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Photo taken by Graham Gosling on Pamina's arrival at NYC during Laser 4.7 European
Championships
We arrived in Dun Laoghaire, Conor's home port,
and were
welcomed by family
with champagne and a gun salute.
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We arrived in Flores after a 20-day passage from the Caribbean, our first European landfall in
over three years. We spent one week in Flores, then sailed to Faial and spend two weeks in Horta, a gathering point for sailors from all over the world. We visited
Pico by ferry and climbed the islands 2400m peak. It is a tradition amongst sailors that each boat paints a picturce on Horta's harbour wall to ensure a safe
onward passage. Having done our own picture, we set off on our final trip with a good weather forecast and mixed feelings.
After our long passage from South Africa we were looking forward to some pleasant day-sailing,
lots of swimming and plenty of shore-based activity. This is just what we got in the Caribbean. We were welcomed by friends living in Grenada and spent a
few days in the Tobago Cays, made our way up to Bequia and then Guadeloupe. We were joined by Henrietta's sister and her husband who spent two weeks with us. Most recently
we've been exploring Antigua and racing on a friend's boat.
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We arrived in Prickly Bay, Grenada on Sunday 1 April
after a 30 day passage from St Helena to the Caribbean.
Our arrival in Grenada marks the completion of our circumnavigation.
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We stayed a week in St. Helena, climbed the 700 steps of Jacobs ladder, saw the Napoleonic
sites and did several walks in the hills and forests. Important in its day as a staging post for provisions in days of sailing ships, then coal for steam ships,
and later as a base for transatlantic phone cables, the island now has little of its strategic importance but is still unique for it's beauty, history and the
wonderful welcome that is extended to the few that visit.
We arrived in Richard's Bay, South Africa, in early November. We spent
most of December/January waiting for favourable weather in order to sail around the coast from Durban to Cape Town. We took advantage of this to explore the
country by land, incl. a hiking trip to the Drakensberg Mountains, a safari in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve and a short road trip along the Cape Peninsula. Although we
were struck by the beauty of South Africa and by the great variety in landscape, culture and ethnicity between various regions and greatly enjoyed our time here we are
now excited about our next long voyage from SA to the Caribbean via St Helena.
The islands off Madagascar's North-West coast proved to be our favourite
destination of this season. In particular the area around Nosy Be is a sailor's dream: a cruising ground with reliable winds, short passages between the many beautiful
islands, some spectacular anchorages, fantastic food and colourful markets. Here we caught up with our friends Eaglewing & Petrel and spent a few happy weeks
cruising in company with their gang.
Chagos is an island group that marked the middle of our Indian Ocean passage. It has the reputation
of an island paradise, as it is remote and uninhabited. Amongst sailors, Chagos is famous for being home to an almost permanent community of cruisers with some yachts
staying more than a year. We were very taken by the beauty of the islands, the clarity of the water and the abundance of marine life. Although we couldn't see ourselves
staying here for months - let alone years - we greatly enjoyed our two weeks of days filled with fishing, snorkeling, swimming and the almost nightly bbqs ashore with
friends.
Cocos Keeling is a typical atoll with a ring of small islands formed of coral beaches and
palms that surround a lagoon. At the entrance to the lagoon the depth changes from ocean depths to tens of meters very quickly, with dramatic changes in the water colour. A
highlight of our stay was swimming across The Rip, a pass were currents driven by the trade winds push into the lagoon, and onto the shallow reef that provided the best
snorkeling we have ever experienced with an abundance of reef fish and some very colourful coral.
Most accounts of Christmas Island mention the Phosphate
works which dominate the anchorage, but fail to mention the fantastic scenery and wildlife on the island and the very welcoming island populations which consists of Chinese,
Malay and Australians. We rented a car and took in some of the sites (the island is less than 9 miles square). After 26 days at sea, we enjoyed all the island had to
offer: well stocked supermarkets, laundrettes, free hot showers, an open air cinema, and several ethnic restaurants.
We spent two days in the capital of Vanuatu, Port Vila after an
overnight sail from Tanna. It's an interesting, bustling place with a very sheltered anchorage right off the town. From Port Vila we left on what turned out to be our
longest passage so far: 3882 miles in just over 26 days. We considered stopping at several places along the way (Port Moresby, Thursday Island, Darwin, Ashmore Reef) but in
the end to keep going as conditions were good. We have included photos from the passage here.
8 days from Opua, we arrived in the beautiful island of Tanna, in southern
Vanuatu. We spent a very enjoyable few days here, met lots of the local people, saw the volcano and were invited to a circumcision ceremony. After Tanna, we went north to
Port Vila from where we will head for the Torres Strait.
Henrietta's sister Erika and her boyfriend Markus flew
out to NZ in February for a three week visit. Together we traveled some 3000km by car. After a few days in Auckland, we first headed north taking in Northland and the
Bay of Islands, before driving south to explore the central North Island.
After an enjoyable nine day passage from Neiafu, Vava'u, we
arrived in NZ just after midnight on 26th October. Our goal for the season achieved! The plan had been to get to NZ before the nominal start of the southern hemisphere
hurricane season in November.
One the way into Tonga we caught one of our biggest fish, a 20kg dorado. The day after arriving we
entered an informal harbour race, and came third - winning a introductory scuba dive. We spent about two and a half weeks in Tonga and really enjoyed it, but left earlier
than intended to catch a favourable weather window for the often tricky trip to NZ. We hope to return to Tonga some day, as it is one of the most beautiful places we've
been. They may have been called "the Friendly Islands" due to misunderstanding by Capt. Cook, be we also found them to be just that.
Known as 'the rock', Nuie is one of the largest coral islands in the world. It is also the smallest nation
state, with a population of about 2000 citizens. When we got arrived, Nuie was still recovering from the effects of a large cyclone which had hit earlier that year. (images
now archived)
This island was our only stop in the Cooks and is a large atoll with a
population of about 50 people. Very beautiful and isolated, it was one of the highlights of our Pacific trip. The islanders are incredibly hospitable and amazing fishermen
who enjoy hosting visitors, allowing them to share their ways of life. On our last night there we were woken by a group of whales 'blowing' as they swam through the
anchorage.
The most cosmopolitan part of French Polynesia, this is a group of
about six or so principal islands, including the famous islands of Bora Bora and Tahiti. The town of Papeete is the biggest town for about 4000miles and we enjoyed it's
bustle, a real contrast to the ruggedness of the Marquesas and the remoteness of the Tuamotus.
An extensive group of coral atolls, the Tuamotus are part of French Polynesia and lie
between the Marquesas and the Societies. The atolls are sparsely inhabited, remote and very beautiful. We visited three atolls - Ahe, Apataki and Toau.
These islands are high, volcanic, fertile and dramatically beautiful. Our landfall in
French Polynesia was the eastmost of the islands - Fatu Hiva. We arrived in 'the bay of virgins', which is the the most stunning anchorage we've been in.
3 weeks in the Galapagos - and we could have spent months there. The famous wildlife is
all around. Sea lions, penguins, pelicans, iguana, turtles, sharks and rays - and that is just in the anchorages. Ashore, we also saw the giant tortoises, albatross,
blue-footed boobies and much more.
Neither the bureaucracy nor the transit of the canal are as painful as the rumours we had heard
suggested. It takes about a week to organise as the system is really set up for ships rather than yachts, but it is not difficult. It is a great day out - with some anxious
moments - as you first rise into the Gatun Lake via 3 locks, travel for about 25 miles through a flooded jungle, and then descend into the Pacific. (images now
archived)
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