August 21st, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,The Atlantic
Distance sailed today: 88.2NM
Total distance sailed: 88.2NM
Midnight GPS position: N 27.38 W017.17
Wind: Variable to NNW 2-4 kt
Sea state: Slight
STOMACH STATE: Crook. Not feeling the urge to puke, but well and truely getting there.
We finally got away from Tenerife at 11:30am this morning after filling up with almost 600 extra litres of diesel. So much for the purity and environmentally friendly aspect of sailing, you might say…but this is a delivery. Getting the yacht to the destination is the goal here. With the diesel we have (about 1200 litres) we should be able to run the engines for about 8 days straight. This will give us a good buffer for if we get caught out with no wind at any stage during the trip.
Soon after leaving Tenerife, it was clear that there was not going to be much wind. The sea was choppy, the swell coming from all directions. This did not surprise Skipper Steve much – it was just as he had expected, but it was generally agreed that it was time to at least get out of Tenerife and see how things go.
So for most of the day we were motoring on diesel rather than using the wind, which was varying in it’s direction, and not very strong.
And to spice things up just a little, it is now midnight, and this is the current situation:
Still motoring, no running lights, port engine not drawing power, port engine making screeching bearing noise.
But hey, at least we saw some whales today…
August 20th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,Canary Islands,The Atlantic
“At least there’s less dog shit here. France is dog shit central.” – Skipper Steve Dewhurst lamenting about too many drunk British tourists in Las Americas, Tenerife.
We were hoping to head out today. However a quick check of the weather maps showed little improvement on the wind situation. Skipper Steve decided to wait it out another day.
I have been all but confined to the small area around San Miguel marina for the last few days, so I have had little chance to see the sights of this interesting island, Tenerife. Tenerife is part of the Canary Islands, belonging to Spain. hey are however, closer to the north west coast of Africa. The architecture is positively Spanish mind you.
The island is volcanic. The highest point is at the top of the volcano at 3,600m. Beaches are black volanic sand.
The plan for tomorrow is to leave, regardless of the wind. Better to bob out in the ocean than in this marina, Steve says. So hopefully this will be my last update for a few weeks. The crossing is scheduled to take 21 days give or take. That means that I should be back in email contact by around the 15th of September. See you on the other side.
Or perhaps we should hijack the tourist submarine here in the marina. Perhaps then we could forget the wind…
August 19th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,Canary Islands,The Atlantic
“Quick! Look rich!” – Skipper Steve Dewhurst upon seeing tourists looking at the yacht in the marina.
“I’ll be buggered if I’m going to go out there today!” said Steve when he climbed out of his berth this morning.
The wind was blowing from the south this morning. And less than a wind, a breeze. No use in going out from the marina to do 40 miles a day into the wind for four days, when we can wait four days for a good wind and do 200 miles on that first day.
Good logic. So depending on the wind, we may set off tomorrow.
We managed to pick up a wireless internet connection from somewhere today. That means that I have been able to update the website. Happy days.
Just a reminder that once we are under way, the yacht can be tracked via our GPS tracking system at a website called Yacht Control. Once at the front page of this website, login with the following details:
Username: u_CAT008
Password: WHALE
The capitals do matter.
Once logged in, you can see our position, indicated by a catamaran graphic. Cool, aye. You can zoom in and out using the panel at the left of the screen.
August 18th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories
Hello from the Canary Islands. The yacht is amazing – I have a double berth all to myself including ensuite. Big stable catamaran. We depart on Sunday.
You can keep a track on where we are by logging onto the following website:
Access: Yacht Control
Username: u_CAT008
Password: WHALE
This shows our lastest midday GPS position.
I have sore arms due to lots of scrubbing today. Decks to be kept clean!
August 18th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,Canary Islands,The Atlantic
“Go south till the butter melts, then turn right.” – Skipper Steve Dewhurst on how to get across the Atlantic.
So the plan was to set sail today. However the wind was not 100% great, and there were still a few things to organise before setting off. One of those things was to get the VHF radio aerial up the mast. The mast is 15 metres high.
Into a climbing harness I go, and I am winched up the thick aluminium mast. I push back the nerves, and try to enjoy the sights. After a few moments I am feeling comfortable and can pluck up the courage to take a few pictures.
I tie the aerial up to the mast, and down I come again. The rest of the afternoon was spent…yes, cleaning the exterior of the boat with a toothbrush and Ajax powder.
In the evening we went to a local internet cafe to check the extended marine forecast for the Atlantic. Steve pointed out various weather patters, notably hurricane Dean, about to make landfall on Jamaca. I wondered out loud how we were to know whether we were going to be engulfed in one of the ‘H’ words, and Steve reassured me that he will be downloading weather forecasts daily via VHF radio during the trip. Via the radio, he can download full resolution weather maps onto his laptop.
August 17th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,Canary Islands,The Atlantic
“Working on a sailboat is 10% sailing and 90% cleaning.” – Steve Dewhurst
The boat that we are delivering on this trip has been sitting in the marina in San Miguel in Tenerife for one month. The previous crew that got it from France down this far disintegrated due to some of the crew members running out of time, so the whole delivery had to be abandoned.
The crew seemed to have left in a hurry, because there are more than 70 or so bottles of mineral water and lots of food left on the boat. The time the boat has sat here however has meant that it is very dirty. Covered in fine dust, apparently blown from the African mainland. I spent the best part of a whole day washing the boat down, scubbing it with detergent, and then scrubbing it again where there were small spots that needed extra attention. I agree with Steve’s reasoning – do it now rather than the end of the trip when we are all tired.
Basically, the boat needs to be delivered in as good a condition as possible, as Steve and Ellie get rated on a scale of one to five, five being the best, on how the boat is delivered. Aparently, they mostly get fives with ‘a few fours every now and then’. The scrubbing is rewarding however – nothing quite like a nice white boat. Ellie is on stainless steel duty, polishing the metal parts.
August 16th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,Canary Islands,France,The Atlantic
Did lots of flying and ‘normal’ traveling today. Flew from La Rochelle (France) to London (England), then from London to Tenerife (Canary Islands, off the coast of Morocco, North Africa). It was six hours of flying in total, but much more waiting.
It took one hour and a half to get through immigration at Gatwick Airport in London. The lines were rather rediculous. An elderly lady standing in front of me to whom I began chatting to mentioned that she kept losing her place in the line because she had to go and sit down often. I offered to keep her place, and she wandered to the front of the line and waited for me. Good Samaratin deed of the day.
In London I had four hours between flights, so I dashed into central London to the Decathalon store to buy a life jacket. Apparently the marina in San Miguel is in a small town where getting such things is a little difficult. It was only 8 GBP for a simple off-shore life jacket, so no worries.
I made it back to the airport with 20 minutes to spare before takeoff. I was ushered through the lines of people to the front and made it onto the plane just in time.
I arrived in Tenerife at 10:30pm, and met Steve, the Reliance Yacht Management skipper for the trip from Tenerife to Tortola, British Virgin Islands. He is a down to earth guy, extremely experienced in sailing, of course, with more than 25 trans-Atlantic trips. Most of these have been delivery trips, delivering French-made catamarans. He used to be an electrical engineer before switching to sailing more than 15 years ago. The frist thing I noticed about him was his weathered face, creased at the sides of his mouth due to an ever-present easy smile.
Frist-mate is Steve’s partner Ellie. She is a diminutive woman who enjoys laughing and makes effort to make you feel welcome and comfortable on the boat. Ellie has done 11 trans-Atlantic crossings with Steve, and together their total sailing miles top 250,000.
Steve and I chatted on the way back from the airport in the hire car, and he mentioned that he prefers inexperienced crew. That way, he can teach them without having to put up with ‘arrogant sailing school prats with all the training and no experience thinking they know it all’. In any case, the Steve and Ellie are a great duo, and I am sure that we will get on well.
The catamaran we are delivering on this trip is a Lagoon 420, a new ‘hybrid’ catamaran with electric motors. The batteries that run the motors and all electrics inside the catamaran are charged by propellers when the yacht is sailing at full speed. When the yacht is moving slower than full speed, a (very inefficient) diesel generator charges them.
The yacht is, needless to say, brand new and very spacious. I have my own double berth (sleeping quaters with a double bed) with ensuite with toilet and shower. The boat holds up to 300 litres of fresh water, so hot fresh water showers will only be a once a week affair, but I can hardly complain.
More photos tomorrow when the sun is up…
August 15th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,France
OK, so I know I said that I wouldn’t be using an airplane to get back to NZ, so I guess that this is cheating just a little, but tomorrow I depart La Rochelle to fly back to London, and then from there fly to Tenerife, Spain – flights reimbursed by Reliance Yacht Management. Why? Because I have a position on a yacht delivery! Jolly stoked, and a little freaked out at the speed at which things are happening – weather permitting we set sail on Saturday (18th August) morning.
But the lowdown is that I will be assisting with the delivery of a Lagoon 420 catamaran from Tenerife, Spain, to Tortola, British Virgin Isles. From the British Virgin Isles I’m not 100% sure how I will get to the US yet, but I am sure I will be able to island hop there some how. I will most probably apply for my six month US tourist visa in Barbados.
My flight details for tomorrow are:
So a really big thank you to Reliance Yacht Management for hooking me up with this. They have done a great job so far.
This great news in no way shadows the great time I had with Bart and his friends here in La Rochelle. It was far too short a stay, but I really enjoyed every moment of it. A good way to finish before the hard work and learning curve begins on Saturday.
We were all staying at Garston’s place. A small studio apartment in a building nestled in amongst whitewashed narrow streets.
Big merci to Garston!
I must say that I am gutted that I couldn’t have spent some more time in London. There were some more people that I wanted to meet up with, but this yacht thing has been a bit of a whirlwind. You never know, I might be back.
August 14th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,France
I spent more than six hours in the Decathalon store today. Way to make you go crazy.
First I spent an hour or so tracking down the cheapest possible footwear I could find. The result was a 5 Euro pair of shoes on special, discounted from 35 Euros. They should do for on the yacht – if I ever get on one. My boots were reluctantly laid to rest due to the fact that they were hardly suitable for wearing to work.
They would have lasted much longer, and it was sad to see them go. But such is life. I just hope that I do end up managing to get a position on a yacht. All this new stuff I am buying is on the assumption that I will.
So I wandered out of the store with some sunglasses, new shoes, and some new socks, and not only is it pouring with rain, but I am also without a jacket. Back in I go and scour the store for the best deal on a waterproof jacket. I found the right one quickly enough, but delayed my departure from the store until 4pm. It was still raining cats and dogs at this stage, but I had no other choice. I really wanted to be in La Rochelle to start the search for a yacht job.
Just as I was going to leave the store, I overheard some people speaking English. I thought they were Kiwis, but they ended up being a family from the UK visiting France. Upon hearing that I was going to try to hitch a ride out of the city, they insisted that they take me to a good spot just out of the city on the motorway. Thank you guys! I got a ride from where they dropped me off in about 10 minutes.
The next ride was with Julie, Bart, and Patern. Julie and Patern are students, and Bart is working. They were heading to La Rochelle to visit friends, because from today, all of France is on holiday.
I explained that I had contacted a Couchsurfing host in La Rochelle and arranged to stay at his place from the 15th, so they offered for me to stay at their friend’s place for the night. I of course agreed.
The rest is history, and I was shown amazing hospitality and good times out on the town in La Rochelle. Very tasty wine infused with fruit flavours such as apple and grapefruit and strawberry. I have decided that France is awesome.
August 13th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,France
Bonjour from France! This hitchhiking business is hard work. Sure, you don’t have to carry a heavy backpack on your back, but when you are super tired and can hardly keep your eyes open, but are stuck in a truck, your only option is to fight the tiredness and try to keep awake, rather than find a tree to have a rest under. It’s not the done thing to sleep in your ‘host’ car.
But oh my goodness. My sterotypes about the French have been hung, drawn, and quatered today. France is hands down the friendliest country I have ever visited (after Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, that is). The people are keen to communicate, and lack of language skills are no barrier. Where the heck did the ‘snobby French people’ comments come from.
My frist ride was with a young guy moving apartments because of a change in study location from La Havre to Caen. The second ride was the clincher – a three hour ride from Caen to Nantes in a big truck and trailer unit. The driver spoke no English, but after a while my very limited French skills came back to me from my short time in Switzerland. We ascertained that he had once been working in an aluminium smelter, has two daughters, and has been driving trucks for a living for six years. The pay is average, but he is happy.
He dropped me off just oustide of Nantes at around 7pm. I hadn’t eaten much during the day, so I took a break to have dinner – the usual spaghetti.
I was considering trying to hitch to La Rochelle tonight, but I saw an advertisement for a Decathalon store in Nantes. Decathalon is a French outdoor and sporting goods brand that sells their own brand of outdoor gear for really cheap. Like you can get a very good quality fast drying polyester t-shirt for less than NZ$10. Consider buying a North Face t-shirt and you’d be looking at at least NZ$50.
I need to visit Decathalon to get myself some basic waterproof clothing for when/if I get a job on a yacht across the Atlantic. So I skated through Nantes, but by the time I got to the Decathalon store it was shut. I found a secluded spot under a bypass for the night.
Oh and chekc out the crazy slanted buildings I saw in Nantes. I thought my vison was going funny…
