Fog and 'bergs......

The trip from St John's Hbr proved eventful in so far as the drone of the engine was suddenly pierced by Bee shrieking that she could see Orca's. And so she could; 3 in total and looking like 2 adults and a young 'un. They passed across our bow and then reappeared some distance of to starb'd giving us yet another tick off item. Walrus and Narwhal we're hoping to add to “seen that” Spent the night at St Barbe.

The forecast was for southerlies later in the day. Well it didn't arrive of course but fog did and by late afternoon we were moving slowly through a dense grey coating. Visibility was poor and then we heard the forecast was now for Sth 30 knots. Well we were heading NE so ordinarily we would welcome 30 knots from astern. But with little vis that made things a tad uncomfortable....I began putting in a reef as the seas were lumpy and the main gets thrown about in these situations. It was as I was finishing off the task that Bee remarked quietly....”..isn't that an iceberg ahead..”? And so it was – a large berg too and the situation suddenly altered as the prospect of fog, strong winds and bergs came together. 

Within an hour we started to see more and they were bigger – at least they showed up on radar but not the growlers or bergy bits and Bee spent some time on the bow calling out directions as we motored between them. By now we had decided to head into Chateau Bay and sit out the blow in safety and provided we could get past the bergs that seemed to blocking our course we would be there around nightfall. As we approached 2 bergs about a mile apart the engine suddenly cut out and stopped. Luckily we were far enough away to simply turn away and sort it out. The system we use for filling the tank on the move had failed (basically a syphon system using hoses and a 'bulb” to start the flow off. I'm guessing that with all the rolling we were under going the syphon had stopped working and the tank had been so empty that the feed to the filters had picked up air. Took a few seconds to check the guages and water then get fuel into the tank and we were moving again albeit slowly as we wanted to allow enough fuel to get into the tank. In the end we got past the bergs, altered course for the entrance , suffered a moments disbelief when it looked as though a berg was grounded across it before realising we had identified the entrance correctly. In we went sending hundreds of eider ducks to flight and dropped the hook so pleased to be in free of the trauma outside. By 6 the following morning we were on the move again as the wind had changed and we were now on a lee shore with about a metre under the keel. Chateau is a neat place but the shelf is tiny and drops away to 30 metres quickly so any anchoring involves getting very close inshore. Hence our sudden departure. We motored out of the bay and set sail for Ship Harbour. Not to be as winds became lighter then headed us before shifting again. We crept past Battle Harbour but gave up and headed into Fox where we could, at least get diesel. To our surprise there were 4 boats already there including Russ and Alison. The gut who gave us a lift to collect the fuel said he'd never seen 5 boats in the harbour at once which is indicative of something. Probably the fact that the weather has been so poor that no boat had yet left for Greenland had something to do with it. We have decided not to head that way ourselves for a variety of reasons not least lack of wind plus an abundance of fog and bergs.

We pushed on the next day for Ship Harbour but it wasn't a wise decision.The wind headed us, we motor tacked the whole way and fog was thick. We were passed (at speed) by a funky looking motor-sailor who were heading up to Occasional Hbr. Like us they'd been living on the boat for 15 years but had spent several winters marooned (by choice) in Greenland. We were stood in the cockpit dressed in warm, weatherproof clothing, steering as they motored by sat in their warm, heated environment clad, no doubt, in t-shirts and slippers.....

R&A joined us the following day and we left for somewhere north. In the end we had a lumpy sail and made it into Punchbowl barrelling in though the narrow entrance with the main still set and found 3 yots and a fishing boat tied up to the dock! R&A of course plus 2 more from Fox Hbr, Nomad and Vagabondelle, Austrian and Polish respectively.

The journey north begins........

With the deadline approaching we left Belfast on a glorious sunny day with a following breeze for MDI -Mount Desert Island. We had the Eggimoggin Reach to ourselves and enjoyed one of the pleasantest days sailing for a long time. Maine really is an exceptional place to be, particularly the area we were in and we can't recommend it too highly. We fetched up that evening in Goose Cove before arriving in NE Harbour the following day to visit Philip and Helen for a few days. And a fine time was had too – with us resisting P's efforts to take us hiking..

NE Harbour

Whilst we'd been in Belfast we had sold the Sea Hopper dinghy and had just missed out on two separate Pudgy's we'd seen advertised. We logged onto the internet whilst in NEH and found another one had been listed a few hours ago, emailed and then skyped the seller. We agreed the asking price on the strength of the photos and then set about organising how we'd collect it. John Tani was happy to run us down to near Portland to collect (almost 200 miles one way) and Philip dropped me off around lunchtime. We found the address, noted that a rowlock was missing but paid up anyway. A 15 minute journey into Portland got us to the company who build them, a pair of rowlocks bought and we were back on the road again. 

The Pudgy

Arriving back at NEH we loaded the two part dinghy (split) onto John's pick up and we were the very pleased owners of a Portland Pudgy. No it doesn't row as well as the one we had loaded onto the truck but it is lighter, has a number of very clever features and we now have a lifeboat!

We headed off for Nova Scotia intending to call in at Halifax and sort out a US visa. As the winds died we stopped at Lunenburg and found that no visas were being processed anywhere as the electronic system was down and we'd have to wait...and wait until it was back up and running. We headed out resigned to sorting it out on the way back. Made a couple of stops along the NS coast ( including one where a lobster fisherman asked if we needed anything – a welder I replied. He called his mate on the vhf and shortly the other boat came alongside. I showed the guy the damaged part of the self-steerer. He took it, returned the following morning, handed it over refused any payment and went back to his fishing...)and then left from Glasgow Harbour, at the northern end of Andrews Passge to sail around the outside of Cape Breton. All went well, if slowly, until I realised with horror that we had no charts of much of Labrador! In the past we have been able to borrow them from Henry Fuller who runs the Cape Breton Boatyard at Baddeck and after an hour I knew we needed to retrace our steps and enter the Bras 'or Lakes and go see Henry. It was 20 miles back to the canal, we arrived after hours and tied up alongside to await the lock opening. Through the next day, spending a little time with Jack and Glenda before pushing on to Baddeck. Henry more than happy to loan us the charts of course and I felt a lot better.

Hannah and Walkabout, Baddeck-pic by Wolfie off Nomad

A day or so later Russ and Alison arrived to join us but opted to stay at Baddeck to complete repairs before heading north in a day or so. We left, swept through the entrance at 9knots and turned the bow toward the SW tip of Newfoundland. The wind was out of the south, Hannah ran with a full main under the self-steerer and all was good. As the day progressed the forecast of what was to come that night increased to SE 35 knots with gusts of 70 knots in the Wreckhouse area. We altered course to Dingwall at the north end of Cape Breton and swept through the entrance around dusk, happy to be in to what turned out to be an excellent anchorage. Quiet with little effect from the wind outside we remained there until the Tuesday. We left hoping to reach the Belle Isle Strait in one jump but not to be of course. We drifted a couple of nights before anchoring in Keppel Harbour near Port Saunders. That day we had been surprised to see 3 sail boats heading along the coast, one we later found out was Russ and Alison and we met up a gain in Port A'Choix after they tempted us with showers and laundry at the Fisherman,s Centre.

For many years Bee has always wanted to visit St Johns Island and as it only 7 miles from PA'C we headed up to it on a day with stiff headwinds for anything further. Great place, 6 summer cabins but otherwise empty,excellent shelter, clean entrance and a great stop over as it is close to your route up or down the Strait.

Now we're motoring up the Strait,awaiting the arrival of the favourable winds....

A touch of fog...

Tues May 5^th

We left the dock waving a sad g'bye to Robin and Jac as they continued with putting Blackthorn back together in preparation for their summer aboard. We sailed and motored slowly up river and out into the bay, seeing very little traffic and shaped our course for the entrance to Buzzards Bay. Before too long a breeze came in and we were soon bowling along at 6knots having benefited from a 4 day haul out and anti-foul. Day slipped into night and we were joined by a big red moon and it felt good to be back at sea and heading north. The first couple of days went well, the nights enlivened by 14 strong fishing fleets we eased our way through. The only issue we seemed to have was the self-steerer didn't seem as responsive as usual and we were reduced to steering by hand on a number of occasions. It would be some days before we checked it and found a part had been bent causing it to stick on part of the framework. Reversing the part cured it and we have subsequently had it rebuilt in Belfast, Maine.

On the 7^th the fog came in and we crept slowly forward but mostly drifted. Sometime it would lift a little and we saw puffins and whales nearby. But mostly the fog lay all around us; visibility often as little as 100 metres but mostly around 500-800 metres. 

Fog

 We were far enough off shore not be too concerned about tugs etc but as we approached, at night, the northern most Traffic Separation Lane running into New York we could hear foghorns and see the traffic on AIS. We hove to to await morning and the vain hope it may have lifted. It didn't of course but it felt a little easier to be crossing the lane in daylight. With little wind and no sun we motored from time to time to charge batteries; it also enabled us to run the radar but the dense, dreary and dripping fog continued. We decided to head outside Nantucket rather than go through Buzzards Bay as drifting in light winds would be easier. 

Fog

A wise choice as we heard the forecast of 22knots inside the bay with zero visibility whilst we only had 10knots and limited viz. The following day they actually closed the Canal after Northern Right Whales had been spotted in it and several hours passed before we heard it was reopened. The fog continued. We worked our way around Nantucket and turned for Maine, the fog finally cleared on Tuesday May 12 when we were some 40 miles from Isle Au Haut and the wind, which had been in a general SW direction switched to the NW and picked up. So the last bit was more on the nose than we wanted and dictated a change of venue but we were so glad to be back in Maine that it didn't matter. We slid into Moores Hbr on Isle Au Haut around 8pm on Wed 13^th May some 729 nm and 91/2 days after we left Portsmouth. Whilst open to the SW, the harbour offers great protection from northerly quadrant winds; good mud, silence broken only by the call of a loon and the place to ourselves. It doesn't get any better.

The following day we sailed up to Belfast via the Fox Island Thoroughfare; some beating but mostly just sunshine and emotion as we cruised up Penobscot Bay; passing the Camden Hills, Isleboro and so many places we are familiar with. A call to the Belfast Harbour had Kathy, the harbour-master, on the radio welcoming us in and by 6 pm we were tied up, greeted and so glad to be “home”

We've been here 14 days, seen friends we haven't seen for 3 years, wondered where the time has gone and made plans to leave.... the permit we have for the US expires in the middle of June; the ice seems to have cleared from Belle Isle Strait other than a few 'bergs and Greenland is the summer destination so a fair bit of sailing over the next 5 months.

With the passing of miles our main had become thinner and we were reduced to spraying adhesive onto the main and a patch then pressing them together. Luckily we had some spare material and a local sailmaker in Norfolk cut out the worst of the sail and added a new piece. Here in Belfast we have had another sailmaker repair the #1 and add a patch to the stays'l, so all is well we think. 

Belfast, Maine

Out of the heat and north to sanity

Some time has passed since we posted from Guadalupe and we have moved, thankfully, north and out of the Caribbean. We sailed up to St Barts and spent a few days at anchor at the north of the island but St B's isn't a place we'd recommend. The harbour is large, busy and dominated by super-yachts, huge privately owned ships that seem totally out of place. On to the BVI where we caught a ferry to St Johns USVI and got stamped into the USA. Our 90 day ticket had begun and all we needed was a good weather window. None was forth coming but with our BVI visa soon to expire we gladly upped the anchor and sailed out. That the Caribbean north of Guadalupe is popular can't be denied but we're at a loss to understand or appreciate why it should be. Overcrowded and expensive (except for rum) we felt nothing but relief as we saw the islands fade astern of us. In many ways we were lucky we felt that way; lucky that we were heading north to cooler climes and more interesting scenery as the winds were fickle and difficult. Originally we thought we might follow the channel and come up between the Bahamas and Cuba/DR but opted for a more direct route ie head straight for Cape Henry and the Chesapeake. The wind gave us a good start as we covered 111 nm on the first 24 hours but after that the mileage fell as we struggled to make distances. 6 nm in 4 hours was not uncommon and the days began to mount up. We began picking up the NOAA weather on the SSB and after 2 weeks heard of strong winds from Maine and southwards. 45-50knots got my attention very quickly but it was all a long way north and I relaxed. 

The advantage of the Bahamas route as I saw it was the chance to pick up the Gulf Stream and benefit from it whereas the route we were on meant we needed to cross it in the Cape Hatteras region and time it with a favourable wind. Not a relaxed ship as we slid closer to the Stream and the forecasts varied but in the end, as so often happens, the fear of what might happen is washed away but what did. Which was nothing. The wind was light and favourable and whilst we sometimes ran into turbulent seas caused, I think, by eddies colliding it was soon over. For the whole trip we'd been thinking that once we arrived at Cape Hatteras our journey was over but we still had well over 100nm to go so the last section dragged and dragged to the point that we motored when winds speeds dropped and the tide threatened to send us southwards. Finally 21 days, 9 hours after we left the BVI we dropped the hook off Hospital Point and slept.

The following we day we rowed into see R&J our partners in drunken nights, cadge a lift with them to Homeland Security and the test of whether the Visa Waiver entry would work on mainland USA. It does although not without close questioning on how we entered the US in the first place etc. So a result – we were in and as long as we leave within 90 days everything will be hunkydory.

Since we arrived we've hauled, repainted and done various jobs, splashed back in and are patiently waiting a window to get us up to Buzzards Bay and beyond. The “plan” had us leaving by the end of April so only a few days late if we get away on Monday. R&J should haul in the next day or so and then commence their journey back to Europe; Russ and Alison came down to visit in their new (to them) Hans Christian and are making decisions about when and where to go, Olly has arrived in Bermuda and is psyching himself up for the return Atlantic trip so all is well in our world.

The dock where we're tied up is in downtown Portsmouth and close to the Portsmouth-Norfolk ferry. People stroll by,sometimes stop and ask about the boat, where we've come from ...you never crossed the ocean in that!!? is a regular comment. Today we had a couple say “isn't that Martin and Roma's boat” something we haven't heard for a good number of years.

Whilst it isn't a plan we do have two alternatives to the next 6 months. One is sail up to Maine/Nova Scotia and head back to the UK/Europe and the other is to head north to Greenland for the summer and return via Baffin and down to a dock near Annapolis that Steve and Luanne have offered us for the winter. We'll keep our options open. 

Any guesses?

 Portsmouth, VA

It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings....

Another month goes by as we languish in the heat of the Caribbean and have moved a few miles further north to Guadeloupe, made up our minds and changed them innumerable times, despaired at the anchoring techniques displayed and met up with old friends from years back. First the negative.

If we thought Fort de France was tight, the anchorage off Deshaies is often unreal. We arrived one late afternoon to find the bay very crowded and the safest water was too deep for comfort at 20 metres so we went a few hundred yards further north and shared a much larger bay with one superyacht. Long sandy beach, few people (although we later found it had numerous bars further along). The following morning, having watched 10 sails disappear north toward Antigua we upped anchor and found ourselves a spot off the village in the first bay. If it has a drawback it is the wind that funnels down from high hills and accelerates across the anchorage causing mayhem with those who either haven't anchored well or anchors are too light. One such incident was a charter boat that anchored too close to us. We pointed out that when we stretched out we were likely to catch them with our self-steerer. They suggested they could lay out more chain...sure we said how much do you have out....20 metres was the reply...but we're in 12 metres of water we said. They moved onto a buoy. And so it would go on. The anchorage would fill up and the late comers insisted on motoring through the boats determined to find a small spot they could squeeze into irrespective of scope or proximity of hull shape of their neighbour. Initially I would warn boats in no uncertain terms that they were fouling our anchor or chain but of late I've given up. In Fort de France a guy who anchored between us and another boat was told he was over our chain. He told me my anchor was somewhere else and if he was in the way he would move if needed. When we left the following day, despite warning them we were off, he chose to nap. Bee started winching the chain up creeping ever closer to the offending boat. With 3 metres to go before we hit them we still had 20 metres out and kept going as by then I had had enough. The bowsprit, always a sure fire way of getting folks attention, touched their sunshade and galvanised them into action as he was dragged from his bed and motored out of the way. Yesterday we noticed a boat drifting out to sea and realised it was couple we had met a few hours earlier. They had a problem with their engine so had little chance other than to sail back in. As nothing seemed to be happening Bee hailed a rib off a big charter cat and luckily found the perfect guy for the task. For one he'd been running the boat as its skipper for 10 years and the rib had a 70hp engine. It has to be said that Bee is unable to see folks struggling if we can assist … my experience had been that few seem to be bothered about helping and would simply say no to a request. As ever she persevered. We dumped ropes for towing into the rib and sped off and I mean sped! Jeez when you're used to rowing a dinghy to be suddenly hurtling across the waves at at 30 knots is unreal. Paul, the guy who had agreed to help, got us both out there and we set about helping the couple to get the boat back in. Obviously the seas were lumpier but the wind was still 25 – 30 knots, the boat weighed about 13 tons and Paul had doubts about being able to do the job. In the event he made the tow look so easy as we made our way into a more sheltered part. But the boat dragged again and again as the anchor appeared to hold and then gradually let go. Through the night we'd get up to monitor their progress and finally around 4am they got in close enough to drop and hold. I can only imagine they must have worked out the engine problem and sorted it. Too often we have seen boats anchoring in strong wind conditions getting blown rapidly sideways as they begin to lay out the chain. Nothing wrong with that but the combination of a light boat; no forefoot and electric windless seem to be a disastrous one as the boat moves faster than the chain can be laid out unless the windless can go into freefall and consequently it ends up a long way from where the anchor was dropped. I know I've laboured the point before but the anchor is the one thing you should invest in – it might seem like a lot of money but when the wind is howling with no sign of a let up knowing you're securely dug in with little chance of breaking out is worth every penny. And disregard what folks say about weights in relation to your boat – even our much loved Rocna say we'd be more than covered with a 25kg so with a 33kg we might be considered over the top. Yet we're in 13 metres with 50 metres out and solid. We've seen boats hauling in 60 metres and more and dragging (though not with a Rocna)

The positive. My sister and her husband sailed into Fort de France a month or so back and we had the chance to check out their boat. In fact we took great delight in rowing past our neighbours and saying we were going to visit their (sister's) boat, an Oyster 54. Their jaws would drop as they try to connect this scruffy gaffer with this pristine yacht! Paul and Trish welcomed us aboard with cold drinks, showers and the use of the washing machine! The contrast between our cruising life is summed up in that sentence really and after the first visit we returned to Hannah and realised how “difficult” we had made our life. Having said that even if we could afford an Oyster (hah!!!) it probably wouldn't suit us, although Paul & Trish are the most generous people you could meet and as far from the sort of person you might think would own such a boat as it is possible to be. Apart from the deep pockets obviously.

So Hannah is up for sale, many thanks to all those who have written to us about the decision and the kind words. Thanks too to the friends who offered to help move Hannah along the way. Bee, after returning from a 3 week break in the UK knows that the 365 day boat life is not for her any more but we're going to move Hannah back to the UK together and planning a last trip north to finish on a high. At this stage we're not sure how far north but out of the Caribbean asap. It seems there is a way to enter the USA using the ESTA scheme (see here) which we're going to check out and will report on in due course. Or if you have experience of the scheme perhaps you might let us know?

The gusts are continuing, some boats leave trying to get to Antigua before the weather gets worse tomorrow (Wed 4 March) and more arrive, glad to be in. Over the days we've had a succession of big boats arrive, numerous charter boats and a fair few superyachts. Cronos is a Dutch registered stays'l schooner with guests. Two crew came over to admire Hannah and in response to a question as to whether they had any spare ice promised to return with some. Half hour later the rib returned with a large plastic bag full of the stuff! A week later they returned to the anchorage and this time the rib came straight over with a bag of ice – the joys of having an eye-catching boat! In Fort de France as we left the anchorage we motored past a yacht about 120' long; 3 crew on deck in matching attire. The boat was spotless and very expensive. The crew waved to us and we said we were delivering our boat to them as the owner had agreed to a straight swap....the guy smiled and said “Hold on I'll just ask him” and spoke down a hatch to someone below. A guy appeared at the companionway, phone in hand, broke off the conversation he was having as I called out “Thought we might swap – got a Bill of Sale in my pocket”, grinned at us said “mebbe next time” and went back to his call. No idea on these things really but if he got any change out of $20milllion I'd be surprised.

And finally. 3 things have made me pause about Hannah's future. One was looking on the AIS live site at where Europa, the Dutch sail training ship we shared an anchorage with at Cascais. It's tied up in Ushuaia..... The second, reading Roger Taylor's (The Simple Sailor) account of his non stop trip up to Svalbard down to Jan Mayan island, then a wander across toward the east coast of Greenland and back to the UK in a small junk rigged boat; all in a couple of months because Mr Taylor doesn't bother with shore going but simply sails for the hell of it. Lastly today we had our first prospective buyers and as I took them through the boat, talked up the virtues etc I found myself thinking...I'm not sure I can go ahead with this. A later conversation with Bee revealed she had much the same feeling....it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings.

Deshaies
Guadeloupe

Adventurous sailors wanted...

The time has come when, sadly, we need to sell Hannah and are putting the boat up for sale. After 14 years, 5 Atlantics and some 70,000nm Bee has finally called it a day and needs to do other things and who can blame her. As I approach 67 I know I can't handle the boat on my own and rather than sit around we'd prefer someone else take the boat on. Hannah is NOT a “consumer cruising” crammed floating palace but everything you need, in our view, for a solid, interesting and attainable way of life (other than money of course) is within the sturdy hull,

JAN 2016.After we finished the Buttons trip we thought about what we might do. Selling Hannah was NOT high on the list so, for the moment, we're intending to keep going. I'll leave this page up because we might, at some point, decide to sell. 

Yola racing - Martinique

This past weekend has seen some keen racing of these boats each coming from a different island. On the Sunday morning a path was cleared through the anchorage. Not that it appeared to make much difference as the boats came charging through anchored boats causing a wild mixture of alarm and excitement. Little did we know! 

It was a two lap race and whilst steering the boat is done via a tiller it also doubles as a paddle when they tack to help push the bow around. 3 men to a tiller whilst the rest act as mobile and agile ballast. One person seems to control the mainsheet. The crews are vociferous to say the least, yelling instructions to the helm, each other whilst trying to keep the boat upright. 

 Open boats they need to be constantly bailed and with no side decks it is easy enough to get it wrong and flood the boat, dumping everyone in the water. The winning crew, on both races,came from Caracou and were joy to watch. No shouting just concentration they led the first race from the start but lost the lead on the second lap of the second race. The two lead boats were close but it looked as though Caracou would lose. The lead boat opted for the shorter line which took it closer to the fort which dominates the anchorage and causes a wind shadow. The second boat chose to rattle through the anchorage , maintained the wind and crossed the line seconds ahead. Exciting and colourful to watch at close quarters. 

The winning crew

 

poles are shifted rapidly from one side to the other as required

(below) The guy in the centre of the boat is controlling the main and they managed to keep sailing, despite the hull being under water, and crossed the line some 50 metres away..

 

 This yole came close to shoving one of the poles through the cabin window....rapid action from Jason got them away.

…...well, at least we're moving...

and so it became both the mantra and epitaph of this trip and this life. But first the trip.

Toots in her sea-berth logging up 66,000 miles

We left Rosario on Sunday 23^rd Nov with a favourable forecast. For the first week or so we made good progress south and then edged toward the SW as we worked away from the Canaries toward the Verdes and the hoped for steady Trades. I'd been looking at Passage Weather since we'd been on the Guadiana and the winds seemed consistent; perhaps not 20knots but steady enough for us to log 110 -120 mile days. 






 

Good enough to knock us along at 5k+ & get power

By the first week of Dec those daily runs began to drop by 20 miles or more. Boats from the ARC had passed us and we garnered weather info from them. Nothing exciting and we carried on. By the 3rd week we appeared to have entered an area of high pressure and daily runs dropped to 40-60 miles. Drifting at night obviously helped keep the figure low and we tried motoring during the day but found the heat build up in the saloon unacceptable. 
 

A great anchorage - unfortunately this is mid-Atlantic

A difficult time. We had kept up a south of destination course but obviously we weren't far enough south as we were still N of 17. At times the weather became very humid and 30 knot squalls would savage us for several minutes before disappearing leaving us wallowing in a slop with 5 knots of wind for company. In the first week when winds were at their strongest we had pulled the cringle out of a headsail than our friend Tony had given us; and the repairs we'd made to the genny had been similarly trashed. We repaired both but were now loath to leave anything up that couldn't deal happily with 30k gusts. Some of the downpours during those squalls were something else – monsoon like but just a tad cold to stand out there and shower. Not so now me thinks as we're south of 16 and it is hot. The latest info we got from a ship this morning suggests we should get E10 to E18 over the next 5 days. We'll see.

As with all things eventually we made the trip across. We had planned to go to Antigua to meet up with my sisters, one of whom was flying home on the 28^th and the other sailing south the same day. When days slipped by our destination was changed to Martinique, as the arrival procedure has been greatly simplified. Once in phone contact again we sent out texts warning them of our non arrival. With sunset around 6pm we opted to anchor off St Anne for the night after 32 days at sea. Later that evening we got a text saying the sailing sister wasn't in fact leaving until the new year and why didn't we come up anyway....... The following day we left for the 173 mile trip to English Hbr but temperamental winds and very slow progress had us finally abandoning and motoring the 8 miles back to St Pierre on the north of Martinique where we finally booked in today. Walk into the Tourist Office, sit in front of a terminal and enter in your details, print out the result, hand the form over for stamping. Sign it yourself and leave.....bliss.

When the winds were good we were joined by several whales and watched as they swam around us, under us seemingly for several days. The highlight was watching them surf inside the 3 metre swells that were following us.

St Pierre
Martinique

Labrador video

Russ and Alison from Andante sent us this vid from a 2011 cruise to Labrador.

Labrador 2011

FOR SOME REASON THIS VIDEO NO LONGER WORKS - I'LL TRY TO FIND OUT WHY
Feb 19 2016
March 2016. Apparently the rights were not cleared.

Rolling in the deep....

Sunset, Puerta de Rosario

Very little movement from us as we opt to remain at Puerta de Rosario as the anchorage affords,for the most part, decent shelter with good sand holding, We had a gentle sail down from Lanzarote and arrived to find a few boats at anchor. Thankfully one left as we arrived as the sheltered space is a tad limited but we anchored and settled down for the night, moving closer in the following morning. Since our last visit a decade and more ago the port has changed and added a large wharf for the cruise ships to dock. Back then we simply anchored in the port but not any more although the local people remain as friendly as ever. 

Overlooks the anchorage

With good stocking up facilities, easy 'net access and no rolling at anchor with the prevailing winds we decided we'd probably leave from here for the crossing. A forecast of an unwanted stiff SW had me wandering along to the port police to ask about taking shelter in the harbour – there is a small marina that the occasional yacht ties up to. They knew of the forthcoming blow and we were allowed to move in for 2 nights only for the total of €6.69inc water and power....... In the event the wind seemed to be more southerly than SW and we glad we moved in even though the Med. style mooring causes several problems. 

Here's a couple of pics of life in the fast lane!

The anchorage...

THe harbour - there's a pontoon in there somewhere....

We hope to leave here on Sunday and head for Martinique

mbt

Puerta de Rosario