Having arrived in St. Helena under sail only on 11^th February with serious banking problems and a broken ”P” bracket I set about sorting things.
It seems the Indian call centre used by HSBC managed to pass my telephone banking codes etc. to fraudsters so when I phoned them there was a conspiracy of silence by putting me on hold for hours and me paying 1 pound a minute out of my food money. But Saints are very hospitable people and lent me money, thank you Craig Yon.
Then out of the blue I got an email from the HSBC fraud department saying we accept what you say and are repaying the stolen 10 grand but closing your account in 30 days where do we send the money. I had set up an alterative bank before leaving the UK but all my income was payed elsewhere so it had to be changed, this was difficult as St Helena has poor and very expensive internet and external telephones. It’s all done now except for my state pension that got cancelled 13 months ago and has still not been restarted.
For the first 2 months I lived on the boat to save money then as the bank was sorted I got a 200cc Chinese dirt bike to get around the island and up to the Golf club, moved into the small Gazebo cottage.
I applied for a job as an engineer with the Public Works department (PWD) in about May, had an interview which went OK with just the chief engineer and expat roads and buildings engineer. But this was just an interview about an interview which took place in June with about 8 people but no chief engineer, it was not good and a month later I got a rejection slip (win some loose some) then in August I was in the Standard bar having  just emptied the boat workshop that I had  rented for 2 months to build 2 dingys one a proof of concept that rows very well and the second an outboard type that splits in two and nests within itself thus taking up very little deck space. When the roads engineer asked if I wanted a job setting up a bridge register, data base, inspections and teach a Saint to maintain it. So I started 2 days later and will be working till the end of September / October with a break to fix CARIAD when she comes out of the water next week.
Sorry this report has been all shore based, In November I will be off to Jacare near Cabadelo in Brazil.

Tony

St Helena  is just as I left it except that people I meet 2 years ago are now good friends. Am making an application for a residency permit initially for 1 year then I may take CARIAD to the Caribbean and may sell her, return to UK and sell the house and move here permanently, but that’s all in the future and could change.
The serious bank problems I had are just about sorted out with HSBC making good the money they gave away without my permission to ¨Hamid¨ who ever that or they were. I wonder what the full extent  of bank fraud really is as friends on other yachts have also had fraud committed against them.
Am looking for a motor bike motor bike to get around the island a bit quicker and save on shoe leather.
How did the skiing go and did Steve make it to the Alps
The trip here from the Cape Verde Islands was rather more exciting than I had hoped it went as follows.
I climbed the volcano on Fogo which is 10,000 feet plus and is still smouldering after the 1995 eruption it’s a picture I will never forget. I spoke to an old boy who had been a child when the much bigger 1950`s one took place and the look of fear on his face as he described it in Portuguese said more than any words could. On returning to the boat the wind had turned south pushing a big swell into the harbour and threatening to drive CARIAD on to rocks. So I up anchored and off without provisioning as I had expected to do the next day (23/12/2009). After a day of light winds I picked up the SE trades and made 4 days of good progress towards the doldrums off the coast of Guinea. There was then 480 miles of light variable winds with thunder and lightning night and day but I got through it in 8 days and used the motor only 25 hours. This brought me off Cape Palmas in the Guinea current which drew me to Sao Tome an old Portuguese island where they grow Coca and Coffee though the officials seem to make there money by robbing the likes of me at the point of a Kalashnakov rifle (nice place but don’t go there unless your well armed). I put on plenty of food for the 2,000 miles to St Helena and was advised to get moving as the coast further north is afflicted with Tornadoes in late February and March so despite having to pay 300 euros in port backhanders I only stayed 5 days. I put in to a holiday resort at the south end of the island for a day to clean the barnacles off the bottom of the boat and go to see the equator monument which was set up before the GPS was developed but is very close to the equator just the same. So at 9 am on the 25 January I set off expecting a tough journey north keeping 180 miles off the African Coast. As I went round the south side of the resort the corner of the island looked as if it might have had a shoal coming out from it so I went down to check the chart and as I was starting up the computer the speed dropped to zero. I was caught in a virtually unmarked fishing net. I tried to wriggle free but Cariad was stuck fast. I prepared to go over the side then a fishing boat appeared from round the corner of the island and the 6 guys on it stated shouting in Creole I offered 30 euros if they cut me loose then another boat came over and 2 men from the first boat came on to Cariad. The second boat said 2,000 euros then reduced to1,000. The net was cut either side of the boat but they didn’t cut it off the prop and I was drifting towards rocks which didn’t worry them I moved the dingy to allow the anchor to be dropped. One  of the most persistent fishermen then threw the dingy off and his matts stole it. As I went back to the cockpit after anchoring he was trying to steal the outboard. I thought this was a bit much so picket up my big sharp kitchen knife raised my left-hand  like one of the 3 musketeers  and went for the middle of his chest. No one has ever left Cariad so quickly to my knowledge, thank god I didn’t  make contact. I then got out the flare pistol which they thought was a revolver and they moved off to get help. I was over the side like a shot and cut away the net as far as I could noted the ¨P¨bracket had come un-welded. Started the motor the prop turned. I got the anchor up and  motored 12 miles to be out of the territorial limit and sight of land. Dived over the side and cut the last vestiges of the net off and had a cup of tea.
The decision to use sail only to reach St. Helena was therefore made for me and there was no question of motor tacking it had to be all done under sail. After 6 days of light winds and a few thunderstorms the water went dirty and there were strange currents all from the Congo River, Joseph Conrad’s ¨Heart of Darkness¨. I did one more day going north and decided to try for St. Helena 1,100 miles to the west. The first day hard on a port tack I could not quite make it, the water was still dirty and I was very down as there was nowhere else to go until south America 2,500 miles away. Next day the water turned blue the wind shifted and I could make St. Helena where I don’t need a dinghy.
10 days and there was the island the emerald in a bronze setting.
I closed in at 16.00 hrs.and the ferry boat came out to meet me maned by Reg who remembered me from 2 years ago and with a really good south African charter sailer who when I said no motor just dived in swam over and gave me the help I needed.
Reg then marked where I was to anchor and I sailed to his mark and dropped the anchor and broke out the Rum.

Sorry to not have posted more reports but its very difficult to get inter net cafes in the Cape Verde islands that accept memory stick's or discs. So I have got reports on the boat computer but am reluctant to carry it round in the dingy.
I will leave Sal to-night for Boavista island which is now officialy clear of the Dengue fever. I hope to then visit Fogo (fire in Potugeuse) Island and may be Bravo then to Prior to book out and then 2,700 miles to Luanda in Angola through the Inter tropical Convergece Zone and Tornado belt. Then 1200 miles to St. Helena where I may spend a year sorting out things.

Tony

Gibraltar to Canary Islands

Gibraltar is loosing its britishness very quickly with Spanish now being spoken by many more than speak English. There was not a single Royal Navy ship in the harbour during the 3 weeks I was there and the dockyard looked like it was on care and maintenance. The Rock is still there and the Apes are in excellent condition with about 200 animals in 5 troops. The no feeding rule enforced by a 400 pound fine has stopped them stealing from tourists and the balanced diet the rangers feed them is making them fitter and produce more youngsters. The skyline has changed with lots of multi story buildings and a vibrant economy created by the free port policy which means many goods have no VAT or tax so cheap fuel and alcohol and premiership football on the telly.
The boarder with Spain is a joke with the Spanish immigration and customs giving there own people a very hard time as there is work in Gib. And Morrisons supermarket is better and often cheaper than the Spanish ones in La Linnea where house prices and accommodation are cheap.
But Gib. is still very safe and much more law biding than adjacent Spain with up to 3 cruise liners arriving ever day as the Rock tours are just what the passengers love. I climbed the rock on foot and did lots of chatting to people who have lived there for years but still got the same feeling that it’s a good place to live and work.
I was reluctant to move on as it was the happy fun month of Ramadan in Morocco, but after 3 weeks I had to move before I found a job and stayed in Gib. indefinitely like several of the boat crews in La Linnea.
I went to the boarder crossing and tried to get my passport stamped out but the immigration prats in both Gib. and Spain refused saying they had no stamp?? and the glib Gib layabout said I was only going to Spain so I didn’t need one. The trip to Rabat was windy (about force 7) passed Tariffa but as soon as I rounded the corner where North Africa becomes the Atlantic African coast it went very calm with fog at night so it was keep out off the shipping lane which was only 10 miles off the coast.
I arrived off Rabat at 8.00 on the 7^th September but the fog was very thick at 10.00 some light was coming through and I asked some fishermen where the marina entrance was and they pointed and said marina (this was so positive that they had to be right) I had radioed on channel 10 as suggested on the noon sight web page but had had no reply. Then as I followed the fishermen’s directions a RIB with a blue light on the back and 2 smiling guys materialized out of the gloom. This was the Rabat marina pilot boat which had come to guide me in. The entrance is narrow and the rock revetments look like isolated rocky islands from some angles. I just followed the leader under the walls of a huge fortress and into the main Borebreck river which had 13 feet of water even though it was low tide. The marina 1.5 miles from the sea is brand new and as smart as a new pin and only 10 euros per night on the weekly rate.
As soon as I tied up a lady doctor came on board to check my medical condition and to enquire if anyone had died on the voyage but I was still alive I think. Then 4 police officers boarded the boat and all started asking the same questions in different languages (this was immigration), then a sniffer dog and handler came and ordered me off the boat while they checked for drugs. I don’t think anybody has told the authorities in Morocco that people smuggling and drug running are a one way trade to Europe. The experienced customs officer just gave me a sheet of questions in English and French and said fill it up please it took 2 minutes and all the answers were correct as I know my boats details.
Ramadan was not to bad in Rabat but it was difficult as no cafes were open in the daytime and if you went into a park it would be full of people almost dying of thirst so even though I had water I wont drink or eat in front of people fasting.
Rabat, was interesting, the old fortress that I came past on the river is a Medina or walled market. Where they sell almost anything there is however only the most basic drainage down the middle of the street and these seem to be blocked regularly so the smell is grim and I would never buy food there. The medina at Sale on the north side of the river very close to the marina was much cleaner and they even had some shops where the price was fixed so you didn’t have to haggle over the price of everything so I used that for most of my shopping.
Casablanca was 60 miles south, but yachts have had problems there as the port has no area for yachts as yet, you just tie up with  the fishing boats which are filthy and rusting so I went by train. Electric, air-conditioned, 60 miles with 2 stops taking only an hour each way and only 7 euros (76 dirams) return. The city was OK but Ramadan just took all the charisma away even Ricks Café from the film Casablanca was closed during the day though they did have a guy outside apologizing. The outskirts of the city along the railway line had bad bad slums almost as bad as South Africa. So many people nowhere to live and no land to live on.
As I had done Casablanca I decided to move to Safi 176 miles down the coast this missed out El Jadida but you cannot stop everywhere. The start off was quite funny I thought I had cleared immigration and the customs officer said OK to go so I went then was called back as the sniffer dog had not passed my clearance so had to tie up again and get his paw print. It’s a dogs life being a yachty.
The delay and lack of wind meant I didn’t get abeam El Jadida until 20.00 hours on the second night It was pitch black no moon but with very strong shore lights and lots of ships cutting the corner. I ended up with ships on both sides of me and the one on the insides lights were almost impossible to see so no sleep till 3.00 by which time I was very tired. At dawn I realized I had pulled or torn a muscle in my right shoulder, but had to get on with sailing. Wind was good until I turned the corner at  Cabo Cantin  then it just died and I was quite happy to motor in to Safi. Where I tied up alongside a 55 foot Bavaria yacht Steely Grant skippered by a Norwegian and with 5 Russians on board they were good company. The next day was Eidde the end of Ramadan thank you Allah. After having my passport and ships papers impounded in exchange for a seamans stamp on a bit of paper I took a taxi round the town which is quite well off as Phosphate is mined and exported through the port. The taxi driver took me to his house for tea and buns. They were living in quite a large apartment but it was a very extended family with may be 20 people living in 5 rooms, the very big lounge having sofa beds. Very clean and comfortable but too many sharing for me.
My next trip was to Agadir close to where the Atlas mountains meet the sea, my shoulder was giving me lots of gip but duty called so off we went. The coast is fairly wild with rocky cliffs and only a few seemingly inaccessible beaches. Cape Rhir was capped with a massive continental style lighthouse lots of fishing boats were there but my line didn’t get a bite. The weather was calm as soon as we rounded Cape Rhir so a quiet motor down to Agadir. The big port is in three sections commercial shipping, fishing and marina. A wind from the land got up as soon as I entered the marina and the crazy paperwork started so I felt it was get my own back time. The 3 immigration officers chief thought he knew it all so when he said my boat should have a full registration document I got out my copy of the Yachtsman’s Handbook (given to me by Peter Kirby and now much used by me) this explained the 1884 and 1996 merchant shipping acts and the small ships register which CARIAD is on. Then my passport was issued in Bangkok so much more explaining. I really enjoyed putting them right but it shows the incompetence of these well paid (by Moroccan standards) officials who’s job it is to know this stuff.
The marina is French built with designer shops around it which form the centre of a retail and restaurant complex with masses of security. All looked down on by the old fort on the hill, the face of the hill has  Allah  King  Country in big Arabic script illuminated  night There were 2 or 3 boats in that I knew, but I spent most of my time trusting resting my shoulder, going to other towns and the Atlas mountains. Agadir is a big city and it takes an hour to drive across the built up area. Much of the shabby suburbs are built on what was good agricultural  land, but there is no planning so if you own land you can build on it.
The Atlas and Anti Atlas mountains are big and in the past provided lots of grazing for sheep and cattle but its labour intensive and very hard work protecting them so the only wild animal I saw was a Squirrel and the biggest bird a Buzzard when there should have been masses of wild life, but its all been killed off and herds of Goats are turning it into desert. It must be the will of Allah???     
In Agadir you could buy alcohol in pubs cafés and hotels at very inflated prices to stop the locals from corruption and to keep them in the grip of the mullers. The King on the other hand has a couple of palaces in every city and one in most of the bigger towns. These are surrounded by forestry and are the best part of Morocco, the new king seems to be very forward looking and I hope these parks will be opened to the public and the whole country cleaned up
The marina price was quite cheap if you paid in euros but expensive if you paid in the local Dirams so when I ran out of euros on the 28^th September I left for Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. The wind was light at first and I had to be hard on the wind which slowly increased and by 17.00 I had 3 reefs in but the full Genoa up and doing 7 to 8 knots. My shoulder was not happy and I just didn’t have the strength or determination to put in the 4^th reef so I just flew along through the night meeting only 2 or 3 ships. I should have reduced the Genoa and put in the 4^th reef so the Canary Islands are going to be a rest period while the torn muscle in my right shoulder recovers. We got into the Lovely Marina Rubicon on the south end of Lanzarote at 10.30 on the 30^th September having covered the 131 miles in 22 and a half hours and the last 3 hours at only 4 knots. CARIAD is a super little boat.

Tony

Porto to Gibraltar
Leaving Porto was very easy even though it was almost at low water, the river entrance is now much deeper because of the new training walls which have changed Porto into usable port once more.
Our next call was at Aveiro 37 miles to the south. I had called here on my last trip and expected trouble in the entrance as the river drains a huge salt marsh. Its industrial at the river entrance but upstream the town is nice with canals and some fine old buildings. The entrance has been modified like Porto and is now vastly improved. We anchored near the entrance and then sailed up into the town next day. Getting onto the yacht club pontoon should have been very easy but CARIAD always has to be docked into the current however slight. I had been caught out at Porto by a back eddy and Chris complained about my bad boat handling then. So he did this one and had the same problems so no more berthing down current. We made an early start on the next leg which was 75 miles. The wind yet again so light that the motor had to be used and at Lunch time we had to put into Figueiro de Foz for fuel. It seemed so easy there was the fuel berth with a simple pay by card at the pump automatic system. Oh no it wasn’t it wouldn’t take any of our cards so out with a 30 litre can and off to the BP gas station half a mile away where my card worked fine and I got a lift back with a lovely Portugues family. Then on to Nazare in the dark. But Mike the English Port Captain was there to guide us in to the only spare berth. The walk to the restaraunt was too long for Chris so we left next day for Sao Martiho do Porto just 7 miles south. This is a lagoon location with the entrance through a small gap in the massive cliffs, once in its very calm with hotels all round the beach fringed lagoon. The beer was good and we made friends with Louis and his son Francisco in all we stayed for 6 days. Making visits to the local places of interest Chris liked the old walled town of Abeydos best and I was just blown away by the Abbey at Batalha  (the battle Abbey) built to commemorate Dom Joao 1s victory over the Spanish in 1385 establishing Portugal as a sovereign country. El Cid (Charlton Heston in the Hollywood remake) must have been on the bench for this game. King Dom Joao 1 is buried here with his more famous son Prince Henry (The navigator) and Henrys wife Philippa of Lancaster.
The architecture is Manueline a development of Norman Gothic so the Abbey is similar to Westminster Abbey but more light and spacious inside but outside it’s the most fantastic collection of sculpture based around a design straight from heaven.
Our last 2 days at Sao Martiho were spent trying to get out of the Lagoon where the strong northerly wind whipped up a big serf in the entrance channel but on the 7^th August we fought our way out. Chris wanted to go on the line he perceived as deepest but as he had no lead line survey to back it up only what he could see from the wave pattern I insisted we follow the transit marked line we came in on and is used by the fishing and trip boats. 2 skippers on one boat can be difficult. Chris may well have been right and the channel which was sand mixed with rocks may have moved all I felt was Cariad telling me we had to be on the transit line.
As 2 days had been spent waiting for the weather it seemed logical to forgo a stop at Cascase near Lisbon and go directly to Porto Sines home of Vasco Dagama one of Henry the navigators captains. We made excellent time in the strong northerly wind covering 122 miles in 22 hours. The night sail was interesting with some very odd lights which we put down to Tunny nets off Cabo Especial. Sines is becoming a sizable town with more and more tourist trade. The modern docks, coal and oil terminals are quiet at the moment as there is a political dispute in Lisbon where the docks are limited and out of date but moving to Sines would mean job cuts in the capitol were lots of votes could be lost.
Security is very tight in Portugal to make it easier for smugglers to use Spain for illicit operations. We were inspected (but not boarded) once at night and several times in the day, they were just checking the boat name against there records I think. The level of surveillance rose as we moved south which we did on the 10^th August the wind was very light and I didn’t want to use the motor as we have lots of time so when the wind died just hove too and waited. Chris wanted the motor on as he gets bored just drifting I just read. As we approached Cape St. Vincent it was time to press on and get into Baleeria before night fall on the  11^th and this we did after a very boring 61 miles in 31 hours. After going ashore for a couple of high priced beers Chris decided he’d had enough and Matt Brown sorted out a flight for him from Faro.
So next day was all go to get the tides right into the river at Faro 56 miles to the east. We got in an hour before dark anchored by a commercial quay and got a lift into town with 2 sport fishermen to get our paperwork sorted with the Policia Maritimo they were very good and took us back at 23.00 hours in there 4 x 4 so there searchlight helped us find the channel as the tide had gone out while we where in Faro. After a good nights sleep I took Chris ashore at 7.30 and he got a taxi to the airport 4 miles away.
I got back to Cariad pulled up the anchor and headed out to sea. There was no wind at first then light from the north then south-west then at 13.00 south-east to 25 knots so hard on the wind until 16.00 when the wind went to 30 knots on the nose. It was spend a night in the shipping lanes or motor for the nearest port which was Puerto de Concil 16 miles which took over 4 hours sometimes with the bow right under the waves as they broke on the foredeck. I got to Concil just as it was going dusk. It’s a horrible anchorage in a south-easterly but the holding is good so I put out 40 meters of chain in 7 meters of water and pulled it well into the sand then rigged the ridding sail cooked had a rum and went to bed with 2 massive rock walls 150 meters down wind. I must have great faith in the anchor drag alarm, hope it never catches me out.
During the night the wind dropped right down. So at 8.00 I motored round Cape Trafalgar and into the marina at Barbet as the wind built back up to 25 knots on the nose.
Barbet is a very Spanish Marina and it took ages to book in as the staff are inexperienced and try to cover up by talking in Spanish. All you want is a berth with a number, to fill up the standard forms and pay. At Camarinas Pedro was down on the pontoon waving you in, tied you up, then down to his small office he gives you a form and says you pay one night now tomorrow you decide how long you are staying, time taken 20 minutes at the most. At Barbet it took nearly 2 hours including moving the boat to another berth and having to go back for the insurance documents that no other marina has ever asked for on this trip so far.
Then it was waiting for weather window to get to Gibraltar, I tried on Sunday night the 15^th August but after an hour I turned back as the seas mounded up even though the wind was not strong. Then on Monday morning at 9.00 it was time for off with a big fleet of boats and me the smallest. The Tunny nets shown on the charts were not out this year (the fishermen have just about wiped them out). Stayed off shore which was wrong so went inshore and got smoother water and hence better speed. The fleet moved towards Tariffa the wind capital of the Mediterranean cutting the corner at the old fort on the point. You could almost reach out and touch 4 other yachts. The wind abated and I stayed in shore where the wave were smaller, a quiet life for me then a gentle sail into Gibraltar and a safe berth.


Tony

Camarinas to Porto
After 4 weeks in Camarainas it was more than time to move on even though the winds which should have been northerly at Cape Finnistere  18 miles to the south-west of us were south of west. So at 10 am on 24^th July we left in company with 2 other larger yachts into a lumpy sea and westerly force 5. which meant motoring to Cape Finnistere, As we got out into the open sea the 2 other yachts put up sails and went north, so much for the company. The waves were 2 to 3 metres but as forecast they decreased as the day wore on but the wind stayed in the west rather than the north-west as forecast.
The inner passage at Finnistere was abandoned as unsafe in the big swells and the coast a lee shore, so we beat hard on the wind for 20 miles then turned into the 2^nd inlet south of the Cape. The swell disappeared and we turned into a lovely bay at Muros and anchored in 6 metres then spliced the main brace happy to be back at sea and in a yacht where almost everything works at last.
Next day we moved on with light winds and much reduced swell initially heading for Bayonne but as we passed the anchorage at the Islas Cies within sight of Vigo (10 miles up the river from Bayonne) Chris said lets stop here so we had a frantic change from wing on wing port tack to close hauled on starboard and all the work done by me. It is a super stop over much better than Vigo or Bayonne. The north Island is a campsite (15 euros a night for a tent) but it was free to anchor. The south island is a nature reserve with an anchorage though landing is prohibited. The dingy was launched and we set off to check out the ferry pier and adjacent café.
After walking round half of the island we started walking along the beach back to the dinghy this was just too too too much walking for Chris who lay on the sand claiming irreparable left leg failure so I carried on to get the dinghy, but when I returned he was gone. So I towed an inflatable full of children that had engine failure back to the beach and returned to Cariad to find Chris entertaining the Spanish crew of a big RIB who had brought him back. They were good company and our drinks cost a tenth of the price being charged on the island so they were merry on leaving with Chris and we agreed to meet at the café later. I cleared the boat up and noticed an inshore life/salvage boat fly passed.
At the café the RIB crew, the life/salvage boat crew and Chris were waiting for me with a beer. The salvage skipper started asking me about a phone call requesting assistance to salvage a dinghy with children. I denied all knowledge and said I was from Barcelona. But he persisted and demanded 250 euros for stealing his salvage this was too much so in my best Anglo-Saxon I requested he go forth and multiply. They all fell about laughing except the salvage skipper who fell off his chair. Chris had put them up to it and a good time was had by all.
Next day was fogy so we moved slowly south on the motor to Viana de Castella in Portugal. This is normally a good marina but there as a fiesta on and the noise was bad that night. The next  day was spent sight seeing and provisioning.
Then on the 29^th July it was off to Porto arriving 1 hour before high water with allsorts of dire warnings about the difficulties entering the river and how fast it runs. All this was rubbish the new breakwater has deepened the channel and the river was slow flowing. We tied up with difficulty to the wall called Cais Estiva  just below the Dom Luis 1 bridge. Went into town had a good meal and a good nights sleep right in the heart of one of Europe’s nicest cities.
So what do you do in Porto you check out Grahams Port Wine Cellar. And a very good time we had. The brochure said 3 euros and taste 3 ports??? not so our guide had helped crew the Grahams river Douro sail barge to victory in last years regatta so we got to taste 2 additional Ports and a 35 year old vintage as well a Grande  tour round the callers. The Port to buy is Grahams six grapes, it was excellent and is affordable.
We are continuing south and have now passed 40 degrees north and are over 1,000 miles from Lydney.
Tony

L’Aber Wrach to Camarinas

The last night at L’Aber Wrach was spent on anchor way up the river but, this didn’t stop some chancer from rowing out to us at dusk to demand money. I gave him a strongly worded rebuke, but Chris paid him the 10 euros as he was shaking a lot and looked on the verge of having a heart attack I thought he was just a good actor. Chris went ashore to an avonguard party held by the local vet. I had an early night as next day we left early in fog.
The idea of doing the close in channel through the rocks and Islets was not on as the visibility was down to 200 metres in parts so we went via the outer route to the channel du four then continued on to the Isle de Sein in sun shine. Where we anchored with some caughtion as the charts show a no anchoring zone through the deeper part of the harbour. The island has changed very little in the 5 or 6 years since my last visit, in fact some of the houses that needed painting then still haven’t been decorated. Two pleasant days were spent but the bank only opens one day a week and there was no internet for weather information so we left on the Tuesday for Audierne on the main land of France. We anchored but any saving on the first day was swallowed up by greedy taxi drivers and the horrendous prices in the shops and cafes The 3 km journey cost 8 euros one way and 14 euros return as it was after 6 pm. Next day we travelled the mile up the river in the dingy and stocked up ready to cross the Bay of Biscay.
The weather was favourable for the crossing on Thursday the 18^th of June. So we set off at 10.30 after getting the latest  internet forecast. The first 2 hours were slow due to the shelter afforded by the land. Then the force 3 to 4 forecast from the north west kicked in and we were soon off the continental shelf and into the long Atlantic swells 125 miles were made in the first 24 hours. The wind strengthened and went more northerly and the sea got steadily bigger no cooking could be done and by the end of 48 hours we had 3 reefs in and had covered a further 126 miles and only 71 to go. Then the wind strengthened and fortunately went north easterly which was right behind us. As we came in sight of land we had 4 reefs in and a pocket handkerchief of jib up and wind increased to gale force 8 with spindrift detaching from the tops of the 10 foot breaking waves. The wind was being squeezed on the landward side by Cape Ortaga and from above by a low level inversion. After passing the Cape we had a short respite then the wind was funnelled down a valley just before Cape Prior. We just hung on sometimes with 2 of us on the tiller to keep Cariad in front of the waves which had started to abate the wind dropped as we entered La Coruna harbour and we were very pleased to moor up in the marina right in the centre of the lovely old city.
The prices in this part of Spain are half that in France and about 15% cheaper than at home so we have moved 45 miles down the coast to Camarinas where we will stay for about a month working on the boat and enjoying Galacia and the area around Cape Finisterre. Its like Scotland but with sunshine.
Tony

Lydney to L’Aber Wrach

It was all a bit OTT when Chris Everall and I left Lydney harbour as too much time was spent doing catering and poor old Cariad was left to fend for her self at a time  when she needed a through pre cruise checkout..
The weather started not to bad but the pressure was only 997 and still falling slowly it was immediately apparent that the auto pilot didn’t work for some reason that I was not going to sort out at sea. So we aimed for Cardiff and had a good sail to Cleveland when the waves started to have a longer fetch and the wind got a clearer view of us this slowly increased until we got level with the none working  Ruddlstone light, 5 miles from Cardiff. Chris was expecting a problem going in so we got sail off and prepared for a difficult time getting in. Chris worked hard on the tiller and I guided us around the sand banks to the Wrack channel. It was spring tides so the channel was very shallow and the keel was dragging in the mud, but we got through and into the lock and tied up at the Cardiff Yacht Club by 01.30 hours. So a bottle was cracked and we tumbled into our bunks as dawn came up.
The next day had its problems as I found and sorted the autopilot problems and Chris discovered his passport and documents where not with him and he could not initially get in touch with his son Carl who had them last.
The weather was still unsettled so nothing was lost waiting for the documents to be brought to Cardiff.
The evening forecast for winds to Lands End was favourable so we left at 18.30. Much easier getting out of Cardiff close to high water. We punched the tide for 2 hours and got well beyond Aberthaw power station when the tied turned and we started our run for Hartland Point. The shipping at Bull Point was heavy with one lump of lights off Ilfracombe remaining unidentified, but it was moving under its own steam very slowly. It was a good run down the Cornish coast and by 17.00 we entered the Lands End passage inside the Long Ships Light House and by 19.00 had rounded the cape.
The wind was not ideal for Channel Crossing being easterly, but Steve Reed assured my it was forecast to go north-westerly so of we set off. Chris opted to do the first watch which suited me as I was tired. After an hour I woken very roughly and told to sort it out. There were ships all over the place mixed in with fishing boats and what must have been some kind of fishery patrol boat. Cariad was in irons and I was half asleep. So I jibed out and set up the windpilot to steer us as close to the wind as possible and left Chris to sleep for 4 hours by which time the traffic was far behind us though the wind was force 6 and slightly south of east. The wind lessened but went round to being right on the nose. So we put the motor on and had to do most of the last 40 miles under power. Chris had a close shave with a square rigged ship under engine which came within 30 meters of him while I was asleep. He had to wake me to disconnect the autopilot the controls for which are now in the cabin and will have to have a remote station set in the cockpit.
At about 17.00 we found the Libenter Buoy which marks the start of the L’Aber Wrach channel and by 18.00 were in the Marina. Under 2 days from Cardiff not bad for a scratch crew.

Tony

Azores to Home,
On the 5^th of July at 11.00 I left Praia Vitoria Marina on the Island of Tercieria in the Azores. The local weather forecast was for one day of fair north-westerly winds then days of very light north or north-easters. So I decided to leave a day or two early and go north where the westerly winds blow.
During the first day the wind was fair but over night it went very light and pushed me well east of my intended track. It then went so light from 10 am to noon that I put the motor on for 2 hours. At 15.00 there was a wind shift and I edged more to the north with a strengthening breeze. 83 miles in the first day and 103 in the second, but the wind going progressively into the north.
The AIS radar detector fitted at Horta worked really well giving a warning of all ships over 1,000 tonnes one of which came within 500 metres.
On the 8^th the wind went further west and by evening I was wing on wing but the weather was deteriorating steadily and the waves got nasty. I ended up using a tiny little fourth reefed main sail in the grey overnight rain. But the 9^th dawned fine and sunny but the sea had got bigger with waves to 3 metres and lots of white water about. The wind had gone into the north again so it was just a case of keeping on keeping on with the wind just aft of the beam, to reduce the discomfort from the big sea. By night fall I was down to a well furled jib and the violent motion in the cabin put cooking out of the question. I bore off the wind a bit more and got a fair nights sleep.
At dawn on 10^th the main sail went back up and I started to try and win back some of the 15 miles I had been pushed south over night. Hard on the wind and by midnight I had got all but 5 miles back. But the wind strengthened as the pressure slowly rose and the hard fort for 10 miles was lost in no time. The Azores high was building and I had to get north ASAP. Poor old CARIAD had her  starboard taffrail under water most of the day. Then as evening came on the 11^th the pressure stabilized at 1020 mb, it became overcast, the sea abated as the wind eased and backed into the north-west. I was through to the westerlies. Shipping was heavy with up to 4 threatening  me at one time. The A.I.S. makes it so much safer and easier.
The 12^th dawned overcast with a good north-west breeze and we started to get north and back on to track. The dull weather continued right through the 13^th with 106 miles in the day with little effort.
Light wind and poor visibility started as we crossed the King Auther under sea canyon where the 4,000 metre deep Atlantic Ocean rises to the 100 to 200 meter deep continental shelf known as the Sole bank, 200 miles west of Lands End.
It was thick with fishing boats. During the morning I was having a nap to be wakened by a foreign fishing boat hooter, this was not good. I am supposed to keep a good lookout, but these fishing boats have no AIS transponder so it has to be a visible watch which is very difficult in the poor visibility. I sorted this out by just dozing in my reclining seat then heaving too at 20.00 hrs  till 3.00 on the 15^th which dawned a little brighter.  Though  there were dozens of small local fishing boats out of the Scilly Isles and Cornwall mixed in with many ships, but they didn’t give me any real problems.
The 16^th was a great day made for me when I met a 3 masted square rigger under full sail 40 miles off Lands End tacked about 5 miles ahead of me. It was glorious to see the 20 or so sails all change as she went through the wind. There were 2 other large sailing ships with sails furled and motors on and lots of ships and fishing boats. As evening came on I passed Lundy Island and entered the Bristol Channel. I almost made Ilfracombe before the tide turned but not quite so it was not till 2.00 in the morning of the 17^th that I dropped anchor in King Authers North Devon port.
England again after 4 years.
I spent 9 days in Ilfracombe virtually on holiday and relaxing then it was back into the Bristol Channel to an anchorage off Sandy Point by Weston Super Mare for the night. And at 9.30 off across the channel and into Newport Uskmouth Sailing Club at 12 noon on Sunday the 27^th  July for my official return to the  point where 4 years and 1 week previously my life changing voyage began. The club put on an excellent buffet and lots of friends turned up.
Unfortunately Uskmouth SC has very few moorings and it’s quite a long drive from Ross so on the 29^th I set off for Lydney dock this time with company and it’s a good job John helped me as the starter decided to give up the ghost so I had to hand start the. The wind was a strong breeze so we just shot up the river at 10 knots after first anchoring in Newport Deeps then rounding the Welch grounds. We had to heave too twice so as not to arrive too early at the Lydney Lock gate which looked very narrow as we approach with a fare speed on so as to keep good steerage. Then we were in the lock and all went quiet with Peter Kirby and Godfrey to lake the mooring lines.
This was the real end of my voyage and poor old CARIAD  my fantastic sadler 34 coastal sailing yacht is in need of a great deal of TLC after being hammered around the world.

Tony

The Azores,
My stop at Horta Marina on the Island of Faial was to clean the boat and prepare for the last leg to home. The cleaning went OK and I fitted an AIS radar which should see me safe across the main shipping lanes from the USA to Europe, but despite repeated washing of the electronics in water and alcohol I have been unable to get the electric tiller pilot working. So it may mean hand steering again if there is no wind and I am on the motor. My bad Stomach disappeared within a day of arriving, good food and some exercise was the cure.
Cariad was hauled out for a hull clean and a coat of antifouling, but the shoe on the bottom of the skeg was in danger of becoming detached and the strengthening done in Thailand had blown off exposing the aluminium block cast into the bottom of the skeg. There is no anode on the rudder and the aluminium has been acting as a very efficient sacrificial anode. By now I am used to these sort of problems and know that you take advise but then you decide on the engineering solution and tell the local engineer what is to be done. My decision was to have a boot made out of 3mm stainless sheet and then pour in epoxy resin to fill the gap thus transferring the shoe bolt forces into the boot which is bolted through the skeg with one of the bolts carrying an anode. It looks a bit rough but should get me home.
This left me 2 or 3 days to explore Faial with its hedges of Blue hydrangeas  which are just coming into bloom and a glorious Caldeira at the top of the volcano (last eruption on the island 1957 when I was at school). There are no trees in the pit which takes 2 hours to walk round but there are lakes and shrubs and the views off the island to Pico, Sao Jorge and Graciosa are great.
Next I took the 3 euro ferry ride over to Pico Island which is the highest mountain in Portugal at 2351 metres. The tourist information said a guide was compulsory but the ones I contacted were not interested in the Sunday I wanted to go up, or suggested a night ascent the one said he could do it for 120 euros so I packed my GPS, compass, map, phone, warm clothes, water, food and water hired a car and set off first to the fire station then to the mountain rescue centre at the ascent start point. I had to fill in a book giving my details and estimated time of arrival back and the fireman/mountain rescue warden checked my gear assured me it was OK gave me there phone number and saw me off on a good old scramble to the top. 3 hours up and 3 back down, brilliant views some easy rock scrambling and wild flowers amid the old volcanic debris. I still had time to drive around the island and sight see till the last ferry at 20.30 hours.
It was time to move on so we left at midday on the 27^th June thus getting the reduced monthly marina fee of 6 euros a night including water and electricity (I don’t use electricity except for power tools as the solar panels run the light and fridge easily. I anchored for the night at Veles, Sao Jorge and whilst Having a quiet sun downer the dingy from the next yacht (Snow Bird) came by and invited me for dinner. Frances owns the 47 footer ans Christine and John are guests. Francis wanted to talk about French Polynesia which she visited 10 or 12 years ago. The food was very good and the company excellent so a late night was had.
Next morning it was off round the north end of Sao Jorge and 20 miles to Graciosa where the marina is as yet unfinished, but it was OK to tie up against the new wall then a French boat came in ant tied up ahead of me. The little town of Vila da Pria was nice and friendly with 2 good cafes and a small super market. Next day I was just about to go off for the day when a small (27 foot) British yacht Auld Meg came in and I told the skipper (Denise) to tie up alongside Cariad. I then went for the bus which I found didn’t run on Saturdays but I got a lift to the capital Santa Cruz with a local who spoke good English as he had worked in Canada. He showed me the windmills and detoured to give my the best views. Santa Cruz is an almost unspoiled Portuguese town with a quiet beauty which is very hard to find. As I tried to find a good map the one shop had a poster advertising a running of the bulls through the town of Guadalupe starting at 17.30. After a little more sightseeing I set off around the north end of the island hopping for a lift but there was very little traffic and a good day for walking. So when I arrived at Guadalupe I was just about knackered. The town was preparing for the festivities and the bulls street was being boarded up to protect property.
Then at 18.15 they released the first of 4 bulls and it was wild. Graciosa is a country island and they know bulls are dangerous so it all went well with only the fit local farm boys playing at matador and touching its horns. All the same my one photo catches the serious look one the face of one of them as he held a horn and ran a tighter circle than the bull who was virtually free to gore him if he misjudged it. There was a rope on the bull with 3 men in white shirts and black matador hats to try to pull it off anyone who got knocked down. The bulls each had about 15 minutes rampaging up and down the street and none were hurt, everyone had a good time and I got a taxi back for only 6 euros.
Next day which was a Sunday I got know Denise and another single hander John, both of whom had taken part in the Jester challenge. A Blondie Hassler organized race from Plymouth to Pria, Terceira. I then spent the afternoon walking up to the Caldeira. Totally different from the other islands with a road tunnel into it but it was all closed as it was Sunday. Denise cooked that evening after cycling to the other side of the island and having a sulphur water bath at Carapatcho. He was a cook in the Navy and is very professional. John was good company and next day after seeing the French man and his badly treated crew off we all caught the 9.00 bus which was in fact the 8.50 and for 1 euro had a trip round south half of the island arriving at Santa Cruz which did in depth in clouding the museum and a church with 5 very good paintings reputed to be 500 years old. We then went to the caldeire which was open and went down into the massive cave which stinks of sulphur and has very hot mud boiling up through the cracks in the rocks. We then walked to Carapatcho and thanks to John fluent Portuguese (his wife is Brazilian) all got hot Sulphur water baths. Then several beers a very good meal and a rather rough night with the boats chaffing at the wall so baldly that my stern  line chaffed through with a loud bang. So a first light we all departed. John of England, Denise for Horta to meet his children who are flying in and me to Pria in Terciria. It was the most difficult departure I have had to make as I was last out so on my own. Once the stern spring was off I thought the short centre spring was going to tear apart but it held for the minute it took to get the stern line off. I was still sorting things when I left the tiny main harbour and there was a ship coming in. The sea was big as the last 2 days had been windy as a low pressure system went through but it was sailable and the wind vane worked well. As I was having a sleep in the afternoon the AIS alarm went off as the ship I had met coming out of Graciosa returned to its home port in Terceira. Good test for it as the waves were at least 3 metres. The breakers were smashing onto Terceira and the off lying islets. Then into the marina at Praia for a quiet night.
Terceira is the most sophisticated island I have been to in the Azores with the capital Angra do Heroismo on the UNESCO list of World Patrimony and it is nice.
Washed, fuelled and inspected the rudder and skeg which are all OK as far as I can see. Met Ivor an American, his wife and daughter who are crewing PAX an Exeter boat to the UK. He has bought a Sadler 34 in the states and is preparing it to go on a cruise similar to mine and he knew Cariad as soon as he saw her as she’s on the Sadler web page.

Tony

Have arrived at Ilfracombe and will be here until 26/7/09, then I will leave to be at NUSC at 12 noon on the 27^th July for an official completion.
Will post reports in the next day or two.

Tony

On 21^st April the weather was tropical showers and hard on the NNE wind I caught a nice fat skipjack Tuna and was just starting to eat when a storm came out of nowhere and drenched me and the meal, I am unable to recommend rain as sauce for fish especially for tuna. The boat was now at a heel of 25 degrees for 10 days and nights. First I passed through a very busy shipping lane from south of the Cape Verde Islands to South America that was over 50 miles wide and with no clear separation zones. I will have to fit a radar detector before starting the next leg which crosses the main Europe to US shipping lanes. At 19.27 hrs. on 28^th April 2008 at 15 54.1 N and 36 12.9 W we crossed our outward track thus technically completing the circumnavigation
The boat was taking water in steadily  and every 4 hours the bulges had be dried out. I was starting to suffer from a bad stomach caused by the rough motion of the boat, having to lie down so much, the lack of decent food as even boiling water was dangerous and the tank water full of debris which has been shaken off the bottom. The electric tiller pilot got broken when it got thrown cross the cockpit leaving me with only windvane steering which is no good if you motor. So I was pleased to have a quiet day on the 1^st of May. It was glass calm at times making it easy to sort out the poor old boat. Unfortunately this was the end of the good progress and I settled down to a long slow slog through the horse latitudes so called because in the very old days the mariners were often reduced to eating any horses on board, this probably meant all other meat was finished including the ships cat.
6^th May  started flat calm so I had a swim and decided to scrape off the worst of the Goose necked barnacles on the hull. The water was lovely and the exercise  was a tonic. At 18.00 the wind was enough to drive Cariad at 2.0 knots and by 20.00 we were  doing 4.5 with a wind that was of trade type but was pushing us way to the west and it looked like I would be over 40 degrees west before I get to 25 north, well I could get no tighter to the wind. At  4.00 am I crossed the 23 degree 27 minute latitude which is the tropic of Cancer and out of the tropics for the last time on this voyage. At daylight there was a massive jet stream sitting north-east to south-west and my course was almost north at last.
The furthest west I was pushed was 39 degrees 20 minutes on the 7^th May then during 8^th was just able to make a touch east of north, when suddenly at around midnight the wind started to turn into the south and by dawn on the 9^th I was wing on wing and the barometer dropping 1 or 2 millibars. Was I passed the centre of the high pressure at only 27 degrees north??
The answerer was yes but at 23.00 hrs. on 10^th a nasty little squall came in and as it passed  the wind turned 180 degrees, as I was removing the spinnaker pole when the foresail wrapped around the inner forestay and as I unwound it the sail tore. It’s an old sail and the sun has rotted it. Shut down till dawn then put up the second jib and started tacking to windward. The high pressure had moved north and west leaving me where I was 4 days ago and my stomach giving me trouble again as it’s not used to the poor diet I’ve been on lately (all meat and carbohydrates). Very slow progress on the 11^th eventually finding the wind at 18.00 hrs  then 2 to 3 knots of boat speed  during the night.
The 12^th was very slow, but the 13^th was almost no wind at all so I motored for 9 hours to cross where the chart shows a shipping lane then during the morning of the 14^th the wind came giving 2 to 3 knots of boat speed and we got 68 miles in the day.
It was at this time that the tummy trouble started in Ernest and was quite debilitating. I eventually put it down to the eggs I had taken on in Ascension and with only Rennie’s tablets to overcome the Listeria/Salmonella it was a hard time.
The evening of the 14^th and morning of the 15^th were quite different weather with a good breeze from the north-west, 113 miles in the day and only 465 to go. But it was the end of the lovely days just cloud and north Atlantic clag. The poor weather continued and my stomach kept playing up , but we put in another 100 miles. Then on the night of the 16^th the wind went quite contrary with only 46 miles in the day and lots of tacking and ships about. So at 16.00 on the 17^th I put the engine on and motored for 2 hours and found an easterly breeze that kept us going at 4 knots all night. Sometimes motoring just a short distance can significantly improve the wind. We made slow but steady progress on the 18^th and  19 th but ships kept appearing out of all directions as they skirted around and through the Azores Islands, small fishing boats also started to appear so I knew the Islands where close bye. The 20^th was very slow and tantalizingly close to Horta which I could not see then as it got dark I saw the lights of Horta town and Pico Island 12 miles away I travelled another 7 miles and hove too and went bed, getting up at 5.00 and sailing into Horta Marina at 8 am after 42 days at sea.

Tony

The island of Ascension is a communications centre in every way as it’s position, very close to the equator puts it under the orbit of the geostationary communications satellites that orbit the globe (yes I am now sure the world is round). NASA used it for monitoring the Apollo maned moon project. The French are here with Ariana, the BBC have there world service transmitters and there’s a lot of radar installations.
Geologically it’s the top of an undersea volcano that has only just stopped erupting. So the walks are very interesting and dusty. The Devils riding school and his ash pit are individual craters with Green Mountain the highest point at 859 metres.
Only the NATO airfield has caused much disruption to the topography with Green Turtles nesting and well protected on even the town beach. Local fishing is only to feed the workers on the island who are mostly from St Helena only 3 having been born on the island and whose right to live here is rejected by H.M.G.
As I was going to book out in horrible dingy I was not surprised to have a 3 metre span Manta Ray swim under me then 2 dolphins popped up to see if I was OK and all within 200 metres of the George Town jetty.
My stop was only for 4 days as I had decided to have the long stay at St. Helena which was a much nicer island. So on the 9^th of April I extracted the anchor from the rocks and set off for the equator with the south-east trade wind behind me on the 3,500 mile leg to the Azores.
The first 700 miles flew by then at 4.00 on the 15^th the wind disappeared and I had to put the engine on for 2 hours. There were storms about and I was in the trough between two of them. The wind returned and blew well until 13.30 when a large sort of storm cloud appeared ahead but the wind disappeared which was odd as I should not have been catching up the weather it should been leaving me, this was the start of the doldrums. The engine went on and staid on as I went into a cloud bank that had no wind in it. Just after midnight there was a gap in the clouds lite by the moon which seemed to have cut a circular hole in them revealing Cirrus clouds way above that looked like a jet stream. By dawn there was a tiny breeze from the west but the waves were now from the north-east and the engine still on. By now  the clouds were fair weather cumulus but there was still no wind. At 15.30 on the 16^th April having crossed into the Northern Hemisphere and toasted King Neptune I decided that 26 hours motoring was enough. So crafty sailing started and I seldom dropped below 2.5 knots with wind getting more and more from the north-east. We put  87 miles in the day with only 7 of them on the motor and after 2 more quiet days became established in the NE. trade winds.  (To be continued)

St. Helena is a trip back in time to Ye Olde England sort of. There are cars and tarmac roads a hospital and dentist with all the latest gear, but it’s the way the people are that immediately strikes you especially after South Africa. The only really white people are expats from Britain, the saints as the locals are known are olive skinned to very black and they all get on and treat each other as friends it’s like South Africa turned on it’s head and I loved it. You can leave any thing and when you come back it will still be there every one gives lifts so you can go walking and get a lift back to town.
I had decided to make this an in depth investigation of the Island so a lot of serious walking and hiking was done. Starting with the Napoleonic sites which include 3 houses where he stayed and his original tomb which is now empty as the French were given permission to take the body 4 years after its original burial  and he is now in Paris. Two of the three houses he lived in are now French territory and are maintained by the French government who have restored them as if he lived in the twentieth century, complete with concrete block work, cement rendering, tin roofs and modern square cornered plastering ( English Heritage would have a fit if they saw it). The tomb though is a beautiful wild garden looked after by a good handyman/gardener. The governor and Napoleon could not agree on the title to go on the tomb, Bony wanted Emperor and the governor said his title on the documents from England said he was only a general. So they compromised and there’s no plaque or name at all. It shows the very strained relationship between the then Governor and Napoleon.
The walks are spectacular and vary from desert to rain forest and from seaside and country walks to awesome cliff paths. There were many places where if you stop there is completely silence, this never happens at sea as the boat is always in motion.
My long stay resulted in many boats and crews that I had meet earlier and passed caught up with me. So lots of reunions and the crack was good at Ann’s Place the café where we all meet for happy hour a meal and the ferry back to our boats. At one time there were 4 of us single handers. Jeanne on Nereida (UK), Willhelm on Noah (Dutch), Harry on Rhiannon (US) and me.  Other boats of major note were Bob and Barbara on the Spanish Stroll (US) who were at Savusavu Fiji and Denis and Arigianne (Can) on Ciel & Mer who helped crew Cariad through the Panama Canal.
As St. Helena is British National Health I took the opportunity to get my teeth done. The dentist was from Northern Ireland where the best dental school in the UK is at Belfast so I was in the safe hands of RogerYoung who I think was a scum half for the all Ireland team at few years back.
On the 30^th of March I had to leave for Ascension Island 700 miles to the north. The pleasant journey took 6 days and was done partly in company with Wandering Albatross a South African yacht, which has just come up from the Antarctic via South Georgia.

Ascension to the Azores (short version)

I had 3 days on Ascension Island which is the top of a very big volcano most o which is under the sea. It’s beaches are full of green turtle nests and the lower parts of the Island are full of communications ariels.
On the 9^th April I set off for Horta in the Azores 3,540 miles to the north. Had fast passage to the equator then 3 slow days crossing the doldrums followed by 10 days hard on the wind and having to bale out the bilge every 4 hours due to water getting in through leaks in the coach house roof. This got across my outbound track on the 29^th April and only 1,500 miles to go. Should have taken 12 days, but it took another 21 days as the Azores high pressure played pin ball with Cariad as the ball. But it’s completed now and I’m in the beautiful Horta marina. Where I will stay until the end of June

Tony

Walvis Bay is the main port for Namibia were the coal, Iron Ore and Uranium are exported and the imports to sustain a desert country are brought in. Fishing and eco-tourism are also going well. The town is clean and efficient and there is much less unemployment than South Africa so the blacks are a lot happier as they have jobs crime is also much less. I liked Walvis bay the moorings were free and the yacht club had very good beer and food. I had a day in the desert and climbed dune 7 which seemed to be about 150 meters high and very hot. A complete contrast to the sea which is cold with seals swimming a round barking to be fed. The eco- tour boats feed the seals so the tourists get close up to them for photos and to see them playing, they also feed fish to the Pelicans who take fish from your hand as they fly past.
This should be my last mainland Port before getting home so I stocked up with food and fuel before leaving under at 15.30 on the 18^th February. Got about 30 miles off shore then the wind died returning very light at 7.00 next morning. Only made 118 miles in the first 2 days the 108 and getting into real trade winds in the afternoon of day 3 though the wind picked up the weather remained overcast throughout the trip and as I am only have solar panels and the engine for charging my batteries I had to ration electricity, so no tillerpilot steering and only LED lights for 10 days. The sea temperature got slowly warmer and the seals were replaced by Dolphins and the fish I caught were Dorado’s one of my favourites.
St. Helena is only a small island, but over 800 metres high so I expected to see it from 50 miles away at 20 miles it still hadn’t appeared but radio St. FM came through loud and clear so it had to be there and at 9.00 on 29^th the north east cliff (Sugar Loaf) popped out of the side of a mass of cloud which was shrouding the Island. It was 14.00 when I dropped the anchor in 55 feet of water next to 2 other yachts I know. So it looks like a good start to my stay at St. Helena.

Tony

By the 17^th  I had been to Cape Town, got my supplies for the trip up the Atlantic and was ready to go. The spare Genoa was to be delivered to Simons Town that day by Quantum sails but they hadn’t finished it. The weather window was only one day, but all I needed was 4 hours to get around Cape Point. By 16.00 hours the wind was calm (after 8 days of winds 30 – 40 knots gusting to 50) this was go time. We were away by 17.00 and all was OK for the first half mile, then the wind on the nose got up to 25 knots and stayed there I pressed on it was only local and I was out of it in 3 hours. It also tested the seals in the anchor locker done after similar conditions at Maputo had caused leaks, but all is now OK.
The wind dropped to 10 – 15 and I had the most gorgeous sail around Cape Point as the sun set behind it. Hope the photos using the new digital camera are OK. I stayed well off the Cape as advised by locals at the yacht club. Next day Kevin, Georgia, and especially Harry went in shore and got trapped in fishing nets, Harry had  to dive over the side and cut his prop free in freezing cold water where the Great White sharks are a common species. All part of life’s rich  pattern so they say.
By 22.00 hours I was well past the Cape with a light breeze and a smooth sea surface but an underlying 2 metre swell coming up from the south-west. There were a few fishing boats tearing about but the big ships were all well out beyond the 200 meter contour. So the night was quiet and by mourning I was abeam Cape Town and Table Bay, It looked very inviting and perhaps I should have gone in and cleared customs there, but I had been assured that Saldana Bay is a port of entry??
Had a lovely leisurely sail along the coast with Table Mountain slowly disappearing. As I came closer to the shore fish pots started to appear all over place in no set pattern, I was under sail so there was only a small chance of getting caught but, had to do some hand steering.
The entrance to Saldana Bay came into sight at about 15.30 and a very large bulk carrier that had been slowly overtaking me on the seaward side strated closing in, then it dawned on me that he to was going into the Bay which has an Ore Terminal. So I just followed him in under sail with just one short radio call to Port Control.
It’s a massive bay with a small entrance. The best harbour in South Africa. But in the middle of nowhere and three yacht clubs. There was a spare mooring out at the edge of Saldanha Bay Yacht Club so I took it and went ashore to find a lovely small yacht club with no hassles. The problems started next day when I tried to book in at the customs office.
Mr Kuys the Robo Cop clone, customs man at the Ore terminal took all my customs book out papers from Durban etc. and told me he would book me out for customs but not immigration. I asked where the immigration office was and he said Cape Town??? A port that takes 200,000 dead weight tonne ships has to be a port of entry. So I rang Cape Town and the immigration office said just come in and we’ll stamp your passport so I asked if they would pay for the 60 mile taxi ride. They said no and when I went to book out at customs on the Monday the 4^th February, Kuys would only give me an internal customs clearance within the Union of South Africa. Harry, Kevin and Georgia who had also come to Saldanha were trying to get to Cape Town as Georgia is an SA citizen and needs to return next year.
Well as I hadn’t been stamped out of Madagascar and Mozambique I felt that I mite as well add South Africa to the list and left at 18.00 that evening telling Port control I was going to Cape Town after first doing some cruising to the north. The wind was a strong Southerly and as I left the protection of the Harbour there was only one way to go. Down-wind towards Namibia with 4 reefs in the new main sail. Cariad just flew for three days and we were out of SA the most bureaucratic and bunglingly incompetently administered country I have visited so far.
Then the wind went very light and against me. I tacked and motored a bit for two days then the wind went back to the south lite at first with spinnaker up then in the afternoon we were away and in the evening I saw 9 knots of ground speed. This would have meant an entry into Walvis Bay in the night and as it’s noted for fog I felt we had to slow down and enter in daylight. The drogue slowed us to 3 – 4 knots. Then about midnight the wind started to drop I didn’t want to try to retrieve the drogue in the dark, but by 2 am it had to be done. At first I was able to pull in by hand but as I almost got the cable onto a winch it went tight an instead of letting go I hung on and got a bruised right hand (silly boy). Winch it in and learned but the wind just kept dropping and I had to motor in to Walvis Bay past the seal colony’s and the boats full of tourist watching then. I had been lucky enough to have seals inspecting the drogue in the night illuminated by the phosphorescence I’m so privileged to see all this.
I took a mooring at the yacht club and Arry ran me in to the immigration and customs. No problems just booked in all as normal.

Tony

East London, to follow



Port Elizabeth, to follow


Mosselbaai, appears to be a small fishing port with a tourist trade but it’s not so. The area around the harbour and fishing port is a bit touristy but just outside is greater Mosselbaai with light industrial areas, shopping Malls and a big population. The port is small and caters for the fishing fleet including very large trawlers, fishery protection vessels, work boats for oil rigs and ocean going tugs as it also contains the walk on yacht pontoons it’s fairly busy at times.
I had surfed in, in the middle of the night so had to move first thing in the morning. I moored next to Charles and Maria-Eugene (Nomad RWYC) from Liverpool who I hadn’t seen since Thailand. Then went exploring the town. This is where Bartolomeu Dias, one of the Portuguese explorers landed having found the route around the Cape in 1488. Vasco Digamma then extended this route to India 2 years later so the place is steeped in history and has a good museum to show it off. There is also a 30 mile steam train link to the transport museum at George (the town is named after George the third of England). It’s not that fuel effective at 5 tons of coal to do the 30 miles but I had to go on it. Getting back by taxi bus was not too difficult but the blacks around this area are not very friendly and you can only get directions from white people. I t was on this journey that I found the real size of Mosselbaai.
However a new weather window beckoned on Friday 18^th January, Wilhelm from the local chandlery liked and had most faith in the windguru model and as he is skippering a 48 footer around I agreed with him. Helmut and his son Jan on the 45 foot aluminium  yacht toof one look at the focast and left 2 hours later.. Tom from New York had only just got in after trying to get around Agualhaus the day after I got into Mosselbaai but had been driven back by 40 knot winds and 6 metre waves so he was repairing his boat and recuperating.
I left at 8 am on the 18^th and after an altercation with the Port Control radio who said I hadn’t put in a flight plan. I had and it was witnessed by 3 people who work in the Port Office. He seemed to think I would come back and help him find the form that he had mislaid.
The wind was very light so I motored for 2 hours then the wind came up nicely all day with only one or two local fishing boats. The night had a small fishing fleet but all the main shipping was just visible on the horizon in a ship separation zone around Cape Aguahlaus. The waves were about 3 metres but nice long regular ones as The Cape came abeam at 6 am on Saturday with the wind force 3 from the east. Took lots of photos as I passed the most southerly point in Africa which is only 90 miles north of the maximum Iceberg limit at this time of year (there has already been one yacht wiped out by ice in the Southern Ocean this year). This was all so easy and a nice day in prospect no fishing boats around so time to rest up. It was at 11 am that I just thought I better have a look outside to check even though it had been completely clear 30 minutes before. 300 metres in front was a wall of Limestone rock about 2 meters high with waves breaking over it and a green roofed building on the left my speed was 6 knots so it was about 2 minutes to impact. I put the engine on and turned 180 degrees this ripped the Main Sail just below the 4^th reef , but the jib was OK. The reef was Geyser Island a very vague area of reefs shown on my charts with little information. I had set my course to miss by only 1 mile as the area was just shown as a grey area. The wind had shifted and my wind vain steered me too far north. Cariad must have seen it coming and warned me, what a fantastic yacht she is.
The wind strengthened but as I was stuck with only a pocket handkerchief of a main sail I need it. Up came Kaap Hangkip and we turned into False Bay which I hoped would give some protection, but it didn’t. So it was surfing into Port again.
Simons Town is the old British Naval Base close to Cape Town with very easy access to the city but in a small town environment and after Durban you can keep South African cities. I expected a well lit port with a marina and anchorage sheltered behind it. The navigation had to be done virtually blind as the lights of Simons Town combined with some double red lights on the masts of 4 warships in  the port (apparently to stop helicopters flying into them) made identification of the port impossible till I was 300 meters from the harbour wall.
The wind was 35 knots but fortunately there was a docked Frigate that gave me shelter and light sufficient to get the dingy off the anchor winch and prepare to drop anchor. Which I did in 13 metres of water at just before midnight, with 60 meters of chain.
I was unable get ashore for a day as the wind didn’t die down. But on Monday it turned nice so launched Horrible Dingy booked in and then moved into the marine just as Kevin (South Moon) and Harry (Reanen) arrived after putting into Gordon’s Bay as they didn’t fancy Simons Town in the dark on Saturday night.
My new Main Sail was brought out by Quantum Sails from Cape Town and the local chandlery has access to all the kit I need for the rest of the voyage.

Tony

Durban to East London,
By the time the tiller pilot was fixed and the main sail measured so it can be made at Cape Town and ready for my arrival. I  managed to miss a weather window which happened a week before Christmas so I didn’t get away until the 29^th of December. The leg from Durban to East London is 260 miles so a 3 day window of north-east winds is advisable as the Agulhas current turns into large standing waves if the wind turns against it.
I left at 9am with wind still a light southerly but, forecast to go north- east about midday. It was a fight to try to get south at first but I was getting out towards the current which is usually about 15 miles out. All the talk about finding it by a 2 degree increase in temperature is OK if you have thermometers on the hull, which I don’t have. I just watched my speed over the ground and at 8 knots felt I was in and turned towards East London as the wind went north-east about 15 knots. The windpilot handled this well but later in the night it got up to 25  gusting 30, waves got bigger and we were surfing at up to 10 knots and did 87 miles in 12 hours. As day light  came the sea looked rather daunting with quite a bit of spin drift and the wind went up 5 more knots. By this time I only had the 4^th reefed main sail up and a smidgin of jib to maintain 10 knots down the waves. I think I was under sailed as one or two wave smacked into the stern. Bernard Motizier and Joshua Slocomb say to keep up a good press of sail up so the waves stay behind you. But they were in stronger conditions ?? 
Cariad seemed happy until mid afternoon when the first wave broke over the stern and into the cockpit, it was not a cool refreshing shower more a good soaking. The boat took this and 2 more similar waves as we lined up for East London 20 to 30 miles out and didn’t have any problem. I sat by the tiller and only touched it if a wave pushed us off line by more than 20 degrees.
I expected the speed to die 10 miles out but we surfed right into the harbour. 112 miles in 12.5 hours making 199 in 24.5 hours a new record day for me to round off 2007. Who said pensioners don’t lead exciting lives.
I was to tired to take up a trot mooring so just anchored in the Buffalo River by the bridge in 38 feet of water.
Next day which was the last of 2007 I took a mooring and found that with so much concentration and the wind on passage my face had got badly sun burned as I had just not noticed the sun. So it’s red nose day for me.
East London is not happy place it’s very like Chepstow without the Castle and the happy people. Aussies would call it a wingers wonderland as the weather is lovely the town and harbour excellent, but the people who are as well off as those in Richards Bay just seem to think the country owes them more.
As soon as the next weather window opens it’s off to Port Elizabeth.

Tony

Cariad was in a bit of a state when I arrived at the small ships harbour in Tezi Gazi (Richards Bay to all but the new politically correct politicians who are changing the names of all the old towns into incomprehensible Zulu ones, many be they think it’s going to be the new world language???).
So I hiked straight over to the Zululand Yacht Club. Where I found the repair facilities I needed with walk on pontoons, electricity and water. I hired Ishmael at only 100 Rand (7 pounds) a day to help with the cleaning etc, and set too making good the ravages of the Indian Ocean. Which included water in the tiller pilot (automatic steering).
I had a very nice stay at the lovely yacht club, which is only an hours drive from one of the best game parks in the world (Hluhuwe/Infolozi). The names have been  changed recently by the authorities to protect it from tourists who the local people desperately need to come to this fabulous park which stretches as far as the eye can see from the top of a 2500 foot mountain. All the big 5 are there with other parks which have marine and lagoon animals close by which the Kruger Park does not have. A stay at the Hill Top Hotel is very good value and flights via Abudabi are half the scheduled fares to Johannesburg. I would have liked to stay for Christmas, but a new main sail is needed so I had to get to Durban so Quantum sails could measure up the old one and make it in Cape Town ready for Cariads arrival in January.
I had done some crewing on Silhouette  for the Sunday races out into the Bay so I knew what to expect when I left on the 15^th December. A big dredger circling in the entrance and 20 ships manuvering around the anchorage. What I didn’t expect was the Autohelm to not work as it had been OK on test. This meant using the Wind pilot which is good when under sail but shakers itself to pieces under power. The forcast was for a light North-east wind which started southerly and was supposed to back, but it didn’t. The wind went west of south which is dangerous if it goes over 15 knots against the Agulas current. I decided that as its only 85 miles motoring would be best. So it was hand steering all night with a home made bungee cord and pulley system so that I could be in the cabin out of the rain, there’s lovely. At dawn anchored container ships hove into view and the lights of Durban started to become a city. A container ship just ahead of me tried to get the Port control by radio but had no luck an just cut his engine then died in the water, presumably he anchored. The port lights showed it to be closed (flashing red) so what do you do when fishing boats and tugs are going out? I went into the marina next but one to a local boat owned by Eric from Tunbridge Wells who took my lines at 6am. Then off to bed.
Durban is a City riddled with crime and poverty, but mixed with the very well off in flash cars and dressed very smartly. So I have had lots of lectures on how to be street wise (a six gun would be a lot more use). To get into shops and offices you have to go through locked gates and one them lead into a marine electronics workshop that has put a new circuit board into the Autohelm that now works in the harbour. After 2 days of gale force winds which have played havoc with the pontoons and the J22 world championships that are being held here I am now ready and very keen to leave for a safer environment in East London so when will the next weather window open???

Merry Christmas.
Tony

Got to Richards Bay South Africa on  Tuesday 23^rd. It was quite an exciting trip the 210 miles from Maputo, Mozambique. First with dead into wind and very low speed to  first get out of the mud in Maputo marina then crashing through the waves in the bay with a 30 knot headwind. Cariad had sever problems with the waves which were that critical length which en-shored that the bow went under the water at least every second wave and sometimes all of them. The result was the anchor locker filled with water pushing the bow down and the water seemed to lift the deck above the anchor locker bulkhead allowing water to get into the forward cabin sort of like happened to the Titanic. I went into the cabin and could first hear water sloshing around then saw it cascading in over the bulkhead as a wave struck. I started tacking across the waves to increase there length and slowed down this gave me time to start pumping out.
It took 6 hours to get out of the bay by which time it was well dark but I was able to cross the waves then and took on no more water. When I passed the Inhaca Light House where I sheltered on the way in there were Hump back whales blowing around the boat in the dark just to make me nervous. Current was against me as the main Agallusa current it 50 miles off shore at this point putting me in the counter current. Making only 2.5 knots at times with 180 miles to go and only 2 days before the wind was forecast to turn south-west this turns the current into waves up to 6 metres high. So I kept on pumping every 15 minutes and pressed on. By 8 the next morning the speed was up to 4.5 knots and the wind was turning north (behind me). At about 14.00 I started to get into the current and the speed went over 6 knots and I knew I could make Richards Bay next day. But the speed kept building and at about midnight the GPS speed gave 13.6 knots so I took the sails down and it didn’t make much difference then I went closer in shore as I didn’t want to arrive before daylight especially as there were 3 other yachts very close to me. I arrived at the breakwater in one piece at 5.30 with the sun rising behind me and the big Yacht Aquilia which had passed me at 19.00 hours 3 miles behind me. I cleared in at the small craft harbour and will be at Richards Bay, Zululand, Yacht Club for 5 weeks or so. I will be  back on the phone soon.

Tony