LIFE: Part 2

Archive for the ‘Sailing’ Category

In the end we decided it was too much of a rush to visit the Casamance area of Senegal. So, instead, we are sailing straight to Cape Verde islands tomorrow. We are aiming for Sal, the upper right island, where my son Ben will be joining us in a week or so to stay for Christmas. As per usual, we will update you all once we arrive there AND get internet sorted out. Though we may also send a brief message at some point by our Satellite text message gadget. The trip should take us 3 days.

Current Location: Banjul, GambiaCurrent Position: 13 23.67 N 016 37.41 W Click to view map. Distance sailed since last post: 97 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track hereCruising The Gambia presents a few challenges to the sailor that are a bit different from most other destinations. My hope is that these few (Click to Read More...)

Current Location: Dakar, SenegalCurrent Position: 14 43.1 N 017 25.66 W Click to view map. Distance sailed since last post: 4 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track hereThis crossing of 842 miles was like our Lisbon to Morocco crossing – but more so. We set off with very light winds which, unfortunately (Click to Read More...)

Current Location: San Sebastian, La Gomera, Canary IslandsCurrent Position: 28 4.35 N 017 7.67 W Click to view map. Distance sailed since last post: 0 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track hereThe internet Nightmare continues. We use 3G on the phone, with a portable wifi hostspot to the laptop. Works sometimes, for (Click to Read More...)

Current Location: Radazul, TenerifeCurrent Position: 28 24.04 N 016 19.39 W Click to view map. Distance sailed since last post: 135 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track hereOnce again we had everything. First a fresh breeze that had us romping along at 7kts. Then, as soon as it was dark, the wind (Click to Read More...)

Current Location: Marina Rubicon, LanzaroteCurrent Position: 28 51.38 N 013 48.91 W Click to view map. Distance sailed since last post: 16 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track hereThe wind has been acting up the last few days. For three days we had big waves coming from the north, and strong winds (Click to Read More...)

Current Location: Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary IslandsCurrent Position: 28 57.7 N 013 32.38 W Click to view map. Distance sailed since last post: 459 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track hereA 500 Mile Beat!? Well, that was definitely not what signed up for. We left Rabat with a forecast that gave us favourable (Click to Read More...)

After a whirlwind tour of Morocco, which we have really enjoyed, we are now ready to leave. We will put together the photos and blog in due course, but right now the forecast says go tomorrow – or wait another week. So, once again, it ends up with a bit of a rapid departure. We would have preferred to stay another day or two, but that’s how the wind goes. The trip will be about 470 miles, and should have some nice fast downwind stretches again. So we hope to arrive sometime on Thursday, assuming an average speed between 6 and 7 knots. We are aiming for Arrecife, on Lanzarote. Once we are there we will sort all that internet stuff again, and then will be back in touch. In the meantime, we will be off the grid for a few days. Have fun in the meantime!

Current Location: Rabat, MoroccoCurrent Position: 34 1.8 N 006 49.35 W Click to view map. Distance sailed since last post: 298 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track hereWow, what a sail! With about 20 kts (true) of wind behind us, we set off from Lisbon with an average speed of 7.7kts. Far (Click to Read More...)

There is a gale about to blow easterly from the Gibraltar strait. That would make for an unpleasant crossing. And after that the winds are rather confused, for at least the coming week. So, we could sail down to the Algarve and wait for a week. Or we could go now. If we go now, we should be in Morocco before the blow sets in, and that gains us an extra week in Morocco. So that is what we are doing. Right at this moment we are exiting the Tejo River, and soon we will be flying downwind with an estimated journey time of 2 days and 11 hours to cover 315 miles or so.  Of course that is all a guess. But in any case we hope to be in Rabat, Morocco sometime on Tuesday, at which point we will try and connect up with email etc. So, until then, have fun!