today was some roach motels just in case.

Las Palmas, ARC minus 1

Sat 24/11/2007 20:18

28:07.68N 015:25.49W

The race starts tomorrow (Sunday 25th) at 13:00. The weather has suddenly turned from nice and sunny to cold and windy and is much like I expect the Solent to be just now. There is too much wind about to put up our newly recut sails. Everything else seems to have come together but we are going to have to bend on sails in a Force 5 on the way to the starting line which could be a bit messy. 

ARC Day 1

Sun 25/11/2007 21:37

27:37.43N 015:23.98W at sunset on the first day.

Nicely kitted out in our team uniform of white shirts, blue shorts and silly grins we had a photograph taken by our Spanish neighbours on their boat ‘Bet’. ‘Bet’ also gave us a bottle of wine for a scare and a minor bump a few days before.

Then it all started going horribly wrong as we pulled out. It was blowing fairly hard and the turn took us across the lazy-line of another neighbouring boat and it got wrapped around our rudder. We had to be hauled back in to our berth by the crew of ‘Bet’. On the second attempt we got the lazy-line of ‘Bet’ wrapped around our prop and full marks to Ian for diving in and untangling it. Only Johnny Foreigner would think stretching ropes out in the water is a good yacht-mooring idea.

To the sound of brass bands we finally left the marina and anchored in the main harbour to try to get our sails furled on where we could face into the wind. Job done, we discovered that a clevis pin holding the in-mast furling gear in place had come off and fallen inside the mast. With half an hour to the start we were still anchored with a mainsail on the deck and with a police-launch shouting at us to get a move on.

Making the best of it we motored out of the harbour just in time for the starting gun and crossed the line under a reefed genoa. It could have been slicker but we were far from the last to go. After contemplating a return to the marina for spare parts that probably would need importing, we decided to press on and managed to retrieve the clevis pin with a wire coathanger. A squally shower stopped us having another go with the mainsail. It is now dark and we can see the lights of Gran Canaria in the distance and the lights of other ARC yachts around us. Unfortunately the mainsail is still on the deck. Only another three weeks to go. 

OPEX for today runs to two sides: BE insider comment from Ian but we’re all still smiling.

17 Degrees West

Mon 26/11/2007 17:29

Survived a night of F7, gusting F8, winds with the only damage being severely bruised avocados in the fruit hammocks. Went into the wind shadow of Gran Canaria at one point to make it easier to fix the furling gear and rehoist the mainsail but there was a bit of motoring needed later to find the wind again.

Just now we are about 60 miles SE of Tenerife and it is nice and sunny. Some flying fish have been seen. Other boats seem scattered all over the place judging from the radio position reporting. The good news is we don’t seem to be last.

Choice of restaurant was a bit limited at our location last night so we ate on the boat for a change. Had a spag bol pre-prepared by Lori.

19 Degrees West

Tue 27/11/2007

19:2826:21.2N 019:31.30W

We got the cruising chute out of its bag for the first time since leaving the Solent. An enormous red, white and blue kite always adds a bit of drama to the situation although there is nobody anywhere in sight to appreciate the spectacle. A large pod of striped dolphins swam with us for a while and they were keen to get a good look but they are not all that knowledgeable about downwind sailing kit, as a rule. Other wildlife has been a bit sparse recently. We will have to get the fishing rods out and haul something in to get a close look.

We now have a four-hour watch system at night with two awake and the daytimes are when everyone is up, apart from naps, and we have all meals, run the generator, use the radio and play music. It seems to work but the naps are getting longer.

A soiree on deck with guacamole dip is planned for later. What else do you do with crushed avocados?

22 Degrees West

Thu 29/11/2007 01:34

25:44.96N 022:25.15W at 00:00 UTC Thursday 29th

The cruising chute worked well apart from ripping the seat off the pulpit rail and almost chafing through the spinnaker halyard. Might have to get a bowsprit fitted in St Lucia.

All is well apart from that. We have even worked out how to stop plates from sliding off the table onto the floor but have yet to find a solution for food sliding off the plates onto laps.

The crew keep saying they are going to write something for this blog. Don’t hold your breath.

M

23 degrees west – its spitting!!

Thu 29/11/2007 19:41

25:05.30N 023:36.58W at 16:30 UTC Thursday 29th

This is the crew here; now breathe!   Just sailed through a shower, most peculiar for this part of the world.

We have now slipped into a routine of watches from 6pm -6am, Liz and me alternating with Martyn & Lori 4 hours each alternating first watch each night. Everyone seems ok with it but the Skipper seemed a bit bleary this am which was cured after a snooze.

After the disappointment with the cruising chute we have taken a view on the situation and decided to get radical and put both sails up instead of the poled out Genoa. There’s a big triangular one that we found in the mast that works a treat but means gybing a few times a day. However the other good news of the day is that after setting both sails, we saw another boat with single head sail and left him in our wake.

Skipper has now laundered his shorts to remove last nights spag bol and is declared clean again. He is currently resting in preparation for making tonight’s dinner. As for crew, Liz is buried in an almanac and working out were we were three days ago from sextant sightings and reducing the over-ripe banana situation, Lori has been plotting other boat’s positions to see where the next party might be and I am writing this hoping not to offend close friends and family, Admiral Insurance, Colleagues and the general public.

Thought for today; “Nobody has ever seen Russell Crowe and Martyn Pickup in the same room at one time …”

Friday

Fri 30/11/2007 23:05

24:01.93N 025:59.83W at 20:35 UTC 30th November 2007

Far from living on ships biscuits and weevils someone must have popped out to the butchers today because tonight we were mostly eating steak and roasted vegetables and very nice it was to. We ate al fresco, surprisingly, with Ian giving his best David Bailey performance yet so stand by for the pics.

Life has settled down into a routine now with all normal life going on except we are surrounded by water at every turn. The take away we ordered yesterday still hasn’t arrived yet though. It’s surprising how interesting one wave after another can be. If we spot the lights of a passing boat we all get very animated. That said, it doesn’t happen that offen.

We have several parties planned en route (ok, I have planned several parties) and the first will be the half way mark, 40 degrees W. Haven’t quite sorted my frock yet though as I calculate that it’s still about 850 nm away. The scale of this ocean is impressive. I love it.

I’m sure that when we arrive in St Lucia we will have difficulty walking as we have all adjusted to walking around the boat like something out of Monty Python.

It’s so easy to settled down into a good book and forget that actually this is a race. Luckily Liz is on the case and I can hear her on deck now mounting our campaign. All in all life here on the move is good and we are a content band of four.

Lori

29 Degrees West

Sun 02/12/2007 05:59

23:54.3N 029:08.6W at 04:20 Sunday 2 December 2007

..and another fine day on the high seas had by all. Tonight we watched the Ipcress File and found ourselves marvelling at the fact that when ‘my name is Michael Caine’ poured a drink the contents not only made it into the glass but the glass remained on the table. How can this be? What has happened to us? The joys of ‘running’ for a long period in an Atlantic swell is clearly taking its toll.

We would all like to say thanks to the production of Pickup pickles which has complimented Spanish cheese at lunchtimes and turned an ordinary lunch into a gourmet affair. Cheers Mr P.

We are blessed with good trade winds with a fairly steady F4-6. Every degree W is a cause for celebration at the moment; it’s countdown to the half way mark at 40 degrees W.

At supper we were speculating as to how we will cope with our first meal ashore in St Lucia. At the moment one utilises every finger and thumb available to hold down what is on the plate, the plate, the knife, the fork, the drink, all simultaneously. Arms and legs are requisitioned on demand and the result must look quite comic.

04.46 and all is well. The moon is waning, the stars bright and I’ll soon be off watch. Another day in paradise.

Lori

1st December – White rabbits

Sun 02/12/2007 05:59

23:54.52N 028:33.00W at 23:30 UTC Saturday 1st

Crew #3 here today (Liz), skipper will wish he kept quiet about us blogging; whose laptop is it anyway?

Now that we have got into the trades proper, we are back to a single poled out foresail bound for Rodney Bay along the rhumb line via the night-time blackness of the Atlantic illuminated by a “beautiful canopy of stars” – thanks to Lori for that observation. 

The daily radio report indicates that we are in a bunch of 7 other yachts but still we wait to see more than a glimpse of one of them, such is the size of this ‘pond’!!

(Jo) Sunrise through the trade wind cloud formations is a sight to behold. Watching it with a cup of coffee completes the picture. I think you’d like it …

Dinner tonight was on me in more ways than one thanks to the swell, the rest of it went on the plate. It must have been ok as the skipper was asking for seconds before he’d finished plate #1. Lunch had been a ploughmans style with fresh bread etc. and an excellent chutney from Mr Pickup snr. Thanks very much.

More dolphins called by to see how we are doing this pm.

I have suggested that we should have fresh fish tomorrow – watch this space.

31 Degrees West

Mon 03/12/2007 00:30

23:41.50N 031:13.68W at 22:50 UTC Sunday 2 December 2007

One whole week at sea and no mutiny yet. Officers, men and women, all getting along fine but food and drink is still plentiful and downwind sailing easy.

The skipper, for it is I back on blogging duties, caught a big mackerel-like fish today which fed everyone (as a starter). Liz and Ian had already made Italian meatballs for dinner so there seemed little point in fishing out this part of the Atlantic. The first bite had while fishing today broke the hook so who knows what we could have been dragged aboard. Anything that would like to eat us as well is welcome to run off with the tackle.

In the general excitement we almost didn’t see a freighter coming at us a few miles to port then a big motor yacht passing us a mile to starboard. As these were the only boats we have seen for days, it all seemed to get very busy at once. It’s hard to describe the sensation of an empty horizon in all directions and, although we know that there are other boats out there from radio traffic, the sense of isolation is about as good as it gets this side of space.

Half way in sight

Mon 03/12/2007 21:32

23:07.89N 033:18.79W

Crew here again; Just as we realised that the half way stage could soon be ticked off, some weather came in disrupting the trades that gave us our best day so far yesterday – 159 miles compared to 100 or so at the start, possibly due to the influence of the Azores high in mid Atlantic. Undeterred, we have the first of three bottles of champers in the fridge ready for 1/2 way. The others are one for the finish leaving one for some other milestone. Suggestions on a postcard to Graptolite, Atlantic.

After the hectic events of yesterday, today was ‘steady’. No fish, boats, or tsunami – yet. However Lori “allegedly” saw some flying fish shortly after coming up after a nap. The fishing tackle has been modified with a shiny spinner about the size of yesterday’s fish; “We may need a bigger boat”

As we have moved time zones by two hours, the watch system is being shifted to match daylight times.    You’re on the edge of your seats with this blog aren’t you!!

Skipper had reservations about Dinner; “Real men don’t eat Quiche” but is helping to make it anyway.

Tuesday

Wed 05/12/2007 00:27

What a busy day. Hard to know where to begin. Before I left a friend of mine said that that long distant passages were boring (you know who you are) I have to say I disagree. Firstly yesterday no one believed me when I said I had seen flying fish. Today the Gods were kind and provided me with evidence by way of a dead but beautifully formed specimen found on the foredeck. As a result I later had a rather bizarre conversation with the Skipper which ran something like this. ‘Can you get the spring onions out of the fridge? They are next to the flying fish’. Naturally the fish had been preserved as evidence (it’s the solicitor in me). Unfortunately the spring onions were not there so now no one believes that the spring onions exist.

Skipper proved his weight in gold today by landing a dorado, all 1.60kgs of it and very gorgeous with yellow markings with blue fins. Supper was cooked by Ian and Liz and cracking it was too. We had a rather impromptu small select ‘disco’ in the galley during preparation of the fish to ‘Go West’ by the Petshop Boys. Can’t remember why now.

There are always sails to trim, logs to complete, books to read, blogs to write and positions to report. We are planning a special ceremony for when we reach 40 degrees W. I have created a flag (because you can’t have too much flagage) and skipper has selected the music. The idea is that we thank the Atlantic for our save delivery to halfway and for the fruits of the sea for which we are truly grateful.

Last night I dreamt I was staying in a 5 star hotel and had an entire nights sleep….

Just returned to the blog having reefed down as we hit a squall. See how busy it is?

Just to reassure you, we are all using life jackets, jack stays and lines, especially of a night. So all is well.

Lori

Funny old day

Thu 06/12/2007 02:21

20:30.58N 037:24.84W

Liz here for tonight’s summary of today’s proceedings.

Woken up at 8 for our first watch to squally conditions which was fun upstairs but less so for people trying to sleep. Surfing down waves saw a peak of 13kts on log or 10kts on GPS whether you believe a spinning magnet in the hull or Uncle Sam’s billion dollar satellite programme, still skipper thought it ok to leave top hatches in his cabin open (“Close whilst at sea”) so got a damp sea water wake up call over his bed. Trundled happily with minimal sail through the morning until things settled.

The rest of the day was spent alternating between catching up on sleep and watching the squadrons of flying fish doing acrobatics round and across the waves and not a lot else, but what else do we need?

I dressed for dinner again tonight, or rather wore it as a gust tipped red and white wine off the table, my way; so instant stain removal. Half way through the meal, Skipper leapt away from his food (yes really) as the fishing line on the back of the boat was buzzing but unfortunately the quarry bit through the nylon and ate four hooks!!!

Overnight watch’s dress code is now shorts and t-shirt (plus life jacket, clipped on). Temp around 80degF, humidity rising and we’re not quite half way there yet!

Halfway celebrations are being planned-watch this space!!

Pancake Day

Thu 06/12/2007 22:22

20:03.5N 039:40.7W

Skipper writes:

More flying fish leapt aboard earlier in an obvious attempt to circumvent immigration laws. We know what they are up to.

Today has been a bit rough with squalls and big seas rolling us around. Food cooking and eating is developing into something of a dangerous sport. Lori tried making apple pancakes for dessert this evening and ended up wearing the batter. Nil point, although she wore it well and the salvaged pancakes qualified as entry to the final. Other food disasters include the discovery that the bilge veggie store had started to ferment into an evil brew and even set the gas detectors off. Fresh food storage is going to need a rethink for the Pacific.

Graptolite continues to keep us safe and is currently whisking us westward under a tiny scrap of headsail. Half-way point of 40 degrees west is close and may be reached by midnight tonight although the partying may have to wait until tomorrow. In reality we are fully in mid-Atlantic already and whatever happens we will end up in the Caribbean. As will the few nearby abandoned and drifting boats we get reports on from time to time.

Half Way!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fri 07/12/2007 13:18

19:57.9N 040:08.40W

There appear to be more definitions on board, of ‘half way’ than what constitutes a weapon of mass destruction which raises the point that we are deprived of breaking international news from the rest of the world – our loss. Briefly is it longitude, distance to go versus distance travelled or how many potatoes are left in the bilge? – more of that later. But the consensus is that at 40deg longitude there is no doubt that there is less to do than has been done and the Champers gets it in the morning.

The last 24 hours has been a sample of what we thought the Atlantic might be on a ‘nice day’. The sun has shone the wind has been steady (F6) and the rollers have been sweeping us towards Rodney Bay. The size of the swell has increased such that the odd one has doused the cockpit floor from the stern and the saloon from an open ceiling hatch. The waves are the size of a row of houses that the camera doesn’t do justice to. Each one lifts us gently up on its front and we slip down its back, generally pointing in the same direction.

Today’s food fashion victim was Lori. After corned beef hash she offered to make apple pancakes -“oh all right then if you insist”. One freak wave and she was wearing the batter mixture. The remaining pancakes however, were good.

Some of the potatoes in the bilge had been bruised and started to ferment! Enough to set the gas alarm off, Another rethink for storage methods or do we diversify into Poteen production?

Ian

Half Way party

19:30.1N 042:18.90W

Crew reporting; When all watches were finally present after the frankly tiresome night of squalls and lumpy sea, the sun shone once more and the sea settled albeit slightly so that we could enjoy the 1/2 way party in the cockpit.  After several large hints to Skipper that the bottle in the fridge labeled “Half Way Party” was indeed for that we finally got things under way. Liz started with a traditional offering to Neptune, not the champagne but a tin of lager. Next to the sound of Land of Hope and Glory came a rousing speech from m’learned colleague Lori, all she was short of was her Lawyer’s wig and gown. Mid speech I raised the new journey ensign, the speech reached its peak and there wasn’t a dry seat in the boat. Rations were embarrassingly luxurious with Smoked Salmon, a small Foie gras, crackers and fresh bread. And of course, a bottle of Mumm.

The afternoon was filled with chores like battery charging, lead acid and crew (Zzzzz). Dinner was had, then into the routine for night watches when Liz spotted our closest possible ARC contact yet since day one! Approx 4 miles off we can see the stern lights of a yacht. Much excitement especially if we can overtake it.

Apparently a large boat imaginatively named “AAG Big One”, more used to competing in Volvo 60 series and crewed by Russians was due to finish today. But for our first day hiccup we’d have given them a run for their money!

Tomorrow will see the distance to go drop into three figures – currently 1100Nm -ish. Alas the bubbly budget doesn’t stretch to another party yet, maybe a tin of beer and four straws.

No fish today due to wave conditions but Skipper has prepared the latest tackle to tame the beast below. We are not going to eat this one, just lasso it and ride the bow wave to St Lucia, more later…

Daily Life

Sun 09/12/2007 07:04

18:41.7N 045:26.6W at 05:20 Sunday 9th Dec

After nearly two weeks at sea and some relentless bouncing and rolling these past couple of days, there seems to have been a humorous blog failure aboard so it falls to me, the skipper, to fill the breach.

Maybe tomorrow!

Grapto crew here slow to the laptop. Well I thought I saw a whale today but decided not to labour the story for fear of finding one on the foredeck tomorrow morning. It would be quite difficult to get into the fridge next to the elusive spring onions in any event.

Meal times have become so important and we all fall onto our food with gusto. It’s also a case of getting the food into your tummy before it hits the deck. Luckily Ian and Liz came up with a stunning hearty Spanish style stew tonight. It’s not quite Lord of the Flies yet but I feel we will need to be reintroduced gradually into polite society for fear of scaring the locals in St Lucia.

Washing a few T shirts in the normal course of events doesn’t seem that ambitious, well it didn’t to me when I embarked on the project at 0900. I can only describe the process as hand washing inside a washing machine. There was more water on the galley floor than in the bucket and naturally the moment everything was out over the guard rails a squall hit. Ian’s comment that the final rinse cycle had arrived was little comfort. T shirts are still festooned across the saloon keeping my reputation for lowering the tone wherever I go intact.

Lori

Monsters of the Deep

Mon 10/12/2007 05:11

18:02.1N 0047:56.9W at 0400 UTC Monday 10th Dec

Call me Ishmael! The latest fishing tackle has been chewed off the end of the line without so much as a by-your-leave, leaving us with no fish supper again. This kit was swaged steel hawser with a hook the size of a kedge anchor. Only the explosive harpoons left in the tackle box now.

We are hoping to rescue a boat in distress tomorrow so we can blag a few free drinks in St Lucia! From radio reports we are getting, it seems like lots of other ARC boats are picking up fresh crew along the way. All the sinking boats always seem to be hundreds of miles from us. We spotted a couple of big tankers in the distance yesterday but otherwise we are still all alone. At least as far as the horizon.

The weather has been mostly kind to us so far for wind strength and direction although sometimes rain squalls prevent quoits being played on the pool deck. I must have a word later with the Purser about the seating arrangements at the Captain’s table just in case some riff-raff have recently joined this cruise.

M

St Lucia here we come

11/12/2007

17:19.1N 050:01.2W

Grapto crew calling. There are yachts arriving in St Lucia every day now including our next door neighbour from Las Palmas, Minnie the Moocher, who arrived today at 13.20. My neighbours from Topsham in Aqualuna are due to arrive within the next 24 hours. If anything all the talk of landfall makes you appreciate every moment of the day more. It’s great to lie down in the cockpit on watch and look up at the stars, obviously with one eye looking out to sea.

It has been mentioned before but to date we have been blessed with fantastic winds, a classic crossing really, poled out genoa and then away she goes, surfing down the waves. Obviously the 48kt gusts were not on our wish list but hey. Grapto has behaved beautifully and is clearly enjoying her release from the confines of Swanwick. We thought we may have a few problems brewing today but so far nothing to worry about.

No luck fishing today so carpaccio of tuna must wait until tomorrow. Skip’s now talking ’bout bigger and better tackle for the Caribbean Sea so we can build on our success to date. Plenty of tuna there I hear.

I’m not trying to elicit sympathy as we do know what the weather is like in the UK but it’s very hot and sticky now. Yep, just as I thought, no sympathy.

Looking forward to making those home calls now. The bets on board for arrival are as follows: Ian Friday pm, Liz Saturday am, me Saturday pm and skip’s gone for the broad brush approach of anytime after Saturday. We are now taking our night watches as an opportunity to swing things in our favour.

Lori, out.

Finish line fever

Wed 12/12/2007 02:47

16:32.6N 052:32.8W

Crew here with the first and only blog of the day – I think.

It seems strange, but with about 3 whole days sailing and 420 miles yet to go; more than I have sailed in one go and about as much as the others here have done, it feels like the home straight. Current plans are for a finish in daylight on Sat am. So watch that one go totally pear shaped, along with my entry in the sweep [Friday pm]. Talk on board is what the complimentary Rum punch is going to be like, followed by swimming pools, eating horizontally & stationary, parties (Lori).

Although there are for some reason, still three hundred tins of chopped tomatoes left, fresh food is now depleting rapidly although Lori did rustle together an identity confused sponge/fruit cake. The WI would have slated it but I guarantee it will not see the morning. Also a date flapjack which may be, or keep us regular from now on.

Today saw the second milestone of the trip ie. Champers moment. The chart plotter tells us today that there are less than 100 hrs to the finish, so the second bottle of Mumm may get it tomorrow.

The sextant managed to pull down Venus or Neptune this morning. Watch this space in a few days, when the figures have been calculated, to find out where we were at 0800 this morning.

Fishing… Oh dear! He is now talking about a bigger rod, reel, line, bait. Talk from other boats of Carpaccio of Tuna doesn’t help – thanks Aqualuna.

And finally; Pedlar the puppy is 12 years young on the 12th of the 12th tomorrow. Currently being spoilt rotten by Liz’s Mum & Dad. Happy Birthday Peds!

Nearly there …

Thu 13/12/2007 07:46

15:06.3N 055:39.8W

Crew here again; First, apologies for inaccurate dist to go in last nights blog (420 Nm), was more like 500. However we now at 0400, have 320Nm to go after a best day yet of 165 miles thanks to a steady F7 ‘breeze’ from behind and those Atlantic rollers to surf down. Speaking of which, you would think that we would have realized that every 324th wave came towards us with an address on like “Ian, Snoozing on port side (just put clean shorts on)”, “Martyn, sat on transom (just had shower)” or “Saloon, via hatch left open – again (just dried out from last time)” but no. Four old dogs, no new tricks.

The current progress means that a St Lucia arrival would be in the hours of darkness so the plan is to reduce sail on Friday so that we can make our approach in daylight on Saturday morning. “What thoughtful planning and good seamanship given the navigational hazards that may exist” I can hear you cry. No, we just want to look good on the photos!

Still no sighting of ARC boats although from position reports there are two from our group approx 10 miles behind us – too far to see but at least we are not last. There’s about 80 boats in total vying for that honour.

Captain’s Log Supplemental

Thu 13/12/2007 20:29

14:45.2N 057:21.2W

This sector has been found to contain a mysterious layer of dark-blue di-hydrogen monoxide. A vast wave phenomenon at the hydrosphere-atmosphere interface is propelling Graptolite at warp speed towards the west. Damage Control reports that the shields are being breeched and DHM is invading the living quarters and engineering compartments. “She canna take it Cap’n” “We’ll be blown half way across the Atlantic”. Fortunately for us there are no Klingons on the starboard bow.

[Captain now confined to his cabin]   

Still crazy after all these waves

Fri 14/12/2007 03:37

14:41.9N 058:02.2W

Crew here, reporting worrying tendencies among the ship’s company. First the skipper goes off on one in a trekky moment. Does he not realise it’s the daleks we are trying to evade!! Liz has been heard to be muttering to herself that its not fair that she didn’t even get to put the fish down and when can she at least operate on someone. Perhaps most worrying is that another crew member who must remain nameless has openly admitted to a crush in her younger years on a TV character. Not Magnum PI or The Saint, but none other than Scott the Thunderbird pilot. We wondered why she had log entries of “2000 hrs, 57degrees F.A.B.” I, being the only rational one left and on the basis of some impressive surf’s down waves have entered us in the next Sydney – Hobart race.

All the ships company have now resorted to shouting at the approaching waves Canute style, to ward them away from the boat. At least one of them didn’t listen and tipped us over a bit. Nothing to worry the insurers though…

There were shouts earlier of “Look at those lovely brown boobys” the male contingent assembled on deck but all to be seen were a couple of sea-birds circling the boat, one of which attempted a landing on the spreaders but failed the crew entrance examination.

The next log should be with land in sight for the first time in nearly three weeks…

Falling Apart

Sat 15/12/2007 03:43

13:56.3N 060:22.7W

The genoa came splatting down today because of a broken wire halyard. The spare genoa that has been lurching about my cabin for three weeks turned out to be no use at all as the halyard is now down inside the mast. A bit vexing as it was our best downwind sail in these squally conditions. Now we have the mainsail up and a bright orange storm jib hung on the spinnaker halyard at the front which should get us some sympathy when we limp into Rodney Bay. St Lucia is only about 30 miles away now as the seagull flies but seagulls can travel downwind a bit better than we can just now.

M

Arrived Rodney Bay, St Lucia

Sat 15/12/2007 22:35

14:04.59N 060:56.91W

It’s all very exciting making landfall after so long at sea. The lights of St Lucia twinkled in the distance then we were very quickly very close and racing along the northern edge of the island in a strong wind in the dark surrounded by more boats than we had seen since leaving Las Palmas. Everyone had their best tropical whites on as we entered Rodney Bay. We passed between two anchored square-riggers and saw the race committee boat. A photographer rushed out in a RIB taking pictures; there was a very nice pink sunrise and it was all over.

We were temporarily berthed on the fuel dock in the marina for much of the morning and finished off the complimentary rum punch (with ice) and very excellent pancakes made by Joanne from the boat in front of us. By coincidence I had been in email contact for most of the summer with Joanne about crewing on Graptolite through the Caribbean and Pacific. She had sent me a photograph some time ago but I didn’t recognise her straight away with her clothes on and not holding a large fish!

All this way and Graptolite has only just reached the start of her circumnavigation route which starts here in St Lucia on 23rd January and ends here sometime in the distant future.

The weather is hot and steamy with heavy rain between sunny spells. After berthing on B dock we sheltered in a bar and had fish and chips and a couple of Piton beers. Might have a nap now.

M

This voyage continues around the world with many adventures and different crew along the way. The next step was the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal and into the Pacific. Then island hopping across the South Pacific to Australia. This was followed by Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and into the Red Sea and finally into the Eastern Mediterranean and the Adriatic. Graptolite never did make it home to the Hamble River.

01. East Atlantic, Solent to the Canary Islands 2007

This blog begins with the preparations for a circumnavigation starting from my long-time berth at Swanwick Marina on the Hamble River. This section ends in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria at the start of the 2007 ARC race across the Atlantic. Crew from the Hamble River to Falmouth were an old oil industry friend, Dan Bendig (USA), a new recruit, Ian Jack (former British Army living in Germany), and a very old friend from Blackburn, Julian Swarbrick (UK). Dan and Ian made the traumatic Biscay crossing with me. From mid-Portugal to the Canary Islands my crew was mainly Lori Evans/Murdock (UK) with some help from my son Tom around the Algarve.

Preparing To Go,
Thu 22/02/2007
50 52.81N 001 18.04W

Crew and equipment are shaping up for a departure sometime in August this year.
The plan is to get to the start of the ARC 07 in Las Palmas by the end of November. Then in January 2008 will be joining the World ARC heading west and hopefully all the way around.

Refit Almost Done
Wed 27/06/2007
50:52.81N 1:18.05W

Nearing the end of June and still sat tight in the River Hamble but Graptolite is now taking on something of the appearance of being a real blue-water cruiser. At least under the waterline and under the seat cushions. She is now buzzing with her own electricity and awash with fresh water made from the salty stuff. Her bottom has been buffed and painted to keep the barnacles away and she sports a very nice shiny new propeller.

Most Big Stuff Now Completed
Sat 14/07/2007
50:52.81N 1:18.05W

It’s now mid-July and much of the main expenditure has been made. Let me tell you, it has been a painful experience in the wallet area. The SSB radio and satellite phone are now in place although they have yet to be tested at sea. A new spinnaker pole is tied on the deck and a spare set of sails are on order. The electronic charts that are onboard reach as far as Australia and the paper charts as far as the Caribbean. There are still hundreds of things left to do but mostly trivial things like getting unbreakable crockery.
An interesting arrival today was the set of national courtesy flags needed for the World ARC. The flag locker now has flags for over 19 countries. Fortunately many of the islands are colonies or dependencies so some of the flags can be recycled.
This posting is the first one using the satellite phone email. If you are reading this it has obviously worked.

The First Day
Wed 29/08/2007
50:37 09N 002:14.79W

A gentle first day. Sold my disintegrating Land Rover at auction in the morning and by 12:30 we were off in nice weather making 10 knots westward in a northwest wind and an ebb tide. The multinational inaugural crew are Dan Bendig (USA), Ian Jack (Germany) and Julian Swarbrick (UK).
We flew past the Needles and cracked open the first bottle of champagne by 16:00. At sunset, which was very pretty, we sailed into Lulworth Cove and anchored in between a few other yachts. The crew tell me they are now doing something with a chicken and they are going ashore to the pub afterwards.

Lulworth Cove to Dartmouth
Fri 31/08/2007

Early-ish in the morning we left Lulworth Cove and motored close inshore past Durdle Door, Stair Hole and other famous geological bits of the Jurassic Coast. The sails went up and we made a good speed along the east side of Portland Bill. Rounding the tip of Portland Bill, westerly winds stopped us making much progress across Lyme Bay without another helping hand from the engine. As evening fell we slipped into the River Dart where there the very busy Royal Dartmouth Regatta was underway and got probably the last berth on the river at the ridiculously expensive Dart Marina. Ate on the boat and watched a very good firework display over the river from the deck. Strolled into town and joined the crowd for a few more beers.
Lori Evans, who is planning to join Graptolite in Portugal, had been racing at the regatta during the day and is expected to come for a short sail with us tomorrow.

Dartmouth to Falmouth
Sat 01/09/2007
50:09.23N 005:03.91W

Lori’s short sail turned into just coffee on the deck as she was going back to work but it was enough to convince the lads that maybe there might be some truth in the skipper’s ravings about sailing around the world with a boat load of blondes.
Left Dart Marina and threaded our way through the regatta boats in the river almost getting mown down by dozens of racing yachts out in the bay. A few porpoises played around the boat off Start Point and then we were off to Falmouth via the Eddystone light. During the afternoon the fishing rod came out and a few mackerel were hauled in. (I do catch fish sometimes, John!). Due to a traumatic Catholic upbringing Dan doesn’t eat fish but for the rest of us, Ian baked the mackerel with onion and very good it was too.
As night fell we were still sailing along at a good speed. Luminous plankton sparked and flashed in our wake like we were riding a bottle rocket. In the early hours of the morning we motored into Falmouth Harbour and moored up to a buoy for the night. Knackered.

Falmouth
Sun 02/09/2007

Moved onto a pontoon at Falmouth Visitors Marina. Julian left by train from Falmouth Town and the rest of us provision the boat and clean up a bit. Later, out on the town for a traditional British curry.

Leaving Falmouth
Mon 03/09/2007
49:15.98N 005:43.10W

A big breakfast, a few last minute purchases and a tank of diesel and it got too difficult to think of reasons not to go. So we went.

Clearing Lizard Point we acquired about ten bow-riding dolphins. “So long and thanks for all the fish” said one. Now at 22:00 BST we are approaching the shipping lanes off Ushant and the sea is very rolly.

Bay of Biscay
Tue 04/09/2007
47:06.93N 006:54.35W

A good day yesterday with 173 nautical miles of water slooshing by in 24 hours. Today finds us in the northern Bay of Biscay with sunny weather and a northerly breeze.

More dolphins around the boat earlier. Night-time now and it has suddenly got very busy with oil tankers all around us for some reason. Radar is a very useful bit of kit.

Aproaching Spain
Thu 06/09/2007
44:17.38N 006:57.59W

Radar is a rubbish bit of kit as it has now stopped working.

Across the southern Bay of Biscay we have taken a bit of a hammering with F7 winds from the east and big waves trying to get in to the boat. Biscay’s reputation is intact! The night sky is very clear which partly makes up for having to keep watch lying down in the spray. If I had one I would be tempted to get the sextant out. We’ve had to head southeast to keep the bow more into the breaking waves. When daylight comes though, we can have a nice run west along the Spanish coast towards Coruna.

We have a bit of fixing up to do when in port. The battery charging is poor and we have to keep the generator on more than expected. A wardrobe door in the forward cabin also got ripped off its hinges during a particularly bad bounce through a wave. And the radar needs looking at.

La Coruna
Fri 07/09/2007
43:22.06N 008:23.19W

Arrived in La Coruna. A nasty night with F7-F8 winds and big waves. The cruise along the mountainous northern Spanish coast today was nice although it was more surfing than sailing. Arrived in Coruna just as night fell. Lurched into the first marina we came to and tied up on a pontoon hammerhead. Dan’s Mexican Spanish came in useful with the marina nightwatchman. Although asking how many pesos it would cost for the berth must have confused.

A meal of gammon ham, pineapple, sweet potatoes and a shower and shave rounded off the day. As I write I hear the crew snoring.

La Coruna
Fri 07/09/2007
43:22.06N 008:23.19W

A day in La Coruna fixing things and looking around the town. Had lunch in the marina restaurant and went looking for supermarkets and chandlers.

Most of the things to fix were the result of Bay of Biscay violence. These are:

Saltwater in the freshwater tanks. (not sure how but we think the anchor locker filled up and water got forced into the tank overflow)

Batteries not charging properly (looks like a loose battery terminal caused by the batteries shifting slightly)

The shackle holding the anchor on to the chain came undone with all the shaking. Nothing lost but a bit scary. Now fixed on with an extra cable tie

Also, the satellite phone email is not working too well. (a blog update has been sent every day but now I’m on a faster connection I see they didn’t arrive. Might not be able to get that fixed until Las Palmas.

Camarinas
Sun 09/09/2007

After a bit of a food shopping excursion into downtown Coruna, today was a pleasant cruise in the sunshine westwards to Camarinas along the very wild looking coast of Galicia. The views are spectacular but you really need to like wind generators as there are thousands of them. Ian said he saw sunfish but the sighting is uncorroborated.

Dan is to leave tomorrow by bus to Santiago de Compostela to get a flight to London and thence to Columbus, Ohio. Some people have all the luck.

Ria de Arousa
Sun 09/09/2007
42:34.37N 009:04.2W

Up early to see Dan off by taxi to the airport.

It’s been a useless sailing day with thick fog and no wind but nothing stops Graptolite heading south. We crept out of Caramarinas and rounded the lighthouse of Cape Finisterre close in to the rocks to the sound of a fog horn thoughtfully provided for the more electronically challenged boats.

By early evening we arrived at the approach to the Ria de Arousa and dropped the anchor in the harbour of the small fishing village of Corrubedo. The multifunctional Ian dived down to check the anchor and baked a loaf of bread while the skipper flounced about in a new wetsuit.

Spain to Portugal
Tue 11/09/2007

The morning saw thick fog again all along the coast. Left Corrubedo harbour using only the radar for eyes (the radar is now back in favour since it started working again!). Bobbed and weaved through small islands and fishing boats towards Isla de San Martin where miraculously the fog began to clear. The island turned out to be a mountainous pink confection with pine trees and lighthouses. We sailed up to near the main deserted beach and anchored for a swim and lunch.

With little wind we mostly motored south in the sunshine past Vigo and Bayonna leaving Spanish lobster-pot-infested waters and passing into Portuguese-lobster-pot infested waters by early evening. Entered the port of Viana Do Castelo and squeezed into a berth. The initially unpromising-looking town turned out to be a gem with a very nice historic centre. Had a late night meal in the town and read each other bits from Sunday’s ‘Die Welt’ and ‘Telegraph’.

Leixoes
Tue 11/09/2007

Left Viana Do Castelo about lunchtime as a new swing footbridge across the mouth of the marina was being tested and we couldn’t get out. Did a little bit of sailing in a F5 wind but it fell away and we were back to motoring after a few hours. By early evening we were nearing Porto and turned into the port of Leixoes where we anchored near the yacht club away from the cruise liners. Our only yachty neighbours at anchor were some Germans. Ian conversed with them but I don’t think he mentioned the War.

Figueira da Foz
Thu 13/09/2007
40:08.79N 008:51.57W

Left the harbour of Leixoes, pointed Graptolite south in the morning and turned up at the marina at Figueira da Foz before dark. Nothing more to say about it really. Almost no wind and a bit of fog in places. Read books, dozed, ate lunch. Could have been anywhere. Last supper with Ian in the Figueira Yacht Club. All crew signed off now until early October. Skipper to do boat maintenance and learn Portuguese before reaching Brazil.

Daily blogs now on hold until something happens.

Figueira da Foz
Sat 15/09/2007
40:08.79N 008:51.57W

Third day in Figgy. Explored the big fish/fruit/veg market this morning and got some bread and sardines for lunch.

Helped to drag ‘Spangle’ into the berth next to mine from the reception pontoon using a 50m warp and some prodding with dinghies, ‘Spangle’ is a heavy-duty ferro-cement ketch that was towed into the marina on Thursday, pooped and with her engine wrecked mid-Bay of Biscay. Showed Bill and Clare, from ‘Spangle’, where the nearest beer supplies could be bought and then found a WiFi hotspot in the lobby of the Ibis Hotel. Uploaded some photos and tried to upload some video clips but the battery on the laptop ran out. On reflection the video files could be a bit too big anyway and might need a rethink. Be patient, gentle viewers!

Before it starts to seem normal, I will mention that the marina here fairly boils with thousands of huge grey mullet. They are no good to eat and it seems unsporting to fire the spear gun at them.

Still in Figueira da Foz
Fri 28/09/2007
40:08.79N 008:51.57W

‘Graptolite’ is still on the Rio Mondego over two weeks after arriving, but it has been fun so far.

A highlight was the wild evening at the ‘Paintshop’ Hostel with Lori and her daughters Hannah and Leah on their brief house-buying visit to Figgy. Ben the owner and his dad Roger did a huge barbecue in the courtyard and poured way too many drinks at the bar later.

“Barnacle” Bill Grooms left the berth next to me early this morning to sail single-handed down to Madeira in ‘Spangle’. Bill is one of the saltier dogs of the cruising tribe. An ex-Navy stoker who can fix anything, which is just as well given the engine-less state ‘Spangle’ arrived in. I’ve had many sardines and beers out on the town with Bill and his visiting partner Clair over the past couple of weeks. As is the way with this nomadic life, I expect I will meet up with Bill again further south in Madeira or the Canaries. Last night we had Bill’s pre-departure drinks with our other neighbours, Jeff Plummer and Carol Preston, onboard their enormous old boat ‘Akka’ and then had dinner with them later at the Yacht Club.

More Figueira da Foz
Sun 30/09/2007
40:08.79N 008:51.57W

Yesterday, I bought some biggish raw prawns for dinner in the fish market but later got invited around to eat aboard ‘Akka’ by Jeff and Carol, so we had the prawns as a starter.

Had a phone call earlier from Bill Grooms who had been blown into Cascais Marina. The same strong southerly winds at Figueira delayed the leaving of a very big and expensive new yacht being delivered to the Frankfurt Boat Show. A good decision, I thought, given that it would almost certainly have been blown into ‘Graptolite’ on departure.

Figueira continues to be a difficult but charming shopping experience. With many of the shops it’s impossible to tell what they sell until you are actually inside. Even then it’s not always that clear. Hopefully, I’ve not been browsing through the native’s sitting rooms by mistake. Mostly the stuff I’m after is the little bits and pieces for the boat that any old ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ would have. The problem here is the shops that claim to be ship’s chandlers have almost no stock. The one on the marina seems to only sell plastic fuel cans (I bought three). There are other shops in town, which mostly sell dusty gardening equipment and power tools that also do a few boaty things. As not much is on display there has to be lots of arm waving. It took me twenty minutes of work the other day to get a bit of string to use as a flag halyard. Yesterday I tried to get some stainless-steel washers. I was directed to an industrial-type shop in the town by a Russell Crowe, Master & Commander, look-alike at the marina chandlers. There I was led downstairs into what must have once been a very big wine cellar. They had shelf after shelf filled with boxes of washers. None of them were the size I needed.

Later I spotted a key-cutting place down a backstreet and tried to persuade the grizzled old proprietor to engrave ‘Graptolite’ on the ship’s bell given to me as a leaving pressie by Mike and Jacqui. Twenty minutes later he was still having a jolly one-sided conversation in Portuguese trying to make sure he had the pronunciation of “graptowleetie” correct and ringing the bell above his head. It turned out that he didn’t do engraving anyway but maybe the tiny shop across the street, that looked like it was a seller of religious relics and Indulgences, would do it. Naturally, it was closed for the day.

The Plot Thickens in Figueira da Foz
Tue 02/10/2007
40:08.79N 008:51.57W

Dined at the Forte de Sta. Catarina Tennis Club restaurant last night together with Carol and Jeff and their friends Manuel, Natasha and baby Arturo. Despite this restaurant being famous for seafood we all had steak. Don’t know why.

Jeff and Carol are going home to the Norfolk Broads tomorrow. Jeff’s tales of racing around the world with Chay Blyth and working as a mud man in the oil industry have been entertaining.

The weather is not too special today with southerly winds and cloud. Made another attempt to get the engraving done on the ships bell. The agitated, pale, monkish-looking man in the shop said he couldn’t do it but slipped me the address of a place across town. It turned out to be another tucked-away religious curiosities shop and it was closed, obviously. I have the uneasy feeling that I’ve stumbled into some kind of ancient conspiracy, probably involving the Knights Templar. I had best say no more about it for now.

Hi!
Sun 07/10/2007

Just to say I’m on the boat and all is well. Thought you might be worrying Dad!
Lori

Navare
Fri 12/10/2007
39:35.03N 009:04.53W

After over a month in Figueira Graptolite today resumed her southbound passage. Had a text from Bill Grooms as we set off who tells me he is now anchored in the crystal clear waters of Porto Santo.

The crew (Lori) turned up over a week ago on the 3rd. It’s all been a bit of a blur but what I think we’ve done is had some meetings with Philipe, Lori’s architect, had some drinks and food with Kerry and Ben at the Paintshop Hostel, tried various restaurants and bars and explored up the Rio Mondego by dingy. Much of it was general loafing around. Loafing is not an easy skill to acquire and Lori, only recently departed from the world of work, has needed guidance from the Master.

Just before departure, the ship’s bell was finally engraved with the word GRAPTOLITE. The final inquisition in the engravers inner sanctum must have gone well. The wind generator has also now been bolted to the back of the boat but still needs the electrical work doing.

Today was mostly motoring in light winds but we made 43 miles to Navare and parked up in the marina there. Just opposite a fish processing factory. As I write, hundreds of associated seagulls are making a racket and trying to turn the boat into a pile of guano. The usual non-joined-up bureaucracy had us having to leave either ships papers or a passport as deposit for keys to get into the marina. A passport was left which was fine with the marine police, who only wanted ships papers, but naturally it was not fine with the immigration police.

Navare
Sat 13/10/2007
39:35.03N 009:04.53W

The plan was to continue south today but the skipper got a 24-hour bug that had him in his bunk all day shivering his timbers. So, one more night here.

The crew explored Navare.

Ihla da Berlenga
Sun 14/10/2007
39:24.66N 009:30.41W

A short trip today of 26 miles to Ihlas da Berlenga about 5 miles off the coast of Peniche. We found an unattended mooring buoy in the bay of Carreiro da Fortaleza close to the 17th Century fortress of Sao Joao Batista. The dingy was used unsuccessfully to attack the fortress (the waves were a bit big) so we landed at a nearby beach and found a small village although there were only a handful of people there. The island is a big pile of pink granite with a lighthouse on top and is a nature reserve. More exploring tomorrow when light.

Peniche
Mon 15/10/2007
39:24.66N 009:30.41W

In the early hours a Customs launch crept by with a spotlight on us threatening paperwork but it turned out they were just there to do a little night fishing and we were probably on their mooring buoy.

Had a pleasant morning climbing over the Ilas Berlenga, lighthouse, fort, birds etc. Lori swam off the beach where we landed the dinghy, but it was to cold for sensible people!

Back to Grapto for lunch then a short sail to the port of Peniche on the mainland. Dinner of fish stew in a touristique restaurant then back to the boat for DVD’s on loan from the Paintshop Hostel.

Graptolite Crew Calling
Mon 15/10/2007

We are in Peniche (think you were here on tour when the Culm Valley boys went large Tom?) and today was wash day. I took a rather traditional approach. Skip decided to don wellies and tread sheets in the heads…Figgy seems a distant memory already and it feels good to be on our way even if we are making short hops. Nazare was an interesting town and within striking distance of Figgy for future trips from the Pink House. The old town has the most wonderful views from the cliff top towards Peniche and Berlenga south to Cabo Mondego in the north. The old town is reached by way of a funicular railway but I was driven there by Sally, wife of Captain M. F. Hadley, the harbour master, lovely couple from Torbay originally. When they sailed into Nazare nine years ago they intended to stay one night.

Ilha da Berlenga was a delight and completely unspoilt. We are staying in Peniche another night so we can explore the town and inland. All is well dad and I haven’t been asked to walk the plank, yet. Hope all is well at DHHQ Lester and I that RA is doing well in the bottom’s cup Ian. X’s H,T & L Lori

Peniche
Wed 17/10/2007
39:21.12N 009:22.60W

Lori suffered from a misguided attempt to run around the whole Peniche peninsular. Later a bus trip to Obidos. A nice fortified town with tourist shops. Walked the walls and turrets. Had lunch. Looked in the shops. Bus back.

Still in Peniche
Thu 18/10/2007
39:21.12N 009:22.60W

Looked around the fortress in Peniche today. Much of it was used for political prisoners during Portugal’s dabble with Dictatorship so it was a bit depressing. Intend to head to Cascais near Lisbon tomorrow.

Cascais
Thu 18/10/2007
38:41.76N 009:24.81W

Sailed south from Peniche to Cascais and anchored in the bay.

Cascais
Sat 20/10/2007
38:41.43N 009:25.10W

Moved into the marina at Cascais as it was a bit rough for landing the dinghy. Cascais is a much more upmarket than the Portugal seen so far. Lots of tourists though.

Had a curry for dinner followed by a couple of pints in a British pub. Guilty pleasures! Maybe we will go see the World Cup Final there as well.

Cascais
Sun 21/10/2007
38:41.43N 009:25.10W

We had dinner in a square in the centre of Cascais and watched the Rugby World Cup Final surrounded by South Africans. All Portuguese restaurants proudly feature several big TV screens on the walls. For sporting events on warm evenings, they are even propped up outside on the tables. It makes a night out in Portugal feel a bit like shopping at ‘Comet’.

The crew left the boat this morning for a few days shore-leave taking the train back to Figueira. This is supposedly so Lori can meet up with Hannah and organize some work on the Pink House although I suspect the real reason is that the girl is sick of the sight of the skipper!

Cascais
Tue 23/10/2007
38:41.43N 009:25.10W

I fear that Portugal will never become a major economic force in Europe.

Had a day trip on the train to Lisbon in search of fibreglass repair materials and some rigging wire and returned empty-handed. Walked for miles and visited five chandleries. Two were closed, contrary to advertised hours, and the others had nothing in. Except one near the Cais do Sodre station which had a good selection of wire and a swaging machine but the owner and his assistant thought they might only be able to find time to sell it to me the next day as even though the shop had no other customers, one was way too busy winding up a ball of string and the other was supervising.

Cascais
Thu 25/10/2007
38:41.43N 009:25.10W

A day spent sightseeing in Lisbon. It’s an interesting old place with lots of vertical travel to castles using giant lifts and trams.

Tom Pickup arrives at Lisbon Airport for a Half-Term sailing the Algarve. The taxi driver from the airport gets us stuck in a traffic jam caused by the Celtic-Benfica match and trousers some extra fare money. According to the street map there was no need to go anywhere near the stadium in the first place but lacking suitable Portuguese swear words made the situation unfixable.

Still in Cascais
Fri 26/10/2007

Ex-Texaco friends reading this will have some vague recollection of the Cascais/Estoril area from a ‘business’ trip the entire office had here in the early 90’s. Back then excess alcohol was obligatory. I suppose like the 60’s if you can remember it then you weren’t here and I can’t remember a thing except for Cyril falling out of a lift. Anybody remember anything else?

Provisioned the boat for a few days travel but after lugging food and drink across town from the ‘Jumbo’ it was too late to go. Later, Tom and I took the dingy up the coast to see the Boca do Inferno (Mouth of Hell) sea cave. Lori went shopping.

Sines
Sun 28/10/2007
37:57.08N 008:51.95W

Refuelled at Cascais marina and motor-sailed 65 miles to the port of Sines. Arrived in the dark and dropped anchor.

Lagos
Sun 28/10/2007
37:06.65N 008:40.52W

Upped anchor at Sines at first light and motor-sailed south. By late afternoon we rounded the big cliffs and lighthouse at Cape St. Vincent on the most southwesterly part of mainland Europe. Some dolphins escorted us for a while.

Turning eastwards along the Algarve coast the weather warmed up and we arrived at Lagos Marina as night fell after a 90 mile run. Arrangements had been made by email and text to meet two future crew persons that evening in Lagos so we were just in time. Colin Laidlaw, on the marina in his own boat ‘Inshala’ with his partner Belinda, is to join ‘Graptolite’ in the Caribbean. Caroline Bonner, in Lagos berthing with friends between boats, is to join in Faro for the trip to Las Palmas. The six of us, Colin, Belinda, Caroline, Lori, Tom and myself had dinner in a nice restaurant booked by Colin. No idea what it was called or where it was. I had some grouper fish which was semi-cremated in the traditional Portuguese way. Rick, they need some help here!

Heard some fireworks going off around midnight but nobody could be bothered to go and look. Ooh! Aah! The crew gets an extra hour sleep time as the clocks go back.

Lagos
Sun 28/10/2007
37:06.65N 008:40.52W

Tom and Dad had a ‘Full English’ breakfast with Colin and Belinda at ‘Lazyjacks’. Lori went to the marina pool to cook some skin and swim. Looks like we are here another night.

Portimao
Tue 30/10/2007
37:06.84N 008:31.30W

Had a short sail from Lagos to anchor in the harbour of Portimao. Has a big, slightly effeminate-looking pink stone castle and beaches.

Tom jumped off the boat and discovered that the water is cold. Took the dingy to the beach where Lori had a swim and declared it warm but the water is still way to chilly for the skipper to get wet.

Faro
Wed 31/10/2007
37:00.50N 007:56.43W

Sailed from Portimaio to Faro in the sunshine. There is a long narrow winding channel across a big swamp to get to the anchorage near Faro. Took the dingy to town and had a few beers and pizza. Returning to Graptolite turned out to be a nightmare as the half-mile or so of open water between anchorage and shore had turned into muddy, stinky marshland with the falling tide. Three of us dragging a dingy through waist-deep mud in the dark is not as much fun as you might think.

Olhao
Wed 31/10/2007

Dingy to shore then taxi to the airport at Faro to send Tom back to school. Caroline called to say she lost a crown and can’t sail with us. I didn’t even know she was royalty!

Skipper and crew discuss plans for heading south shorthanded. Think maybe Casablanca could be a good stopping off point although lack of courtesy flag and pilot books might be a problem. Attempted to source charts etc in Faro but as usual it was a waste of time.

Tried to find a marina where groceries, fuel and water could be sourced. Navigated about ten miles through the waterways of the Rio Formosa delta to the town of Olhao. Parked beautifully in the marina and was told to bugger off by an official with a clipboard who said it was all private. German neighbours said they told him they had an emergency and had to stay. Being British we left and anchored nearby.

Ate in a restaurant with a Halloween Party in full swing. In Portuguese style it included children running riot and wielding axes.

Olhao
Thu 01/11/2007
37:01.36N 007:50.52W

It turned out that not only is there no room in the marina for visitors but the only source of diesel is a petrol station in the town. Not much use if you need hundreds of litres. There is a commercial dock but the size of the concrete wall and the big rafted-up trawlers make it impossible to get near the pump. Water is also a problem without sneaking into the marina. There are supermarkets but stuff would need ferrying by dingy. Decided to go to Vilamoura tomorrow which is 20 miles back along the coast to the west.

Vilamoura
Sat 03/11/2007

A short trip to Vilamoura to provision the boat. Off to Morocco in the morning. Should take a couple of days.

Gulf of Cadiz
Sun 04/11/2007
34:58.47N 008:44.92W

A very rough night with F6-7 winds from the SE and 2m waves. As usual the forecast did not match the real world which was for F5 from the east. Smashed my last remaining glass cafitiere in the early hours. For those of you paying attention, yes I did have three onboard.

The cockpit was too wet so Lori and skipper hid below looking out at the breaking waves every 20 minutes. Not quite as bad as Biscay but close. Only saw the lights of one or two ships in the distance, plenty of stars and a planet that looked like a bit like something on the horizon.

By sunrise we crossed into Moroccan waters and are now about 100 miles NW of Casablanca and the sea has calmed down and the winds are lighter. Expect to be in Safi for breakfast on Monday.

Safi, Morocco
Mon 05/11/2007
32:18.33N 009:14.91W

The second half of the crossing was very gentle. 388 miles after leaving Portugal we arrived at the port of Safi, Morocco. Officials made off with our chocolate biscuits as we didn’t have Marlboro. Public holiday tomorrow here so a problem leaving ships papers and passports for an early departure. Still waiting for Customs and Immigration people showing up.

Essaouira, Morocco
Wed 07/11/2007
31:29.53N 009:40.47W

Customs turned up eventually and waved a grubby form at me from the harbour wall so I had to clamber over two yachts and a rusty freighter to get it. While filling it in (difficult as just in French and Arabic) the Immigration Police arrived on the boat. Filled in his form (almost identical information to that needed by the previous three officials seen). Immigration wanted to take the passports away but could only return them after 10:00AM unless I went with him to the police station. Met the Customs man who was waiting in his car for his form. Customs man decided he would drive me to his office to wait while Immigration man did something else. Drove what seemed like miles, finished Customs paperwork then I was sent to the Police Station where I waited hours for Immigration man turning up do some more forms and passport stamping. After being let go I got lost in the very big and very smelly fish dock. After almost finding my way back to the commercial harbour, Immigration man roared up in his van and I got bundled into the back while some more paperwork was done that he forgotten about the first two times we met. Some dithering about involving requests for baksheesh then I was back to the boat with all paperwork done and still in possession of all documents. It’s not easy to keep calm after spending a couple of nights at sea beforehand. All officials were friendly enough but obviously couldn’t do admin for toffee.

During the night the boat got a good covering of phosphate dust which is mainly what the port does. In the morning we motored through the very filthy harbour dodging bits of fishing net and plastic sacks. The King of Morocco was apparently turning up to the city the next day so some of the bigger boats were dressed with dusty bunting. Hope he likes it.

There was no wind so we motored all day to Essaouira. Several miles offshore, Lori, wearing a bikini, waved enthusiastically to a bunch of Moroccans in a fishing boat who naturally wanted to come over and sell us fish. The skipper vetoed this on the grounds of safety and was declared to be a ‘tourist’ rather than a ‘traveller’. C’est la vie. And this is off the desert coast of the Maghreb!

In Essaouira we rafted up with a French boat on a small pontoon in the very picturesque fishing harbour. Paperwork was not too bad. I just had to visit two offices. Different uniforms, same information. Oddly, they always need to know how many children you have at home. Explored the streets of the fortified town in the evening and ate a good meal at the ‘Chez Sam’ restaurant next to the pontoon.

Essaouira, Morocco
Wed 07/11/2007
31:29.53N 009:40.47W

Walked through the fishing harbour and explored the medina of Essaouira which is a big area of narrow streets with shops, stalls and barrows behind the old walls of the legendary city of Mogador. All very colourful with lots of ‘sand-people’ looking as if they are collecting broken droids in a galaxy far, far away.

Looked for a Morocco courtesy flag for the boat. It can sometimes cause trouble with officials if you don’t fly a small version of the country’s flag from the starboard spreader. A Moroccan French teacher I got talking to in the medina took me around to loads of shops where we eventually found something that would do. Wouldn’t accept anything for his trouble, which was nice.

Lori’s son Tom and his partner Heidi turned up in town for the night. They had been coincidentally on a surfing holiday further down the Moroccan coast but there was no surf.

It now looks as though Porto Santo and Madeira will have to be given a miss as time is getting short to get to Las Palmas. Tired of Portuguese food anyway. Thinking of going to Isla Graciosa first, which is a small island north of Lanzarote, as it will be the nearest landfall.

Essaouira, Morocco
Thu 08/11/2007
31:29.53N 009:40.47W

Did some minor repairs around the house and a bit of shopping. Had an excellent tagine of lamb for dinner in a place down a dark alley in the medina called ‘Le Patio’. Nice place but seemed to lack a patio. It was a bit more expensive than intended but worth it to cut down the chance of being out of action on the passage to the Canaries.

Atlantic 200 nm NE of Canaries
Fri 09/11/2007
31:05.82N 010:26.76W

Got passports stamped with no hassle. The police were practicing putting handcuffs on each other when ‘Mon Capitan’ walked in. It wasn’t immediately obvious what they were up to. I thought somebody’s paperwork wasn’t in order.

Used up some local currency in the fish market (a kilo of shrimp and three big red fish with huge eyes) and left Essaouira harbour at midday. Pointed the boat towards Lanzarote and had a beer.

Atlantic 70 nm NE of Canaries
Sat 10/11/2007
29:53.03N 012:24.71W

A fair NE wind. Made 163 nm in last 24hrs. Only saw a few ships passing in the night. Expect to make landfall at Ilas Graciosa to the north of Lanzarote tomorrow and should be in Las Palmas on Monday or Tuesday.

Isla Graciosa
Sun 11/11/2007
29:13.73N 013:30.10W

After a night of listening to the local VHF radio operators putting on silly voices and insulting each other’s parentage, we returned to Christendom.

Made landfall at first light and sailed to Ila Graciosa off the mountainous northern coast of Lanzarote. Tied up on the eastern harbour wall of Caleta del Sebo harbour and the skipper had a sleep until lunchtime. The crew being less worn out by the responsibility of command, washed her knickers and rented a bike.

Went to a bar in the village for a beer or two later in the afternoon. This is a really pleasant location with white boxy houses around the harbour and the mountains of Lanzarote across the narrows and volcanic cones behind.

Lanzarote
Mon 12/11/2007

Sailed the length of Lanzarote today to get a bit closer to Gran Canaria. A strange lunar landscape of volcanic cones and pumice. Now in Marina Rubicon on the south coast of Lanzarote. A very posh marina. Poor old grubby Graptolite looks out of place against the big yachts bristling with satellite dishes and Gucci handbags.

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
Tue 13/11/2007
28:07.68N 015:25.49W

Got up early and sailed over a hundred miles to Las Palmas in a nice N F5. Lots of dolphins on the way. Arrived at the enormous harbour at Las Palmas in the dark and threaded our way through big ships and oil rigs to the marina and tied up on the reception pontoon just after the ARC office had closed. Bit of an anticlimax but nevertheless we are here……at the starting line of the race.